Hmm, I finally wandered over and read this thread, and I guess I'll post what I have to say.
I come from a somewhat religious family, but I have never personally been particularly religious. However, that being said, I do think that there are things that we aren't capable of understanding, and am open to the possibility that a God exists. Whether the God created the Universe and let it run, or whether it pokes at things now and again, or weather it interferes in our day to day existance, I am unsure, and don't think I will ever be sure of. To summarize: I believe in the possibility of a God existing.
On the other side, I don't believe in religion. It seems to me that Catholics believe far too strongly in their religion (the structure of the Church, attending church, the Bible, etc.) and not in their God. When people begin to believe in the religious structure
rather than the God itself, then there's a problem. And a lot of people I know seem to believe in going to church, but don't really believe in God. They attend their weekly sermons to ensure that they end up in Heaven.
Also, I don't think the Church discourages this behaviour. Somebody mentioned in this thread that Religion is a mechanism used to control people, and I think that's what the Church does. The Church encourages doctrine, belief, and faith, not logic and clear thinking. Disagree with me if you want, I don't have hard evidence, that statement is an opinion/observation.
The reason I went from a complete Athiest (when I was young) to more of an Agnostic is because of the reading I have done in University. I have a minor in Philosophy, and from reading many old works (not only on theology, also on the human mind and other fun stuff) I've begun to realize that there is really far too much even about my own mind, let alone the world, that I can't explain. And I don't think that Catholocism or any religion that I know about addresses those issues very well.
I'm not trying ti disagree with anything anybody has said in this thread. I'm simply stating what I think is going on. Agree or disagree, that's fine