7. Organized Religion

Organized religion can mean different things to everyone who hears the name. To some it can be appealing, while to others it is repulsive and unattractive. I grew up in a religious family, so the topic of organized religion is not new to me at all, and does not bother me in the slightest when I hear those words like it may to some people. West Side Christian Church is the church I attend when I go. I think it is a nice church, it has a persuasive preacher and a good band. There are many other churches around Springfield and Pleasant Plains, but I have never been to any of them besides West Side (other than my grandparent's church in Beardstown, but we have only gone there a few times on holidays). Because I have only ever attended one church, I can not really state any opinions of any of the other churches. I am also not very knowledgeable on the view of other religions. I know there are Christian, Catholic, Methodist, Jewish, Presbyterian, and all of the Middle Eastern and Asian religions like Islamic, Buddist, and Hindu, but other than that I am not aware of other religions. I think that organized religion can usually be a good thing, but not always. There are some churchs or religions that will threaten or kill people if they do not follow that specific religion and its ideas. There is not a lot of that in America, but more in the Middle Eastern area.


Religion is important to so many people in one way or another. Agree with it or not, it can affect you and the way you look at certain situations. For most religious people, their religion is a big part of their lives. It can help them through a tough time when it seems like there is no one else there but God. To others, it is not important whatesoever, sometimes even offensive. I feel bad for those who can't be open to religion and see what it can do for them, because until they experience it for themselves, how will they ever know what its like or how it can feel? And even if they do try it out a few times, that won't give them a full understanding of what's going on. It seems to me like atheists or agnostic people make hasty judgements without doing their research, because if one of them took the time to look deeper into religion and what its based on, they would be suprised.