Religion, the Opium of the People.

"Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition" - Karl Marx (1843).

The quote is not as negative as it may portray. "Religion", as we know operates only on "Faith" and therefore denies man of his companion "Reason" which has led man this far. Misconception therefore, may lead one down the valley of perdition. Curiosity, on the other hand is a basic instinct of humankind, when denied, Religion takes it's place. Inherent vice? According to Austin Cline "Religion is a set of ideas, and ideas are expressions of material realities. Religion is a symptom of a disease, not the disease itself". It is like a drug that alleviates the pain of the poor but doesn't eradicate them, It promises a better life in their next, it is illusionary, like an Opium that suspends the present pain.

Religion tells us to believe, Curiosity asks us to question. Curiosity is what propelled Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a fictional character though, it is what gave him his identity. In real sense, Curiosity is what drives man, the desire to know more, to know why certain things happen, to understand them and or replicate them has helped Man to evolve. Through the constant exercise of of asking "Why" and finding the answer, man Reasons. Reason is thought, logic and cognition, various synonyms for one act; thinking and not believing or hoping. It gives us the power of deduction through logical thinking.

Religion is basically asking man to get rid of his essence and denying man of his identity and right to Reason and its really affecting the so called "religious ones" since most of them are highly indoctrinated and dogmatic.

Religiosity is part of the problem with Africa, in their blind pursuit of Religion they have lost the ability to discern between the decision to take a logical step forward or belief in a supreme being that'll offer help spontaneously, praying more than they act, thus plunging deep and leaving it to the hope of divine intervention. As it is always said "Heaven helps those that help themselves". 

The idea is not to discard belief in whatsoever He or She is called, but to stay vigilantly, Religion is both a symptom and a drug, confuse the two an you'd either become Michael Sullivan (Road to Perdition) or a Junkie, there's no middle ground * Cersei Lannister voice.