How do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since... (page 2)

Vidiot

"How do you determine whether any religion is good or bad since there is so much basic disagreement on interpretations of text?"

Take a good look at who's interpreting.

Xanthippe

How do you determine whether any religion is good or bad?

It seems obvious to me that any system of belief that is supposed to come from a divine being would make its followers really, really happy and would cause them to treat others well. It's not rocket science is it but why are religious people often judgemental and unhappy?

TerryWalstrom

Anders Anderson: Religious families in my opinion most often don't discuss ethics and morality. They'll simply inform the children which rules they must obey lest they burn in hell (or something less graphic but unfavorable and lethal all the same).
_____

I generalized.
I should have remembered a favorite quote: "No generalization is worth a damn--including this one." :)

Of course, individual families have different styles of teaching.
But I have noticed since I was a kid, Catholic boys are more polite (generally) and I chalked that up to religious training.
Finding a stillness of being and total tune-in is also related to basic temperament in the child.
Waaaaaay back in my day (1950's) a Golden child sat bolt upright with hands folded and mouth shut. Spoke when spoken to. We lined up and marched to the lunch room and out to recess.
In today's contexts--I imagine this would provoke a gasp of disapproval :)
The end result is never guaranteed even the best of upbringing strategies.
Thanks for sharing you disagreement, A.A.