What religion are you?

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Whoa that got dark. I only meant it metaphorically...

I mean, removing religion doesn't really change all that much. Not automatically, at least.

It's likely some other cult would jump into the void, not any better than the original one.
The Soviets and Maoists tried to forcefully remove religion. It didn't make people think for themselves. Actually, it didn't even make people allowed to think for themselves.

Are religion and faith the same thing?

What connotative and denotative meanings do you give those words when you use them?

Can a person have faith in Jesus without having a religion?

But a maniac without a gun is still a maniac?

I have had plenty of religious people in my life, and almost none of them were nutbags.
A lot of them actually do very good things for others.

Would you rather fight the unarmed maniac or the maniac with a machine gun, panzerfaust, machete or whatever weapon you can imagine? And which maniac is more and which less dangerous?

I am not talking about individual good and bad people. I am talking about an ideology, its organisations and impact on society and what the implementation of the ideology means or would mean.

By the way, if any of your religious friends were advocating against such things as women’s right to bodily autonomy, human rights and equality for LGBT people, denied evolution or science in general, were demonising biology/nature and sexuality etc. etc. they were already dangerous nutbags to me.

Had to go with other, I am a TST satanist.

Posted by Marc
A few miles south of Lynchburg in Campbell County sits a large and attractive octagonal building which is home to one of most unique churches in the world. Founded in 1977, “The Spock,” as the church is called, is the world’s only church of Star Trek, a religion centered on the popular 1960’s television series featuring the adventures of a crew of interstellar explorers. “The Spock” promotes beliefs associated with one of the popular characters in the TV series, Mr. Spock, who was from a peace-loving race of aliens known as “Vulcans.”

The ideology of the church is centered on so-called Vulcan philosophy which includes the belief in pure “logic” and which emphasizes a lifestyle devoid of emotion. A huge stained-glass likeness of the church’s namesake is featured in the sanctuary, where churchgoers recite sequences of dialogue from the series and participate in what they call a “Holy Mind Meld.” Many church members wear stick-on pointed ears (mimicking those of the TV character) during services and at other church functions (in one case of excessive dedication to the “faith,” one member attempted to have his ears surgically altered but with disastrous results, requiring extensive corrective surgery).
“The Spock” is not without controversy, as reportedly in the late 1980’s disagreement arose within the church over the lengths to which members should go in emulating the purely logical and emotionless Vulcan approach to life. Some members advocated a reasonable degree of emotion (citing Mr. Spock’s half-human side), but a core group of hard-line members insisted on a rigid adherence to Vulcan ideology. The stricter view won out, and as a result, several members left the church and publicly denounced its practices. One resentful former member went so far as to publish a science fiction story based on his rigid and stifling upbringing in the faith, a story which concludes with the destruction of the Campbell County sanctuary by a “phaser” blast from an orbiting “starship” at his command. Despite the dissent, “The Spock” boasts a membership today of over 120, and actively campaigns for new members at area fan conventions and at Star Trek movie showings in local theatres. Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Mr. Spock in Star Trek, has refused comment on “The Spock.”

I agree with Skjald's general point but I wouldn't say religion as a whole is analogous to Nazism, more like: cultural/compartmentalized religion = patriotism, devout religion = nationalism, extreme sects = Nazism/other fascism.

Well, if I fought an unarmed maniac, my death would be slow and painful...
If I fought an armed maniac, my death would likely be a lot quicker...
Either way, I would be dead.

Would it help if I clarified by saying that a lot of these friends are working in the ministry, and thus, leaders of these "organizations" you speak of, spreading a positive impact on society?

Not every religion is WBC.

Nope.

Again, not every religion is WBC.

Sorry, I don’t know what WBC stands for and thus can’t engage with this part.