I have never had serious thoughts about religion till now.
I am a little confused if I should ever take it seriously - i like the serenity religious institutions provide - the artwork - the quiet comfort - but dislike the brainwashing and scams.
Would love to know how the community got started with this.


You’re bang on that religion encompasses more than just faith. They’ve been around so long that those institutions carry within it culture, community, art, etc.
Since you’re on the fediverse I’ll use the analogy of Reddit. It had incredible communities, talented people, and wealth of knowledge, but it wasn’t on the right course so we left. Now we have to build all that up again. None of those things were intrinsic to Reddit, they were just collected under it’s roof.
So back to religion, recognise that generations of people of all talents lived under it’s roof and I think it’s perfectly reasonable to enjoy it’s art and philosophical teachings (when applicable). We live in a go-go-go world right now that doesn’t give people the time for reflection and introspective thinking, and religions often did. What you shouldn’t do, however, is assume that gods have any relevance today. They are nothing but superstitions used to explain a confusing world, and then harnessed to control populations. Religion itself deserves no respect.