Originally Posted by Mutt

First, the majority of you are conflating the Roman Catholic Church and Christianity as if the Reformation never happened and there was/is only one brand of Christianity. And for all the ills of the Catholic Church its influence on the development of Western Civilization has been hugely beneficial - where we are today, first world countries of today with their affluence wouldn't be what they are if not for the Church. Who do you think educated the masses of Europe? And charity for the sick and orphaned? The Marxists called religion the opiate of the masses, that it was used to exploit the masses by making their miserable lives tolerable with the promise of a better life after death. They were right, people worked their asses off and that work created wealth - wealth that one day would be shared, of course without much help from the Church. But over time the masses got smarter, literate, and society began to reform. Look at the countries where Buddhism and its variants predominate - they are still shithole 3rd world countries.

As far as the abolition of slavery in the US, he's right, the people who first settled America, the Pilgrims, were a Christian sect expelled from England. The Quakers and the Puritans other Christian sects who came to America to practice their brand of Christianity. They were all anti-slavery, all the Northern states were anti-slavery from the beginning.

Wipe Christianity out from history and we would not be where we are today, millions and millions have died because of religion but more have thrived because of its influence. Have we reached the point where we don't need religion? Every civilization ever existed has had some form of religion.