Religion rejected: Over half of Canadians now say that religion does more harm than good, according to a new poll.

A new survey conducted by Ipsos for Global News found that 51 percent of Canadians now believe that religion causes more harm than good in the world.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2017/07/report-majority-canadians-claim-religion-harm-good/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=BRSS&utm_campaign=Nonreligious&utm_content=367

The numbers show that the percentage of Canadians who held the belief that religion does more harm than good has increased in recent years. In 2011, 44 percent claimed that religion does more harm than good.

Attempting to explain the increase, Sean Simpson, vice-president of Ipsos Affairs, said:

There’s a lot that’s happening in the world right now in the name of religion. Of course, ISIL being the primary example that’s using religion to justify what they’re doing.

Simpson continued:

But I think we hear about these incidents more often, not just because they may be happening more often but because of the information age.

We’ve got 24-hour news cycles and social media and Twitter where we hear about every incident so it’s not surprising to me that a growing number of Canadians believe it does more harm than good.

Of particular note, Quebec, an area long victimized by the Roman Catholic Church, is exceptionally hostile to religious superstition. Global News reports:

Compared to the rest of Canada, Quebecers are significantly more likely than residents of other provinces to feel religion does more harm than good (62 per cent). They’re also more inclined (18 per cent) to lose respect for people when they find out they are religious.

In addition, less than a quarter of Canadians (24 percent), believe that religious belief makes one a better person.

Also, a majority of Canadians value the separation of church and state, with only a third (34 percent) of Canadians saying they believe politics and religion should mix.

Bottom line: Canada is winning.

Reference

Suggested Reading

Two Hundred Verses about Compassionate Living in the Quran

A Message of Compassion and Love from the Holy Bible

The Muslim Times’ Chief Editor’s comments

If the main purpose of religion is to enhance personal piety and spirituality then it serves a useful purpose, by inspiring the followers to be charitable. But, the believers can never resist the temptation to use each and every religion as a medium for organization, making it into a social and political power.

Each and every organized religion is by nature a corporation or a state and of course a theocratic one, trying to coexist under the larger secular states as they exist in the West today.  This is where the potential of harm arises, unless the larger secular states can manage organized religions like they manage all corporations, human rights will be violated in the name of religion to enhance the agenda of the organized religion and for other reasons.