Religion, in its most general sense, is a system of beliefs and practices that are considered to be supernaturally inspired. It typically involves a belief in one or more gods, or a supreme spirit, universe, or consciousness. People often associate religion with a specific place of worship, such as a church or mosque, and with specific rituals and other activities, such as prayer or fasting. Most religions also have a moral code that followers are expected to follow and sacred books and symbols. Some religions also have a clergy or priesthood that leads the faith and enforces its rules.
The concept of religion has been a topic of great controversy over the years, and scholars have offered different definitions. One major controversy centers on whether or not religion is a real thing. The vast majority of scholars consider it to be, but some argue that the concept is not. These scholars, sometimes called critics of religion, point out that many aspects of human culture existed for millennia before people ever created a category to describe them. They claim that the development of the concept of religion coincided with European colonialism and that its modern semantic expansion is a result of that fact.
Others take a more positive approach to the question of what religion is. They call upon the work of anthropologists, who have observed that most cultures have a religion or religious and spiritual beliefs and practices. Using an evolutionary model, they say that religions emerged from the cultural adaptations of early human groups. This theory suggests that there are some characteristics that are common to all religions, including the belief in a supernatural creator or supreme spirit, the existence of gods and angels, the existence of spirits, and the desire to find meaning in life.
Some theorists, such as the philosopher Emile Durkheim, have defined religion as a social genus, or cultural type, that is, a shared set of values and beliefs that form a group identity. This approach is sometimes called a functionalist definition because it relies on the idea that religion serves a purpose for humans, such as bringing people together in a spirit of solidarity.
In contrast, the theory of polythetic definitions focuses on a number of properties rather than on any single criterion that defines religion as such. Polythetic theorists, such as Charles Alston, contend that it is important to recognize that not all religions have the same properties. They also suggest that monothetic definitions are too narrow and ethnocentric.
As a result, most contemporary theorists use polythetic approaches to define religion. Nonetheless, some anthropologists still support the use of monothetic definitions. They argue that it is too simplistic to claim that all religions have the same features, and that polythetic approaches fail to take into account the different ways that religions evolve over time. They also point out that some of the same features that make up a religion, such as moral codes and rites, are used to identify other social institutions, such as crime or government.