Does religion tend to make people better or worse?

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

It is often assumed that religion is supposed to make someone a better person, but there are people who have became worse because of religion, from the slave owners of the 19th Century to Mel Gibson.

But which is really more common? Religions are mostly about being a better person, but since many people became worse because of religion, what should be the exception and what should be the rule?

[America's Sweetheart ❤/𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖙𝖞 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖗]

It depends on the person, obviously. religion can inspire people to do great things (fighting for civil rights, helping the poor and needy), but it can just as well inspire people to do horrendous things (suicide bombings, crimes against LGBT people, murder). overall, religion is neutral, and can be twisted into a force for good or evil depending on what the person who believes it wants it to be.

[Alabama_Indy10]

Religion has made me infinitely better.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

It is often assumed that religion is supposed to make someone a better person, but there are people who have became worse because of religion, from the slave owners of the 19th Century to Mel Gibson.

Do you really believe that slave owners would have freed their slaves if they became atheists?  They used religion as a justification.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The correct answer, according to extensive empirical research, is "better in some ways, worse in others, but overall somewhat better".

[TJ in Oregon]

Well what is 'religion' and what is a 'better person'?

I think that adherence to some principle (call it a religion if you will) beyond one's self, particularly the emotional response of the moment, generally tends to make people better even when that principle is wildly flawed. I think the submission of one's will pulls people back from the sort of individualistic abyss characteristic of modern society. I also think that in order to fully appreciate a principle, it is usually necessary to suffer for it. And principles are not simply entities that live in some abstract ideal world but directives about how we make every decision and treat every interaction with every other person we encounter throughout the world. And it's more than simply changing actions; it's an interior conversion of will. These sorts of things help to build virtue and help us to better exemplify the nature of our personhood (i.e. become better people).

Of course that's not all I believe. While the above describes some effects of the natural components of religion, there is also a supernatural component to religion. I believe God is real and He loves us. He created us in his image and likeness, but humanity is in a fallen state due to sin, a penalty beyond our ability to satisfy. So he sent his Son to save us from our sins by dying for us. The point was to restore us from the fall, to be as we were created to be, so in that sense it was to make us better people. But there is an irreducibly supernatural component to it all. According to Christianity--both Catholics and Protestants agree--this salvation cannot be attained through personal merit on our part but through Christ's sacrifice and grace. But simply to claim belief also isn't enough, we have to actually follow through and become better people rather than just claiming it. We haven't always done the best at that. I know I haven't. And there's the catch.

[Torie]

Can a religion be defined as including a set of moral beliefs not attended with any supernatural leaps of faith? If so, then many have a religion even though they think they are not religious.

I think it reasonable to believe that those who have a set of moral beliefs that include a selfless component probably do act in a more estimable manner. But it is hard to know, since many who profess to be religious, probably really are not to any meaningful extent in their lives.

I am skeptical that believing in the supernatural in a religious context has much to do with making one a better person at least when it comes to one's acts. Anecdotally, I have not found any clear correlation in my personal experience between professing to be religious or not, and how "good" a person acts. Some non religious folks are fine people, and some who profess to be religious are disgusting, and visa versa.

[afleitch]

It's an unanswerable question.

[Karpatsky]

Better, though marginally. People who are weak-minded enough to do terrible things in the name of religion would be willing to do so in the name of any dogma. The same is probably true of people who do good things. The key is people who fear divine retribution or just want to get into heaven, who probably behave better than they would otherwise. This is likely worth more to the world than people who become judgier or who feel the need to adopt archaic and reactionary positions because of religion.

[BoAtlantis]

For charitable causes, probably so. Religious people probably give more toward secular causes, not just toward religious institutions than atheists/agnostics do.

For other aspects of society, I would say it is mixed.

My theory is that religion brings out the extremes among people. You'll have some of the most generous, compassionate people but you'll find the extreme version of the opposite, who finds a way to hate and ostracize people.

Research has shown that some criminals justify their behavior because God forgives them. There are also religious people that lean much more heavily toward God who is to be feared.

This can create extremely peaceful, moral people but also people that are willing to break the law in the name of forgiving God.

[dead0man]

I'm going with the consensus, impossible to tell/lean slightly positive with a million caveats and exceptions.

It can give good people an excuse to carry on despite people sh**tting on their goodness.  It can make bad people feel guilty about the bad things they've done perhaps preventing future bad things.  It can also give bad people "godly" power that they use to abuse countless people causing good people to turn cynical.

[America Needs R'hllor]

It's an unanswerable question.

This. It makes some people better, and some worse. But, and I'm speaking mostly about organized religion since that seems to be the goal of the question, religion has done much more bad than good. People who are made worse by religion, in turn, make others miserable (lgbtq folks, atheists, "heretics and heathens" etc). Meanwhile, those made better by religion are just... normal people, maybe a bit more charitable. So overall, religion had a more negative than positive impact on individual people.

[afleitch]

I think one thing religious belief can be bad for is forcing a 'disconnect' with what's playing out in front of them. For example, if there's a gay couple, together for decades, married, part of each other's families showing love, commitment, passion then to see that in play, to see it as similar to every other couple, perhaps in some cases 'better' than some relationships and to conclude; no. It's not appropriate. Not what god wants. Not real, a facsimile, shouldn't be allowed or encouraged. That's a forced disconnect. It's intentionally blinding yourself to the relationship playing out in front of you instead focusing on the sex of the individuals and your assumption of what god wants as the measure of it's truth. 'Only acts are sinful' is actually a worse fudge because falling in love and everything that entails is the 'act'.

I've struggled with working out the thought processes behind that and the effort and resilience that goes into it.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I believe my religious faith makes me a better person overall.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I think one thing religious belief can be bad for is forcing a 'disconnect' with what's playing out in front of them. For example, if there's a gay couple, together for decades, married, part of each other's families showing love, commitment, passion then to see that in play, to see it as similar to every other couple, perhaps in some cases 'better' than some relationships and to conclude; no. It's not appropriate. Not what god wants. Not real, a facsimile, shouldn't be allowed or encouraged. That's a forced disconnect. It's intentionally blinding yourself to the relationship playing out in front of you instead focusing on the sex of the individuals and your assumption of what god wants as the measure of it's truth. 'Only acts are sinful' is actually a worse fudge because falling in love and everything that entails is the 'act'.

I've struggled with working out the thought processes behind that and the effort and resilience that goes into it.

I would call that the expected result of social and cultural prejudices being sanctified and codified over thousands of years. Why some people are more "resilient" in this regard than others is a great question indeed; at the very least, it certainly has something to do with variations in social and cultural environments!

[All Along The Watchtower]

Also OP: "religions are mostly about being a better person" is categorically not true with regard to the largest, most globally dominant ones (ie. the Abrahamic ones - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - which is not very large but certainly not irrelevant, especially when considering the roots of the two much larger Abrahamic religions...).

These religions are all based on human beings individually and collectively submitting themselves fully to God - specifically, the God of Abraham. "Being a better person" is (supposed to be) a positive consequence of that, but it's not the core of those religions, and anyone who knows anything about them and is being honest with you will tell you that - whether they are followers of said religions or not.

I hope this helps. 

[they don't love you like i love you]

It keeps people from becoming tankies or Randians.

[Kleine Scheiße]

Gonna go with “yes, it does”.

[Georg Ebner]

This is an utilitaristic point of view though, interesting The Children Of This World, not interesting The Children Of The Light.

[RINO Tom]

Obviously, this can't be answered as a blanket statement in any rational way.  For me, personally, I think my (relatively relaxed/moderate) religious beliefs do make me be a better person and have a happier life, but I wouldn't try to extrapolate that onto anyone else.

[Ban my account ffs!]

As a gay in a predominantly Christian nation, religion made me much worse.  That's why I quit.  If God is real, then he doesn't need to communicate with you by writing in a book and giving it to a teensy tiny minority of people on earth.

I also get very uncomfortable with the Christian obsession with Christ's death.  You aren't learning from his lessons or his sermons.. you are worshiping his death. 

I get that salvation was dependent on his death... and most just focus on salvation... but I've seen way too much hand wringing about the nails and the cross and the suffering...

You know what Jesus would say while you're crying over his crucifixion?  There are people suffering right here and yet you ignore it.  I do not know you!

[augbell]

Religion makes people much worse. It is the justification of hate and censorship. It has learnd people to reject homosexuality and other religion for ages. It imprisons the mind in faith and in irrational thoughts. Atheists are banned from a lot of things because of religion, they're seen as devious dangerous people. Just a remind, the percentage of atheists in prison is much lower than in population.
Religion has been the cause of many murders for ages. It's the root of terrorism, of war in Israel/Palestine, of homosexuality repression...

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It keeps people from becoming tankies or Randians.

one could argue that Stalinism (and Maoism etc) and Objectivism are religions in themselves.

[Meclazine for Israel]

Well what is 'religion' and what is a 'better person'?

I think that adherence to some principle (call it a religion if you will) beyond one's self, particularly the emotional response of the moment, generally tends to make people better even when that principle is wildly flawed. I think the submission of one's will pulls people back from the sort of individualistic abyss characteristic of modern society. I also think that in order to fully appreciate a principle, it is usually necessary to suffer for it. And principles are not simply entities that live in some abstract ideal world but directives about how we make every decision and treat every interaction with every other person we encounter throughout the world. And it's more than simply changing actions; it's an interior conversion of will. These sorts of things help to build virtue and help us to better exemplify the nature of our personhood (i.e. become better people).

Spot on. That was really well written.

I think any person of any religion is made better by the experience.

However, the exception is business people who use religion.

The most crooked and evil people i have met in business claimed strong religious belief.

Ideology is one thing, but "direct funds transfer" bends the moral compass quite easily.

[Not a Partisan Hack ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)]

WHY DO PEOPLE INTENTIONALLY USE RELIGION?

Religion is a rather abstract concept by human beings. Many people who strive for independence and meaning in life, or a direction of some sorts they can take look towards religion. I have a few general reasons why religion as a whole is a rather intrinsic part of the human race.

I
People Look for religion to have some sort blueprint for their community/individual.

Religion is a belief that allows people to develop and prosper within a clear guidance that is abstract, yet is easy to follow for everyone. Religion can help people to conform to a set of beliefs so that the ideal of socializing and interacting with others is clear cut. Without the clear and preferably set rules placed by a body of text or being told orally, the growth of distrust between other individuals within a community is likely unless the religion/belief system allows you to peacefully interact with them in a peaceful manner if they are possibly different..

II
Religion is used as a guide for reaching your full potential

People use religion to guide themselves to something better. A text/oral telling of how to live life makes the individual make correct choices to help themselves grow in a spiritual manner. This is a type of self-help, using only yourself. They bettering of the individual comes under this type of philosiphy; friends and family members don’t have to explicitly come up when bettering yourself.

III
People use religion as a life purpose.

Religion is used so that the individual isn’t floating openly not knowing what he or she isn’t supposed to do. There is a clear goal in mind when that person is involved in the set of beliefs. The beliefs guide them to a certain purpose that is clear cut. The belief system can teach them a path to enlightenment or another way to enhance the status of the individual. The system doesn’t have to a path of enlightment or status though. It can also tie to communal measures such as doing nice favors for others or bettering of others. This type of belief system can be both compatible with both individual and communities as a whole.


IV
Atheism

Atheism is based on the idea of a foundationless morality not based on living your life on a specific belief of some type. going there own way when it comes to morals. These made-up morals can also be influenced by religion as well(not intentionally). Their guidance doesn’t come from a set of beliefs, but rather a guidance of their inside intuition.

WHAT DOES IT COME TO IF RELIGION IS GOOD OR BAD

Religion comes down to a bad meaning depending on the context of the situation and the set of beliefs that are present within a group/individual. When it comes to dismissing something that interferes with their beliefs, being hostile or using a inconsiderate amount of force makes the bystander question the set of beliefs of the person that comes from the person committing it. Context matters, and the intuition of the bystander can influence whether the set values of the beliefs/religion are bad for the community/individual. Shunning groups of people based on a so-called “incorrect” system of beliefs is still the key idea when it comes to discrimination on someone’s beliefs(because it was their beliefs that caused the so-called hatred to appear convincing to the bystander)


Sorry for the long response