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What makes a religion a religion?

There are always threads on here about religion. And almost all of those threads deal with only Christianity. I expect that because most people on this website have grown up around or in the middle of some strain of Christianity, and other faiths are out there but obscure and unfamiliar to the average westerner. My question is, what is religion? And what does something have to have in order to be called a religion?

Does there need to be traditionalism for it to be considered a religion? In the seven major religions in the world today (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) you find strong tradition present.

Does there have to be mythology for it to be a religion? Does there have to be some kind of crazy story with miracles and supernatural things? Does there have to be a creation story? The Abrahmic tradition is full of it. Hinduism has mythology, but not nearly on the scale of the western religions. Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism do not have mythology like the others.

Does there need to be a concept of salvation? In Judaism, Christianity and Islam there is heaven. In Hinduism there is Moksha, the radical liberation to the ultimate truth, Brahman. In Buddhism there is nirvana, where desires are ?blown out? and there is a release. In Confucianism and Daoism there is no salvation.

Do there need to be sacred places or objects? Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism have sacred places and objects. Confucianism and Daoism don't.

Do there have to be sacred actions or rituals to be performed? All of the major seven include rituals. From attending church, meditating, practicing one of the four yogas or going to worshiping your ancestors at their shrine, rituals are present.

Does there have to be a community? The word religion itself comes from the latin ?religare ? to bind.? Does there have to be a binding of a community of people for it to be a religion? Christianity started with Christ and his 12 disciples. Buddhism started with one man, Siddhartha Gautama. Is the sense of one-ness with a community of people essential, or is it optional?

And finally, does there have to be a god? For the Abrahamic tradition there is a single god, and it is scary as shit. Hinduism is very pluralistic, but the gods aren't really gods like in the western religions. They are simply manifestations of Brahman, the ultimate truth, that make it easier for people to grasp the concept. Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism do not have a god at all.

How is it that scholars agree that all seven are religions, but they don't fulfill all the same criteria? Are there any other things you think are needed for a religion to be a religion?
 
Originally posted by: Kadarin
As opposed to what, a cult? Answer: The number of followers...
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As opposed to a business (like disney?) -- salaries. As opposed to a nation? Borders. As opposed to a cat? Wetness. As opposed to tony danza? Bowl cuts.
 
Pretty much "Yes" to all your questions. Not necessarily for all though, for eg there doesn't need to be a Deity(not talking about Atheism), but that's the exception. "Tradition" seems to be the big difference between "Religion" and "Cult".
 
re·li·gion (ri-lij'?n)
n.

1.
1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. 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.

i have an old collegiate dictionary that basically defines it as something you do with regularity. its from the late 1800s, words meant different things back then.

the bolded definition is the closest i could come without unpacking a box and snapping a pic of my old dictionary, but this could be applied to pretty much anything, not necessarily a spiritual belief or worship system
 
Originally posted by: hanoverphist
re·li·gion (ri-lij'?n)
n.

1.
1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. 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.

i have an old collegiate dictionary that basically defines it as something you do with regularity. its from the late 1800s, words meant different things back then.

the bolded definition is the closest i could come without unpacking a box and snapping a pic of my old dictionary, but this could be applied to pretty much anything, not necessarily a spiritual belief or worship system
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To add to this:

Cult (k[u^]lt) n. [F. culte, L. cultus care, culture, fr. colere to cultivate. Cf. Cultus.]
1. Attentive care; homage; worship. [1913 Webster]
Every one is convinced of the reality of a better self, and of the cult or homage which is due to it. --Shaftesbury. [1913 Webster]
2. A system of religious belief and worship. [1913 Webster] That which was the religion of Moses is the ceremonial or cult of the religion of Christ. --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
3. A system of intense religious veneration of a particular person, idea, or object, especially one considered spurious or irrational by traditional religious bodies; as, the Moonie cult. [PJC]
4. The group of individuals who adhere to a cult (senses 2 or 3). [PJC]
5. A strong devotion or interest in a particular person, idea or thing without religious associations, or the people holding such an interest; as, the cult of James Dean; the cult of personality in totalitarian societies. [PJC]

-- From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
cult
n 1: adherents of an exclusive system of religious beliefs and practices
2: an interest followed with exaggerated zeal; "he always follows the latest fads"; "it was all the rage that season" [syn: fad, craze, furor, furore, rage]
3: a system of religious beliefs and rituals; "devoted to the cultus of the Blessed Virgin" [syn: cultus, religious cult]

-- From WordNet (r) 2.0

58 Moby Thesaurus words for "cult": Sabbatarianism, Weltanschauung, adoration, articles of religion, catechism, celebration, ceremonialism, church, co-worship, communion, connection, credenda, credo, creed, cultism, cultus, denomination, devotion, doctrinal statement, dulia, faith, formalism, formulated belief, gospel, homage, hyperdulia, ideology, idolatry, ism, latria, liturgics, liturgiology, liturgism, mystique, persuasion, political faith, political philosophy, prostration, religion, reverence, ritualism, rituality, ritualization, sabbatism, sacramentalism, sacramentarianism, school, sect, solemn observance, solemnization, symbolics, symbolism, system of belief, transcendent wonder, veneration, world view, worship, worshiping -- From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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Basically, ALL religions are cults.
 
We all know the dictionary definition of what a religion is, I am curious about what other people think about the different faiths and whether or not people think they are religions.

If Buddhism is a religion, and started with one man, can you start your own personal religion? Confucianism and Daoism have absolutely no supernatural or deity, and hundreds of millions of people practice those two. Not just the western idea of religion, with worship and church and that stuff.


Could you call going to an NFL football game a religious experience? When I go to brown's games, I am surrounded by thousands of other people that love the browns just like me. I don't know them, but I know we have that in common. Is that a religion? Why or why not?
 
Originally posted by: Cheeseplug
My question is, what is religion? And what does something have to have in order to be called a religion?
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There's a term which lurks behind "religion", in increased usage these days, which is the much more important than religion -- "spiritual". The question "what is spiritual" is deeper and broader, but it's the more important one as it points to the core rather than the periphery.

A religion is worthless if it is not spiritual, and many, in the essential practice, make their religions unspiritual; at worst nothing more than a team sport of sorts where the sport consists most of identifying and opposing the competition and ra-rah'ing the home team -- having not much to do with playing the game for its own sake. The disputation of the term "religion" when applied to anothers' is in this view is a particular exaggeration of this competition to the meta level.
 
The espousing of fundamental beliefs, usually in conjunction with a moral code and a belief in a god or gods.
 
No matter what the dictionaries use a definition, all religions are characterized by two points that they all have in common:

1) A belief in some sort of continuing life whether it's heaven, Valhalla or reincarnation. That's the biggie, religions are invented by people who don't want to believe that when it's over it's over.
2) The assertion that the adherents are "special" and better than the people who believe in different invisible men in the sky.

That's pretty much it. Claim that you're the favorites and that you get eternal life, get one other person to follow it and you've got a religion. The chanting and rituals are smoke and mirrors to distract people from the fact that there's no substance.
 
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
No matter what the dictionaries use a definition, all religions are characterized by two points that they all have in common:

1) A belief in some sort of continuing life whether it's heaven, Valhalla or reincarnation. That's the biggie, religions are invented by people who don't want to believe that when it's over it's over.
2) The assertion that the adherents are "special" and better than the people who believe in different invisible men in the sky.

That's pretty much it. Claim that you're favorites and that you get eternal life, get one other person to follow it and you've got a religion. The chanting and rituals are smoke and mirrors to distract people from the fact that there's no substance.
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1.) Not true - Confucianism and Daoism have no notion of any continuation of life. This is it, like it or not.

2.) Also not true - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and Hinduism aren't about who is more special than the other. Hinduism especially is very open. The goal of life is to break the cycle of samsara, and reach Brahman. If you practice any of the yogas (note: there are more yogas than just stretching), no matter what "religion" you are you can reach Brahman. A christian can be liberated, a jew can be liberated, a confucian can be liberated. It isn't about who is better than another, but rather is very personal.

 
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion

re·li·gion
/r?'l?d??n/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
?noun
1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. 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.
2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.
4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.
5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.
7. religions, Archaic. religious rites.
8. Archaic. strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one's vow.
?Idiom
9. get religion, Informal.
a. to acquire a deep conviction of the validity of religious beliefs and practices.
b. to resolve to mend one's errant ways: The company got religion and stopped making dangerous products.
 
I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I was hoping for an actual discussion about different religions. Not dictionary definitions without any commentary. And definitely not "ur gay." and "no, god's gay."
 
Originally posted by: zerocool84
Originally posted by: ja1484

Mass acceptance.

If you're a small religion, you're a cult.
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Shens

Scientology is a cult. I don't care what anybody says.
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Cults aren't dependent on population size. They are dependent on what I call "cult tactics". Which means they aim for rapid growth, have a central living human figurehead that they idolize and support financially, and focus on emotions and disregard the intellect (i.e., check your brain at the door).

Many megachurches, religions, and supposedly non-religious groups fit the bill.

 
Originally posted by: Cheeseplug
I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I was hoping for an actual discussion about different religions. Not dictionary definitions without any commentary. And definitely not "ur gay." and "no, god's gay."
Click to expand...

You didn't like my response? :cries;
 
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