How do you define 'Religion'?

Question

I ask this in the philosophy boards because it is really more a philosophical question than a religion question. So in a few words or sentences, define what it means.

Remember, not all religions have a god or gods. Not all religions have sacred buildings. Some religions revolve around the worship of ancestors. In any discussion of religion, religion must first be defined. So go for it.


Smartass ******** answers are more than welcome in my questions as well as the well-thought-out intelligent ones.

Answer 1

You welcome smartass answers. Finally, someone who appreciates me.
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Answer 2

Your question might be better answered if you ask what 'religious' is rather than 'religion,' as religion automatically comes with the attachment of dieties and etc you mentioned above.

A person can be religious about a particular interest. For example, take body building. A person eats a specific diet, does specific excersises. Does them at specific times. It takes a tremendous amount of dedication and discipline to do. This notion is can be translated into the scope of your question.

Answer 3

religion is the path of nature. it is the path which may look the toughest but be the easiest in the end. love is one important aspect of religion. religion teaches us to live in harmony with nature, fellow human beings.

beliefs are seperate. beliefs are religion with bias.
most beliefs have well know names today.

reality is that which exists outside our beliefs.

religion is like a sport team. u choose the one which is the most popular at the time and think all other teams are losers.

Answer 4

i don't know for sure, but it seems all religions seem to have some "space" reserved as sacred. whether that be a building, a naturally occurring sacred site, a burial mound, or even perceptual abstract space within the ideal (spatio-temporal) structures that seem to accompany all forms of religion. so, basically, the setting aside of sacred space.

Answer 5

a belief system that centers around the notions of belief and faith. you might then ask "what is faith, what is belief"? only the person who has them really knows their "true" meanings.

A non-religious person can only 'assume' that a religious person knows his/her god or faith. thats not to say that religious faith is completely subjective. the values come originally from the objective realm but soon takes over the person and become 'internalized'.

i know i haven't answered your question 100% but you know it could take a whole book to address the issues correctly.

Answer 6

I hope i dont cause you too much trouble reading this lol. I get lost in my own thoughts, especially if i had done lots of dwelling on it before. I think god, if u believe in him, wants us to interpret everything the way we want to. He believes in free will and hes probably the laws of physics itself. Religions were made up by someone who thought he understood life better, but we cant follow what he thought. He came to his conclusions and wisdom by hes own experiences, since we are all different, religions dont work for everyone. Atheists think that since they are so great without god, that everyone should be without religion. On the contrary, not everyone is ready to do that. Its like what happened in plato's cave. The guy who went outside wanted to pull every1 out also, but they freaked out once they went out of the cave, so they killed the guy and went back in. However, since we can interpret religion anyway it wants, it can be something like literature. In english class(just mine i dunno about others), we read some literary work, and we take into thought what its saying. The bible probably was filled with all the god fearing stuff to keep dark-age people reading, just as some books put humor. But like irony, religion's message isnt easy to understand. That one phrase called "Inherit the Wind" for example...from what i can remember, if u cause too much trouble within your own house or something, u get nothing good out of it(u get the wind, the air, nothing but oxygen, co2, and nitrogen)
Im agnostic. I think its fun to say u dont go to church and not believe in god yet know the bible better than a christian can ever interpret it. I dont recommend doing the same for the Qu'ran in public, cuz Islam tells to take it literally. Do it here and they stone u to death, which is strange because i thought jesus told us to forgive people, not launch crusades against them. We should all have our own definitions at religion. My definition is that it was an attempt at the time to explain life, and it may involve a powerful--usually omnipotent-- being (samsara=the mundane cycle of life and death, and karma= what goes around comes around, atman=consciousness, greek gods=human nature and emotions, shinto=nature, mother earth stuff) Not all religions have a god believe it or not. Panthiesm was saying god=the universe(laws of physics etc.) or vice versa and Buddhism didnt have a god at first, later followers just added it. Religion is just philosophy from a different mind set. Too many followers take it too literally and as a result the true meaning was lost(like how irony is differnt to understand, i thought christianity wanted peace not war), others just dont pay attention, and some people r just hypocrites. I also wonder, if god can see and hear all, y pray? Hes all powerful, so he doesnt have id or ego, just super ego, so he or shes not gonna zap lightning at u. Hes difficult to understand...and im lost in my thoughts...it takes a life of not following a leader and be your own to know...im still young, i dunno...

Answer 7

A set of positions encompassing one's moral, spiritual, and societal beliefs.

Of course it can be extended from there, forbidding some things, adding sacred beings/places

Answer 8

Religion is superstition shared by a large group of people.
A sect is a superstition shared by a smaller group of people.
A cult is a superstition shared by a smaller group of people when we really can't stand their superstition.

Answer 9

Spiritual profiteering

Answer 10

Nice and easy:

Every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance.

Answer 11

a way for the rulers to control us
and a way to us to cope