religion is the man-made manipulation of an idea. I believe that SOMEONE/THING created everything, but I won't call myself anything religious. I think that religion is what people had to come up with to answer questions, not what was there.

Because there are many and they all claim to be the right one edit (tired) and one might still view life with some wonder because of the mysterious beauty of it all, and the mind boggling fantastisity of the fact that we are here alive conscious.

Religion attempts to put "God" into a narrowly-defined box that eventually ends up being more about the human egos involved than any true understanding or joy of the divine.

I see religion as the formalized codification of human beliefs, and "required" (if you wanna be in that religion) ways of worshipping a God who's "out there". But those aren't not necessary, and for me they're a distraction. I once heard it phrased that Jesus broke through the wall, but instead of following him, his followers built an alter at the hole.

Because of all of the wars and bloodshed that many religions claim to have God's backing on. Look at WWII and Rwanda for example. People of the same religions killing thier brothers. You also have alot of corruption and greed. Matt 22:39 "The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself" 2Cor 10:3,4 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to [what we are in the] flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful by God for overturning strongly entrenched things. 1John 4:20,21 "If anyone makes the statement: “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also" 2Pet 2:1,2 "However, there also came to be false prophets among the people, as there will also be false teachers among YOU. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them, bringing speedy destruction upon themselves. Furthermore, many will follow their acts of loose conduct, and on account of these the way of the truth will be spoken of abusively"

Tried a lot of Religions without finding a direct experience of God. Found a lot of preaching and a lot of talk, but none were coming through with that direct experience of that higher power. Out of frustration i left Religion, and then i found God. It wasn't as hard as the religions were making it out to be.

Religion just gets in the way.

Because some religions leave you thinking that they first and foremost a business even though they have non-profit status.

religion is a perception/interpretation of god in a particular way. i believe in a higher power without subscribing to a particular interpreation of God.

looking at the way history and everything else is re-written by those in power, it is hard to know what is real in the bible and what has been added by some self serving person(s) in the last 2000 years. example "thou shall not kill" vs. "thou shall not suffer a witch to live"

Belief in god helps people; belief in a religion kills people.

let me get back to you on this, me and GOD are playing 18 holes with a couple cold ones when I Die?

I believe that religion is a social concept, and did not help me to develop my spirituality. Organized religion has too many layers, too much in the way of connecting with one's higher power. It feels filtered to me, diluted and without substance. When I can remove all the distraction I can feel connected; getting rid of the people and ideas and rules involved in organized religion, then I can feel connected to a higher power. I believe in a higher power, but not the sort who wants me to spend my days in church, or to devote my life to "worshiping" him.

Personal belief in god doesn't cost anything.

Because, one may believe in a greater being but not buy into religion. There have been many religions throughout history. What makes any one religion right? The religion part is folklore, created, or at least manipulated, by men. Stories not meant to be taken literally, but meant to teach morals. The morals of the particular religion. The way that particular religion says you should live your life. I myself believe that we are children of the Earth and Sun. I guess there could be a great being though.

ONE god. TOO many religions.

Sometimes I think I'm in The Twilight Zone. Religious items in the news can make you wonder if you've crossed a boundary into unreality. I read about Muslim fanatics in Algeria who shoot high school girls in the face because they aren't wearing veils, or cut the throats of professors who teach boys and girls in the same class - all in the name of Allah the Merciful, the fount of love and kindness. Astounding! Insanity is coming through my desktop terminal. I read about Solar Temple members who killed themselves and their children, thinking they'll magically travel to a planet named Sirius (not the star Sirius) - and I think: The human mind must have a defect, a short-circuit in the "logic board." I read about Sikh militants in Punjab who want to break away from Hindu India to create a theocracy called Khalistan, "The Land of the Pure." So they machine-gun Hindu weddings and plant bombs in Hindu movie theaters. Good grief - is this what's "pure"? I read about hundreds of American priests and evangelists who molest children. The whole world says religion makes people good - and priests and evangelists have more religion than anyone else - so something doesn't add up. Actually, there are hundreds of religious horrors like the ones I recited. It's the same madness, over and over and over. In fact, religious horrors have been happening for as far back as history records. Holy wars, human sacrifices, inquisitions, pogroms, witch hunts, sectarian hostilities, Jonestown, Waco, the World Trade Center bombing, you name it - all these are a major part of the story of religion. But the world rarely connects belief and butchery. Few leaders ever mention it. So, as you can see, religion can evoke The Twilight Zone. But I think the problem is bigger than just the most bizarre examples. I think ALL religion is The Twilight Zone. Every supernatural system - from Catholics who think a wafer turns into miraculous flesh, to Scientologists who think they're "thetans" from another planet - from Pentecostals who spout "the unknown tongue," to TV evangelists who say God wants movies censored - from Mormons who think Jesus came to America, to New Age swamis who "channel" spirits from the lost continent of Atlantis - it's all belief in magic, unsupported by any tangible evidence. I have an irrational faith of my own. Despite all contrary evidence, I refuse to believe that the human species is totally stupid. I think that if enough people in the news media continue reporting all the holy horrors, all the mindless religious outrages, thinking people eventually will begin to see The Twilight Zone for what it really is. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ei=9XrESZmrIOiwtgeK_MTPCg&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=religious+atrocities&spell=1

Because so many religions are out to make money, and are so involved in the corrupt political system, people are put off by religion. I remember every church I used to go to, sang 40% of the time, spent 1% teaching, 9% planning church trips and the remaining 40% of the time was spent yelling about tithes and offering. Not to mention the hypocracy... There is only one religion that I came in contact with where the people genuinely try to live by Bible principles, and that's the Jehovah's Witnesses. And Witnesses are the only Christians preaching in the whole planet... look at watchtower.org

I read the statement that 'trouble' wrote and that was awesome! and I want to add one more thing, the lake of skulls, back in the beginning of the 19th century there was a discovery of thousands of babies skulls behind a catholic orphanage after the draining of the lake and the logicality for this, the nuns and priests were having sex and after the pregnant nuns had the babies they were throwing the babies in the lake, how holier than thou is that? I am sorry but I feel the same way about religion and I pray each day for the walls to come down and for us to be one in the beliefs of one God and that is all I want to say on this subject. And I appreciate the good honest answers on the question.

Major reason that one might need to believe in God would be the need for emotional security and stability. Religion, on the other hand, formulated by the people in the past.

Religion is not the kind of thing one believes in but practices. The god thing is another story

Religion means a lot of things to a lot of people. But to me, it only means you're part of a social club that gets together to compare hats, and decide how you're going to run the world. If I were God, I would hate all religions equally; except for the ones who recognized the earth (my creation) as sacred, and taught their followers to care for it as if it were their mother.

I can see how some would feel they have faith in and a relationship with God, devoid of any type of formal religion. Religion in its very basic form is an insititution with a set of beliefs and practices, and yes, politics. Those beliefs, practices, and avenues travelled within the context of a particular religion can bring you closer to God, but it is not the only way. The other aspect of this issue is that being a follower of a particular religion has nothing to do with being a good person or one's innate ability to connect in a meaningful way to God.

The Spirit of Truth.