Ok, let me turn the table on you a little bit.
Oooooo sweet. Respect +1, sir.
Can you show me ANY evidence that one day humanity will "mature" to the point we don't need the crutch of religion, or are you taking that on faith?
Faith isn't a word I would use. Hope is. History strongly suggests that religion is the source of most conflict in the world. When those religions preach violence like the subjugation of women, slavery and how to beat them and how to kill them, genocide, mass murder on a global scale, and then commands that you hold those actions in reverence because they were commanded by god, I tend to agree with history that religion is far more dangerous than not having it. Faith is a crutch of the weak just like religion, and religion needs faith to function. I reject faith and religion, but I don't mind holding out hope that some day we'll be free of this madness.
Because most of humanity believes in a higher power, every major society has had some sort of religion, heck even secular communist Russia had people willing to risk death to declare they are religious.
To take my question further, do you have ANY evidence that humanity is evolving towards some more enlightened state in the near future that will make your perspective practical?
Yes. The atheist movement here in the States is a good example. People are deciding that their morals and their ethics can stem from solidarity and mutual respect for one another in an effort to further positively evolve their own species (and for survival). The religious movement is solely responsible for the stunting of stem cell research that has already proven to have more medical benefits possible than we have ever dreamed (rapidly growing replacement organs that are exact matches for the patient, re-growing cardiac muscle to replace damaged hearts after heart attacks, etc). Once religion is removed from our political system, we won't have to waste tax dollars and time and effort keeping our science books free from "stupidstition." Religion and the fear of the effects on souls is solely responsible for the lack of medical knowledge and progress throughout the dark ages and beyond. For the longest time, docs had to dig up bodies from their graves or pay grave robbers just to have a cadaver in secret to study and learn from. The list goes on and on, I can do this for days.
Because even in 2013 I see a world that has all of our worst characteristics over the years- slavery, war, greed, purposeful ignorance, pride, lust, etc. I don't think we have improved at all as a species in the age of written history, we just have changed our social standards so some things are no longer ok IN SOME AREAS (like slavery in America) which then allows new things to be ok (like collecting interest in Christendom).
Yes, it's true that we are largely still bound by our primitive bronze age myths. While none of this nonsense will go away completely (because nobody is perfect and some people just want to watch the world burn), much of it will be lessened. The example of slavery in the United States is a great example. Slaves still exist to this day in Africa but some day their stupid superstitions and ignorance will be gone because they'll either have killed each other and died out or they'll have evolved beyond the need to harm one another or abuse one another or use one another for profit and gain. Again, that's my hope. It's already happened here in the States and it'll happen around the world if we give it time and make a solid effort to denounce superstitious and tribal bullshit that still grips our childish societies. Sure, there's slavery in other ways in this country to this day like indentured servitude (which is what the American dream has sadly evolved into), but given time and effort I have hope that "this too shall pass."
My perspective is that we must take the most practical path possible to minimize the harm caused by the makeup of humanity. In almost every case that means compromise towards a bigger future goal.
To go even further, I blame the atheists and scientists for the anti-science undercurrent in American MUCH more than I do the religious.
Why would you compromise with a lie? Would you compromise to a child once they catch daddy putting presents under the tree that Santa is real but forgot our house this year so dad had to do it, but Santa is still real? Fuck that bullshit. Lying to kids (that Santa is real) is almost as evil as telling them that hell exists and threatening them using fear that they'll go to hell if they don't behave.
It's not rational to blame scientists and atheists for pushing truth when the irrational reaction by the religious to push against it even harder is not an action that was chosen by the scientists or atheists. You're blaming us for the actions of the religious. Why?
Why? Because many of the religious don't know any better, they weren't born with the tools or training to think for themselves. But the so-called "open minded" and much better educated on average group of atheists and scientists should be smart enough to realize when they are trying to twist the knife with their talking points that they are doing the exact same harm that the religious fundamentalists they oppose are doing. And I hold that group to a higher standard than the religious because should know better.
A child doesn't know any better before going to school, but you don't blame teachers for a child's disbelief when you spray chemicals into a bunsen and watch it change colors. You blame the child for being a disbelieving dumbass.
At the end of the day, whether God exists or not and whether he/she/it caused evolution or not doesn't matter. Anyone's personal beliefs on evolution doesn't change the process taking place. But when the hard line of both sides leads to an anti-science element that devalues scientific research that could help ALL humans then something in the actual world does change, for the worst.
Yes, it absolutely DOES matter. You cannot continue to lie to one another and it is EXTREMELY disrespectful to knowingly allow your fellow man to continue believing a lie -especially when that lie is at the foundation of immoral and unethical actions and beliefs.