Leave the religious people alone.
Until we get cheaper intelligent robots we need the dimwits to do the menial jobs.
That is why religion persists ,it is useful to us at the top.
Intelligent children from the religious classes can escape and are welcomed into the tech world.

"There are several important claims made by some scientists as to why religious beliefs are an impediment to human progress. These can be summed up as:

1. the brainwashing of people into accepting belief systems;
2. religions cause conflicts; and
3. a general unease by many who, although they may accept many aspects of evolutionary biology, nonetheless question the seeming insistence on the “animal” aspects of humans."

You forgot number 4: They're demonstrably false.

Hot off the “Intergalactic Weekly”. Star date 1004 A.D. (took a long time to get here).

“Reports are being received from our staff in the Blinker Region, outer fourth spiral arm, that disturbances are taking place on the planet Plunk, inhabited by intelligent silicon based species resembling 3m tall grasshoppers.

A region occupied by the Romano Empire, home to the Irate tribe, is in turmoil as the occupying forces executed one of the giant silicon grasshoppers by “pop-riveting” it to a metallic frame until it fluttered no more.

Early editions indicate that this particular grasshopper was a Son of God, and appears to have come to life again and now resides at the right hand side of the other two bits that make up an even bigger grasshopper God.

In making the Plunks think they look like God, they seem to believe they have some sort of “special status” on their planet, particularly those who follow the leader known as “Rusty” (the pop-riveted one). So much so that they actually feel they are in some way superior, not only to the other 4.2m silicon based life forms on Plunk, but those in the rest of the Universe.

The authorities in the Blinker region are increasingly concerned, and will monitor the situation for millennia or so. A spokes hopper for the Blinker region expressed concern that similar stories have emerged from other planets and cited an alarmingly similar incident on planet “Earth”, fifth spiral arm. Whilst this species is in fact carbon based, they too have been told they are made in the “likeness of God”. Clearly this is not possible given that God is in fact silicon based.

The spokes hopper agreed to update our journalist with developments which we should received in about 1,000 years. The spokes hopper did however suggest that the misinformation spread by God might lead to fragmentation of societies as we know them, certainly within our Galaxy and possibly the rest of the Universe, and might induce false assumptions that could, in a worse case scenario, lead to suspension of reality.

stezza<<..read about artificial speciation,>>>indeed i have..[it gets raised nearly every debait]
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2305&page=0
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2679&page=0

BUT dear child...DO you know the DIFFERENCE..between species and genus?..[clearly..you do not]

your link..talks about seagulls[..all seagulls are the same genus
[but diveregent species]...

YOU WILL BE MISSING THE POINT..and looking silly..if you DONT know..the difference...

see how your link has../species in its heading..NOT GENUS..SEE how darwin wrote..evolution of the..SPECIES...not genus

it seems a small thing..to those not knowing the difference,..but they just dont know..any different..lol..the genus includes..all of its species/within its genus...

THUS all seagulls are the same genus..!..[all pigs are same genus..[all sheep same genus,..thus can inter-BREED..[thats part of what devides species and genus..[in part-THE ABILITY TO INTERBREED,..but failure to breed ISNT proof of genus]

one genus CANT interbreed with an OTHER GENUS..!

..please educate yourself..before you presume to educate me..[read the two linked debates,..dear child,..learn to know what/your claiming..

<<whereby new/species have been created..>>>YES YOUR CORRECT..but species..DONT mutate out of genus..nor into NEW genus!

<<In the experiments by William Rice and/Salt..bred fruit flies from the same species under differing conditions...After 35 generations fruit flies which had been bred under one condition were unable to breed with flies from another,..thus formed two distinct...species...>>..yes..NOT A NEW GENUS

flies are ALL..the same genus..[GET IT GENIOUS?],..for evolution to be valid..SPECIES has no proof..[we need a new genus]..[species is nothing]re-evolution/proof

[till you clearly get the difference its like claiming because your mother got pregnant you are..[get how dumb what your saying really is]

<<This experiment contradicts your previous arguments that one species do not arise from another>>>..dear..i have NEVER contended species cant breed with species..WITHIN/their genus..

..but evolution says new/genus arises via mutation INTRA/species..thus/creates NEW GENUS..[a scientific frauD]..geneticly impossable

<<..this experiment yourself if you must see to believe.>>..i have replicated INTRA GENUS..[ie species matings..many times..[but lets hear you evolve..a NEW genus]..its just not possable...

[but ignoarants like you..[who have no real concept of how dumb they sound],..keep saying species/proof=genus/proof=evolution/proof..lol

[ie they claim that micro-species/evolution..validates genus-evolution..ie macro evolution..[IT DONT]..it cant..but your too stuck in the lie to realise you been decieved and decieving

The problem is not religion. Religion is great.

But rather the problem is with a particular branch of religion called monotheism. At some point the human race needs to stand up, look at the Torah, Bible and Koran truthfully and admit they are a load of crap.

For these texts are so far removed from healthy reality that they can only ever end in xenophobia and rank stupidity.

Stormbay- I repeat, your impoverished and bizarre strawman carictature is hindering you from seeing clearly on this subject. Christianity, for example, is not a "invasive culture and ideology", nor is it an "organisation". Christianity is far, far more widespread and diverse than any organisation.

I realise you love cultural history and cultural anthropology, but you need to start putting more thought into how your field interacts with others.

You made a fatal mistake in the resurrection discussion by trying to use cultural factors to explain why the resurrection didn't happen, when a quick examination of your statements showed that they in fact pointed towards the opposite direction- that is, your quotes from the cultural anthropologist actually made the resurrection appear more likely, not less. You're making another mistake here, similiar in that you're using cultural factors to make your point- albeit it's still a different mistake. By using an absurd caricturised definition of religions such as Christianity as "organisations", you're barring yourself from making any meaningful contribution to the discussion, right from the outset, as soon as you start talking about the cultural history of "organisations".

Even if I did accept that Christianity is defined as an organisation, you'd still be forced to admit that Christianity is far more widespread and diverse than any other organisation from which you're drawing comparisons, therefore your observations become useless.