Much fuss has been made over the definition of “religion”; what constitutes a religion? What makes a religion a religion? What is a religion? What definition could we construct that would admit those things we consider religions whilst excluding things that we would not consider religions? If we include some sense of deity in the definition, are we artificially excluding religions such as Buddhism?
Well, I think I have the perfect definition for you:
A religion is a system of make-believe
Can you think of either a religion that would not be neatly described that way or something that is not a religion that that definition would falsely identify as a religion?
For completeness, I suppose one could say:
A religion is a system of make-believe, with beliefs and practices pertaining to sacred “truths”, resulting in behavioural conformity, most commonly promulgated by a ruling class or peddled by con merchants
Have I gone too far? Have I missed anything out? What’s your favourite working definition for “religion”?