Yes, most of them. This is made evident by the holy books for most religions, that exist so they can tell people how they are intended to think.

Well, I'll let the middle age churches reaction to anyone who even so much as pointed out a plot hole in the bible answer that question. :3

I believe that it leads the mind away from self awareness in that it is rather regimented. Problem solving comes out of a preconcieved notion, written out thousands of years ago. It is all well and good to get on your knees and pray when trouble comes... But it's not always the answer. The Bible itself says to "Use your wisdom." lot's of people forget this little gem and just throw themselves into repetition and pretense in the name of God and hope that He will swoop in and take care of everything. It only works for a certain lemming minded kind of personality. The rest of us get screwed in hope and expectation knowing better.

YES of course! That's the name of the game, a religion could not exist if it's people used logic and reason. Thinking outside the box is a real NO-NO.

Most yes; some no. And I'm not going to start a lecture about how my religion doesn't and you should join mine. But there are several religions out there that actually encourage people to think for themselves.

I don't feel my religion does this. I think they used to in the past, but heads of religions in the world of information, should realize that people are going to research to learn more about the world. There are a few religions who use brain washing in their techniques of keeping their "flocks" on the same page, but I only know of one. It is a very interesting question.

I think that people choose not to think for themselves because it's easier to ask a question and decide to take the answer that sounds the most logical to them than actually search for their own relationship with God...no matter what the religion...if people want answers about God they should pray and search for them...and the ones that are just 'too busy' to do any searching will never find the right answers...

Most do simply because they're power structure is a hierarchy. In case you didn't notice, that happens in any hierarchy. Your Government doesn't really want you thinking for yourself. Neither does your boss or the media for that matter.

Most organized religions do just that but not all religious people do. There are a growing number of people out in this world who are believers that do not accept any certain religious following. They see the Bible as a help guide not a law or rule book. They grasp an understanding that God made us all to see things from different angles that best suits us as individuals not groups of people. It is possible to believe in God and not play follow the leader.

yes, most of the time!

Most do. But then, what do you think?

It depends on how you look at it. I'm a man and I choose what I do. If I decide to follow what my religion teaches, it's my choice. I have very strong beliefs which I learned at my home church, and I have decided to live by what I believe. So in a sense I am thinking for myself. If I allow someone else to decide for me, I'm still thinking for myself because that's the decision I have made.

Not all religions. Hinduism, for instance gives general guidelines in its scriptures and leaves the followers to come to their own conclusions. This way Hindus have arrived at a figure of 330 million demigods any one of whom the Hindu's could worship according to their own thinking and inclinations. Same thing with the advanced training methods for attaining the super-concsious state. But similar freedom is not found in all religions, to my knowledge.

All successful religions discourage people to question that religion. They specifically call those who use logic or question anything about the religion names such as "fools." If a belief won't stand up to logical questioning, I don't think it's worth having. I've found no belief in the supernatural to be worth having. Most religions of the world would call me a fool, but foolish is what I think of their beliefs.

Yes. If folks were allowed to think for themselves, they'd might make the terrible decision to leave the church.

Not all... although it depends how strictly you measure it. Of the major religions Hindusim and Buddhism (technically more of a faith) encourage free throught and exploration within a pretty wide framework.

One would think that it would initiate the contrary, actually. Religion leads me to question just about everything. :/ And one could also suggest that it DOES do the contrary, given just how many different types of religion there are, and have been in our history...however most of them are the same concept, and what I think they do is cater to baseless self justification and delusion rather than the pursuit of knowledge. Now some might argue, if there are so many Muslims or Christians in the world, then it MUST be the right religion...why else then, would so many follow it? But that comes form the same kinda people whop claim that just about everyone in the world is retarded aside form themselves. So, to answer your question, yes, but I also believe religion to be a necessity. If we were always afraid and angry with no "proper" way to channel these emotions, we would get depressed and nothing would get done. Darwin's right yo!

yes. I think religion is a scapegoat..it allows people to remain superstitious, and avoid critical thinking, reason, and accountability. It's the perfect excuse to do anything and say it is god's will or plan and who can argue against it..there's no proof. There's so many inconsistancies in religion, it requires you to shut off your thought process and accept it blindly because if you scrutinize anything, you find mistakes or inacurracies that will cause you to doubt. So to cope people have to turn it all off, accept the unacceptable and not question anything because it's gods word or god's will or whatever. Strangest to me is how people can believe in religion which defies all laws of the universe we live in, yet refuse scientific proof or evidence of anything...again because it contradicts the illusions they have formed in the bubble they live in.

Maybe. I'm more and more convinced that people in general don't actually LIKE thinking for themselves...religion or otherwise. They like to go with what the "authority" says. The authority can be the news media or any other generally accepted authority figure. It can even be someone here on Answerbag! Maybe it scares them to think for themselves because they have a low esteem of their own abilities. I think the world would be better off if more people thought for themselves...in everything!

That's the definition of "faith"

Sometimes: 1) "Religions often discourage people from thinking about certain issues, or thinking about them outside the context of that particular religion. As an atheist, you often feel a remarkable sense of freedom when you realise that you can think about previously taboo subjects (such as abortion, assisted suicide, birth control etc.) without referring to scripture or a priest for guidance. You are free to decide for yourself. You may even reach the same conclusions -, but you got there through logic and reason, not just unquestioning acceptance of whatever your church dictated. This is called "freethought" and can lead you down avenues of thought that were previously closed to you. You do not have to follow the teachings of your church, religion or tradition - you can research the subject and decide for yourself. No more must you put up with answers like "God moves in a mysterious way", "Man was not meant to understand such things" or "Because it says so in the Bible, therefore it is true"." Source and further information: http://www.abarnett.demon.co.uk/atheism/positive.html 2) "I am not saying anything negative about Christianity, I think it is an amazing religion...Every single religion is the same...it really teaches the same things just in different ways...what I am talking about is what people have done to the religion of Christianity to turn it into something that separates people....You're either with us or against us kind of thinking. I always felt very uncomfortable going to church because I felt that others were forcing their beliefs on me without giving me an opportunity to question and think for myself. And if I did ask any questions about the Bible...people became upset with me for even asking because they felt I was doubting their entire belief system. I've just always felt that it's important to always question your belief system....I just never understood that unwillingness to question." Source and further information: http://www.soulpancake.com/discussion/photo/3550097/430355/why-do-so-many-people-prefer-a-religion-which-discourages-them-to-think-for-themselves.html 3) "I think religion itself is structured in such a way to discourage the application of logic and reason. (And by logic and reason I mean an understanding based on evidence and logical conclusions from that evidence) Many religions flat out encourage their followers to take things on “Faith” and explicitly value belief in something without evidence." Source and further information: http://fatistician.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/on-atheism-and-prayer-community/ 4) "Q: You think religious people are wrong, so do you try to "enlighten" them? A: In my world they are completely misled and wrong but in their world they couldn't be more right. I do not impose or preach my views to anybody. I do not try to teach it to others or to say that this is how you should be thinking. That would be a very hypocritical thing for me to do since I'm the way I am mostly because I am anti-collectivism and I hate people who bully others into believing certain things or forcing them to live life a certain way. Like I said earlier, people are responsible for their own behavior and how they choose to live their life is none of my business just like my personal beliefs is none of theirs. The only thing I would encourage others to do is to think for themselves, to be free thinkers no matter how strict their societies are, to have educated and well-thought out opinions. It's okay if that means you have to stand out from the crowd. And if some people independently chose their faith and strongly believe in it, all power to them. It's still admirable and respectful as long as they don't shove their beliefs in our faces and make us suffer the unnecessary consequences when we refuse to buy into their myths." Source and further information: http://www.mideastyouth.com/2007/10/06/interview-with-an-arab-atheist-part-ii/?mobi

I don't necessarily think that religions themselves do, but followers of religions often do that due to their own interpretations.