Religion is a social system of behaviors, practices and ethics in which people are connected by the principles defined by a specific religion. Some examples of the major religions include Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.
The word “religion” comes from the Latin root religio meaning “to bind”. This enables people to feel linked with others who share their beliefs and traditions, while providing them with an explanation for how life was created and what it means.
Religious beliefs vary widely in form and content, but they generally contain a belief in one or more gods or supernatural entities. These beliefs are often interpreted by the followers of the particular religion as providing comfort and guidance for their lives.
Historically, scholars have been divided on the definition of religion, with some treating it as a social genus whose variety of forms is natural, while others have argued that religion is a modern invention. This “reflexive turn” has been influential in postcolonial and decolonial studies as it raises the question of how social kinds come into being.
In this respect, religious theories can be problematic in the same way that a theory of ice-skating might be. A theory might explain the underlying social structures and processes of ice-skating, but it would not explain the ice-skating that the theory describes.
A critical issue with the monothetic-set definitions of religion is that they are based on a particular set of attributes, such as belief in God. These attributes are more commonly associated with Western religion than other faith traditions, and the theoretical explanation of these attributes cannot be an explanation of religion as a whole.