I'm starting this thread not to ask what your personal religion is, but rather to address your opinion on the topic of organized religion. Do you believe it to be a particularly useful institution? Or do you, like me, find it to be useful, but far from necessary? Or are you perhaps against the whole system all together?

For me, it is moderately a double-edged sword. On one hand, I do not appreciate the harm that comes from organized religion. Even completely ignoring the wars based on the dichotomy of worship of the same god(s), I still find that organized religion can lead to some pretty detrimental effects. For instance, the topic of marriage. It is only due to a large institutionalized religion that marriage has become a controversial topic. It is only because marriage is defined in the bible as the convening of a man and a woman. And I won't even get started on why that statement alone should be considered as irrelevant on the topic of marriage. To sum up the marriage point, it would not even be an issue were it not for the large influence of an organized religion.

Organized religion also seems to be the medium through which much of the internal racism in this country travels. If not the medium, then certainly the base. Racism is based off of a prejudice that stems from the difference between people. When you follow this back to its root, where else do differences lie besides the religion? Skin color and accent, I suppose, but that's hardly the gist of it. It's because we were taught that Jesus and all his followers and all the members of the bible were white. If not taught directly, then it's certainly supposed to be understood. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most followers of the bible get offended when you mention the impossibility of Jesus being white, no?

While I do find that organized religion has many pitfalls, I also can not overlook its usefulness. As much racism as it may spread, its ability to tie people together is uncanny. Religion is often sought as a last resort for many people who are down on their luck and don't have much else to turn to. Organized religion of course also offers many lessons on common morality and the golden rule. Many laws are also based off of the teachings of the bible.

Opinions?