Religion is a set of beliefs, practices, and values that bind people together in communities and create a sense of purpose in life. It also provides comfort and hope for billions of people. In addition to providing a moral code, religion builds stronger families and encourages charitable giving and action.
The meaning of the term “religion” has shifted over time. It began as a word for scrupulous devotion, but it has been retooled to describe a broad type of social practice. A monotheistic version is a group’s relationship to one or more gods, while functional definitions treat it as whatever concerns a person most, regardless of whether those concerns involve belief in unusual realities.
Many religious traditions have sacred histories, narratives and mythologies, preserved in oral traditions, texts, symbols, holy places, and ritualized ceremonies that try to explain the origin of life and other phenomena. In more theistic forms, these explanations are usually related to gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms, they may be oriented toward the broader universe or the natural world.
Religion ideally serves several functions, including providing a sense of purpose in life, reinforcing social unity and stability, serving as an agent of social control, promoting psychological and physical well-being, and motivating people to work for positive social change. Its most important function is perhaps to provide comfort and hope for the bereaved, the sick, and the old. Roughly eight-in-ten Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and evangelical Protestants say their faith is very important in their lives, a figure that has stayed about the same in recent years.