In Matthew 6, Jesus had some clear and direct words about prayer: “Go in your room, shut the door and pray in secret.” In other words, don’t make a big show of how religious and pious you are. The focus of prayer really isn’t about you and that you are doing it. The focus is on God.
The prophet Isaiah turned up the heat a little more, giving voice to God’s distress at big displays of ritual and religiosity when people really were only serving their own purposes and needs. He said, “You fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to strike with a wicked fist.” Such fasting “will not make your voice heard on high.” Rather than religious posturing, God wanted the people to deal with injustice and oppression, hunger and homelessness.
That’s a tall order, but the point comes across: faithfulness is the response God wants. We do not satisfy God by being religious if the concerns of God are left out of the picture. When we worship, it’s about God. When we pray, it’s about God. When we take the name Christian and relate to others out of that identity, it’s about God.
The practice of religion is best understood, I think, as honoring our Creator and preparing us for faithful living. When it draws attention to us, we’re doing something wrong.