Religion - Faith,Ritual, or Just Good Management strategy?

Throughout recorded human history religion has been a dominate influence on both individuals and societies as a whole. I personally do not really care about a persons religious beliefs or practices. I can't think of a single decision in my normal day to day life that would be dependant on a persons religious beliefs.

However, I believe there is a big difference between religious "ritual" and religious "faith" and it is usually the "ritual" portion that causes the problems. I believe the rituals are the outward manifestation of a persons faith but when practiced among others who have a different set of beliefs and rituals it can cause conflict. 

I think the outward facing ritualized behavior is used to bolster or remind you of your faith but is this outward manifestation and ritualization always necessary or can a person maintain their faith by focusing on their internal feelings and convictions privately? Can you be religious even if you don't go to a church,synagogue , or mosque?  

In today's world the 2 most powerful and destructive constructs in our daily life are politics and religion. When these 2 subjects combine the outcome is almost always mayhem and destruction. I look at organized religion as a weakness in our society. The key word being "organized". Going back in history the role of organized religion has always been one of control. A way for the usually self appointed religious leaders to gather and control their humble supplicants. This is where religion starts merging with politics and the fun begins. The proof of this type of interaction and control is in our face 24/7. Just look at the middle east and try to deny that religion is not being used by the powerful to control their supplicant populations. And just look at their complete and utter FAILURE.

The middle east is both blessed and cursed with an abundance of energy resources and the amount of money flowing into those countries should be supporting a vibrant society but instead the money is collected by those at the top while the multitudes get nothing but religious dictates and sand. Of course you will hear the old canard about the "West" stealing their resources but that is just nonsense. It is true that most middle eastern oil producing countries got their exploration, operational expertise, and refining technology from western companies but that was a long time ago. Most of these countries have since then "nationalized" (ie. stole)  their oil production infrastructure from the western builders and re-negotiated their deals on their terms. If they are unhappy with their current deal they can always re-negotiate but the more you negotiate the more public the details become and they can't afford that to happen. It's hard to cover up bribery and kickbacks when your negotiations are on the front page of the Wall Street Journal every day.  So deals are made in back rooms with promises and money to ease the way but a situation like this can only exist when both parties are in agreement. So if you don't like your deal stop whining about people stealing your resources and come out in the open to re-negotiate in good faith. That would be worth seeing.

My issue with religion is not that I don't believe in God. I can honestly say I am keeping an open mind on the subject and I am still searching for signs and clues. However there are some things about religion that bother me.

• Why would an all powerful God ever need a lowly human to serve as a warrior? An all powerful God can probably fight his own battles just fine. He needs no "Holy Warriors".
• It's my opinion that the hardcore God believers constantly underestimate and frankly insult God by limiting the scope of his powers to just us humans on the planet Earth. Seems to me creating the universe and all it's contents would have come before Earth and us humans. And judging by the amount of stars in the universe there are most likely other beings arguing about the same things we are right now.
• Organized religion is still the most effective way to force a man onto his knees voluntarily. I wasn't born in this universe to bend my knee to any mere mortal just because he says God commands it and I know for a fact this person has not had a private sit down with God in person. I will need a little more proof before I kneel for anyone mortal.
• In a certain religion one of the key beliefs is that if you confess your sins God will forgive all. What's the downside of sinning if every sin is forgiven? 

I do not feel very confident about our future. The overwhelming majority of people on the planet are being held hostage by religious extremists of every type and no one seems eager to offend the self righteous blowhards when it comes to making public policy or changing our world for the better. The world is steadily becoming over populated and our natural resources are vanishing just as fast in the opposite direction. The "right to life" idiots would literally start a war if the government were to institute population control measures. Of course the government could just kill all of those who disagree with the new policy like the Chinese government did back in the 50's. Maybe we could market it as a policy of "tough love" to save the world. And while I adore a capitalist economy I do think we are going a little over board with our never ending consumption. I think instituting a strict policy geared towards recycling and aggressive alternative energy applications would be a good place to start. Of course before this can take place we will need to forbid any outside donations to any political parties. The government already provides a set amount of money (millions) to presidential candidates and that should be all they get. It's time to kill the for profit lobby industry once and for all. I actually think this type of thing could be pushed right know because the public seems to be a little upset with the morons running the country today. Somewhere along the line our leaders stopped doing the jobs they were elected to do and instead all they do is collect money and campaign endlessly. Maybe it's time for them to go home and examine the state of their faith.