What is religion?

Answer 1

The set rites and practices coupled with the worship of God(s) or supernatural power.

Answer 2

There are many definitions of religion, and most have struggled to avoid an overly sharp definition on the one hand, and meaningless generalities on the other. Some have tried to use formalistic, doctrinal definitions and others have tried to use experiential, emotive, intuitive, valuational and ethical factors.
Sociologists and anthropologists see religion as an abstract set of ideas, values, or experiences developed as part of a cultural matrix. Primitive religion was indistinguishable from the sociocultural acts where custom and ritual defined an emotional reality.
Other religious scholars have put forward a definition of religion that avoids the reductionism of the various sociological and psychological disciplines that relegate religion to its component factors. Religion may be defined as the presence of a belief in the sacred or the holy. For example Rudolf Otto's "The Idea of the Holy," formulated in 1917, defines the essence of religious awareness as awe, a unique blend of fear and fascination before the divine. Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late 18th century defined religion as a "feeling of absolute dependence."
The Encyclopedia of Religion describes religion in the following way:
"In summary, it may be said that almost every known culture involves the religious in the above sense of a depth dimension in cultural experiences at all levels — a push, whether ill-defined or conscious, toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life. When more or less distinct patterns of behaviour are built around this depth dimension in a culture, this structure constitutes religion in its historically recognizable form. Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience — varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environing culture."
(Winston King, Encyclopedia of Religion, p 7693)

So Religion is a system of social coherence based on a common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen being, or system of thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought. It is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system", but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions.

Answer 3

It's an orgainzed system of dogma and ceremony with some philosophy thrown in, designed more or less to give answers to the "big questions" ("Why are we here?", "What are we supposed to do?", etc.) Note that theism is not a necessarily component.

Note that philosophies differ from religion in that they do not include ceremony. Likewise, lodges (Masons, Boy Scouts, etc.) contain ceremony and some sort of dogma or morality code, but aren't religions because for one they do not include the "cosmic questions" nor dictate other religious practices.

Answer 4

God didnt create religion, people did.
religion which contain rules to do and not to do, help people to release the feeling of the guilt they have in different ways depend on the religion, rather than bring it to the Only and Truth God through Jesus to forgive their sins.

Answer 5

Religion is a word for the ideas about the basic structure of the world that people cannot see or know with our other senses, or that scientists cannot study with machines. There are many different religions in the world.

Religions try to answer important but mysterious questions like "Where did the world come from?" and "What happens to us after we die?" When people believe that they have answers to these questions, they often start new religions, or add their new ideas to old religions. Many religions believe in supernatural beings such as spirits, angels, devils, polytheistic gods, or a monotheistic god (such as the Christian, Islamic, or Judaic God), who can influence people and the world. People who teach or write about religion often say that they got their ideas from a supernatural being.

Many religions are very old, but new religions are always being created when some people aren't satisfied with the answers from the old religions. Things which are considered important and good by religions are called sacred or holy. Many religions have sacred books that give the most important ideas and stories of their religions.

Religions usually say how people should behave in order to be happy together or to please God. Many religions believe that people who live in a right way will go to Heaven forever after they die, or that people who live in a wrong way will go to Hell. Some religions believe in the Resurrection - that God will bring some, most or all dead people alive again one day; while other religions believe in Reincarnation - that people will be born again as a new person or as an animal after they die. Usually this is believed to be according to how a person acts in their previous life. Some religions believe a mixture of all of these ideas.

Most religions teach people to be good and to help each other, but unfortunately religions also sometimes create problems. This is partly because the questions of religion are so important to people, and because it is difficult to be sure which answers are correct. Many people are unhappy when other people do not agree with their ideas about religion, or when they think that people will cause problems for their religion.

When this happens, people sometimes make wars against people of other religions, or punish people who do not agree with their ideas about religion. This has happened many times in history, and continues to happen today. At other times, wars have been begun for more selfish reasons that were really nothing to do with religion, but in order to win more support for these wars, the kings or politicians would try hard to make it seem to be about religion, or would give the people a supposedly 'religious' reason for fighting a war.

Many religions build buildings for their people to meet. In different religions, these buildings may be called churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, pathis, or shrines. Many of the oldest, most beautiful, and most famous buildings are religious buildings.

Some religions are:

* Buddhism
* Christianity
* Hinduism
* Islam
* Judaism
* Sikhism
* Wicca
* Zoroastrianism

Answer 6

It is a sinister system of mind control designed to make people more easily manipulated and to keep them in a child-like dependent state,at it's worst... I'm thinking of religions like Islam and Christianity.

At it's best religion can be used to impart tools for self-discovery as does Buddhism.

Answer 7

dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam, "Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Srimad Bhagavatam (6.3.19)

purport to (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.25 by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acharya of ISKCON
(International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
The purpose of performing religion is neither to profit by material gain nor to get the simple knowledge of discerning matter from spirit. The ultimate aim of religious performances is to release oneself from material bondage and regain the life of freedom in the transcendental world, where the Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Person.

Answer 8

Religions are sets of moralities, values and lifystyles for human being for the betterment and peace of individuals, mankind and the nature.

Answer 9

Religion is defined many different ways, but in short, it's merely MAN'S view of God.

Answer 10

It is a human way of trying to reach out to God! There are a lot of these ways made by human traditions of different cultures - and all of them are unacceptable in God's sight.

Answer 11

Well Albert Einstien defined thus:
"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness"