Yes, religion is a drug, but what type of drug?

[robvalue]

It is like a drug in that it's addictive, and it causes people to live somewhere between reality and fantasy. When I listen to fundamentals talk, unless they are flat out lying, the world they describe bears almost no resemblance to the one I live in.

It's an escape mechanism, like a drug, and it's a way of "forgetting your troubles" by burying your head in the sand. It's also a coping mechanism, to pretend every bad thing has some sort of purpose rather than face the stark, indifferent nature of reality.

So I'd say it shares a lot of the effects of drugs, and the motivation for use. And sadly, childhood indoctrination isn't much different from getting your kid hooked on drugs so that they are addicted as they enter adulthood.