Is Church a Poison to Man?

I grew up in a Catholic family and I was taught that faith was something special to work at, but to also enjoy. It was something you never questioned, it was just a part of life. Since then my thinking has changed a bit, but I still don't understand why Nietzsche labels the church as a "poison" (36). Here Nietzsche questions, "does the church today still have any necessary role to play?"

I answer: yes to some people it does.

Nietzsche asserts throughout his entire essay that mankind is too caught up in the clouds and needs to come back down to earth. In other words, man is too preoccupied with abstract concepts and should look instead at concrete forms of progress.

However, the Church is important to a large chunk of the modern human population, just as important as it was hundreds of years ago. I think the Church has the power to speed progress of society rather than as Nietzsche says "hinder it." With it's themes of good works, good faith, compassion, honor, etc, the church is laying the foundation for progress. The people need to understand their role in society, their significance in life. The church can help these people with this journey. With the assurance of a solid faith and a set of values, man can be free to progress in the concrete world. The church is what grounds man. Without it we would wander aimlessly, skeptical of our worth, our role in the world, and nothing would be accomplished. Whether a person is Catholic, Atheist, Jewish, Muslim or any other religion, their faith creates a firm base from which to confidently progress in society.