Changing my view towards religion...

I've written a little bit about my "belief in belief". In other words, that I believed that some people are better off with religion due to their intellectual deficits (being unable to think for themselves). While the "belief in belief" stance does have its arguments, I now (after some reflection) believe that in reality this stance only exasperates the problem--ignorance. It is both ignorance and distorted thinking that underlies immorality. While religion can distort thinking in a way that causes people to behave well, this is a pseudo-morality. When it comes to morality, motivation is everything, and obviously the motivations underlying religiously-based morality is self-preservation and longing for reward (a mouse's brain works in the same way). This is why the religious are not known for being rational on the subject of morality. A morality that is based in logical thinking is in all of our best interests. This isn't to say the atheist community is perfect. I've seen many atheists utilize the pleasure vs. reward system of morality, and it's quite easy to see their short-comings. Obviously there is a difference between non-belief and rationality. Let's just say that while rationality can bring a person to atheism, it is not the only thing that can...many atheists are as irrational as they come. This is why labeling groups as being this or that is oftentimes, while easier to cognitively organize, not accurate.

Anyways, I'm rambling now. My stance is that religion is not a good thing, even if it does create a society filled with docile sheeple. Even though it doesn't. In reality it typically turns people into paranoid "sheep" due to the methods of the herders. How can a society move in the right direction if it is filled with a delusional population (just look at our economy, politics, and negatively-influential entertainment)? A delusional people often have backwards priorities, which causes them to move in the wrong direction.