Before any of you think that I’m a Christian hater and I will be immediately cast into the depths of hell, please know that I don’t hate anyone who is Christian nor do I judge anyone who is- some of my best friend are devout Christians and I’ve told exactly what I’ve wrote to them as well. My editorial is strictly based on my own thoughts and experiences and is meant to spur on further discussion, good or bad.

At its most basic level, I think that organized religion is the perfect case study of capitalism at its best. Organized religion acts as a corporation, with clergy, pastors, and church group leaders as its upper management. People who follow are its employees. People working for this corporation have a product to sell; its product is religion and its market is the entire world. Employees are salesmen, making their pitch to any person willing to listen. Religion is just like Nike, McDonald’s, or any other large business. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this; it’s the nature of the beast. For any religion to survive, it counts on membership as its revenue.

Every time a Christian has approached me about Christianity, I get the feeling that they’re trying to sell me a product. Not one of them has taken the time to get to know me, ask me my opinions, or find out what I’m about. They break right into their pitch about how God can change my life and forgive my sins, and how I should attend this praise group meeting at 7:30 on Friday. How the hell can someone ask me to make a decision that could affect the rest of my life without even taking the time to get to know me?

Furthermore, I believe that organized religion banks on the fact that in any society, there are a great number of weak people who need something to believe in and someone to lead them. Every society that has ever existed has had some sort of organized religion at one point, and this is due to the fact that there will always be people who will follow.

Some of the coolest people I’ve met are devout Christians, but some of the most misguided people I know are also Christian. Many Christians that I have met seem to use God as an excuse for everything. They use phrases such as, “Well, it’s in God’s hands now” instead of trying to solve a problem or do something themselves. Some people seem to think that God is a safety blanket and will protect them from the stresses of the world. I believe that if you’re not strong enough to survive on your own, religion and spirituality won’t help you out much.

Despite my negative view towards organized religion (specifically Christianity), I do believe that most religions have good intentions and are beneficial to society. The problem I see is not with God or the Bible; the problem is with the ulterior motives of the people who follow it. My opinion is that most people have hidden agendas and are inherently selfish deep down, but are capable of doing good. I think religion brings out the best of people, but can also bring out the worst. Many of history’s genocides and wars have been carried out in the name of organized religion. Religion is power, and power controls the minds of the masses. Today, Christians say things like, “If you’re Christian, you should not drink, cuss, or smoke”, even though these actions are not explained in the Bible. Again, the motives of the people following religion define the expectations of that religion.

For me, I do believe that there is a God, I’m just not sure if it’s the God that Christians tell me about. Every religion believes that there is at least one God, but each vision of that God or Gods differs from one another. I tend to think that God is the same throughout, but people try to put their own spin on spirituality. I believe that people can be spiritual and religious without the excesses of organized religion. A Christian friend once told me that Christianity makes him happy and he knew that I would not find happiness in anything other than God. Screw that. I find happiness in unforgettable experiences, friends, work, life, and me.