Consult your friend on all things especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful where your own self-love might impair your judgment.
Respect yourself if you would have others respect you.
When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete everybody will respect you.
The more you get into any religion it becomes the same. It really becomes how you treat other people and how you get outside yourself. How you look to help other people and how you get out of this 'I me mine' type of thing.
I don't feel the need for religion. But I went on a yoga retreat last year and I do believe slightly in the karma thing and just being good and true unto yourself. And I slightly believe that you can attract good and bad to you.
Is woman a religion? Well perhaps you will have the chance of judging for yourselves if you go to America. There you will find men treating women with just the same respect formerly accorded only to religious dignitaries or to great nobles.
I never close a door on any other religion. Most of the time some part of it makes sense to me. I don't believe everyone has to chant just because I chant. I believe all religion is about touching something inside of yourself.
When law and duty are one united by religion you never become fully conscious fully aware of yourself. You are always a little less than an individual.
My philosophy is to do the best you can for somebody. Help. It's not just what do you for yourself. It's how you treat people decently. The golden rule. There isn't big anything better than the golden rule. It's in every major religion in one language or another.
If you grow up in a very strong religion like Catholicism you certainly cultivate in yourself a certain taste for the intensity of ideas.