Day 19: What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?

(the  baby is taking a nap and so I have time to catch up some of the posts for which I previously haven't had time)

Let me first start off by saying that I consider myself a spiritual person. There are times when I really wish I could focus more of my life through my spirituality. I grew up in a Lutheran church and I consider most of the people in that church part of my family. But I wouldn't call myself Lutheran. I don't consider myself any particular religious affiliation because I don't believe that we can flat out say any one religion is right and all the rest are wrong. I have studied different religions and I find it fascinating how these religions influence ones culture. I won't go into my specific views on Jesus or Mohamed or the Bible or Buddha, or any of the polytheistic groups. But I do believe it's OK that people have different religions. And I think it's OK that there are people who have no religion. The thing I don't agree with is forcing people to believe YOUR specific religion, or punishing those who don't. What does it matter if we call our higher spirit "God" or "Allah"?  Can we really say that these are actually two separate entities? If I call it a heart, and someone else calls it a corazon, and someone else calls it a herz,  is it not the same thing?
Religion is a powerful thing, and it should be used for good. It should be used to uplift people, give them hope, give their life meaning. It should not be used to be vindictive towards people or destroy them.