Religion without Righteousness is sin.

Religion Without Righteousness = RELIGION

Religion without Righteousness is pointless exercise.

But what do we mean by Righteousness, and what do we mean by Religion?

For me, Righteousness means that there is a prescribed way that I am supposed to be (a right way), and a prescribed way that my life is supposed to unfold. 

I also recognise that I can deviate from this right way.  In other words I can miss road. 

For me therefore, Religion is a practice whereby I am brought back to Righteousness.  In other words, I miss road but I come find road again. 

To the extent that my religious practice will help me to regain my true path it is a worthwhile exercise.  If however I am practicing religion and after many years I have still not come back to Righteousness then all those years of practicing religion are wasted years. 

Righteousness is articulated variously in different parts of the world.  I've already written about Arabic Fitra in another thread:

wirinet:

Pastor, i tend to agree with you 90% that
But do you agree with me that the two world religions - Christianity and Islam as interpreted today had killed the the ability to know what the right thing is. It has effectively killed the conscience, by postulating that you can escape the guilt of doing the wrong thing by a simple proclamation, maybe Asking Jesus to forgive one his sins or shouting Allah u Bakar,. The conscience becomes clear of guilt to commit another wrong again, and the cycle goes on and on. That is why i feel adherents of the two religions engage in  more wrong doing than any other beliefs, including atheists. They are taught another person takes the responsibility for their individual sins.

I find this teaching destructive to the human race.

Tell me what you think

I hear you, but it is not the religion per se but the way it is being used and abused by people with political power, and ignorant people too.  Consider this. 

Fitra: A Return to a Natural State
"And so, set thy face steadfastly towards the [one ever-true] faith, turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the natural disposition (fitra) which God has instilled into man: [for,] not to allow any change to corrupt what God has thus created-this is the [purpose of the one] ever-true faith; but [size=18pt]most[/size] people know it not." (Surah Ar-Rum, The Byzantines, ayat 30)

The above quote is a reference to the concept of "fitra", a basic belief in Islam. "Fitra" is an Arabic word that means "innate human nature". Islamic theology contends that we are born into a state of "fitra" and have the innate knowledge of "tawhid" or monotheism, however, we are also susceptible to corruption. Islam teaches us how to rediscover our fitra, and thus by practicing Islam one is always working towards a goal of attaining their original pure state.

this is openly stated in the koran to be the goal of the religion.  The question I then ask of muslims is[size=15pt] 'has this goal been achieved and if not why not?'. [/size] Without fitra everything else that they do is reduced to nonsense.  No matter how much foaming at the mouth and allahu akbars they scream. 

The problem is not with Christianity and Islam solely but with any rigidly codified system of conduct.  It will miss the essence of fitra which is something very very subtle.  It cannot be spoken about neither is it expressed through words or text.   

Here:
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=335826.msg4713355#msg4713355

The same goes for any religion that you practice.  It's value depends on how well it brings you to your true innate nature.