Religion is the common name for a group of beliefs and practices that bind people together. There are hundreds of different religions, and many millions of people around the world follow one or another.
The Meaning of Religion
Throughout history, religion has been used to promote social unity and stability. However, it can also be a source of conflict. For example, in the Middle East and Europe, religion has led to violence and death.
Determining the Nature of Religion
During the nineteenth century, French sociologist Emile Durkheim defined religion as “a system of beliefs and practices that unite a number of people into a single moral community” (47). This definition is an empirical approach and identifies key elements in religious life.
A more complex and holistic approach, however, was crafted by American anthropologist Clifford Geertz in his work The Interpretation of Cultures (1973). It defines religion as “a system of symbols that acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence” (90).
In the twentieth century, scholars such as Talal Asad and Michael Smith have challenged the concept of religion without rejecting it completely. Unlike the earlier scholars who saw religion as an interior state, Asad and Smith see it as a coherent existential complex that is formed and shaped by social structures.