Religion is one of the most important social forces, both in our lives and in our understanding of ourselves. It shapes identities, gives people a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, and provides guidance in questions of right and wrong. It can also bring people together and help to create social structures, and it can have a positive influence on society. But there are also problems with religion, including problems that arise from the way it is defined and sorted.
In recent years, there has been a shift in the way that scholars think about the concept of religion. Some have taken a “monothetic set” approach, which assumes that any social practice that fits the definition of religion is essentially the same as every other instance and can be accurately described by a handful of defining properties. Some have argued that this approach is flawed and leads to confusion, for example by treating Christianity as the only true religion (see definition).
Other scholars have adopted a “polythetic” view of the term. They build a master list of religious characteristics, and argue that any phenomenon that has a sufficient number of these features is a religion. They usually include belief in supernatural beings, a sense of transcendence, and a division between the natural and the spiritual. Critics of this approach complain that it is too broad, and excludes practices such as the belief in ghosts, or faith traditions that emphasize immanence, like some forms of Buddhism and Jainism.