Religion is a system that establishes symbols, narratives, and traditions that relate humanity to spirituality and moral values. The word religion is often used interchangeably with faith or belief in God, but religion differs from personal belief in that it has a public aspect.


Basic belief in the God of Abraham would be theism. Catholicism would be the religion.;
, At the very least you should have an understanding of the main Christian religious ideologies (Catholicism, Presbyterianism/Protestantism, Immersionism) and hold an understanding of Islam and Judaism as these are the most discussed religions.
 Having an understanding of the history of various religions and counter arguments to points about morality is important.




General Religion:


Lack of personal thought: When you subscribe to a religion, you substitute group-think for focused, independent thought. Instead of learning to discern truth on your own and formulate your own beliefs, you’re told what to believe.

Fixed perspective: By saying “I am a Catholic” or “I am a Buddhist” you rob yourself of spiritual depth perception and attach blinders that do not allow you to see all realities.

Lack of power: Religions are authoritarian hierarchies where power is heaviest at the top and lightest at the bottom where the majority of believers are. Religions are very good at turning human beings into sheep. They operate by eroding your trust in your own intellect and gradually convince you to put your trust into some external entity, such as a deity, or great book, convincing you that without these you would be lost.

Wasted time: Religions often dictate that you have to pray, attend church, and read religious texts regularly. Some people take this even further with memorization of religious texts or other wastes of time.

Forgo intelligence or become a hypocrite: When you subscribe to an organized religion, you have only two options: You can forgo intelligence, or you can become a hypocrite. You either willingly believe every piece of drivel fed to you by the religion (for example, believing that the earth is only 6,000 years old) or you can recognize that many parts of religion are nonsense but believe it to be infallible all the same.

Where you're born has a lot to do with your religion: Born in North America? Chances are you follow a Judo-Christian religion. Born in India? Maybe you're a Hindu. Born in Tibet? Could be a Buddhist. If you were born somewhere else, to some different set of circumstances do you think you still would have found your way to your religion? Or are your current beliefs really just a by-product of your environment and not a conscious choice you made.

Religion rules with fear: Fear of hell, fear of excommunication, fear of disappointing one's parents, fear of abandoning the community, fear of being different. When you practice organized religion instead of conscious decision making, you live under a constant fear. Eventually you forget it's even there.



Islam:


Violence: Although the majority of adherents are peaceful, those who do choose to commit acts of violence and terror in the name of Allah will find ample justification for their actions in the Qur'an and the sayings and examples of the prophet Muhammad. Human rights issues: The greatest obstacle to human rights under Political Islam is its strong adherence to Sharia law. Many aspects of the Sharia are at odds to the ideas enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In an Islamist state no individual or group can have any rights that do not conform to the tenets of the Sharia. Death for Apostates: "Apostasy in Islam (Arabic: ارتداد, irtidād or ridda‎) is commonly defined in Islam as the rejection in word or deed of their former religion (apostasy) by a person who was previously a follower of Islam."Freedom of belief is enshrined in Islamic texts however there is disagreement among Muslim scholars as to the limits of that freedom. For example, Afghan Abdul Rahman, who converted to Christianity, faced the death penalty for his apostasy and it was not an isolated incident. Women's Rights: Muslim proponents never tire of telling everyone that will listen that Islam has given more rights to women than any other religion. Certainly, if by "Islam" they mean "Qur'anic Islam" the rights that it has given to women are impressive.However,Islamic Law is not derived solely from the Quran and many of Muhammad's extra-Quranic sayings (the Hadith) appear to curtail women's Human Rights severely.For example, Muslims who practice female genital mutilation cite authentic ahadith to support the practice (Muhammad encouraged it as he believed it was 'more pleasurable for the husband').Furthermore,A review of Muslim history will bring to light many areas in which - Qur'anic teaching aside - women continue to be subjected to diverse forms of oppression. Muslim societies, in general, appear to be far more concerned with trying to control women's bodies and sexuality than with their human rights. Judaism:

Other:

Mormonism:

Restorationist (Christian primitivism): (Jehovah's Witnesses)



, Religion enhances local communities in which human relationships can flourish, religious communities make massive contributions through deeds of charity and social action, and religion can give people a sense of community and make people feel welcome.
Understand what religion is.
Before opening a discussion about religion ensure you have a good understanding of how organized religion works.
Purchase books and reference material for research; Books like God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett, and others.
Understand some of the basic arguments against organized religion.
Be aware that there are a number of positive contributions made to society by religion.
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