What Is Religion?
Religion is a broad social category that encompasses a wide range of social practices and beliefs. It is commonly understood as a way people deal with ultimate concerns—beliefs that there are spirits or divine powers that control the universe; beliefs in a supreme being or cosmological order; and rituals that help to bring the spirit into the world of the living.
Some academics have argued that it is impossible to define religion because of the many different things that can be included under the term. Others, however, have sought to avoid a definition that fastens on one property by using polythetic approaches. These are based on the idea that there are many properties that can be present to some degree in religious systems and that these properties may co-appear in such a way that they lead to explanatory theories.
One of the most influential books in this area was Talal Asad’s Genealogies of Religion (1993). Based on Michel Foucault’s genealogy of power, it argues that there are many ways that scholars have approached the study of religion and that these approaches have often been informed by Christian assumptions.
While it is not always possible to avoid religious bias, it is possible to make a distinction between what is and is not religiosity. This distinction is important because some studies show that people who are not religious experience benefits from certain behaviors, form strong social connections and develop coping skills. This does not mean, however, that there is a causal link between these behaviors and their lack of religiosity.