I was wondering why a person chooses to be religious or not.
-Any thoughts would be appreciated.

First, in order to become religious a person must have a spiritual belief in something. And taking that leap of faith is a huge leap to make because what you believe is basically about where you came from and where you are going when you die. Because obviously, Life on earth is not eternal. We are all going to pass away eventually.
Being religious means trying to follow all the practices and beliefs of that religion. You do it because you believe in that deity or "philosophy."
Me personally, I am a hardcore Christian. I don't consider it a religion though because it is not about doing good things that gets you a heavenly afterlife. You can't earn your "ticket" to Heaven. It is about having a close relationship with Jesus Christ and having a good heart. Yes there are several Christian denominations but if they don't practice what the Bible says then they are not true Christians. The Bible even warns that there will be some people who call themselves Christian but degrade the Bible and try to suit their own personal beliefs with false doctrine.

I choose to believe in God and Jesus as God in the flesh not only because there is a large amount of hard evidence that supports the Bible, but because I really feel like Jesus is there. I feel like he has touched my heart and is changing my life for the better as time goes on. My life feels complete with Jesus Christ governing it.

i think part of it is because nobody wants to believe that this life is it.

religion gives us hope of something more.

also, it helps some to cope with loss.

and personally, i'm religious partly because spirituality opens up my mind to see things as i'm really meant to see them, not as a textbook says to see them.

To me, there is a difference in being religious and being spiritual. Anyone can go to church, pray and read the bible every day, but that's not quite being spiritual.

If you were to ask me what religion I am, I would tell you Christian. But I don't go to church - I think it's highly overrated. I don't need to be stuck in a building to feel close to a higher power.

I live life by what most people would consider naive or immature. But I think if most people tried to live life like I do, we'd all a little better off.

quote:

Originally posted by Hild:
I think one of the reasons for joining a religion gives people a sense of security. Being surrounded by or knowing there's alot of people beleiving the same way you do is a very comferting thought to most people.

Exactly, it's like choosing to be part of any club or organization. Only a little more of a lifestyle change.

Personally, I chose not to be religious (atheist, in fact) because I see too many problems with religion. But that's not really the point of this thread.

quote:

I'll shut up before I go blabbling. ;]

Babbling is perfectly fine as long as it's on topic lol.

I didn't choose to not be religious.

I'm Christian yes, but so is my cousin. She prays at least 3 times a day, reads the bible every day, you know. She's very religious.

I just don't see the need to be that religious. I'm Christian, I believe in what I believe in, I pray, just not every night. :/. I don't know. I don't see it as bad, but I don't think it's good either, it's kind of like, I don't care, I just want to live, well, I'll shut up before I go blabbling. ;]

I think one of the reasons for joining a religion gives people a sense of security. Being surrounded by or knowing there's alot of people beleiving the same way you do is a very comferting thought to most people. Since I'm not religious though I only have outsiders view.