what is religion? But what truly is the religion that people follow (i.e. Catholicism). God to me is the universal unconsciousness, and I view religion as a belief that subconsciously governs our everyday actions. In lament terms its philosophy is meant to keep people in check and inline with its teachings… What is wrong with this picture? We find people who truly do not know what they follow and in all cases blindly follow that man that stands on the podium every Sunday. They are never able to justifiably think for themselves. Many hard-line Christians
that I talk to bring up the “Bible.” “O the bible says this in john 3:23,” “the bible says this and that and it’s the WORD of GOD” when they have no clue that the bible is just merely a past bias of people in power, who in turn, had the ability to manipulate what went into it. They are easily influenced and for the most part stay true to what they “believe.” In a sence its a question That wonders what this man made structure is truly being held on. I myself believe in God, and I know I can’t pick and choose from a religion. But I see religion as a whole in a way that is wrong. It corrupts and mentally changes your way
of thought to follow something that you will deep down question for the rest of your life. Turning you into a slave of the system, and never being able too leap outside the boundaries of faith to find what you truly believe in. I dont want to know your views on a particular religion, just on what you think religion is; in a greater picture, think deeper and see why people follow what they follow... What is religion?

RELIGION- [1]an organized system of beliefs and rituals centering on a supernatural being or beings [2] a belief upheld or pursued with zeal and devotion

what is religion?
i don't think a dictionary definition can really do this one justice. i probably can't either. but i'll try.
it's hard for me to say, because what i think religion is will not necessarily be what you think. it's also hard since i am an atheist. but a religion, i think, is a philosophy, a way one looks at the world. what happens with really devout religious people is they begin to see the world through a religious doctrine, like looking at an object through a pane of glass. sometimes the religion's ideals will not match up with how a person looks at the world, at which point they will either break from that ideal or continue to live by it. it is, as you say, "changing someone's way of thought." it's hard to explain, exactly. it's like, everyone already has a concience, and a philosophy, and a way that they think life should be lived. this they pick up from the humans around them. people adopt religion because they also pick that up from society (it is what they were always taught to believe) or because they want answers, or because they need some sort of guidance or a set of rules because their own consience and philosophy doesn't quite cover everything. it gets so complicated after awhile. jwyat, you sound pretty confused, because you say that you believe in god, and that you can't pick and choose ideas from different religions, but you also say that religion as a whole corrupts one's way of thinking, makes them a slave to the system, and makes them do things that they will always question for the rest of thier lives. you seem to want people to find thier "true faith" but that contradicts with what you say earlier, that you can't pick and choose ideas from different religions and put them together to make some sort of "new faith." if i am understanding you correctly.