So, What Exactly is Religion, Anyway?

Theories on the Purpose and Origin on one of our species biggest Social Forces

Religion is a major force is virtually every culture in the world. Even countries that are largely non-religious, like China, still have a long history with religion and a large number of faiths and believers. “Religion” can be an incredibly broad term, as the many religions of the world are extremely diverse. The world’s largest faiths boast billions of followers, and those are broken down further into sects and denominations which may have wildly different interpretations of the core beliefs which lay at the heart of the religion.

Opinions about religion, what it is, what it does, it’s value to society, vary almost as much as religious beliefs themselves do. I’ve identified four main ways of thinking about religion, ranging in terms of generosity to the concept of religious belief. Our perceptions of religion tend to be, unsurprisingly, colored by our experiences with it, and we tend to project our experience outward to create a theory of religious belief that may or may not be accurate. I mention this to say that I have tried to avoid this pitfall, but my perspective is subjective, because I am a subject, so forgive my blindspots and let me know what I missed!