Define religion

[NonIndigenous]

I just want to hear what people understand by the word religion. In general.


To me, religion, is a belief system. Belief in anything whatsoever. Doesn't have to be a "higher power".





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[Jack Lowden]

I believe religion is belief in something more than can be proved, whether it's a god or reincarnation, etc. Not believing in a "religion" is believing only what is & can be proven. That's my opinion, at least.

[Ghost On The Highway]

Belief in something in spite of evidence to the contrary :P

[ThisWillDestroyYou]

Originally Posted by BDF

I just want to hear what people understand by the word religion. In general.


To me, religion, is a belief system. Belief in anything whatsoever. Doesn't have to be a "higher power".





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A belief system would be a philosophy, not religion. Religion is a belief that pertains to the creation of the Universe, non-factual, and usually contains the idea of deity. Your definition is too broad.

[Ghost On The Highway]

I agree that the OP's definition is too broad, but I also think yours is too narrow lol. Religion generally explains a mystery that is not well understood. It doesn't have to be the creation of the universe, but in the wake of scientific progress and increased human understanding it does tend to be something "big." Notice that few still worship fertility gods or gods of war (well maybe the latter). I think there also needs to be some sort of attachment or conviction in one's beliefs. If a religion can be discarded when any new evidence is presented it becomes essentially meaningless. Thus science is not really a religion, so to speak, because its hypotheses and theories change when new ideas are proposed and tested.

[Yours Truly]

Religion = act of worshiping

That's how I see it, anyway.

[ThisWillDestroyYou]

Originally Posted by Yours Truly

Religion = act of worshiping

That's how I see it, anyway.

You'd have to define worshiping if this were the case. People speak, adore, and have reverence towards particular sport players. Would they, then, be classified into a religion?

Originally Posted by Ghost On The Highway

I agree that the OP's definition is too broad, but I also think yours is too narrow lol. Religion generally explains a mystery that is not well understood. It doesn't have to be the creation of the universe, but in the wake of scientific progress and increased human understanding it does tend to be something "big." Notice that few still worship fertility gods or gods of war (well maybe the latter). I think there also needs to be some sort of attachment or conviction in one's beliefs. If a religion can be discarded when any new evidence is presented it becomes essentially meaningless. Thus science is not really a religion, so to speak, because its hypotheses and theories change when new ideas are proposed and tested.

re·li·gion [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
noun
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

[Adam the Fish]

This is hard. There is not really one definition.

There is the general 'higher power' definition which fits many religions, though "a belief in something, often..." (with what comes after 'often' interchangble) would probably be a good start to my definition.

In a way, it's one of the words (like "God") that cannot be defined further than a dictionary definition, which would not necessarily convey its whole or true meaning.

[Ghost On The Highway]

If the dictionary.com definition were at all sufficient, this thread would have no purpose to exist, now would it? Try another:

Consciousness:
1. a : the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself
b : the state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact

[SouthernBelle.]

Religion is seeing what isn't there, because you have faith that it is. Religion is a belief in and the worship of what cannot be proven, due to moral or cultural causes (which is not to say that god or Gods worshiped are not true). It seeks to explain what is (or was) unexplainable. It differs from philosophy in that philosophy offers a means of traversing the world that is provable, whereas religion offers a means of traversing or ascending to a perceived afterlife.

That is what I think religion is. And, people can practice a philosophy with religious fervor, but the two are very different words.

[Brandon]

Religion is a collection of similar ideas or concepts that is self-proven (not scientifically proven but proven only within yourself) and helps to explain the process of life, death, and the after-life.