Religion is a vast and complex human phenomenon. It can be analyzed in many different ways. Some scholars define religion functionally or axiologically, for example, as the beliefs and practices that generate social cohesion or provide orientation in life. Others define it as a social genus, which would allow for the possibility that it exists in every culture and even that it names an inevitable feature of the human condition. Still other scholars take a Humean route and define religion as something that involves particularly powerful feelings that are noncognitive but recognizable. In these cases, people are able to make sense of the experiences in terms of other familiar feelings and concepts, such as love and fear. This approach is known as somatic exploration, from the Latin word for body (soma).
The term “religion” derives from an ancient Roman word that meant “scruples,” or the concern that some activity is important enough to be done carefully. This sense of the word was taken up by Durkheim, who defined religion as a set of beliefs and practices that create solidarity within a group. Other theorists have defined religion in more substantive ways, such as Paul Tillich, who defined it as whatever dominant concern serves to organize a person’s values—whether or not these concerns involve belief in unusual realities.
For most of history, people have needed something to help them make sense of their lives and the world around them. Religions have provided them with hope. The hope of a kind creator who will watch out for them, the prospect of immortality or life after death, and the idea that there is an ultimate meaning to human life. People can express their religious hopes in a variety of ways: devotedly, generously, ecstatically, prayerfully, superstitiously, puritanically, and ritually.
In addition to being a source of comfort and inspiration, religions also provide people with an alternative to scientific explanations for the origin and nature of the universe. They can also offer them a means of controlling their lives and guiding their futures. Moreover, religions can be a source of moral guidance and a way to feel a connection with the community of all humans and all living things.
In the modern era, some scholars have challenged the idea that religion is simply a collection of beliefs and subjective mental states and argue that it is more useful to think about religion as a set of cultural institutions and social practices. Whether or not this shift of attention away from hidden mental states is successful remains to be seen, but it has made it more difficult for scholars to develop a consensus about what constitutes religion. Nevertheless, the structure/agency debate will continue to shape the study of religion for years to come. The debate is not only about what is or is not a religion but also how we can understand why and how often the concept fails to work as it should.