Religion--personal or social?

It is a personal issue so long as it doesn’t affect anyone else - if you worship in private and don't try to impose your views on others or persuade them to your religious viewpoint. The moment you involve any other person in any way it becomes a social issue

Religion is such a complex concept with so many variations that it is impossible to label it, However, while it can be a great motivator for people to do good, it shouldn't be their only motive, and it shouldn't be taken to the extreme.

What bothers me is not religion itself, but intolerance. No one has the right to force their beliefs on others or discriminate against someone because of religion. Discussions and healthy debates are fine, you can't change the way others think. Even if you force someone to follow the same religion as you, you've failed, because you cannot make another person believe something they truly do not believe.

We don't just have to read scriptures and blindly believe in them, rather we should look into how maybe some of the teaching of God for whatever particular religion can stand on its own. It's a great way to get people to really stop and think about why they are acting/behaving a certain way and whether they are justified in doing so. Basically, I'm advocating education.& thinking critically about it

The true horror starts when one side believes that theirs is the only God allowed, anywhere, at all. When religious leaders eat in silver and gold plates and the vast majority of their followers eat dirt, something is wrong. I personally believe in God, I just don`t believe in those who claim to represent him/ her and have a claim to speak for them so others are only allowed to listen.

In my opinion, whatever your belief is, you should give your child as much freedom as possible to decide on his own. If you follow a religion, it is okay, but let your child decide, once it has the maturity to decide neutrally, whether it would like to be a part of that religion or not. If you force a child into one belief, you don’t give its mind the possibility to develop in its own way.

Of course, religion provides an idea of certain values and also a community where those values should be prevalent. The truth is however that if you have a functioning family or a circle of friends, a community of loving people around you, you have the support that you need to raise your child with the values that you want. You don’t need religion for that. Leave your child free to decide for himself or herself.