Quote:
Originally Posted by SeeBass
I think a fair debate would be that if there was no religion we would be colonizing space right now. I know you wouldn't agree but IMHO religion has held back the advances of humanity.
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I was a little afraid to post this sentiment earlier, but I completely agree. It's especially troubling when leaders of technologically advanced nations such as Canada and the US allows religion or misguided moral objection to get in the way of allocating appropriate funds to new frontiers in science, and support expanding fields. Though, there is a lot more to it than religion - I'd argue corporations do what they can to stifle advancements in fields that would hurt their bottom line.
But, then again, at the same time, the general public is also a hindrance. I read a lot of articles under the Technology and Science section at CBC, and it's always interesting to see what people say about the research. A lot of the time they don't understand it, and feel that it's a complete waste of money. I also know that a lot of people feel that investing in space research (for example) is a waste of money. And anything to do with vaccines, or drug research is instantly demonized as "big pharma". I guess it's hard for the average person to justify their tax dollars being spent on seemingly meaningless and abstract research when hospital wait times are an all-time high, and we're in an economic slump.
Oops, went a little off-topic, but yes, I agree with the sentiment that religion has held back the advancement of our race.