I’d like to separate out what I see as being three separate and distinct factors relating to this question…

1) The personal belief systems of individuals regarding spirituality or godhood – e.g. “I believe I have an immortal soul” or “I believe in God”
2) The doctrines that assert specific requirements of a belief system regarding spirituality or godhood – e.g. the Bible or the Koran
3) The organizations and/or groups that are composed of individuals who share common beliefs regarding spirituality or godhood.

The questions that come to mind are…

If only one person believes in spirituality or godhood, does that constitute a religion?

If one asserts the intentions or purposes of god, does that constitute a religion,?

If a group/individual believes in “spirit”, but does not believe in “god”, does that constitute religion?

If religion is defined as being a group/organization, what common beliefs/doctrines are required in order to qualify as a religion?

I see the word “religion” thrown about, but often used to mean widely different things.

So what, exactly, is “religion”?

perception is reality ...

If only one person believes in a particular God or a faith it is that person's religion. I'm unaware of any "rule" that religion has to has a group to make it a religion.

If a person asserts the intentions of a "godhood" I would consider that to be their religion.

If a group or person does not believe in any God or have any belief system what so ever, then I would say that is not a religion.
Accept that believing in no God is still having a belief system in place... so I'm not so sure how to answer that.

i have study religion from around the world. first some would say there is a definition for the word religion. but what i have found there is not one that is set in stone to include all the religions around the world.

this is what i have learned, there can be one person and millions of people that believe in god, spirit, and 'doing good in ones life' there are many names. and as long as one person believes in it then it is a religion. Now with that being said, there are differences. There is organized religion and non organized. There are canonized religions and non canonized.

Mostly, what i have noticed and learned. Religion is what a person believes. To me what you want to believe in and what you call what you believe is all up to you.

Here is the closest way of saying what religion is in my world.
(Religion- a set of believes that a group of people in a culture has created.)

Good question! I'll be interested to see the answers.

A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth. Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, and is often interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws, ethics, and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.

The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system," but it is more socially defined than personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors, respectively.

"A religion", no. Definitely not.



No.



It depends on other factors. Belief in a deity is not what makes a religion a religion. This is a pain to speak about while be short and precise, and I don't feel like listing all the exceptions, but we can consider buddhism is a religion (and some buddhist elevated buddha to godhood, but most do not). We can also consider taoism a religion - or at least there are taoists who are participating in a religion (and taoist who are not) - and for the most part they do not believe in a 'deity'.



I don't know. But I'm more interested in how the beliefs propagate, and how people identify themselves with the group, etc.



True that!

I think (?) Ladylid got this from wikipedia. I'm really intrigued by the phrase 'or ultimate truth' - thats right in line with what I was meaning to say in my previous post. Religion is not about deities nor even spirit, necessarily, IMO.

If you throw out the major world religions as a given, you are left with the smaller, less known, and odder belief systems. Some are generally referred to as cults.

If a Kool Aid cult is obviously a religion, is a group such as Mary Kay who have similar characteristics one also? Can a leader be worshiped with all the emotions and platitudes of a deity without using the word, and be any different as an organization?

Did Charles Manson lead a religion?

yep

Yes - they have belief systems as well as group identity and systems to propagate the beliefs. The main difference between a 'cult' and a 'religion' is usually (a) the size of the group involved or (b) whether the speaker wishes to be disparaging towards the group.



I often refer to groups like that as religions - but I'm half joking and I'm not sure the use is correct. Mary Kay may have many of the elements of religion, but are the beliefs they indoctrinate related to an 'ultimate truth' ?



As I use the word, no, definitely not - but a situation like that could have lead to a religion. Lets set aside the crappy music and the murder and all that - and just look at this as a very small cult whose leader goes to jail... his cult isn't growing, is it? Are there an mansonite couples having kids and raising them to be mansonites?

For me, a proto-religion has to accomplish some degree of generation-spanning sustainability or demonstrate considerable sustained growth within a generation to qualify as a 'religion' for me.

Lady says Manson was a "yes" and you say a "definitely not". It would appear we have found the grey area.

I just think he was crazy. But I also don't think crazy is a factor when it comes to religion.

Actually, 'as I use the word' was intended as a key phrase, i'm, not convinced ladylid and I disagree, as I was not speaking in terms of the definition, only in terms of how I use the word personally.

Bullsh1t and false hope

according to miriam webster,, religion is,,

'a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith'

which would apply to individuals and ORGANIZED religion would probably apply to groups who share religion

CONTROL

religion are the combination of all the rules and laws supposedly handed down by a conscious supernatural entity

Or trying to give a meaning to something the people do not understand and using it for exploitation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNf-P_5u_Hw

Religion is a bunch of humans getting together to decide what is the best way for man to live and create a "holy" text to describe this "way" of life and rewards and punishments. Using guilt and fear to coerce those who resist into believing that at the best it is best to believe just in case then it is to not believe and discover the fairy tale be true when it is too late. Claiming to know a love bigger than any love humanly possible but not showing it in any way through actions. Using their influence to make individuals lose their minds and commit horrid crimes in the name of their god. Use their feeling of righteousness to cause wars and develop deep prejudice against those who are against the doctrines.

Etc....

Religions are a bad by product of fear in us humans. And it appears to alleviate the fear but in reality it thrives on it.

yep, it shows religion in a small but very effective form of the practice of religion. The teachings were ingrained deeply as most religions do and the practicioners saw no wrong in the acting out of the teachings as most religions do.

: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

in its strictest definition,,religion doesnt require a specific number of people, nor a GOD.