Kick if you agree with this assessment about the influence of religion on people.

[Rozlee]

191. But, too many in your example are the exceptions to the rule.

And religion doesn't have to provide a moral framework, especially if it teaches a child to be judgmental of others and instills racism. I worry about my grandson, whom I only see twice a year when I fly over to WV and whom his mother drives down to visit us once a year. I feel helpless in the face of the fundamentalist teachings they give him over "Islamofascists" and the evils of gays. I despair over the way they try and make sure my grandson doesn't spend any time alone with my gay brother, as if they're afraid he'd hurt my grandson or "gay" him. I also belong to a very large extended family of Roman Catholics. I'm the only one who is a non-believer. The rest are staunch church-goers although, with the exception of one teabagger sister, they trend liberal, mostly I'm sure, because we're Hispanics and my parents and aunts and uncles arrived in the US as undocumented workers. But there are no converts among them with the exception of my nephew's wife who converted to Catholicism from Reformed Judaism upon their marriage.

On the flip side, I know many atheists who were raised that way by atheist parents and atheist parents who are raising their children without religion. They are kind to others for the sake of kindness and I'm not saying that children shouldn't be raised without ethical and moral teachings; far from it. But, I don't think that all morals and ethics are necessarily derived from religion and dogma. Too many children, like me, were terrorized from an early age in catechism to believe that they will be punished in the afterlife with fiery retribution if they aren't good. That does a lot of damage to a young mind. I believe that that's one reason so many rigidly religious people are so judgmental and hostile to others they perceive as sinners. They need to believe other people are evil and deserving of damnation so that they can feel that their god's wrath won't be directed at them. Such a world view of a vindictive hateful god just isn't reconcilable to a vision of a loving, benevolent father. The dichotomy turns many people off to religion. In a perfect world, all religions would teach that the deity(s) would be all-powerful and loving to his/her/their creation, never raining retribution on helpless men, women and children. The reality is far different. Precious few of them do.