I was writing a column about the subject and, just for the fun of it,
I thought I?d toss out this question for anyone to answer or comment
on.

I was compiling the benefits of religion.

Here are some topics to get you started, you can sort them into
categories or add your own:

Benefit of religion? Or Not?

9/11
Deaths during Haj (Hajj) from poor crowd control
Middle-East crisis (aprox. 2600 years and running)
Televangelists who own diamond mines because they did favors to
dictators but call for assignation of foreign heads of government.
The holocaust/WWII
The Albigensian Crusade (1209-1255)
The Sack of Constantinople
The Holy Crusades
Selling Papal Indulgences
Witch burnings
Attempted genocide of Amerinds in N. and S. America
Henry VIII
Winning every NASCAR race, every NFL game, every NBA championship, etc.
Personal responsibility
The steam engine (Hero of Alexandria)
Antibiotics
Antiseptics
Anesthesia
Glucose monitors
AEDs
Chemotherapy
Telephone
Automobile
Electric light
Phonograph
Radio
TV
Airplane
Heart transplants
Computers
The Internet
Galileo
Leonardo (the one from Vinci)
Newton
iPOD

Fire

That list is just to get you started, it is in no particular order.

And, no fair placing something in a category just because someone
involved had a religion, I just want the ones CAUSED, TRIGGERED, or
ENCOURAGED by religion ? any religion.

---

Clarification of Question by siliconsamurai-ga on 07 Jan 2006 14:43 PST

Oh, and in case it wasn?t clear, I?m NOT looking for things God is
responsible for or created, to narrow things down a bit let's stick to
what organized religion has done to benefit us - come one, there must
be thousands of seperate things you can list.

---

Clarification of Question by siliconsamurai-ga on 08 Jan 2006 03:31 PST

Although I am actually writing the column I mention and welcome any
additional positive features of religion to add to the many I already
have but didn?t list, I was also demonstrating how silly it is to
apply logic to questions of faith and how silly it is to apply faith
to questions of logic and science ? it demeans them both.

I am compiling a listing for an article in hopes of dispelling some of
the negative images of religion which have, unfortunately, recently
been triggered by some strange statements by ministers of various
religions; the article happens to be for a good-news magazine which is
owned by a Christian minister and his family. They donate half of each
10,000-copy run each issue to nursing homes, hospitals, doctors
offices, dentist?s offices, VA hospitals, and such.

The readers are looking for something uplifting but that still makes sense.

Not that it should a difference, but I happen to contribute an article
at no cost for every issue and have done so for years because I think
it is a good cause.

I for one don't relate to your question as it is presented.  Your
title refers to benefits of religion, then you give a long list of
events. Events are not necessarily identical to benefits.

I know a lot of religious people, and the main benefit for them is to
deal with the fear of death, and to help explain suffering.

Perhaps others can make the switch between benefits and events.

Well, I listed a lot of events which include or reduce suffering, so
how about working on that basis?

Your question is dubious because you mention all benefits or
non-benefits caused by people's character, not religion.

911 and some terrorism is caused by criminals who claim to be muslims (oxymoron)
Deaths in Hajj, could have been a sunday soccer game in Brazil in an
old stadium, nothing to do with religion.
Crusades were caused by fanatical minds manipulated by those in power
for political purposes. (still done to this day)

All these Events are first caused by People's good or bad judgement,
whom are either, of good or evil nature, creative or destructive,
passionate or contempt etc. So that they claim to be followers of a
religion or ideology is only secondary to their character.

Religions overall are beneficial for moral and spiritual development
when interpreted in good faith.
list of benefits:
A sense of Gratefulness and appreciation for life.
A sense of balance in life, between what is good for us and what is not.
Family Values and Morals are preserved.
A reflective character to understand life.
Charity and Kindness without discrimination.
An apathy to vicious and destructive lives.
etc etc

To allegorize, Religion or an Ideology is like a car, it can be faulty
or flawless and  it can take you where you think you need to go,  but
what mostly matters is who the driver is and how the driving is.

Zero

As your list implies, religion has been, and still is, responsible for
many evils; and has NOT been involved in many beneficial scientific
and technical developments. Personally, I think the world would now be
a better place if the major organised religions faded away.

Nevertheless, your list excludes the one area - the arts - where
religion has undoubtedly benefited mankind. Religious faith from the
ancient Egyptians and Greeks onwards has inspired masterpieces of
painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and music; and indeed
for centuries was the main driving force of the visual arts. (I
suspect you only included Leonardo da Vinci because you thought of him
in terms of his technical inventions; and forgot about his religious
works such as the Last Supper and Virgin of the Rocks.

Good points both Zepherum and Geof

I am perhaps the least biggest fan of religion ever.  However, if we
are going to be even-handed about it, we must admit that religion has
inspired some good.  Geof's point about the arts is a very good one. 
I would point out that religion has been a driving force for many
charitable works.  The Salvation Army is a religious organization, for
instance.  Islam demands charity as a core tenet.  I would argue that
man's highly evolved sense of empathy is the real driving force of
charity, but religion's positive role in this area cannot be denied.

I am sure the article was more enlightening than the question.  ;)
Seems to me like many things on the list are only remotely related to
religion, if at all  - plus or minus -  like the inventions and
medical developments.  Also can't really see how WW II and holocaust
are involved; sure the Jews suffered, but more for racial and economic
reasons.
What about the 30 Years War, The Roundheads in England, forced
conversion of N. and S. American Indians (maybe missionaries
everywhere  - and of every religion), but on the other hand, the
Muslims in the early Middle Ages brought much classical knowledge and
philosophy to the West.  Persecution of the Hugenottes in France, the
Reconquista in Spain, Chinese persecution of Roman Catholics, ...

Cheers, Myoarin

I think it is a good thing to differentiate between "religion" and
"religions."  The former being a belief system people use to try to
connect with the Devine and the latter being the organized groups
people form purportedly for the same purpose but often are used for
ulterior motives.  If you don't, you just get another article that
points out various acts done by individuals or groups and attributes
them to religion in general which, I think, is terribly inaccurate and
unfair.

Thank you all for your contributions but I don't seem to be getting
any additional pro-religion ideas (it should be obvious that the way
to generate such comments is to ask a provocative question).

Art was a useful suggestion.

Suggestions that Muslims are criminals was NOT useful, nor was the
obvious misunderstanding about how most deaths occur during the Hajj
(accidents). The fact that the Crusades were mostly endorsed by
mainstream Christians, including many Popes, was aparently missed, but
that too would have been on the negative side and I was looking for
positive aspects.

I don't think you can tie appreciation for life to any particular
religion, nor charity, nor many other cited "benefits."

I guess the car analogy is also useful but on the other side - cars
can also run you over.

Finally, I didn't notice anyone pointing out that many important
scientists in the "Western" world have been ministers, or that
monasteries were responsible for saving most written history during
the dark ages, or that a monk discovered and proved the basics of
genetics, or that many hospitals have been built by religious
organizations.

Anyway, the column has been filed so it is time to close this.