Is it important to be religious? Why or why not?
355259
Not essentially. It's important to BELIEVE in what you believe, but being Religious is a whole different thing.\n\nA belief is just a statement which an individual holds to be true. A faith is a strong belief in that statement. A religion is a man-based form of worship of the deity/thing mentioned IN that statement, and due to corruption.\n\nIt's important to believe, not be religious. That's missing the whole point.
594192
Not RELIGION... but the spiritual development of your soul is the most important thing in your life... It should be important that you create as great a soul as any artist does in creating a work of art... and you make your own code of conduct based upon the highest principles that you decide to implement as a code... and you may want to upgrade your code to higher levels of actions of living and interacting with other persons...  Living a good life for yourself and how you treat others... is most important in your daily living... Religions are only organizations that guide people... but most times they get too confused in that they try to take control of how people live their code... and they want to set the codes of what people should believe... and then some religions are mostly about money... which is really wrong... So, what some people do is they join a "religion" to get the basics... then they leave and formulate their own spiritual program.... Hope this helps...
90206
Religion can provide comfort and hope for people, and in a world thats so full of pain this is great.  I know my religion is the truth and stands out from all others because its founder demonstrated the power of God. He healed\nblinded eyes, deaf ears, sicknesses and diseases of many kinds! He walked on water! Dont argue with somebody who can walk on water, just say yes sir!
776870
Given that so many wars have started, and continue because of religious beliefs, I would say religion is extremely important in society.  Anything that can evoke the kind of passion necessary to maintain the level of intensity needed to sustain a war is important.
526311
"Religion is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief." \n\nScience can be your religion if you want it to be. Not all religions believe in a God, it is more about a life style. Religion is something you hold great truth to. It is the most important thing in your life. It is what you live for. That is the way I understand it anyway.
371300
I am quite agree with u.But i think there is no need to choose any other religious beliefs.All religious books teaches us some common things to do.It teaches us humanity,love,truth,etc.The main object of religious books is to avoid sins and bad deeds and make a man a good human being.If u decide to be a good human being then there is no need to choose other religious beliefs.Good is God and God is great and prefect.
89367
I personally think that religion is what everone thinks they should know to be a good person.  Spirtual I think is not commercialized but what your heart tells you is the right thing.  It is something so wonderful that you and only you knows the secret.
622374
No, religion, for most people, is a way of explaining things that are essentially unknowable.  Does life have meaning?  What happens to us after we die?  Is there any reason to be ethical, even when we see others apparently succeed by being unethical? Why is so much of life a matter of pain and suffering? Etc., etc.  Religions attempt to provide answers to those questions, and therefore they are a comfort to their believers.
1041338
yes, being a Christian is about following Christ, not a religion.\n\ni think people need to feel strong about Jesus, not their religion. it erks me a bit.\n\n...and where in the Bible does it say if you cuss, say 5 Hail Mary's?
208151
Because religion is important. Don't assume that just because someone is religious that they are inferior. Remember: Martin Luther Kind Jr., Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus himself where all very religious people; while Adolf Hitler and Stalin were all atheist. \n\nAt the same time there are people who use religion as an excuse to participate in things that most people consider to be bad - like the Crusades, and American slave owners using the Bible to justify slavery. (It's odd how Abraham Lincoln and slave owners read the same book but came to very different conclusions about slavery.)\n\nThe point I'm trying to make is that you should judge people by the value of the things that they say, and not based on if they're religious or not.
1136177
Religion can be a trend, but it's only right if you believe in it, as well. Don't go for it if you just want to be "cool". Go for it because you believe in what you're listening to.
1005964
Religion carries two functions. First it gives people an answer to where they came from, so as people will not feel left alone or without a purpose. Second, it guides morality in a society. How many rules are created from religion alone? It has definately guided the morals of this country. Its not necessarily about superstition.
84799
I think religion is a way for people to support each other in feeling spiritual and making correct moral decisions. Some people won't make good decisions on spirituality alone, and for those people, having other people around them helps.\n\nEDIT FOR ADDTNL INFO:\nWhy is anything neccessary? Why are homes neccessary? Why don't people just live at work? Eat grass? Because we as humans desire more, a more personal experience, a more organized approach. You don't get people at your community center sharing uplifting stories about standing up for what is right.
63503
People need religion because they are scared to face the truth.  Thinking that there is someone or something more intelligent and powerful than you who is looking out for you and loves you and has your best interests at heart is more comforting than accepting the truth.  If people accepted the truth, then they would realize how insignificant and powerless they are in proportion to the universe, and that would just be way too hard for most people to face.  Religion offers answers, and tells you that everything will be easy if you 'just believe in whatever'.  Religion tells people that they are the 'special ones' the 'chosen ones' that they are right in everything they do if they only believe.  Also religion symbolizes things that are actually taking place in people's lives.  Just about everyone can relate to the religious stories if they try.  I believe that things can be learned from religion, but only if it is taken purely as symbolisim.  like little kid's stories that teach lessons, only religious stories are meant to teach bigger lessons to everyone.  It's easy to see why so many people desperately need religion and take it as fact.
385498
Religion gives me a structure in my life by which I attain my highest goals.  I awake in the morning and think about God and realize that my ultimate desire is to fulfill my highest purpose.  I pray to God, giving Him/Her thanks and this gives me a positive outlook on life and my world.  I pray for others, and this gets me out of the tendency to think only for myself.\n\nI read scriptures which totally fill me with inspiration.  They motivate me and expand my knowledge.  \n\nMy religion gives me a way to fulfill my inner yearning to be devoted to That which I call God, to love, and to be humble before the Highest in the Universe.\n\nI am a Hindu.
1065003
Religion focuses on how we live our lives in this world.  That is, it attempts to define what constitutes a "moral life", and what we must do to earn God's favor.  Religion often produces rites or rituals as a means of conducting its formulaic approach to worship.\n\nSpirituality is a focus/concern on our life outside of the physical realm.  It is a recognition of our own spirit, and a desire to connect (in some manner) with God (or other entities) that reside in a realm that exists outside of time and space. Typically, it will involve a person's own emotional experience.
219118
I think there are lots of things more important than to go on pilgrimage.  Some people do not have the privelege to go on a pilgrimage.  Perhaps they do not have the money, the means, or the health to be able to go.\n\nWhile pilgrimages can be amazingly spiritual experiences, they are not necessary.  If one can go, then one should, but more important is to love one's fellow human beings and to walk with God in daily life, at work, at home, and everywhere.