Religion, or belief in God, plays a vital role in people’s lives. It gives meaning and purpose to their lives, promotes morality, provides support during hard times, serves as a source of comfort, helps them cope with stress and illness, and may even encourage them to work for social change.
People who are religious tend to be healthier, learn more, have better family relationships and coping skills, and are less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, and risky sexual practices that can lead to health problems. In addition, they are more likely to help their neighbors and communities.
The importance of religion in Americans’ lives varies by religious tradition. For example, more than eight-in-ten Jehovah’s Witnesses and members of historically black Protestant churches say their religion is very important to them. Roughly eight-in-ten Mormons and evangelical Protestants also say their religion is very important to them.
A number of scholars argue that it is time to shift the focus on what defines religion away from beliefs and mental states and onto visible social structures, and that this approach reframes the debate over the nature of religion in positive ways. These views are sometimes referred to as a “functional” or “non-reductionist” definition of religion.
However, some scholars object to functional definitions of religion because they suggest that a social genus such as “religion” can exist in more than one culture without having the same defining characteristics. In some cases, this objection bolsters a polythetic definition and denies that religion corresponds to a distinct kind of form of life.