Is either correct? Does it matter?

Hmmmmm, future post maybe… But I would suspect that the former is the true statement.

And anyways, religion DOES stress good morals, even if the reasons may be ambiguous.

I wasn’t trying to say that the world would be better off without religion altogether. My assertion that fear is the foundation is directed more at organized religion. In other words, I don’t think that those people who supposedly “share a personal relationship with a god” (and acknowledge that it is only their personal relationship that matters) are always basing that belief entirely on fear.

I think that fear, instead, is used to control the masses that are needed in order for organized religion to force its ideology upon everyone around them - including those that don’t willingly subscribe to their school of thought - starting in childhood when people are most vulnerable to the feeling of fear and continuing through adulthood mainly by playing politics.

Furthermore, the natural extension or reach of a personal relationship, when acknowledged by the theist, is relatively limited. So even if fear was at the foundation of that belief, whatever adverse effects might be present would be confined.

Does that make sense?

Eventually, I started thinking logically (I was keen at doing that at that time. I’m still like that now), and formed my own beliefs about how and why this world works, both religious-wise and non-religious-wise. After that, I kinda’ started respecting how short life is, so I’m trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

But on a different note, I noticed a funny thing about how those long-ago explorers (like Sir Richard Francis Burton) come to play in our discussion. In the olden times, where gaps lie in our knowledge of the world, there were many superstitions about monsters and cataclysms beyond the horizon. After all, as was claimed, who knows what’s out there? And yet, while religion fears this unknown, explorers welcome it. With their adventuring spirit, they carved our world into what it is now. After all, every modern-day child’s dream has once been to become an astronaut, one who screams with joy upon embracing the deep abyss of outer space. There’s no denying that this explorer’s curiosity is a natural part of us. However, oddly enough, fearing the unknown (religion) is also a part of us.

A yin-yang relationship perhaps? Interesting.