Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

Kathie Lee Gifford explains why she focuses more on her relationship with God than she does any organized religion.

Kathie Lee Gifford, the former co-host of the popular morning show "Today," has been outspoken about her faith and her relationship with God. However, she has also expressed her distaste for organized religion, saying that it "puts people in chains" and that she prefers to have a direct relationship with Jesus Christ.

"I can't stand religion," Gifford told Fox News Digital. "Religion puts people in chains. And Jesus comes to set us free."

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

Gifford believes that organized religion can be stifling and that it can prevent people from having a personal relationship with God. She prefers to focus on her own faith and her connection with Jesus Christ.

"What do you want?" she asked. "You want to go someplace and sit in the same pew week after week after week and hear the same stuff that doesn't change your life at all. Or do you want to walk with a living creator of all things who loves you and has a plan for your life and only, only, only longs for you to have fellowship with Him? That's the only thing I'm interested in."

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

Gifford has leaned on her faith and relationship with God in the toughest of times, saying, "I could have never made it" without it.

"I'd be in an insane asylum without Jesus," she said. "I've been through a lot of crappy stuff in my life. I've been blessed beyond belief as well. But I've had a lot of things that ended up being very public too, that would have put me away for a long time and done a lot of damage to my family, to my everything.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"I was already holding Jesus' his hand. When you go through the kinds of things that I went through in the last, you know, 20 years, you just cling. You just cling tighter. You're already there. You already have them. And I know people always talk about, you know, people coming to God in a foxhole. Fine. Whenever you come to God, it's a good thing. The better thing is to come to know him early in your life and then cling to him for their whole life."

Gifford believes that everyone should have a personal relationship with God and that organized religion should not be a barrier to that relationship.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"Religion puts people in chains. And Jesus comes to set us free." — Kathie Lee Gifford

The 71-year-old has long been a student of the Bible, even missing her high school prom and graduation to travel to Israel for a conference on biblical prophecy. She believes that studying the Bible is essential to understanding God and his plan for our lives.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"I'm far more annoying now because I've learned so much," she joked.

Studying the Bible has helped Gifford to grow in her faith and to have a better understanding of God's love for her. She encourages others to study the Bible for themselves and to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"There are so many terrible translations of the Bible. And if you're studying a terrible translation, you're not going to learn anything that's going to build you up in your faith or give you power in your life. And so many of the churches around are — that's what they're doing. They live on it. You can't grow unless you feast. And then the scripture talks about how my people perish for lack of knowledge. And I was perishing."

Gifford focused on Greek and Hebrew teachings, which led her to the stories of King Herod, the focus of her recent book, "Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior."

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"I learned so much about Herod that I came back, and I said to my son, I said, ‘Cody, get me every book there is on Herod,’" she recalled. "If Jesus is the greatest story ever told, Herod is one of the greatest stories never, ever told."

Gifford believes that the story of Herod is an important reminder of the evil that is in the world and of the need for God's grace and forgiveness.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"What I sense in the world today is a far greater presence of is fear," she continued. "People are terrified now. Even people that have a lot of money and live in beautiful homes behind huge gates and have people with guns protecting them are afraid. Everybody's got more fear now than ever, ever before because the world's so topsy-turvy and it makes no sense. And it's like nothing we've ever, ever seen."

Gifford believes that the only way to overcome the fear and darkness in the world is through faith in God.

Kathie Lee Gifford: Why I Can't Stand Religion

"The Bible's filled with incredible stories of drama and betrayal and, you know, bestiality, whatever you want. The Bible's got it. People just don't read it. They would find out what an incredibly fascinating book it is. And I've been reading it my whole life. And not just reading it, but truly studying it.