Religion is hard to define. And the word gets used in all sorts of ways. There’s religion vs. “organized” religion. There are religions with gods and without gods. Shinto is a religion unique to Japan. Hockey is a religion in Canada, so it is said. You can get religion, do religion, have religion, and be religious about almost anything.

There are estimated to be 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, and yet there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.

Oxford Languages defines religion as “the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods.”

Merriam-Webster’s first definition is “a personal set or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity.”

That’s a mouthful. Many definitions go on for pages and pages.

What does the Bible say about religion?

“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

That’s pretty simple. God really likes to keep things simple. It’s we humans who make it complicated. Even Jesus summed up all the Law with the simple command to love God by loving others.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for making my job simple. It may not be easy, but obeying you is definitely not complicated. Teach me today how to look after the vulnerable people in my society, the ones with few resources of their own and no voice or power to acquire any. And protect me from the stains of this world. Thank you for washing me each day in the blood of the Lamb as I confess and repent of my failures to love. Give me the strength and wisdom to do better today than I did yesterday.