My approach to religion has always been one of noble intent. Regardless of how wrong my thoughts on the subject have sometimes been. The good news is that I’ve moved away from dogmatic thinking. And that makes a big difference when you get away from that kind of thinking. It makes you less wrong.

When it comes to religion, whether in my dogmatic days or otherwise, my interest has always been in being a better person. Both in terms of making peace with God and love for all people.

Even when I believed that most people were probably going to end up in hell, I didn’t want that to be true. Religion is most perverse when it takes pleasure in the idea of certain people being tormented forever. Thank God I never took pleasure in that belief.

Too many times, people have done things in the name of God that turned out to be absolutely the wrong thing to do. We need to listen to our heart, but also learn broadly and keep a rational mind.

Religious fervor is both powerful and dangerous. Powerful, because it can give people strong convictions. Dangerous, because strong convictions sometimes lead to catastrophic decision-making. We need to temper our religious convictions with common sense—otherwise known as rational thought.