Curious: For those who've grown up with faith (doesn't matter the background) and are now in disbelief of any deity, what made you change your mind?
I'd particularly like to hear from those, if any, who've struggled with the possibility that there is no god but very much would like to believe in one.
I just simply could not believe in some omnipotent being, some deity; it was a natural conclusion that I came to once questions of religion and belief started to crop up in my mind. I still believe in things that cannot be observed though. For example, I strongly believe that regions of land exert an influence over those who inhabit them, and I absolutely feel a connection to the land of my countries of origin, the land of my people. I understand there's no way I could prove this, but I know it to be true for me at this current moment in time. Perhaps it won't be like this for all of my life, but it is now.
Religion is the cause of the worst **** in history.
I think this is perhaps a narrow-minded way of looking at it. It's correct, but it is a tiny truth in the huge question that is : "How has organised religion influenced the world?".
If you look at a specific region and go back a long time you will often see a very important transition - the transition from small, isolated communities that believe in local gods to larger communities that follow organised religion. The organised religion itself is usually the reason for this transition, the reason for the formation of larger communities. For example, Britain (excluding Ireland) was absolutely tribal when the Romans invaded in early AD. They killed the druids, and their invasion planted the seed for Celtic Christianity. It is this Christianity which eventually led to the formation of larger communities, eventually cities, culture and now civilization in Britain. This is just one example. You would find the same thing if you looked at Rome, except we do not really know so much about the organised religion that was spread, only that it wasn't Christianity.
One huge exception is Ancient Greece. They had no organised religion in the way that we know it, and their religious beliefs were spiritual and almost apolitical. They were also more rooted to the land. Now, there is one very interesting difference between ancient Greek culture and Western culture from Ancient Rome onwards : the striving for the infinite. I learned this only recently, but Ancient Greece was almost afraid of the infinite. They felt more comfortable within boundaries. I can only think of a few examples where this mindset manifested right now (I will try and get some others from a book when I can): Their mathematics stayed firmly away from the infinite, their settlements were bound by how far the eye could see (when constructing cities they would only build them to the point where you could just about see to the other side of the city with the naked eye), and their astronomy was absolutely confined to the finite. There's no way of us knowing, but I'm inclined to think that this may be linked in some way to their religious beliefs.
What I'm trying to say is : Religion has historically often resulted in the formation of larger communities, then the formation of villages, towns, cities, higher culture and finally civilization. It is through these groups of people formed by organised religion that both great and terrible things have been done. You're right in saying that religion has caused many atrocities, however I would argue that without it we would have very little that is great, that we would quite possibly not have civilizations. Perhaps we would still be tribal. Of course, much of our European culture is the result of religion. For example: art of the golden ages (renaissance, classical, romantic, etc.), classical music and grand architecture. These forms of art were deeply religious and I do think that, perhaps with the exception of music, they are far more meaningful and emotional than the overwhelmingly frigid and cold art and architecture of today. Of course, our European mindset and manners are the result of religion too.
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Related to the point I was making above, but not to do with the argument..
I find this interesting : The Gnostics saw straying from local gods and smaller communities as a bad thing. They thought that it directly opposed the spiritual and mental connection to ones homeland and ones people.
