RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Deep Topics Is religion good for society?

In chat today we discussed the indefensibility of religion backed acts of violence, agreeing that there is no excuse for the Islamic Jihad just as there was no excuse for the Inquisitions or the attrocities commited in the Crusades (by crusaders towards Jews and Muslims both in Christian Europe and in Islamic territory) or the treatment of Christians by Muslims (in Islamic held lands at any time in history).

Needless to say, that was a short chat. But it did lead to another discussion, albeit a very raunchy one. The reason I am mentioning the conversation is because it was stated somewhere in the discussion, but not in the quoted part, that religion can be about anything. This "religion" is just one example.

The questions I would like to discuss are about religion in general. Are religions a good thing, or a bad thing? Are there pros to believing in one religion? Are there cons? Are religions good for society, or do they hurt it? Would it be benificial for everyone to believe the same thing, or are there advantages in having many people with a variety of beliefs? Should someone come along and make up a new religion for others to follow and believe in, if it would benifit society as a whole, or does something like this hurt everyone?

There are those on this board who, like myself, believe very strongly in a religion, and there are those dead set against religion. There are also those in-between. I want to hear from everyone.


_{Edit: Thank you, Jim, for correcting my mistake.}