Let's look at some of the basic religious beliefs we are at odds with.
1. Guilt/shame religion: Religions teach you at a very basic level that God is way up high and you can't get to him unless you are a good enough person. Penance or self-punishment is done to "make up" for the evil you have done. At the end of life, you will have a reward if your good outweighs your bad.
The problem with religion is that you can't ever be good enough. God is perfect, and He demands perfection. You know deep down that you can't possibly measure up, even if you try so hard it hurts.
Guilt religion is just absurd. How can your good make up for the evil you have done? It's like saying, "My 20 years of incarceration will make up for me killing your loved one." No, punishment does not make up for evil. Justice and "penance" is found in the cross of Jesus Christ, where Jesus took our sins away and forgave us. Now life is a life of gratitude, not guilt. We measure up because we have been united with Jesus.
2. Encompassing religion: Ever heard, "All roads lead to heaven. You believe what you believe, and I'll believe what I believe. I'm okay; you're okay."?
This type of religion is marked by an absence of absolute truth. In this, truth becomes about inner intuition and superior spiritual knowledge. This knowledge is not obtained from God giving you direct revelation, like the Bible, that can be read and applied to all people. No, this is gained through meditation, spiritual experiences, séances, magic, etc.
By the way, saying "all roads lead to heaven" is one of the most disrespectful things to say about other religions and shows you really have no idea what you're talking about. The problem with that phrase isn't just that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). No, the problem is that heaven after resurrection to be with a personal God isn't even a concept in other religions. For example, in Hinduism, to be resurrected again is actually hell. Reincarnation is seen as a bad thing because it means you must not have measured up to where you need to be yet. The ultimate reality you are aiming for in Hinduism is actually the dissolution of your individual self and becoming energy that unites with the elemental force or creator force of Brahmin. Heaven is not even a thought. See what I mean?
3. Non-religion: This is atheism, the belief that there is no God. It is usually expressed in a very scientific, modernist way. This means that if something cannot be proved scientifically, it doesn't exist. In essence, truth cannot be known if it is not scientific truth.
Atheism comes from two places: a reaction to the oppressive Medieval "Christians" or from Theravada Buddhism. The more common form is the reactive one. It is therefore an anti-religion that is often very negative. You get the feeling they feel superior to everyone for having come to accept the brave thought that there is nothing after death. Agnostics believe that you cannot know if there is or isn't a god. It's basically diet atheism. This is not a humble and more enlightened belief. Rather, it is a cowardly and bland belief.
The problem with atheism is their mechanical way of understanding truth. Love cannot be defined scientifically. Morality cannot be proved or asserted under scientific law. In fact, science cannot tell us "why", it can only tell us "how".
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Comment if you want to talk about any of these you have seen or tried to confront. I've done this a lot, both successfully and unsuccessfully. I'm sure the other readers have similar stories that we can all learn from.
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Religious word of the day: Hallelujah - it means "praise YHWH" in Hebrew. YHWH are the letters of the unpronounceable name of the God of Israel in the Bible. Sometimes it's spelled Yahweh, or erroneously as Jehovah. Praise means to lift up or worship.
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