Religion is a cultural system of beliefs and practices that incorporates mythologies, sacred histories, religious texts, and symbols. It is an important source of moral guidance and identity in some people’s lives, but it can also promote social conflict and lead to persecution, violence, and war. Regardless of its role in society, it is a source of comfort to many individuals during times of difficulty.
The word “religion” is derived from the Latin religio, which roughly means scrupulous devotion. Throughout history, the concept has been retooled again and again to fit different social contexts. As a result, its meaning is sometimes ambiguous and difficult to define. Some scholars use a functional definition of religion that focuses on the role it plays in societal structures and relationships. Others, however, prefer a realist definition that is concerned with forms of life operating in the world. These definitions differ from one another and are sometimes contested.
Some people argue that the concept of religion is a modern Western invention, and that it has no basis in the world. They contend that the notion of religion has a political element and is used as an instrument for power over other cultures. Others, such as the American sociologist Mary Douglas, argue that although there are social constructions of religion in every culture, the concept of religion is not universal.
Religious beliefs and practices vary between societies and are influenced by the environment, but there are some basic features that are common to all religions: the belief in a higher power or god, the idea of eternal life, moral codes, a code of behavior, rituals, ceremonies, prayers, mystical experiences, sacrifices, pilgrimages, marriage, burial rituals, dress codes, art and music, and some bodily alterations, such as male circumcision. In addition, there are common motifs that occur in religions, such as divine versus human agency, the afterlife, and supernatural punishment or reward.
In the nineteenth century, anthropologists such as Clifford Geertz focused on the ways that religious beliefs and behaviors influence a society and its culture. This research helped to revitalize the study of religion in the humanities and social sciences.
Other scholars, such as the French historian Lucien Febvre and the German anthropologist Max Weber, sought to shift the focus of historical analysis of religion from a cultural to a sociological perspective. This approach to the study of religion emphasized the influence of religion in a society’s development and analyzed how it shapes its social structure.
Reflexive scholars, such as the American philosopher Diana Eck, argue that stipulative definitions of religion are problematic. By limiting what is considered to be religion, they exclude a variety of people and impose their own ideas about the nature of religion on those they are studying. They therefore prefer to use a realist definition that does not preclude the existence of forms of religion in other cultures. In a more extreme form of this argument, scholars such as the American philosopher Deborah Possamai have argued that there is no such thing as religion at all.