I woke up to a rather ugly news of a man being stoned to death by a mob in the Northern part of Nigeria. His crime? Religious blasphemy. This, and many other problems associated with religion, is what makes many people arrive at the fact that religion is a problem to humanity.
But I beg to differ.
While religion definitely has its problem in the form of extremism, it is arguably one of the ropes that hold the society together and makes it have a semblance of sanity. Non-religious societies have no guiding principles - anything goes. In other words, religious diversity is more of a strength than a weakness as far as humanity is concerned.
Here is wishing our Muslim brethren a Eid Mubarak and welcoming everyone to another edition of STEMng Digest.
Who are we?
STEMng is the Nigerian sub-community of the stemsocial community, a community that has been supporting stem authors on the hive blockchain for about four years now. While stemsocial focuses on everyone irrespective of their country, STEMng is specifically for Nigerians. The best stem contents published by Nigerians on the Hive blockchain are highlighted weekly.
Below are the posts that made it into our digest for this week:
Unleashing the power of mutation! Exploring genetics beyond the silver screen, the author dived into the real deal. Mutations are permanent DNA changes with potential life-threatening consequences. Somatic mutations cause cancer, while fetal mutations result in congenital defects. Germ cell mutations pass on disorders, shaping future generations. Get to know the genetic code, its triplets and codons, and the wild world of chromosomal mutations. Click on the post and get schooled!
THE CHALLENGES IN VACCINATION IN BABIES AND CHILDREN IN OUR DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES
In Ghana, vaccination for babies is free from day one to five years. It's crucial to shield these fragile beings from diseases like measles, polio, and more. Government intervention aims to reduce infant mortality rates. Nurses visit communities, administering vaccines to boost the immune system. But challenges remain—parental resistance, distance, and traditional beliefs. Education and decentralized systems are fighting back to save lives. Dive into the vaccination world in Ghana by reading the post.2.@jude9:
Weekly Science And Technology Reports - June 25 20233.@clinton19:
Earth's axis tilts due to excessive groundwater pumping, impacting our planet's rotation. Intriguing, right? Discover the consequences and how scientists measured it. Moving on, bamboo could be the next renewable energy source—exciting news for potential cash from backyard plants! Explore its potential as the "crude oil" of the future. Dive into the brain's mysteries: find out the brain structure behind our sense of self and delve into the bet between a philosopher and a scientist on consciousness. Lastly, uncover the enigmatic world of pigeon dreams. Do birds have secret dream lives? Keep reading to find out!
Did You Know that the Cornea...
Immerse yourself in the mythical world of fantasies and supernatural powers, just like your favorite genre. But today, let's explore the fascinating reality of the cornea. Did you know it's more sensitive than your skin? It's true! This transparent marvel lacks blood vessels but receives nourishment from the atmosphere and surrounding vessels. While it appears black, the cornea is actually clear, and the colored part is called the iris. Witness its incredible healing abilities, but beware: severe damage may result in permanent vision loss. Remember, trust the experts and prioritize your eye health. Stay safe and have a good read!4.@nattybongo:
The Fire Ant Chronicles
Here is a thrilling journey into the world of fire ant bites - from the initial contact to the healing process. The author explored the stages of these notorious insect bites. Brace yourself for a fiery sting and uncomfortable sensations as the ants make their mark. Swelling, itching, and the formation of pustules follow, leading to the burst of pustules and the formation of a crust. Finally, the skin starts healing, but proper care is essential. Preventative measures to avoid these fiery encounters were also shared. So, hold on tight and prepare for an engaging adventure!5.@jsalvage:
And that ends our selections for this week. Do not forget to give the featured posts/authors your maximum support. Thank you in advance.
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See you again next week!
Can you give an example of a non-religious society that has no guiding principles?
Perhaps I should have explained that the guiding principle, in this context, means moral principle.
We have societies that permit adultery, for example. In religious societies, it is a crime to sleep with someone else's husband or wife.
Such a posture adds to societal sanity.
Mentioning names will drag me into the pigeonhole of politics, and I really don't want to do that.
Well, as far as the specific example you gave goes, i.e. adultery, I'm in full agreement with you! I personally believe it should be punished. To some extent it is, meaning that if you divorce because the other person cheated on you, you have certain benefits in some countries, like you might not have to give them half your fortune or whatever. But generally, I think the main problem is that people cheat so much, that it's impracticable to enforce punishment. It's really not up to the law, but to the culture. In the religious societies you mention, it is a legal crime. That's definitely not the society we want, because in those places being gay too is a crime, or showing your face, or wearing pants, or some other trivial thing.
Generally, as an atheist, I don't see any conflict between non-belief and having strong moral values. Objective values. In fact, it's secular society that has been pushing religion toward the right moral path, e.g. against slavery and such. I might be wrong, but I don't think there's a single case where religion taught humanity something new moral-wise. There's a reason they don't really teach the Bible, or any other religious text, in ethics in philosophy departments.
It depends on your definition of moral. Religions define moral as keeping to things that will neither hurt you nor the society at large. Some of these things are merely encouraged while not doing some are criminalized.
For example, the multiplier effect of fornication and adultery is enormous. Religion believes that it is better to prevent it by criminalizing it rather than treating the effects.
In other words, you cant just say that secular societies are the ones pushing religion towards the right moral part without defining what moral is.
By moral I meant what most societies accept as moral, and mostly in relation to the past. Like, most people will now accept that being gay is fine, slavery is bad, killing people to convert their religion is bad, killing people cos you can see more than their eyes is bad, pedophilia is bad, etc. According to the books of the biggest religions I know, those things were perfectly fine, so I don't see how religion cares about the individual or society.
I don't think I need to define 'moral' in order to make a historical claim. I think humanity by and large progresses against religion, not because of religion. Religion is actually what's holding humanity back.
But, like I said, I'm an atheist, so of course I would believe these things! A proper discussion would start from 'does God exist?' and 'can we have objective morality without God?' and things like that. Mostly I just wanted to say that there are no examples of non-religious societies that have no guiding principles. It's impossible for any conscious beings to lack values. All societies have values. Secular societies are proven to be much better and happier than theocratic societies.
It is always a pleasure to be featured and I’m glad that my work resonated with my audience. Thanks
Your consistency has fetched you the recognition. Keep at it
Thank you Sir
You are welcome
Thanks for the mentioning and reviewing my content. My pleasure 😂
It was a pleasure reviewing it as well.
I'm so excited to see my post featured. Thanks so much for your hard work so far
You've always been one of the most consistent in the community. Keep it up
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