When asked if I consider myself Buddhist the answer is Not really. But it's more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don't practice or preach it however.

The memory of my own suffering has prevented me from ever shadowing one young soul with the superstition of the Christian religion.

Zionism was originally a rebellion against religious Judaism and the PLO Charter was essentially secularist. But because the conflict was allowed to fester without a resolution religion got sucked into the escalating cycle of violence and became part of the problem.

I am not interested in the afterlife. Religion is supposed to be about losing your ego not preserving it eternally in optimum conditions.

Religion is a search for transcendence. But transcendence isn't necessarily sited in an external god which can be a very unspiritual unreligious concept.

After I left the convent for 15 years I was worn out with religion I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt disgusted with it. If I saw someone reading a religious book on a train I'd think how awful.

I did an album a long time ago called 'Replicas ' which was entirely science-fiction driven or science-fantasy. Since then it's been a song here a song there. It's not really a constant theme. I've written far more about my problems with religion with God and all that.

Sex is the ersatz or substitute religion of the 20th Century.

I'm just confused as to where we lost that in America because it is everyone's God-given right to think the way they think and that's fine. That's why our ancestors came here to America to believe what they want pray how they want and follow a religion with whoever they want.

In the traditional urban novel there is only survival or not. The suburban idea the conformist idea that agony can be seen to and cured by doctors or psychoanalysis or self-knowledge is nowhere to be found in the city. Talking is a way of life but it is not a cure. Same with religion.