What IS Religion ?

C

crazylemon

Registered Member
Well what is religion - how do you define it? A form of human experience, a system of beliefs and worship, what people believe about God.
 
From Webster -

Religion-

1 a : the state of a religious *a nun in her 20th year of religion*
b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural.
(2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.

2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.

4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.
 
what type of human experience do you think it is. surely the experience of climbing up a mountain is different from a religious one.
what does religion do? - or what is it trying to do/answer?
 
Religion is the code or manual by which the creator judges it's created during life....Hence, religion does not belong to humans but solely to the creator...It's very tricky, and a so called Atheist may pass the test over the Pope or a Sheikh because of the beautifull fact that religion and judgement is owned by the creator solely.
 
Originally posted by crazylemon
i don't understand how religion can be owned by anyone, isn't it like a free-for-all.
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No it's not, religion is the commandments made up by the creator or supernatural, or whatever you consider your object of worship to be. People follow religion to the best of their knowledge but don't own it. If you consider earth to be your god....hypothetically...very much so....just a stone, then the rules of the earth are the commandments for living on earth. You must follow them to survive and please earth. The earth makes the decision whether your actions of living fulfilled it's rules. You don't decide on new rules for earth....like paving everything...just because you can justify it somehow....You don't own your creator or it's rules, it owns you.
 
thanks, thats much better now, thats what i need - kinda in depth explanations of relgion / dictionary definitions explained.
 
Personal opinion here:
Religion is something people started because
1. They needed to explain nature (earthquakes, lightning, etc.) or
2. They didn't want to be in charge of themselves; they needed something else to run their lives.
Since then it's just gotten way out of hand!
-Belle
 
Originally posted by heflores
No it's not, religion is the commandments made up by the creator or supernatural, or whatever you consider your object of worship to be. People follow religion to the best of their knowledge but don't own it. If you consider earth to be your god....hypothetically...very much so....just a stone, then the rules of the earth are the commandments for living on earth. You must follow them to survive and please earth. The earth makes the decision whether your actions of living fulfilled it's rules. You don't decide on new rules for earth....like paving everything...just because you can justify it somehow....You don't own your creator or it's rules, it owns you.
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That's silly and illogical.

By your logic, no matter what MY religion is, then the object, spirit or person that I happen to worship and consider my creator is the lawgivier and the owner of my religion.
Even if what I worship is a rock.

So, every religion is right.
You were created by who or what ever you think you were created by and I was created by who or what ever I think I was created by.
Therefore there a bunch of Gods creating their own beings (identical in design and basic nature), and all the religions that state that there is ONLY one true creator and religion is still right.

So, If I follow pantheistic beliefs and God is everything then everything wrote the rules of my religion?
If I decide tomorrow to create a new religion (believe me I HAVE considered it) then whoever I deem is MY creator owns my religion and made the rules? Not me?

Even if there is a God...
Even if the Christian God exists...
PEOPLE made up religions.
And if I were God, I would be pissed of at all these arrogant little piss-ant humans that purport to know what I think and believe, then spread it around, not only as MY words, but as the ONLY truth out there claiming that all the OTHER insignificant humans (just as unknowing and uninformed as them) were dead wrong and will be punished by me.
 
Oh, and to the original question...

Look up religion in the dictionary, then look up cult...

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

religion

1a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. 2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. 3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. 4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English religioun, from Old French religion, from Latin religi, religin-, perhaps from religre, to tie fast. See rely.


cult

1a. A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader. b. The followers of such a religion or sect. 2. A system or community of religious worship and ritual. 3. The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual. 4. A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease. 5a. Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing. b. The object of such devotion. 6. An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

ETYMOLOGY: Latin cultus, worship, from past participle of colere, to cultivate. See kwel-1 in Appendix I.
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Basically it comes down to how widespread public support of the idea is.

A religion is a big cult.
A cult is a small religion.
 
I hate when people think science and atheism is another religion. Religion is something to believe in. Science is a method to finding something worth believing in (until the method is updated and new results are found).
 
Originally posted by notme2000
I hate when people think science and atheism is another religion. Religion is something to believe in. Science is a method to finding something worth believing in (until the method is updated and new results are found).
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The reason people who are religious think this is because most atheists do not understand what religious people mean by "religion." We see, therefore, that since you make vast conclusions about small details (e.g., Just because Evolution holds true in microbiological situations, does that mean that Evolution must necessarily hold true for the entire universe? And, if so, on what grounds is it true? "Theoretical" science? Astrophysics? There is no empirical data for this, so you have to put faith in it.), your "something worth believing in" is just as religious as our "something to believe in." I, frankly, think that those who rely on science to support a disbelief in God are fooling themselves; they would do better to be anti-intellectual. How does finding out 'more' about the world diminish God's credit in guiding it? It would seem less reasonable to believe in God if we knew less, scientifically, about the world than we do. But we know more, and continue to learn more: and thus learn more about God.
 
what is religion?

reﾷligﾷion n. Abbr. rel., relig.
1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, a principle, or an activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

It is frequently defined, as man trying to work himself into God's favor in his own strength, which is why biblical Christianity, is not a religion, for it is God restoring the broken relationship in His own strength.
 
No; it is a religion. The difference, however, is that--as you've pointed out--it is not man's search for God: but God's search for man. It is, so to speak, God's religion--or at least made by God, instead of man.
 
Originally posted by Kant we all...
No; it is a religion. The difference, however, is that--as you've pointed out--it is not man's search for God: but God's search for man. It is, so to speak, God's religion--or at least made by God, instead of man.
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Very good poing Kant we all. I wish everyone will chear "YES WE CAN"
 
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