I've just gotten back into reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and this in turn has gotten me thinking about religion again. The issue to ponder is not whether a god or gods exist, as that's an easy one. Either they don't exist, or they just don't matter. If you believe, for example, that the christian God exists, just think about it for a moment....

Right! Now we're on the same page, the issue is whether or not it's ok that other people follow these weird religions (and by weird, I'm including christianity and catholicism). It could be argued that religion has sent millions to their deaths through war and silliness, but I don't really think that's a good enough reason to ostracise religious types. There are many cases in the past where religion has been a cause for atrocities, even recently, but just because Serbs and Croats love killing each other for petty reasons doesn't mean it should affect how we treat their fellow believers. I don't for a second think that christians are more likely to be more ethical individuals than atheists, but I'm having second thoughts as to whether the opposite is true.

The recent World Youth Day makes for a useful case study. I wasn't there, but I hear that it set the city alive in a positive way. It was much like the Sydney Olympics, except everyone was nicer. I also know quite a lot of religious people, and they're alright once you get to know them.

A useful thing to consider would be why intelligent people follow these religions. There may have been good reasons in the past, but in this day and age when there's enough evidence against it I believe it's because of social pressure, and it's easy. People grow up being told it's the way things are, their family is into it, their friends are into it, and their community is into it. For those who put in enough thought to struggle with their faith it's just too hard to escape, and why would you want to. For many of them, believing in God means being part of a community, and it's a fun hobby. Something to be interested and involved in. Other people have stamp collecting, cars and ultimate frisbee. They have God.

The main difference I guess is that stamps, cars and ultimate are real. Spending your life believing that something exists when it doesn't seems a bit silly. Let's not ostracise them for being religious, but educate people and hope they gradually start to move to hobbies that aren't as silly.