Stipe explained the track is "just a classic obsession pop song" and song where "anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me" http://bit.ly/aKn5t7
The phrase "losing my religion" is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means losing one's temper or civility, or "being at the end of one's rope. http://bit.ly/aKn5t7