Does it seem that the more religious that a person is, the more that he/she has to hide?
477442
No. It's just the more religious a person is the she/he hides from his/her self. People don't like to admit to themselves that they're petty, mean-spirited, backstabbing jerks. Therefore, they throw themselves into religion, using their relationship with "God" as a substitute for basic human goodness.\nThere are a few who transcend that and are truly good and spiritual, but the vast majority of Bible-thumpers aren't either.
691150
The reason this appears to be true is because the higher a person goes to obtain knowledge the better their ability to gather information, solve problems and critically think.  Religion plays more to a person's emotions than their intelligence.  It's easier to be passive and pray for better times than to be aggressive and create better times. \n\nA person with little to no education will have confidence in something/someone other than themselves while a person with education will have more confidence in themselves.
331341
Yep...I think some people just want to do what they want to do so they don't want to follow rules of religion. But when something bad happens, the idea of death seems so final that at that very moment it hits em!
930871
What better justification is there than to allude to a higher power having made you to do something instead of just taking responsibility for your own words and actions.  That burns me up.  Hiding behind a God or a Deity figure to conveniently absolve yourself so that you can "pretend" to yourself and the rest of the world that you're not culpable.
775847
but but ... you list social woes while most religious folks clutch onto religion as a personal life raft.  whatever heinous actions are made in the name of their religion matters not.  it's the personal comfort they get from believing they're safe from their deity's wrath and the feeling of being special and a part of something bigger than themselves that cements their dependence on their religion. besides, the woes of the world created by religion are always blamed on an Evil One and evil doers.
869022
a fairly recent USA study revealed that there are a large percentage of people who go to church faithfully who are faking their way through but are very atheist. The reasons are many but heading the list is fear of losing a spouse, a job, social position,etc...
479252
If a person believes a religion without questioning it, they will be easily deceived. Questioning your religion is a good thing! That is how you discover the truth.\nI'm not the kind of person who does something just because someone tells me to do it. I need to know why.
397672
I think some people seek a higher purpose or reason for living. Others just think religion is stupid.\n\nPeople with more education tend to be less religious. Is there a relationship with intelligence? Who knows?\n\nMy guess is "hard wired", but upbringing is part of it.
876671
All religions have a mixture of adherents, from those who are genuinely good people to those who use their religion to promote their own perverted agendas.\n\nTo be honest, I would rather not read about any of them.
578424
It is still very prevalent here is the states. But there are many people who are insecure at the sight of another's rituals. Therefore many people feign outrage and force religion indoors. In otherwords, It's there..it's just not in the open as much as it used to be.
732087
I agree with some of the others who've answered you. I could add that they may be afraid of looking into other points of view because if they do they just might have to change their minds.  That could totally mess up their whole life view of themselves, their God and everything else.
1151188
Absolutely!!, Religion is nothing more than a security blanket for the ignorant, gullible, and sheepish who fear what is to come of the future and of their own mortality.
634990
it seems to me that people who live in more populated areas interact with more people and hear and discuss more different ideas than people who live in less crowded areas.  I think seeing that there are people in other religions and from other cultures AND that they are good people leads one to be more open-minded and tolerant --- and less convinced that there is only one right way to believe.
1031202
It is better to keep your religion to yourself.  If you are a believer, great.  Celebrate and practice your faith all you want.  There are lots of people that do not want to hear your "truth".  The world would be a much better place if people learned to keep their religions to themselves.
921787
Depends.  A lot of people are raised to be of a certain faith.  These people often don't question what they are taught.  In that way, it isn't a real choice because they just believe what their parents/church told them to believe.  However, it becomes a choice if the individual thinks about what they believe - accept or reject certain aspects of different religions and make a decision to follow or not.
977814
If they define themselves by their religion (meaning they're continually spouting religious nonsense and trying to convert everyone around them), I'm happy to oblige their desire to be defined by their religion and do the same.\n\nOtherwise, by their ACTIONS.  I have no idea what anybody besides me is like "inside," and neither do you.  Everyone puts some kind of "public face" on that they show to others, and nobody is even capable of showing their true inner selves to anyone else.  We can only see what others are by what they present to the world -- we see more of that if we know them very well or intimately, but we still don't know all of what they think or feel.
1032239
Depending on where you live, religion might be a choice or enforced. I agree to a point with what you are saying but, if people were to simply filter out and use ONLY the morality, spirituality and common sense religion CAN teach one, then I say teach away. Unfortunately the belief in the intangable is rampant even in this modern day and age.