If you really want to break it down, one could say that religion is, at its core, a system of law. Its purpose, like any lawful system, is to provide organization and stability to what would otherwise be a chaotic world. It accomplishes this with cautionary tales, rules, and rituals, then rewards good behavior with holidays, blessings and the promise of something better after death.
Religion need not be deity based, but usually there is a spiritual aspect to it that represents the unknowable. Science cannot answer all of our questions so religion fills in those blanks with something we can never know, but we can have faith in as a 'bigger picture'.
It's a construction of tenents that a person strives to live by. Not all religions believe in a god or higher power....
I have seen many answers on here specifying a belief in something bigger or more, like a God/creator, but, to me at least, religion is simply a belief. A belief in knowing. Religion is believing in something besides yourself.
Whether it is in a god, or science, or even yourself, that belief cannot be touched which creates a bond unlike any other. Believing, whether founded on physical evidence or spiritual being... that is religion.
Religion is a set of beliefs that are acted out and relied upon repeatedly within the parameters of the belief. Religion is like a group, a group of standards that groups of people follow because they believe it to be true. There's a difference between being spiritual than religious.
Religious people usually follow certain "rules" because that's what everybody does. Spirituality involves more of having a personal relationship with God and making decisions based on the relationship you have with God. That relationship will outweigh any religious practice.
Religion is a system of beliefs for explaining and providing meaning for existence, without reliance on scientific facts or proof.
Religion means having faith. It does not necessarily mean believing in a higher power or belonging to any specific group of believers. Those who have faith feel as though they are one with the universe.
They feel that things will always work out for the best.
Belief in a sentient creator or a belief that we are all part of some larger sentient being that may have existed forever.
In my opinion religion is a man made tradition, set of rules and regulations that trap people into a specific way to worship God. The different views and idealogy is what separates the religions. Jesus hates religion for those reasons that I have specified.
He just wants us all to love eachother and love him with all our hearts, mind and souls but man complicates it by adding more to it.
In simple terms, I believe religion is man's way of trying to find God - through tradition, man-made rules, or ethnic beliefs. It is the opposite of relationship, which is finding and knowing God through faith in .
I use the definition that religion is the belief in a god or supernatural being.
A code of behaviour to give rhythm and pattern to your life.
From my worldview, which I promise to leave a mystery, I see all religions as having the common denominator of seeking meaning for life outside of one's own personal endeavors. A higher purpose, a calling, a (or multiple) creators who has a particular message for his creation.
In order to define religion you must first define several other things. Is Taoism or Confucianism a religion? I would argue not.
This is because it is so disorganized and so unclear on its values that it doesn't even have a clear message. Once we know that then we know religion must have a clear set of values.
Next we must define how organized it must be. Should it have churches or places of worship? Or should it just have a group of people who are organized and believe the same thing.
This is a much harder question, but I suppose that it would need to be organized enough so that they can get their message out to the people. They need a way to convey their message.
That last thing I want to cover is how large the group should be. The answer is that there is no set limit or minimum number of people there need to be in order for it to be a religion.
So in conclusion I would say that religion is a group organized enough to get their beliefs across with a clear set of values, but has no real limitations on how many people have to participate. Of course, this is just my humble opinion.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.