Quote Originally Posted by Malicat
Just wanted to drop in my opinions here... It seems popular to bash organized religion nowadays, I've been noticing. I'm going to have to sound class-ist here for a moment, but I feel that organized religion is absolutely critical to a stable government. There will always be classes in society, and religion is the best way to keep control of the lower classes, which also tend to be more numerous.

It seems like kind of a harsh way of looking at things, but society is based on control. Religion is probably one of the best ways to maintain control, because it gives the ability to say 'you must do this or else' and not have to worry about reinforcing the threat with action. Regardless of whether or not any religion is logical or true, it is intrinsically necessary.

Take the Declaration of Independence for example. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Unalienable rights endowed by their Creator. God gives us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The French tried something similar in 1789, however they forgot something crucial. They left out God. And Napoleon had to restore order.

--Mali
I completely agree with your statement that religion is probably one of the best ways to maintain control of the populace. Do this or go to hell! is a great way to motivate people, yes. It's a (and I apologize for the language) fucking horrible thing to use religion for, but yes it's effective. I don't agree that it's critical to a stable government though. Here in the U.S. we have many different orginizations trying to save our souls and although the majority are Christian, there are large groups of other faiths that take part in the political process. There are also large groups of atheists and agnostics that have an impact. And of course the politically correct army keeping their fingers in the government pie and religion out of our schools. Even with all that going on our lives are as stable as one could expect in a state of an ongoing war. Also you choose to interpret Creator as God. All right. Which God? Jefferson doesn't say YWHW or Allah or even Jesus, just Creator and as Jefferson was himself dubious of organized religon I doubt he was advocating the use of it as a governing tool.