Religions are words and signs that lead you in a direction. By respecting or revering the words and signs you move your mind toward something bigger than yourself. That’s really all there is to it for good religions that help you glimpse or even see something approaching actual reality.
Bad religions commandeer your innate sensibilities and desires to see reality; people do that to other people for bad reasons. Even someone following a bad religion can find their way out of it.
It’s very good to understand that words and signs are important only insofar as they help you or restrict your understanding. If they do not restrict your understanding, you are probably well on your way.
This is why good religions can deeply respect other good religions. This is why you can make up your own good religion or your own interpretation of any good religion. Do that with good care though.
American Buddhist Net 