MessyONE:

On the religion issue - I still maintain that in addition to explaining the unexplainable, religion is ultimately political. It is a creation designed to regulate human behavior in the absence of secular law

I've been arguing this same point for years! I believe in a higher power but I think that a majority of organized religion had less to do with God and more to do with control. Not to say that there aren't true Godly people out there but it's hard to argue the necessity of rites and rituals when there's little explaination behind them except the church says to do it this way.