I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it which I loved in Sunday school and I collected all the little stickers and put them in my book. But the reality is that organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate.

I don't normally talk about my religion publicly because I don't want people to associate me and my flaws with this beautiful thing. And I believe it is beautiful if you learn it the right way.

There's a gullible side to the American people. They can be easily misled. Religion is the best device used to mislead them.

My philosophy is to do the best you can for somebody. Help. It's not just what do you for yourself. It's how you treat people decently. The golden rule. There isn't big anything better than the golden rule. It's in every major religion in one language or another.

The fact that religion plays such a part in how people vote troubles me troubles me as a minister's daughter. Because I always felt that the separation of church and state was what our forefathers and foremothers really fought for.

I'm actually an evangelical atheist but there is something I recognise about religion: that it gives people a chance to surrender.

The latest horror to hit the U.S. looks to have been caused by people of Middle Eastern origin bearing Muslim names. Again shame. This fuels more hatred for a religion and a people who have nothing to do with these events.

Don't try to tear down other people's religion about their ears Build up your own perfect structure of truth and invite your listeners to enter in and enjoy it's glories.

Some of you say religion makes people happy. So does laughing gas.

Religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time. There's nothing good I can say about it. People use it as a crutch.

Hobbies of any kind are boring except to people who have the same hobby. This is also true of religion although you will not find me saying so in print.

I don't think Romney is wacky at all but religion makes intelligent people say and do wacky things believe and affirm crazy things. Left on his own Romney would never have said something like the Garden Of Eden was in Missouri and will be again.

If you want to move people you look for a point of sensitivity and in Egypt nothing moves people as much as religion.

Religious people often prefer to be right rather than compassionate. Often they don't want to give up their egotism. They want their religion to endorse their ego their identity.

The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people and then they come after you with machetes.

People in general are equally horrified at hearing the Christian religion doubted and at seeing it practiced.

I'm sickened by all religions. Religion has divided people. I don't think there's any difference between the pope wearing a large hat and parading around with a smoking purse and an African painting his face white and praying to a rock.

We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion. I do believe that. I think religion stops people from thinking. I think it justified crazies.

Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but we thought if people needed a crutch for consolation where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.

In nearly every religion I am aware of there is a variation of the golden rule. And even for the non-religious it is a tenet of people who believe in humanistic principles.

Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.

Religion is the organization of spirituality into something that became the hand maiden of conquerors. Nearly all religions were brought to people and imposed on people by conquerors and used as the framework to control their minds.