Why do you need religion in your life?

Self control.

Some people need to be lead around by the nose.

I need religion in my life because I want it, and it's my choice:

- My relationship with my Gods is deeply fulfilling and touching

- They give me what I need, when I need it: strength, comfort, guidance, support, etc.

- My religion's values are something deeply rooted within me and have not steered me wrong

- the tenets and ethics have given me some excellent lessons and food for thought

- the rites of passage are touching and mark transitions to help me through them

- rituals are beautiful, meaningful and deeply moving

- practices lend me an outlet for my spiritual expression, and have been an excellent way of helping celebrate that which I hold as sacred in life

- The lessons have helped me learn and grow as a person

- traditions have been joyful and given me fond memories

- they've also been a great source of tradition for my family, a bonding experience

- I've found a great satisfaction and joy in taking part in my religious community

I mean, it's like a deep, rich cultural experience. It touches about every aspect of my life. I don't care if there is an afterlife, I don't believe in the whole reward/punishment system. I just know that it is a lifestyle that has worked for me.

to worship god

its good to know

I grew up in an environment that was religious. It was never my own, but I would call myself a Christian. I can say for myself that it made me feel superior to others. It made me feel like I belonged. In the same way a new recruit to a gang feels, I had a group of people who thought like me, encouraged me, and pushed me to do things I wouldn't completely consider myself doing.

When I was older, because I had never experienced God or anything in all that time, I grew separated from religion. I pushed it aside and made up my own path. My mom, despite the religion not being real to me, instilled in me good morals, and so despite me not being part of a religion, I acted kind and sincere. Despite this, inside of me there grew an anger, a discord with the way things were.

I began to act out in negative ways as I grew older. I pushed my mom, my brother, and anyone I could away from religion. It made me feel supported in my defiance of God.

It was only later that I had grown so hateful of my youth and religion that I decided for once and for all, I was going to prove God didn't exist. I picked up a bible, and in my opposition I sought and tested him. I wrote down everything, using every scrap of writing to paint a picture--a negative one. As I read however, God began to reveal his true self to me. He began to show me how real he was and how much he loved me.

At first I was taken aback by the strange coincidences of his tested character coming about just as he said, but soon the evidence of his existence became overwhelming. I was flooded with examples that I could not logically deny, and I hated it. It meant I was guilty of my sins.

Eventually I had become so overladen with evidence and examples that I just couldn't logically deny him anymore and I had to decide whether he was a God I could love or if he was a God I should hate. His personal touches, his care for me had become apparent. I drew close to him and decided to put my trust in him and his Son's sacrifice. When I did, this religion became something more. It was not just something I needed, it was something I realized everyone needs.

My heart had filled with joy where it was once filled with anger. I had a personal loving God who helped me overcome my struggles, and I had a guarantee that I would live for all time in glory. But most of all, that all the crappy things I've done and said, it was sure nice to have washed away from the sight and judgement of God. I grew to need it.

I don't think without religion I would be a "bad person", and some of the nicest people I've met are mixed between Christian and non-Christian. It doesn't matter when it comes to the outside. I need religion because of the inside, and I need it because no matter how nice I am, I am still guilty of sin. With Jesus, that has been washed away.

I don't.

Thanks for the two points. I needed them.

Matthew 5:3 says happy is the one conscious of his spiritual need. We all have an innate spiritual need. We were created this way. We fill it and worship something, but we want it to be the right thing.

Because God is real. The Bible is true and full of amazing prophecies that have come true and documented facts that prove it. God communicates with you if you pray and ask him to. He has revealed himself to me many times and answered many prayers. No, I don't want to believe I would act in a bad way without "religion" but who knows? Our consciences come from him and if you shut him out of your life, evil spirits will create a stronghold.

"needing religion" is how you lump everyone together who espouses a belief in God. It is flawed in this way: there is only the God of the Bible and He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Then Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day to provide victory over death and sin. There is no other belief system that is valid or compares with what Jesus did. But this has to do with a "relationship" between God and the believer because God actually indwells that person. Why do we "need" Jesus? Because God has created us to serve and love Him but our sin has caused us to be estranged from God. That is why the "need" - to be made right with God and to establish God's purpose in our lives.

It's a means to an end.