As someone who considers himself an agnostic with strong atheist leanings...I find the idea that some all powerful all knowing being cares if I believe in him, talk to him, or worship him to be silly.

And as far as organized religion goes...I find that more often than not they foster hate and anger much more so than almost any other subject. The idea that any one religion or set of beliefs holds a monopoly on the truth and that they actually know what some higher power wants us to think is just absurd to me. How man sets of the "one" truth are there out there? Dozens, hundreds even. I'd like to think that in the off chance that I'm wrong, and that there is some higher power, that he really isn't going to give a crap if I go and kneel for an hour once a week and try talking to him. I'd like to think that if there is some after life that all that is really going to matter is if I've let a generally good life.

I think that religions have plenty of good lessons to teach people, but I also think that organized religions creates more rancor and violence than pretty much anything else in the world. For something that is supposed to teach morality and love, I find that to be a rather odd thing.