Well, from the Christmas service I almost had to attend this season, I'd say the purpose of religion is to let people gather together in a big social clique, exclude everybody else, and feel morally superior to them.
And as bitter as that sounds, how many folks go to church to see who's there, with whom, doing what? To sing songs, then hang out at a potluck afterwards? To go on "missions" to foreign countries where they bang a few nails in a few houses and spend the rest of the time goofing off? To have "inside knowledge" and their own lingo relating to their beliefs? Inside jokes about the differences between this sect or that?
How many people can interact in their religion without getting buried in the social facade? And is it even possibe to separate the social culture from the core religious teachings?
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~ Elaine.
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