Yes, I do believe in many cases, religion is not only an opiate but it is also more mental illness and avoidance of dealing with one's life and an abdication of responsible living "Jesus take the wheel..." mentality (as in the country song).

On a related point, religion is adult thumb-sucking.

Let's just say, the religous all share the god delusion. It should be in the DSM as a mental illness IMO. Drugs are physically harmful. Religion is mentally harmful.

Opium is the opiate of the people.

By in large, it is not as harmful, mostly because most religious persons aren't there because of belief, but because of an internal need to belong and have a sense of community.

For the die hard believesrs who live all their waking hours immersed in their religion, it is very harmful and just as dangerous of an addiction as drugs or alcohol, because they woudl nto be living in reality.

who said alcohol and drugs are bad ? I think they're great

Yes ,because in most cases it is force fed to them from birth with out their consent.

Even more than opium..

Religion is not the opiate of the people. Marx was wrong. Religion is the seductive scammer and controller of people. It does not lull them into apathy, but drives them into activism in the wrong direction.

Religion is definitely the opiate of the people controlling some to kill in the name of GOD! YES!