I'm a fence sitter. I believe that science can give us answers where religion gives us mysteries. Still, does science make us better people? Sometimes, maybe. Science tells us that if we are male or female, straight or gay, its not because God looks on us more or less favorably than anyone else. It tells us that we were just born differently. This levels the playing field. On the other hand, religion reminds us to be honest, fair, forgiving and compassionate. Science tells us that these are mere chemical reactions.
Women aren't seen very highly in many religions. According to 1 Corinthians 7: 1-2, "Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." Moving on to 1 Corinthians 7: 27-28: "Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed to a wife? seek not a wife." So basically, if you are unmarried, stay that way. If you are married, stay that way but its better to be unmarried and stay a virgin. Wouldn't that be the end of humanity, if no one ever had sex?
Matthew 5: 27, 28 says much the same thing. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So don't get married, stay a virgin and don't even look at a woman with lust. That's going to be difficult, considering that the sexes are visually stimulated.
Religion does seem counter factual at times, but it does call on us to expect better from ourselves. The morality of things like homosexuality can be debated ad naseum so I wont go into it here. (Frankly, I don't have much interest in gays, one way or the other. If a person is homosexual, that is their business. It doesn't make them a wonderful person or a horrible one. It makes them someone with an atypical sex life, nothing more.) I guess its old fashioned of me, but I don't like people acting excessively. People that seek pleasure in excess are often compared to animals, but some animals have greater restraint than some people.
Some news reports say that sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise. Reasons for this are unknown, but some say that the increase in numbers is just the result of better methods of detecting disease. Chlamydia is just that example. Syphilis also increased by 11,000 cases in 2007. I admit that's not drastic, but its not what should be happening. It was nearly erased ten years ago and is now rebounding? That's not right.
Various religions are not exempt from blame either. The Center for Disease Control claims that male condom use, when done correctly, "provide an essentially impermeable barrier to particles the size of STD pathogens." Compare that the the Vatican, that claims that condoms have tiny holes that lets HIV bacteria pass through. Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, told Sex and the Holy City: "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom." No. It cant. In the Church's defense, it did reverse this idea this past year, saying that condoms are less evil than AIDS. Glad the Pope is finally on board.
Many people say that they trust religion over science because religion has stood unchanged for thousands of years, while science can change after a new study is released. While it doesn't make sense that religion is better because it doesn't change (that just makes it stubborn), I have to admit, the reports in the news aren't always fully reliable. To be reliable, a study needed to have hundreds or thousands of participants to get a full picture of human behavior. Many studies that claim to have made a discovery have used only a few dozen participants. This is like trying to see a mountain with one eye shut. More research is often needed to verify what was found. Meanwhile, people may have a false impression based on the research.
I do think that people need to take more responsibility for protecting themselves from STD's. Getting caught up in the moment is a weak excuse for spreading an infection. Plan ahead. Have the uncomfortable "Are you healthy?" talk with your partner. Have some kid of birth control available. Religion asks us to be in control of ourselves, which I think we as a people need to do more often. I certainly don't want people to be condemned for looking at someone with lust and I don't want people to stay virginal forever. Just be responsible.
Source:
http://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/latex.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/oct/09/aids
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/sexually-transmitted-dise_n_157720.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_pope_condoms
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