History does not record anywhere at any time a religion that has any rational basis. Religion is a crutch for people not strong enough to stand up to the unknown without help. But, like dandruff, most people do have a religion and spend time and money on it and seem to derive considerable pleasure from fiddling with it.

Robert Heinlein (1907 - 1988), Time Enough for Love (1972)

This reminds me of something in one of Rosemary Edghill's Bast books, in which she says something like, "...which is why TV is the religion of the masses, and religion is the TV of the few..."

Yes, my religion is as important to me as TV is to others.

I have been intending to think and write about this more.

The dictionary definitions of religion and spirituality are very similar. So, what's the difference?

Religion is about:

practice

RULES

potlucks - religion is a social construct that goes to the heart of social interaction

other people

what you do, as much as what you really believe

(Below are snips from an argument about Neopaganism, Star Wars, and reality... with added comments that weren't appropriate in the original venue.) ( Read more...Collapse )

Religion is like that. We can live without it-- but religion, and writing, play and friendship and lovemaking are part of what can make life worth living, even when the purely physical parts don't work well. They are the "salt of the earth," to quote a famous religious text, without which life has no savor.