Do we really need a religion to live in this world?

I am Christain and Christ tried to end 'religion' and started Christianity. I believe that if someone doesnt have a religion and they continue to deny Christ all the way to their graves then yes they will go to Hell. I believe that people dont need religion, they need Faith. Faith is different then religion. Religion's have rules and traditions that has nothing to do with what God had instructed us to do in the Bible. Faith doesn't have rules nor traditions. Faith is just having Faith in what the Lord has pland for His followers.

Ironically, the best answer to your question would be that it depends on your religion. Some faiths like Christianity believe it's very important. Others, like Buddhism, it's not quite as important. Buddhists for example believe that all people will be reborn, even non-Buddhists (however if they lived their life well they may be luck and be reborn as a Buddhist). There's also those who don't even believe in heaven or hell. May not be a helpful answer, but there are many many MANY different beliefs on this topic.

The answer to your primary question as to whether it is important to have a religion is, yes but not for reasons that have anything to do with heaven or hell. Religion has as its central reason for existence the role of social cement. People who share a common belief are more likely to work together in trust and cooperation and as a result form a cohesive and productive society. Heaven and hell are concepts created by man to act as a method to force compliance with the rules of a belief system. Heaven is a reward for those that comply with the religious tenants of a society and hell is the punishment for those who refuse to follow or believe whatever dogma is in vogue at the time.

Of course we don't need religion for life on this Earth. People lived lives before the invention of religion. Is it important? Obviously yes, otherwise all the wars fought for greed and avarice in the name of religion would not have happened.

Religion is [B]just one way of[/B] regulating our lives. One could just be a very good human being, without being a follower of any religion if only he /she knows instinctively what is the right thing to do in a situation. Religions have only complicated this simple process of living harmoniously. Then there is one more thing for which one turns to religion. The search for unanswered questions of life esp. if one is seriously into such enquiry. Religions tend to provide stock answers to such questions. People who understand or made to fall in love with one set of such answers are the followers of one religion. A conscious self-driven person doesn't need religion to tell what the right thing to do in any situation is. The point of religion is to see that the responses are predictable. But Religions have served only to divide humanity. More often than not they have been the cause of war. If at all a religion does something to a person it introduces dogma, and kills whatever is left of free thinking. A very few people in different religions have tried to harmonize. They are the most blessed souls. And then there is the feeling of God. This is also a natural feeling. One does not need to be instructed how to find God. A clean mind automatically becomes the abode of God. Temples, Churches and Mosques are not where God is found. They are Old World's politico-social institutions meant to exploit the human need to congregate, and draw strength. In order to understand that one does not need to do anything like learning from Religious books etc., to find God, please read the book [B]Mister God , This is Anna, by Fynn.[/B]It may look like a conundrum, but you are freed of such personal stupidities that This is The Word of God and the like. P.S. I am a devout, practicing and proud Sanatana Dharma follower, who understands deeply the scripture of his religion and one who would like to be born one[back again in SD if necessary] till I am delivered out of the cycle of births and deaths. But whatever I have written above is true including my own religion.

I think that religions (at least most of them) are twisted abstractions of myth traditions meant to help early humans get a grip on the world they lived in. We have such a thirst and craving to understand things that it's not just plausible but obvious that we would begin to make things up. At first, heaven and hell were possibly metaphors, understood to be states of mind rather than celestial locations. Now they exist as control. I like Buddhism, but that's because it shakes off much of the Dogma that so many religions are plagued with.

I think that is a personal choice we all need to make. We all have the right to choose to have some sort of religious belief or to not have one. Time will show if it does make a difference.

In general..no religion ISNT really (logically speaking) needed by anyone really but unfortunately centuries of brainwashing has conned the masses into thinking it IS needed...There are however 1000'S UPON 1000'S of ppl in the world who live right and beautifully WITHOUT following any religion or spiritual path for that matter.... Truth of it is though, SOME ppl do feel having religion is needed, important, necessary etc...and thats great for them..then there are those of us who are simply spiritual by choice rather than need and thats whats right for US...then there are those who feel niether is necessary and thats whats right for THEM.... bottomline is there is no one answer that can apply to everyone in existance ya know....its all about personal choice

Religion is a very personal choice.No one should make you pick any religion,it has to come from your heart. And if you don't feel connected to a religion that's okay too.There are many evil " religious" people and many good people with no religious beliefs.

I am christian or trying to be anyways because to me being a christian means you aren't just worshiping but hoping to reach the fullness of Christ, or anointed one. I don't believe in heaven and hell in the usual catholic dogma sense I believe hell is the grave and heaven/paradise is understanding of things and the promise of ever lasting life. I hear people constantly talk about how bad things are with religion but yet religion is less upheld than what it used to be in most industrial nations and in most cases things have become worse. SO yes I believe we have to have something to reach for other than just the material things life has to offer us. I do think its important to keep a balanced life but we also need a spiritual growth as human beings.

Religion is important to some individuals. But for society to function is not required. People do not need the threat of "hell" to be good.

Religion is not the problem, it is a symptom. Religion was supposed to bring men to a point in understanding the possibilities of what could be. The religious metaphors and allegories were changed to doctrine and literal meanings by the unlearned and a way to obtain the divine was lost to the way of fallowing men.

Hi Bloggership, I feel that religion is not necessary for a person to exist.But there is no running away from it, because, it is all around you and somehow or the other you get to deal with it from time to time.Hell is right here on earth, and,I doubt if you can find anything worse than what you see around us, As regards heaven it is more a state of mind. You can be in heaven when you feel so...All the best and happy mylotting

hmm dats a good question, but really i dont know how this works, but what i do know is that where im from, if you dont have a religion, others criticize you

Hello friend, Ideally we should be mature enough to look at fellow human beings as individuals rather than be prejudiced about them by their religion. The fact is that we are not like that and we fight for religion. I don't think there should ever have been religion in this world. That would have been a much happier scenario.

Its not whether or not we have a religion we are a member of, it is more important what or who you are that makes the difference, in my opinion. I have seen some that what I call "Weekend Warriors" they go to church on sunday do the duty of the weekend and then during the week they are not the same person. They don't practice what they preach. If you are true in your heart and soul that you know you have done well by standing by faith, truth, helping others, forgiveness etc. I believe those are more important than being a member of a religion. We to me are all the same, we all have a heart and soul, it just depends on how you fill each of them in your life that makes the difference in what your next journey will be.

I believe that some kind of spirituality is necessary to live a complete life, but religion and spirituality are very different things, we can live a great life without religion. What happens after life is not so much important, what is really important is trying to have a deeper understanding of our world, of who we are, and what is our relationship with everything that surrounds us. Religion often is more about rituals then about true spirituality, so even with religion there is a big chance that people will not find their answers.