Do you believe that we need religion or can we just be the best people that we can without it?

I can't speak for anyone but myself. I have absolutely no need for religion. I have respect for those that do believe in something or have an active disbelief, but it's just not something that is present in my life or that I feel is needed or missed. I live every day of my life trying to be the best me I can be, and that happens with varying success rates.

I've been reading the answers, and agree wholeheartedly that mtual respect is paramount. The question is: where did this notion of respect for one's fellow originate? From religious teachings. Even if one chooses to ignore the Supreme Being part (which I don't}, religion is, in the first place and the final analysis, a code of conduct, 
So even if one professes oneself to be areligious, one is  subconsciously observing established religious precepts in decent behaviour. This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at February 22, 2017 10:12 PM MST

So many good answers
and much has been said that is good.

so I guess to add a little more...

     There IS something to know, that being
within each person we have an incredible Truth,
and a direct connection to that Truth. It is not separate from us.
     We need no Religion to understand, experience,
and realize this Truth, because we ARE that Truth.

 

Do you believe that we need religion or can we just be the best people that we can without it?

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1- religion serves more purposes than to make a group of people the "best" people that they can be.

2- religion gives a group identity. Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians. Muslims etc

3- it is an undeniable fact, obvious from observation, that we [peoples of this world] still need religion. There is so much of it about, an increasing variety, it would seem. If we no longer needed religion it would be like audio cassette recorders [for those who remember them], they're now very difficult to find, because we no longer need them. 

4- "can we just be the best people that we can without it [religion]?" Of course. Each person will tick himself as "best". One person's "best" might very strongly disagree with another's. One group might think it's best to kill off redheads at birth, another group may think the best way to change the president of a country is to bomb it to stone age killing thousands of innocent people in the process and creating millions of refugees as collateral damage, others might think it best to use drones rather than stealth bombers to launch missiles into the cities or crowds from where resistant cells are operating,  while a lone individual or a group might think it best to get rid of those he/they hate by shooting them, blowing them up, plough a vehicle through them while they go about their daily chores. We're all experts at defining "best" - in our own image, of course.

 

[I don't know why the final part of the last sentence above has strike-through in its letter.s I tried to remove it several times, but it wouldn't go.]

This post was edited by CLURT at March 28, 2017 4:31 PM MDT