f I may jump in here, Beth raises some interesting questions. I think some religious opinions can't be tested by logic and experiment or experience, e.g. the concepts of heaven and hell. But many religious teachings can be tested by experience. For example, one teaching of Christianity (and I assume other religions) is that it is by giving that we receive. Now this is not an obvious or intuitive idea and may seem paradoxical (children usually have to be taught to share their toys). But if we test out this teaching as we go through life we find that it is profoundly and literally true. This is the theme of many works of literature, e.g. it was one of the lessons Scrooge needed to learn in a "Christmas Carol."
I just came across something that may be strangely helpful in our reading. In the intro. to a book on electrical repairs ("Making Everyday Electronics Work") I found the following: "Here's a question that people occasionally ask me, and that baffles me as much as it does them. "What is electricity, really?" I'll never forget the day my eighth-grade science teacher showed the class a ... movie of a lecture where a professor concluded by saying, "We learn about electricity not by knowing what it is, but by codifying what it does." Sounds like pragmatism. And if we substitute "religion" for "electricity", it might be a good guide for our reading.