Seeking religion is the human response to a persons’ having dropped out of contact with their inner connection (our inner connection being our direct lifeline connection …… our umbilical cord to Creator) . From the time of the story about the prophet Samuel, the response to sensing that inner tug should be to “be silent and listen”, not to go to church and ask someone else to tell you how to fix this longing.
Alternately, many folks who hate church, went and didn’t find what they were looking for…. but that is only because the answer they were looking for never was there….. but is only to be found where we dropped it in the first place.
This is where the elder system is the way ….. pointing a person back to where they can be reconnected.
Church can be a supportive loving society when it supports the inner way, but it is not the place to FIND what you are looking for… that place is inside yourself.
No one was there to teach me this when I was young, so the path was long and difficult for me … but there were those who acted it out, and i was lucky enough to have my eyes open and see it….. Gratefulness.
Reality is Dharma 
Excellent, well balanced post! True!
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