Week 2 Essay 1

"Of Atheism" by Sir Francis Bacon  
                                                                                          Central Argument: Francis Bacon argues that religion is necessary because it gives us morals, because it’s more credible than theories about atoms at explaining the origins of the universe, and because he doesn’t understand atheism. In summary, Bacon believes that religion is a good belief. 


Religion is a powerful and polarizing topic—throughout history and in the world today. In an essay on religion, Francis Bacon argues that religion is necessary because it gives us morals, because it’s more credible than theories about atoms at explaining the origins of the universe, and because he doesn’t understand atheism. In summary, Bacon believes that religion is a good belief. However, this idea is very much open to debate, and many evidence rejects Bacon’s conclusion. I disagree with Bacon’s conclusion, because religion can often lead us astray from morals, give us false hope, and ultimately enslave us.

Religion, throughout history, has often led people astray from common sense and morals, despite what Bacon says about religion’s positive influence on developing a moral conscience. For example, in recent years, a giant scandal has erupted over child sex abuse by Catholic priests. The Catholic Church even tried to cover up or hide some allegations of abuse. Catholic priests, supposedly very moral people because of their commitment to god and the priesthood, are perpetrators of one of the most amoral crimes a human can commit. Obviously, devotion and practice of religion does not equate to an increase in morality.

In addition, religion is not a good belief, because it persuades us to let ourselves be shaped and molded in the absence of our common sense. As Nietzsche describes, religion leads to the practice of “otherworldliness,” or when people concentrate on something beyond this life much more than the present. In this case, religion lets us forget our problems and then be shaped by the rules of God without really thinking, because it seems to offer an answer for struggles. In addition, think of an example of a worker who is yelled at by a foreman all day. The worker may be very frustrated, but instead of doing something about the problem, the worker may go home and pray devoutly to God. In the Hindi movie, Three Idiots, one of the characters is always praying to the Gods for help with his studies, instead of focusing on the present and what he can do. Focusing on religion lets us forget about solving the situations that are actually affects in the present, so we never solve our problems.

Finally, religion can ultimately enslave and destroy us. As Nietzsche again argues, listening to the message of God and the sacrifice Jesus made shows us an incredibly weak role model for how to live life. Jesus simply gave up his life instead of dealing with the world’s problems. Religion creates martyrs, or people who give up their lives because of faith instead of working to solve their problems.

         Religion is ultimately not a good belief, as Francis Bacon suggests. Religion can harm us in many different ways, and one should be cautious about blindly following belief and forgetting to actually focus on and solve ones problems.