I'm for the "I believe in myself" thing.
I know religious people and I don't mind they have their faith AS LONG AS they don't try to press it on me and respect me the way I am as I respect their ways.

At the moment, I'm not so sure organized religion is for me. I like some of the aspects of religion itself, but I just can't stand the people in the organizations. As for "believing in science" though, why can't science have been organized by a higher power? I find it awfully frightening to think that we're all here for no reason, victims of happenstance and luck, and that we truly feel nothing but an expression of chemicals, we're meaningless and have no value. Why not go on a killing spree, or go rape and pillage, if it's just a huge accident that we're here anyways? I don't really like that train of thought, that existence just spontaneously happened with all the perfect laws of physics in place. It's uncomfortable. But then again, there is solace in thinking that nothing we do matters, and we aren't actually accountable for our actions, so we shouldn't feel bad for stealing candy from babies or committing genocide. I don't mean to offend anyone or attack anyone, I just have strong feelings on this, and this is what I believe. I don't expect anyone to defend themselves from my opinions, and will probably not even defend my own opinions, it's just how I feel.

I would say no it is definitely not for me and will never follow anything but myself.

BTowns : Does the fact that life may be random and emotions are just chemical reactions really mean they have no value? If it was not specifically planned by a higher power, that would mean the chances of life and human consciousness existing at all would be a miracle. Wouldn't that make you feel extremely lucky and important? We, as a species, can look at the universe and contemplate it's vastness and our place in it (with or without turning to religion). That profound thought process alone means our lives and thoughts must have some value, in my opinion...

the only reason anyone ever believed in jesus or mohammed is because they were told to, simple as that. religion, to the logical, is obviously false.

there are SO MUCH LOGICAL arguments that can be made AGAINST religion that its not even funny. there are ZERO arguments to be made in favor of religion. please, someone challenge me. it'll be fun.

look, this isn't about god. this is about religion. they are 2 completley dif. things

Savenko87 : "the only reason anyone ever believed in jesus or mohammed is because they were told to, simple as that. religion, to the logical, is obviously false."

This is a rather interesting statement...
1. That is not all true. This can be the same with atheism, and also there are plenty of examples where people change their beliefs, from believing in God to not believing in God, or from not believing in God to believing in God.
2. You are basically saying that anyone who believes in a type of religion is illogical.

I would say that if you define religion as Man's way of getting to God, then Christianity is not a religion. If you define it as dictionary.com defines it http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion, then anyone who has a set of beliefs, including atheism, is in a religion.

This brings me to the confusion of what you are...are you an atheist, an agnostic, or a whatever-ist?

The reason we evolved on here was because the conditions were right for our type of intelligent life and then we evolved to inhabit it. The astronomic number of factors will produce life, even if it is not human life.
Religion is not for me. I do not have the ability to believe in sky faeries and wizards.

this is my first post and my attempts to separate the two paragraphs has failed. sorry about the wall of text.Religion is not for me.First of all, the last few years I have become really interested in theology, and have studied many religions in my free time. I am more interested in why people believe these storys than trying to find truth to them. I was raised in a household where religion was really never discussed and thus I am an atheist today. I have never had the desire to go to any place of worship or to be part of any religious cult. I personally believe this world would be better off without  religion , after looking back through history and seeing all the horrible things done under various gods names. I do, however, think  you are allowed to believe any religion/story/fairy tales you want to.Now I want to reply to something play4fun said.He stated that there are many created factors as to why life is on earth (and only on earth). I do agree that life would not exist or at the very least be drasticaly different from its current form if some of these factors were altered. Clearly though, his statement is illogical or his god works in illogical ways. You are saying that god created all these complex laws of physics just to allow life, and only on earth for that matter?Why wouldn't god have made less complex laws so that life could flourish around the entire universe? Wouldn't it  make more sense if he created a world that wouldn't get destroyed if it got hit by a big asteroid? Or is god driving all those asteroids around?I am prepared for the cliche line "God works in mysterious ways" or something to that effect

smotpoker86 :  If it was made in a simpler way, the idea that life can spontaneously appear and live in specific conditions is possible. He created that way so that no one in logical sense can say that this world is formed randomly, but that it is planned and complexly made. Because of this, they would have no excuse to say that there is no God when they look at the universe (Romans 1:20). In fact, the reason science was formed is based on the idea that the world can be explained in an orderly and consistent manner. The universe is made for His desire and glory, display some of His attributes of power through the things that are created, yet also made the world in a way that we can understand some of it. 

play4fun : Thanks for replying, and fairly quickly i might add! Also its nice to see Christians who actually have read their bible, as most I talk to seem to have less of an understanding than I do.  Not trying to offend any one here with that statement, it is just an observation.The concept that god created everything very complexly so we have no excuse to deny his existence still baffles me. If the universe was just the earth, im sure that most holy books would still say the same thing. Also, I would like to point out that at the time this man made scripture was written, they knew very little about the universe than we know now. They only knew about the earth (which was flat and everything revolved around it) the sun, stars,the moon, and the planets visible by the naked eye. Distant stars were merely lights in the sky, they didn't realize that they are actually stars giving the same life giving energy that sun gives off. Saying "God did it" offers no truth, and actually impedes the desire to examine such things.Want to end saying, although I always love a good religious debate this is not the proper thread. Lets just agree to disagree, until our paths meet again in a more appropriate place . Feel free to respond to my post, just don't be surprised if i do not reply to you.

Is religion for me? No. Not even close. I see myself as a scientific person, not a spiritual person. True, I might believe in balance and karma and luck, but it's a small fun belief. Personally, I think God doesn't exist, or if He did, He is already dead. There is too much evidence for science to compare to the less-than-nothing facts of the religions. But hey, that's just my opinion!

I grew up in a family quite strong in religion, and I followed them when I was young. But now I'm grown up and well... ... I'm on longer strong in those practices. The basics of all religion are OK to me (Avoid sins, do good stuff, etc.), but I sadly cannot believe in "gods". But does it matter that much...? I no longer believe in my religion's god, but I am willing to follow the teachings.

I do not believe in religion. Period. That point has been made clear enough with the logic of so many of the posters on this thread. I have been a 'non-believer, but a YouTube user named A. Hughman08 (www.youtube.com/user/AHughman08) convinced me entirely. His logic took every bit of science and put an end to even the most solid theories of the Theists. A. Hughman08 is also a devote blogger, musician, and a prominent figure in anti/pro-religion YouTube channels.

Just so you know, this was not an ad, I just think A. Hughman08 makes a good point.

I grew up with a Christian family and went to a very strict Christian school. In about year seven I realised that I didn't believe in God and that I didn't really want to live my life following someone else's guidelines. (Trying not to offend, purely my thoughts at the time).

As I got older I tried out a few religions, believing that there would eventually be one that would work for me. I tried Buddhism, Wicca, and LaVeyan Satanism. Each of them helped me further myself in some way and because of that I do see looking into religion as being beneficial but I do not like the idea of following guidelines or using someone else's idea of living as your guide to life.

My view is to let people "experiment" with religion, to choose their own belief's and path in life but also to accept everyone who chooses not to do this. Gosh, it is hard to explain without rambling a bit. Pretty much I mean "each to their own". It is not for me personally but it did help me progress myself so research into religion is definitely beneficial for me. The more you know?

Even though I've already shared my thoughts before, they have changed.

I don't really care for religion anymore, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself an atheist because I feel that Atheism is a strong belief the there is no god and all that. I don't really believe that there is no god, I just don't really care if there is or if there isn't.

My family is Christian, but my family never goes to Church, so all that time away from all the religious stuff is what made me not care as much about believing as I do now. But even when I did go to church I never felt the need to pay attention because nothing ever really felt important...

I still think religion is an interesting thing to discuss at school, especially with other people who can actually see from my point of view that religion just isn't a big deal.

If I were to run things I would prefer that religion stay out of things like politics and school issues, but I wouldn't be against people praying at school, or discussing religious things, because they still have their rights and what not.

So really I'm not Atheist and I'm not religious... I'm just somewhere stuck in the middle for now .

I strongly believe in God. Why? Because I can feel his presence all around me. Because so many facts point towards his existence. People say that the universe was created by the big bang. But let me ask you this: How could something with no mind, no body, no consciousnesses, create something like us, people, who can have this conversation and understand one another? How could it have placed us, and no one else, the perfect distance from the sun? If we were farther away, we would freeze. If we were closer, we would burn. If the rotation of the earth were any different, it would have drastic effects. If it slowed, we would be hotter during the day, and colder during the night. Days would be longer, hotter, unbearable. Same with the nights, only colder. If it was faster, everything would pass by to quickly, and things would be harder to control. Everything about Earth is better than any other planet. How can science explain that? Explain how something was there and create the universe, when absolutely nothing was there to begin with? You can't make something out of nothing, not by scientific standards. If you say that it has always been there, and science can't explain it, then you could say the same about God. Science can't explain him, and he isn't possible by logical and scientific standards. And if those aren't the reason for the world, then what is? What is the point of life, if no one made it? I say it's impossible for there not to be God, because of how much science can't explain. Like the little kid who was dead in the hospital, unplugged from life support, for 2 hours, but then woke up, alive? How can science explain that? and like my great grandmother, who, while in the hospital about to have her cause of death checked, woke up, mostly ok? Your science cannot explain these things, or the miracle of life. All it is is a way of thinking for those who are to stubborn to accept the fact that there is an infinitely powerful being who created us, creating the universe, creating the miracle we call life. Haven't you ever wondered how something as stupid as the big bang could possibly create such beauty in the world. Science can explain all it wants about how the brain works, and sends thoughts to other parts of your body through electrical signals, but they can't explain how the initial thought is formed. All they can explain is how things grow and are sent, but not how they start. If they could logically explain that, then I might possibly agree that it is possible that God isn't real. but until then, I will never change my mind. I hope I changed at least 1 persons mind with this post.

Excellent, a thread where i can actualy say what i think.
Im an atheist because i prefer to search for the truth than satisfy myself with a lie. I look at the sky and wonder what all those stars are like,what created them, who might dwell there etc.
For religions, god created it end of story.
Thats not very interesting and i prefer that we actualy search for the answer than satisfy ourselves with that.
Many people talk of the 'true religion' but the fact is, if you were born in the middle east, youd be saying that about allah and reading the quoran,the only reason you believe in christ is you were born amongst christians.
As for saying its obviously true, the bible is clear of the age of the earth,so explain dinosaurs.the bible also says bats are birds, that the moon is a light,and stars arent suns.if that was gods word he should know better what he created.
The over riding fact,if any religion was true then other religious groups would be turned by god, thats not hapening.
Religions dictate the terms of your life and cause violence and intolerance,neither are things i aprove of, its not for me.