Definition of "religion"

Most books on the philosophy of religion try to begin with a precise definition of what its essence consists of. […] I shall not be pedantic enough to enumerate any of them to you now. Meanwhile the very fact that they are so many and so different from one another is enough to prove that the word “religion” cannot stand for any single principle or essence, but is rather a collective name.

1902, William James, “Lecture 2”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience […] ‎, London: Longmans, Green & Co.

Phallicism was, therefore, at the root of all religion, and was definitely the opponent of evil and darkness.

1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 160

Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather, religion is the form spirituality takes in a civilization; it is not so much the opiate of the masses as it is the antidote for the poisons of civilization.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 103

Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd and philoſophical men by the tattle of their nurſes or illiterate parents and companions, or by the faſhion of the country: and people of differing religions judge and condemn each other by their own tenents; when both of them cannot be in the right, and it is well if either of them are.

1722, William Wollaston, “Sect. V. Truths relating to the Deity. Of his exiſtence, perfection, providence, &c.”, in The Religion of Nature Delineated‎, page 81

Priest: I wasn't being rude.Father: Just bear in mind that there are plenty of other religions you know. Some of them, I may say, offering much greater range and value.

1989 February 10, Stephen Fry et al., “Christening”, in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, season 1, episode 5

'Religion can't exist without mystery, especially science, the newest religion.'

1985, Joan Morrison, Share House Blues, Boolarong Publications, page 97

Oh with what religion doe I respect and observe the same!

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […]

On the scales below, circle the one ( + ) or (-) number which best represents your situation on both the belief and practice dimensions for each of the traditional and nontraditional forms of religioning.

1978, Military Chaplains' Review, page 70

A similar caution is made by Nye when he calls for a re-evaluation of the category of religion in relationship to theory and method, suggesting that this category: be reconstructed in terms of practice theory as religious practice or religioning.

2013, Monica R. Miller, Religion and Hip Hop, page 74

Religious practice and action (“religioning”) can be liberating, and can connect displaced people with the spirits of home.

2015, Alexander Horstmann, Jin-Heon Jung, Building Noah’s Ark for Migrants, Refugees, and Religious Communities, page 13

To men whose minds are thus religioned, tied back to gods that never advance, there can never be any such word as progress

1890, John R. Kelso, Deity analyzed: In six lectures - Page 37

“What do you do, Donnigan? Spend all yer time religioning yer young?”

2007, Janette Oke, A Bride for Donnigan, page 225

The discussion of diet and health raises the question of the importance of discussing vegetarianism in relation to the contemporary religioning of health; as Ross remarks, 'health has replaced sexuality as the new privileged discourse of bodily truth and inner essence'.

1994, Timothy Morton, Shelley and the Revolution in Taste, page 238

The ideas expressed above challenge us to continuously rupture and interrupt racialized, classed, gendered, religioned and sexualized norms that inhere between and within institutions, understandings of bodies and our Selves.

2011, Andrew O'Shea, Pedagogy, Oppression and Transformation in a 'Post-Critical' Climate, p 116

If queer Jews, Muslims and Christians are engaged in queering their religions, they are also engaged in what might becalled 'religioning' the queer.

2013, Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip, Stephen Hunt, The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality