Religion is a cultural phenomenon that combines ideas, feelings, and behaviors, often including a focus on some aspect of the supernatural or spiritual. It provides a sense of meaning and purpose in life and may offer a map for living and for coping with tragedy and loss. It often involves a belief in someone or something sacred to believe in and a code of moral conduct that governs personal and social behavior.
It is important for students to understand the role that religion plays in the world. This will help them be more culturally literate and better equipped to participate in civic life as they enter the workforce or continue their post-secondary studies. This is why the NCSS recommends that the study of religion be included in all social studies classes.
Many scholars have analyzed religion using different methods and approaches. Some have focused on specific religious traditions. Others have used a more broad approach, seeking to understand the nature of religion as it exists in human societies. These scholars have developed what is called a “polythetic” definition of religion.
Polythetic definitions seek to avoid the claim that any one instance of a social category has an essence that is essential. Instead, they recognize that there are a number of properties that can be found in a large proportion of the examples of a class of phenomena. By adopting a polythetic approach, scholars can find patterns in the data and develop explanatory theories.