I never had a view on it personally.

As long as you're not hurting anyone else, one can do whatever it is they want IMO.

I don't think anyone has a right to judge or view anyone as 'bad' or 'wrong' for playing poker.

Each person lives by their own set of rules and I try to respect that as much as I can as long as they do so without hurting others intentionally.

So for me, I'm all for whatever each person wants to do.

Wonder what others think.

I feel like we should be able to discuss and question everything and everything is fair game as long as we respect each other.

As far as I know to scientifically determine if someone is a religious person you ask him/her a question "do you pray to a personal God" and my answer to this question would be "yes". I'm not a big fan of the catholic church as an institution, but I'm Christian, and I believe in God. I'm also a big fan of the scientific method, some aspects of Buddhism, I can see merit in an atheist/agnostic approach etc. Contrary to what religious fanatics or militant atheists might suggest I don't think there has to be any kind of conflict between those world views as long as you stay open-minded and respectful.

When it comes to religion and poker I don't really see a conflict provided that you respect other players. You might argue that it's inevitable that you'll hurt some vulnerable people along the way (gambling addicts etc.) so you should avoid playing altogether, but at the same time, it's entirely consensual. Besides poker has a huge potential to enrich people's lives by providing entertainment, encouraging you to improve your cognitive skills, get in touch with your emotions. It's not just about the money going from one pocket to the other, it's much more than that.