送交者: skipper3 于 2005-9-14, 11:21:17:
religion is the ideological fundation capitalism is based on. For example, the primary form of capitalism is free market, but without trust market won't work. To have trust one must not lie and one must not steal that's very fundamental. These concepts all originated from religion. In fact there is no scientific evidence which can prove lying and stealing is not part of biological nature of human being.
Modern democracy is based on capitalism and market economy. Also, if you talk about everyone being equal, there is no place other than a market people can be more equal: everyone is entiled to same fundamental right of being a trader. I think the ideology "everyone being equal under God" is one of the main drivers of this practice.
I strongly suspect the ideology of "don't lie" and "absolute truth" had driven the evolution of how human being see the nature, i.e., concepts like fact, truth and opinion, as well as a process "to prove" one's opnion is more close to the truth. These are very important elements in the way of thinking mordern scientific methodology is based on.
I also suspect that concepts of "rule by law" and "no one is above the law" originated from religious universalism. I can't see biological evolution could bring such concepts to the human being. In biological world, the strongest individual rules and he is above everything.
So I say you critics better be careful before you dismiss religion and its contribution all together.