I've been thinking of the harms religion does to a person. I'm keeping this specific to Christianity just because of where most of us are from. I quickly found a few Bible verses that illustrate my points, although the actions that Christians actually take are far more powerful. What else would you add? [b][u]1. Religion discourages critical thinking:[/u][/b] You're required to believe through "faith," or wishful thinking. Ideas that run contrary to religious views are dismissed, despite scientific backing (e.g. Evolution, the Big Bang). [i]“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29)[/i] [b][u]2. Religion encourages dogmatic and at times faulty morality:[/u][/b] You are to have certain morals simply because a deity tells you to. Sometimes these morals are sexist, homophobic, or barbaric. [i]Exodus 21:20-21 – "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." [/i] [i]Leviticus 20:10 - 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. [/i] [b][u]3. Religion teaches you that you are worthless:[/u][/b] That you need that particular religion to be a good person. Denouncing ones religion often even outcasts a person from his friends and family. [i]Isaiah 64:6-7 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.[/i] [i]Deuteronomy 13:6-11 - "If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again." [/i]