Do you think the Catholic Religion is more about controlling people than worshipping God?
473600
I would say yes . . . to all religions in general . . . not just the Catholic Religion . . . but all religions.
705998
Religion is all about controlling people.\nIf you have reached the stage where you have realised that religion is retricting you, then its time to drop religion, and become an independent spiritual person. Then you make your own rules. There is no need to be a sheep all your life.
16291
Whether or not jesus was the savior (which i would say he was not)- Religion has become an excellent tool to control the masses. Slavery is a simple example of such a usage of religion.
1160287
The separation between church and state was never meant to eliminate the church. the point was that the church and the state were to be separate entities, no single religion was to have control of any government body. It was not the point to say that the two could not be related, actually the idea was to govern in an ethical and moral manner.At the same time no single church would have any control over government, this was to eliminate the problems that King Henry the Eighth had with the Catholic church, they had too much sway in the dealings of governments.
1104910
religion is a man made way of controlling the masses and god, in any format, was invented by man not the other way around so there will be no punishment for disbelieving
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?
660633
I believe there is great danger in letting a church or group of churches to have to much influence and control in government.  Take a look at mideval european governments.  It was all about the Catholic church.  The government needed the church then, so they ended up wedding their functions.  The church at that time had incredible wealth, influence and control over people.  It was impossible to govern without the blessing of the church.  And if you were a citizen, you had no real freedom of belief.  You had to follow the churches teachings or you were run out of town or worse, killed.   \n\nTo be honest, GWB and some of his "faith based initiatives", scares me.  I have no problem with churches offering support and charity as an expression of humanity and compassion.  I am however afraid, that the government will soon become reliant on this involvement and before long we could be back in the same boat as before the U.S. broke away from England.  I don't think anyone wants that.\n\nThere was a very strong reason that our forefathers of this country in the first amendment wrote, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.."
402461
i think some people use it that way. but that's why true Christianity is so great. it's not really a religion. it's more of a way of life. but i do agree that people manipulate religion and use it as a crutch. it can create rules that make the feel secure, but they can twist the rules to fit what they want to do.
787729
Thank you, first of all, for understanding the difference between prayer and worship.  As for whether or not this still takes away from the glory of God, I would say no.  While they were alive, people asked the apostles and the saints to pray for them or to help them.  That does not go against the glory of God.  Catholics are just continuing this practice once these people are dead and in the presence of God.
763988
As a person living in a mostly Catholic country (Argentina) I have to say I definitely hate the church. I don't hate ordinary Catholics. Some of my best friends and a former girlfriend are Catholics. But the hierarchy is autoritarian, and invasive of non-Catholics' rights. To give you an example, the Minister of Health of Argentina (a sort of secretary of state) stated that condoms are usually safe. A Catholic priest said that this minister had to be thrown into the river with a stone round his neck for saying that. In other words, he was suggesting that a person who may or may not be a Catholic himself, had to be subjected to Catholic laws, above the laws of the state.
288466
I am agnostic and I have a strong dislike for organized religion. I am a history fanatic, also a psychology/sociology major and through that course of study (and my gut feeling/common sense), I came to believe that organized religion (not paganism or necessarily polytheism as they tend to be more of a human response to nature)is and always has been a means of controlling the masses. The promise of a better life after death, the promise of an eternal hellfire for those that don't obey the rules of "God" (which usually favor the powerful and rich), the promise that the meek shall inherit the earth...all ways to ensure complacency and obedience. (Not to mention the wholly unbelievable stories of the bibles of organized religions!!) Many of those have been disproved by modern science and so the Church's stance: alter their position from "The bible is the literal account of historic fact" to "not everything in the bible is meant to be taken literally". The Church shifts it's opinion to suit the facts. It's such a sham in my opinion.\nAnyway, check out this thesis and see what you think.\nHope you enjoy it.\nhttp://forum.physorg.com/index.php?showtopic=4712
715676
Religion is about power...Christians want control of everyones minds world wide.
271983
with regard to human nature: the individual naturally wants to control his own life. They should be conservative. But religious people want you to be government conservative and Church liberal.
312056
I'm not a Bible thumper, I am a Catholic, and I know more about the Bible and Christianity than these new bread born-again no it all's. I was raised up in the Catholic Church and school with mass everyday. That's a commitment to the sacraments, and I have never tried to use Religion to sway my way through life. Catholics believe this: Spirituality is God given and Religions are man made. It is also my responsibility to know the difference, not yours. So do like I do, and tell them to mind their own business.
868638
It isn't.... at all.   Read the book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkings...  He deals with how religion is given an unfair status as undiscussable.  When only a few believe in some form of religion, observers are viewed as cultists and insane.. When the masses believe, it becomes taboo to talk about.  Is there REALLY anything different about believing that Flying Spaghetti Monsters control everything instead of the Christian view of god?  Many people will say yes, but just refer to my above comment.\n\n\n***Update***\n\nTo the people who rank down anything against religion:  Thanks for proving my (and the others') point.  Presumably you believe  in freedom of speech? Presumably you believe in democracy? So why do you take it upon yourself to infringe on others' freedom  of speech?  Why is your religion above my views?  Tolerance? Isn't that  one of the ideals that you are supposed to abide by?
458142
I don't know where you get your information from.  You have been misinformed.  There are some so called "Catholics" that are misguided, as well as many others.  I was raised and taught in Catholic schools.  Not once, did anyone ever suggest praising statues or worshiping anyone or anything other than (Jesus, Holy Spirit & the Father) Holy trinity = one God.  We believe in offering prayers for loved ones, and we believe that the Staints offer they're prayers for the living.  But if someone was to assume that Catholics are taught to worship anyone or anything other than God, they are sadly mistaken.  Statues, pictures, etc... are reminders of who are good examples of how to live as Christ did.  Just like having pictures of your children.  The pictures are NOT your children, but an image of your children.  you would feed, clothe or talk to the picture.  Being Cathoilic does not mean that you are out of touch with reality.
182743
Because it's the best they've got?  I don't believe any religion, including Christianity, is inheriently dogmatic, misleading, or manipulative.  I do believe that some of the people who have had power and influence in the church over the years have made it so.  It's a drawback of the hierarchical setup.  I think there are many aspects of Christianity which are very valuable, and from which all people could learn - such as forgiveness or being of service to fellow human beings, (believe it or not) of being accomadating and non-judgemental.