Can religious beliefs be destroyed by capitalism?

If only!!!

Religions(?) [protestanism] might have been a considerable influence in the creation of capitalism, i.e. Calvinism and the Protestant Work Ethic

[snip]
Calvin taught that all men must work, even the rich, because to work was the will of God. It was the duty of men to serve as God's instruments here on earth, to reshape the world in the fashion of the Kingdom of God, and to become a part of the continuing process of His creation (Braude, 1975). Men were not to lust after wealth, possessions, or easy living, but were to reinvest the profits of their labor into financing further ventures. Earnings were thus to be reinvested over and over again, ad infinitum, or to the end of time (Lipset, 1990). Using profits to help others rise from a lessor level of subsistence violated God's will since persons could only demonstrate that they were among the Elect through their own labor (Lipset, 1990).
[/snip]

http://www.coe.uga.edu/~rhill/workethic/hist.htm

You have this same exact topic listed in 2 places?

OCCOM, that's just because certain people will frequent their own favorite topics, I can usually get different views this way.

As for twyvel, while calvin's belief was that all men should work it was absolutely not for money. It's very hard to create capitalism without capital.

Cool... I tried to think of a different view, but couldn't. :wink:

Al Franken has a pretty funny little comic book story of "supply-side Jesus" in his book Lies.

IMO religious beliefs can be destroyed by education. Which in many ways goes hand in hand with capitalism.

Perhaps, but I think that the original writers of the new testament knew that a greed for money could wipe out the religion that they loved so dearly. So they made greed a sin and told people to give their money away to the needy.

By the way, I'm sorry if I insult any really religious people here.

It's getting difficult discussing "religion." People use that word rather widely and I seem to think it simply means how you live your life every day. What was your religion today? Did you live up to your ideals? NOT what are your ideals and how did you come about them, where do you go to study the bible, who teaches you, etc. (What does that all matter anyhow?)

What has one to do with the other? Wealthy people love to give things away, some anyway, while others are so greedy they never have enough.

I tend to think education could enhance our "religion," So we can become independent in our studies, our thinking, understanding, our living, and take responsibility for what we do and say without ministers, priests, etc. Group-think is so glaringly stupid but then who is going to, eventually, not move on from it. Even if they never do, whose business is that?

What may destroy religion as we know it may be it's ever growing association with politics.

I tend to regard organized religion as an educational or entertainment business and the and the organizers and managers of such an operation as capitalists in the very best (or worst) sense of the term.

Consequently the churches, as businesses, are doing very well. They are selling a product (advice about eternal salvation and earthly contentment) which costs them nothing and they are able to make a very good corporate living from selling it.

IMO as capitalist exploiters of the poor they aren't doing so badly either.

Capitalism isn't likely to hurt them. The first witch doctor that accepted a fee for a rite or prayer started a business and it has been going great guns ever since!

YES

Capitalism is one of the heads of the beast....do some research and pray about it....you will understand. Capitalism is like wool over a sheeps eye...it distorts the way we believe and impairs the truth.

It may be a head of a beast. Personally I doubt it but factually capitalism certainly hasn't hurt the organized churches.

Capitalism, by its tendency to place a value on everything, is not necessarily supportive of fantastic beliefs though.

The best way to innoculate against the more virulent strains of religion is to promote a sound and rounded education. When individuals begin to think for themselves, and to question the pronouncements church dogmatists, I think that the inherent weaknesses of their avowed religion will be evident. When the weaknesses, failures and sometimes outright lies are balanced against facts and reason, many religious movements are endangered. Most vulnerable, in my view, are the Abrahamic faiths that cling to illogical and unreasonable notions that run counter to known facts. It's amazing the lengths and mental gymnastics that radical Christians, Muslims, and Jews will go to in denying the patent falsehoods existing in their dogmas.

I'm unconvinced that the blind faith of the ignorant poor is superior to the informed and reasoned doubts of the well-educated wealthy. Of course, that's an unwarranted generalization.

I generally agree with your generalization. However I do not regard the "ignorant poor" as culpable. IMO the educated should know better than to allow their fantasies to overrun their common sense.