The world is here for Gods purpose.. So we have religion and that was never going to be in question.. The only question is what religion is His will... And human beings would be human beings no matter what religion or not..

Good can always be done without any scriptures to tell anybody to do good. Compassion is natural.
The scriptures -I think- are too often falsely used as an excuse to justify any kind of wrongdoing.
Minor things to major atrocities.

Very true Kg. Thank you for your reply! :)

Much good has been done in the name of religion but has the bad done erased it?

1- Yes, I think so. Take Islam for example, The bad that has been done by a few of its adherents in recent years has obliterated all memories of the the tremendous contribution of Islam. Who now talks about or knows that for nearly eight centuries [that’s over half the 14 century age of the Muslim scripture] Islam inspired Muslims to push forward the frontiers of human knowledge in every field of learning arts, medicine and philosophy, and advanced technology and civilisation. Their new methods gave rise to science as we know it and their enlightenment helped to pull Europe out of its 1000 year old Dark Ages which it had ironically been pushed into by its religion.

2- Muslims gave us the far more flexible decimal based Arabic numerals and the zero in 830 CE both of which we quickly adopted to replace the cumbersome and impractical Roman numbering system. This, together with the zero, profoundly revolutionised mathematics, changed it for ever and made possible the concept of abstract maths.

3- They built cities that were the envy of the biggest capitals in Europe, brought about high standards of living and new products and concepts that became sought after exotic luxuries among well to do Europeans who imported them together with the vocabulary that described them. Much of this vocabulary is still traceable in the English language.

4- The impact on us has been so profound and irrefutable that even the official American website @ http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2008/06/20080608224127srenod0.9640619.html#ixzz2gPIAQWqIacknowledges confirms that -

“The preponderance of technical and scientific terms entering English from Arabic during the Middle Ages suggests accurately enough the general superiority of Arab-Islamic civilization in the area of scientific achievement during this period. Revealing too is the fact that the next broad category of Arabic words suggests an advantage in terms of luxury and creature comforts and, consequently, a higher standard of living."

True.

It is a matter of perspective which cannot be addressed in one paragraph or one book or one library.

Clurt while this is certainly a great answer, I'm not sure if it proves anything about being religious or non.  Yes the Muslims, in this case, banded together and improved life, but was it because they were Muslim?   Could They have been a tribe of anything, and happened to BE Muslim or did being Muslim contribute to their success?  I know that the Arabs were responsible for much of this without the Muslim influence.   I see no proof as to how their having followed The Prophet lends to their success or failures in this example. 

  They happened to all have that same religious belief.  Would they have been just as successful without it?  Have any great works been achieved by atheists versus religious groups?  I mean the way she asked this question, you have two more subjects to cover.

Good luck at least in your very good attempt.

Thank you for your reply Sharonna. I appreciate those who at least try.

Thank you for your very thoughtful, comprehensive, useful , informative and helpful analysis CLURT. I appreciate a lot!  :) Happy Monday!  :)

TY Rosie and a happy Thursday to thee

Even to this day Muslim tend to find a basis in their religion for EVERYTHING they do in their life, from how to pray down to which foot to leave the house with first. A Muslim's philosophy is that life and EVERY ability one has are gifts from God and therefore everything should be done to the Glory of God.

The HQ says man was put on earth as a deputy of God to take care of it and develop it.

The scripture condemns blind following and encourages the observation of nature, reasoning and questioning.

It is philosophies and exhortations such as these that led Muslims to investigate nature push the frontiers of knowledge, beautify the world and do good with and to the creation of God.

You're welcome CLURT and Happy Friday! :)