"I'm a Christian but I don't believe in religion."

[ReasonableRuben]

"I'm a Christian and I have a relationship with Christ but I don't believe in religion."

I'm just wanting a bit of help deciphering what motive would be behind this oxymoronic statement, and maybe a bit of insight into why someone would believe this?

Hi, swata224. Being a Christian, I might be able to offer some insight.

This statement comes from a general desire to distance oneself from the the word "religion" and any of the negative connotations that it might have; the word has become somewhat taboo, particularly in more liberal circles,(for lack of a better word) but increasingly, the idea that Christianity is not a religion is finding its way even further into conservative territory.

The Christians who want to avoid being labeled as "religious" tend to entertain the false notion that the word "religion" is necessarily synonymous with words such as "legalism, Pharisaism, judgementalism, etc." Another false notion they oft entertain is the notion that Jesus of Nazareth taught against practicing religion.

As for motive: I generally try not to psychoanalyze people via a second-hand account of them, over the internet, but let me offer a hypothesis:

People who subscribe to this view generally also subscribe to the view that people(atheists, for example) "may not be interested in religion, but perhaps they would be interested in a relationship with Jesus Christ." It might be an attempt to increase the probability that you will make a choice leading to [what she would consider to be] a saving "relationship" with Jesus Christ, rather than instantly make your mind up because of the stigma attached to the word "religion." If this is the case, the motivation is rather altruistic.

Another obvious possibility is that people say "relationship" rather than "religion" in order to avoid some sort of perceived persecution(however minor) of all things religious.