<p>I wholeheartedly agree, mathtastic_nerd. I think it was Marx who said "religion is the opiate of the masses." Many religions are like clubs, very exclusive, with similar-thinking if not "cookie-cutter" members. Organized religion often exists because it wields a sort of power over members - one that requires them to rely on the church as well as worship it. Now that I think more about it, religion has many aspects comparable to a dictatorship, but of course, I do not think a complete comparison is justified.
Religion mainly exists to fill personal need, personal emptiness of some sort. Beyond basic necessities, Maslow's Hierarchy of needs shows that humans desire security (protection) and belongingness/love before they desire self-esteem, recognition, and self-actualization. After fulfilling basic needs (sometimes, actually provided by a religious order) they turn to whatever can satisfy these desires. A religion can provide protection (against the devil, against sin, etc.) as well as a sense of belongingness (one of the high points of large congregations, a sense that "we're all in this together" and that there is mutual love...also, in some religions, you are accepted simply for believing). Whether a religion is correct or not is irrelevant as long as it gives something to the people that they lacked or thought they lacked. In this way, religions begin to control people, almost as "repayment" for its services. Ex: loyalty, donations, support, etc.</p>
<p>Just wanted to correct you, but Allah IS God</p>
<p>Who are you talking to?
If you are saying that Allah is considered God, then yes, you are correct...
If you are saying Allah is an actual God, then things get a bit "sticky." It's impossible to prove or disprove the existence of the almighty God (Allah, God, Yahweh, etc.). Unfortunately, none of us "knows." We can merely "believe." We can simply argue one side of the debate, but nothing is certain.</p>
<p>Now let's get back to the topic we were discussing before sfboy987's post.</p>
<p>Here's a link to learn about the Hierarchy: "<a href="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/Needs.htm">http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/hstein/Needs.htm</a>"</p>
<p>does anyone believe in ghosts</p>
<p>I used to, but my logical mind (which is the predominant one nowadays) leads me to strongly doubt their existence in the conventional form.</p>
<p>Every decade or so, there is a flurry of activity by some intellectuals predicting the demise of religion in general and Christianity in particular. We seem to be in the middle of one of these now. These folks--like Thomas Jefferson before them--believe that religion will fade away in the face of science and education.</p>
<p>But it never works. Lots and lots of people continue being religious, including large numbers of educated and intelligent people. In fact, when state-enforced atheism is relaxed, religion makes a resurgence.</p>
<p>Of course, there are several possible explanations for this. One is that religion is fundamentally true. Another is that religion speaks to some basic human need for which no adequate substitute has been found. Yet another possibility is that intellectual elites don't have as much impact on the overall attitudes of society as they might think.</p>
<p>Or, you know, the masses could just be generally stupid.... we all know THAT'S happened before. <em>cough2004electioncough</em></p>
<p>haha AU just because your canidate lost doesnt mean the masses are stupid.</p>
<p>I didn't have a candidate in the 2004 elections. I didn't like John Kerry or Bush, I just thought Kerry was the lesser of two evils. And I really like John Edwards who was running as Kerry's VP. You can't say that you think Bush is actually doing a good job.... that's BS and most of America knows it now.</p>
<p>I think Bush is doing a better job than John Kerry would have done, which is really all that matters about the 2004 election right now. </p>
<p>Also, your oppinion and the media's oppinion on Bush do not represent the country's view on the Bush administration.</p>
<p>Brown Bomber: Have you looked at Bush's approval ratings lately? When 70% of people surveyed rate him negatively, there's not much room for debate.</p>
<p>Bush's approval ratings were pretty terrible during the election, if I remember right, yet he became the first canidate in 16 years to win the majority of the votes.</p>
<p>Again, Im not saying Bush is doing a great job, Im just saying, in my oppinion, Kerry would have been doing significantly worse.</p>
<p>To the original question: </p>
<p>During school I never went to church (unless it was Catholic church with a friend). I kinda hid behind that "I would go if I wasn't so busy" line. </p>
<p>At home it's required.</p>