What is religion?

Three kinds of legitimate answers

I. Religion cannot be defined

• • Religion is man’s relation to God, who cannot be defined.

  • We all can recognize religion when we see it--we intuitively identify it when it’s genuine--so we don’t need a definition.

  • The hundreds of definitions of religion may capture aspects, but not everything.

II. Defining religion in terms of a paradigm

• • “Religion is the worship of God and the service of humankind.”

  • This definition is constructed by generalizing what the definer regards as key features of the religion taken as a paradigm or model (by a believer or critic).

  • Other religions are recognized by their degree of similarity to the paradigm.

III. Functional definitions

• • “Religion functions to give meaning to life’s deepest mysteries.”

  • “True religion is a wholehearted devotion to some reality which the religionist deems to be of supreme value to herself and for all humankind.”