What is the #1 reason for religion?

Question

If you don't say "to fleece the gullible sheep of every penny they own" then you're delusional.
Check out the multi million dollar churches and other centers dedicated to one purpose; taking money from the gullible and stupid.
Or have you never wondered why the collection plate is the most important thing in a church?

Answer 1

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

and

POWER

Answer 2

It's pretty easy to attack and blame religion in today's society.
And yes, some pretty insane things have been done in the "name" of religion in the past including the wholesale grabbing of
individual and communal assets where religion has been used for economic gain or control.........

But consider this:

A society is capable of surviving for thousands of years unless it is attacked from within or without by hostile forces. where such an attack occurs, the primary targets are it's religious and national gods and heroes,it's potential of leadership and the self respect and integrity of it's members.
If you look around you , you will find countless examples of these points. They scream at us every day from the newspapers and TV.
Probably the most critical point of attack on a culture is it's religious experience. Where one can destroy or undermine religious institutions then the entire fabiric of the society can be quickly subverted or brought to ruin.
For the last hundred years or so religion has been beset with relentless attack. You have been told it’s the “opiate of the masses “, that it’s unscientific, that it is primitive, in short , that it is a delusion.
The source of this kind of attack is always covert and hidden. It is promoted by a few who have a vested interest in a slave society.
Unfortunately these few rely on creating fear and insecurity in others to forward and promote their enemy propaganda.
These others feel correctly they have to defend themselves from an attack, but because the real enemy is hidden, they can be manipulated to attack what they really should be defending as they cannot see the real enemy.

The key here is that underneath all these attacks on organised religion there is one fundemental target:
The spirituality of man, your own basic spiritual nature, self respect and peace of mind.

Answer 3

This is to say that the government of your country exists so that it collects taxes from the population. And, to follow this argument, does that mean that we should abolish all sort of government so that no one has to pay any taxes?

I am very much aware of the fact that there are all sorts of weird cults, some of them under a respectable appearance, which extol huge amounts of money from the gullible "faithful". What I resent is that you place my church under the same umbrella. What I pay in my church are really small amounts of money, and I know they are used for the salary of the priest (who lives a very modest life), or for charity, or for repairs in the church.

Answer 4

1. No the collection plate is not the most important;but unfortunately, this world requires some currency to trade for a product; so it's perfectly reasonable to take an offering.

2. If you're going about life without Christ; you're basically walking in death.

Christ is life

anyone or anything else is death (lake of fire)

Answer 5

The collection plate is usually passed around once in a church service. The rest of the service is singing, praying, fellowshiping,and being taught the Word. Therefore, the collection plate is not the most important thing in the service, it's just one act of worshipping God. And I don't consider myself to be religious, I am in a relationship with my Saviour.

Answer 6

According to your reason for religion and mine may make me delusional. Religion is a vehicle for a particular belief system, weather it be Judaism, Muslam, or Christianity. Then their is that aspect that there is a difference between having "Religion" and a relationship. I can only speak for Christianity that proclaims Jesus Christ is Lord and a people can enter a relationship with him. That is my experience of "Religion". Having a relationship with Him is the most important thing in going to church.

Answer 7

Because we humans are immortal. We recognize we are
immortal. Surely, most of us think, this cant be all there is to life. Hence the need for most ppl to have religion.

What you described in your comments is why people would create and run a religion - kinda like the other side of it.

Answer 8

Organzied religion? Control

It is merely a way to control and influence the minds of the masses.

Nothing more......

There is nothing wrong with Spirituality however. It brings hope, peace and balance to the mind and soul. People should be more spiritual and less religious. IMHO

Answer 9

Originally it was creative stories made to comfort primitive man due to the fear of the unknown. Because it is a uniting force that can be used to control and manipulate, it quickly was turned into a political weapon as is its purpose today.

Answer 10

So, can I open my own church, dupe a flock of sheep into giving me 10 percent of their money, and still make it to heaven if I give 10% of everything that I make off of them to a REAL church?

Answer 11

religion is not promoted by jesus yet a desire of man is to own god and not to be owned by him
most catholic organizations in the puget sound give the money to ccs {catholic community services}this organization provides a variety of things for the poor and is in no way a political organization look them up for help if you are ever in need