What seperates religion from philosophy?

Are religion and philosophy the same thing? They both cover ethics, ontology and metaphysics - are Dogma and/or worship the only characteristic(s) of religion that distinguishes it from philosophy ? What are your opinions?

Religion bad, philosophy good.

Ok now seriously.
Philosophy is about seeking answers.
Religion is about accepting answers.

Philosophy is anti-dogmatic.
Religion is dogmatic.

Philosophy is anti-religion.
Religion is ant-philosophy.

To be sure, nothing very clear and precise "separates" them; although one notes the importance of logic i philosophy.
I guess it's very much a personal criterion: one can think of very relifgious philosophers of the first rank (Kant, Hegel) and entirely irreligious or atheistic ones (Russell, Schopenhauer).
Also, it must be remembered that philosophy in the Anglo-Saxon tradition has become very much a branch of semantics or linguisics: one recalls Wittgenstein's famous: "whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent" i.e. the statements of religion are not statements in any general way and have no logical value: "God is good" is either empty (tautologous) or neither right nor wrong: in short not a statement as "Socrates in mortal" is a statement -having no truth-value.
This does not deny religion; it merely denies logical weight to religious utterances: it puts them in a special category (to a great extent the same is true of many ethical statements).
The Continentals have rather more time for metaphysics: a Heidegger, a Sartre are unthinkable in the Anglo-Saxon tradition: drivelling system-builders, no more.
It must be remembered that academic philosophy is a very different thing from "philosophy" as we use it in everyday English.

I can be as philosophical as I want to be without reference to any creation myths or dogmatic faith structure and codes of behavior.

Absolutely masked-A (as you snippet from Wolfie makes clear)
Inded, one might day one "does" philosophy rather than "is" philosophical.
If we explore an old chestnut such as the Cretan ( i.e. from Ancient Crete) who says "all Cretans are liars" we are doing philosophy, just as we would be doing if we explored a problem of symbolic logic.
Neither involves anything metaphysical, religious, spiritual - and both are quintessentially philosophical.
While it's not 100% true of all cases, philosophy has a strong element of epistemology, of "knowing" in some verifiable sense: it might be said generally that religion is about "faith" and that the "knowing" is not open to verification.

They are not necessarily mutually exclusive on the individual level.

If you are speaking of a certain school of philosophy, then, they might be, but then some of the "differences" you have listed go away (i.e. school of philosophy are most definitely dogmatic).

Simply put philosophy is the love of reason. Religion is the love of an immortal Divine Power.

They are mutually exclusive,

Philosophy seeks answers, philosophy seeks the truth beyond the cheap truth religions preach, the simple fact of doubting God's existence is blasphemy to any religion, yet it is the first fundament for a logic philosophical thought.

If religion is dogmatic, which it is, and philosophy seeks to find other truths, then they are mutually exclusive, no matter how much annoyed religious people may feel with that fact, maybe you are feeling chained to a dogma you don't feel like accepting blindly, just proclaim yourself not to be religious anymore.

As the two are often intertwined. However, I would have to separate them as philosophy is more of "what if and what should be", whereas religion is more of "what you believe to be" and accept as a matter of faith.

Originally posted by Gazrok
As the two are often intertwined. However, I would have to separate them as philosophy is more of "what if and what should be", whereas religion is more of "what you believe to be" and accept as a matter of faith.

Gazrok.....
"Faith" is a separating factor.....
And both cause one to seek answers, let alone, answers.

regards
seekerof

Religion is what men use to justify their own actions and influence others to follow suit. Religion is the perversion of a faith or belief, used to control other men or obtain something (ie., money, loyalty, etx.) from them. It expects blind obedience and belief.

Philosophy is one's contemplation of the universe and it's infinite possibilities as it pertains our reality. It's not confined by any one particular belief. It is instead open to all beliefs and theories, an open mind being essential in the true search for wisdom and understanding.
Philosophers are not afraid to examine and study any possibility, no matter how abstract, in an effort to find the truth.

The way I've always divided the two is thinking that a philosophy is a "way of life", holding your beliefs to the letter and never letting those beliefs slip - and religion being following the beliefs of the system when one chooses, and not all of the time. Perhaps I haven't explained thoroughly enough, but I will hope so for now.