Ian - Which pot of gold do you have in mind? The parts of religion that I'm mostly well impressed by are the parts that focus on human conduct and psychology, as in:

- learning to forgive
- learning not to pre-judge others
- learning to love rather than hate
- learning generosity rather than meanness of spirit
- learning the path of moderation as opposed to the path of excess (this is an important, integral part of Buddhism)
- learning nonviolence

Things along that line...

None of the above strike me as "a bucket of bullshit". They strike me as positive and useful thinking that anyone could benefit from, and for me they are THE essential areas in what I would term "religion". I'm not particularly interested in scary stories about hell, punishment, damnation, and the exclusivity of one faith over all others (which do strike me as equivalent to a bucket of bullshit).

You see, people can get out of religion whatever their own character moves them to get out of it...same as they can do with life in general. You can misuse anything, religion included.

Two of the finest and brightest people I've ever met in my life ARE Jehovah's Witnesses! (I'm not a Jehovah's Witness, and many of their beliefs are radically different from my own.) What makes those 2 people so exemplary is their own individual character, plus a certain general level of moral awareness they've gotten from being religious...that is, they give a lot of thought to behaving decently toward others and being responsible. They are exceptionally good and intelligent individuals. It doesn't worry me a bit that they have some odd beliefs about "the End Times" or whatever...doesn't really matter...because on a normal human level they are among the best people I've ever known, and I know I can trust them and depend upon them. So what difference does it make that they are Jehovah's Witnesses? It doesn't hurt me in any way, nor has it stopped them from being very good people and being my friends.

If I were to pre-judge them just as "Jehovah's Witnesses", and dismiss them on that superficial basis, I'd be missing the point, and I'd lose the opportunity of knowing 2 very fine people. If they were to pre-judge me just because I'm not a Jehovah's Witness, they'd be missing the point too. They don't do that.