What is religion?

I've got it. I just had the breakthrough. Religion means to reli on your region. Every region has an earth sprit. You treat it right and it'll treat you right. When humans fall short and contaminate any sections of it..............

In a more serious vein:

Religion is humanity's way of dealing with the fears the unknown engenders.

The opiate of the masses.

au, and all this time i thought opium was the opiate of the masses

They both tend to dull ones thinking. One does it chemically and the other does it through brain washing.

Religion is a way for humans to relieve their own uncertainties to some superpower created by man. c.i.

Religion is any collection or system of beliefs which revolve around the belief in the existance of a deity.

All these I think are good and ernest answers. It is important to be ernest. They are also all describing what religion is to everyone, and since I don't think that any of you have surveyed earth's entire population, I am forced to rephrase the question:
What does religion mean to you? I mean, you must be on here for a reason... I am curious...
Yours in Spirit (PI)
Second Socrates

Socrates, you won't get a satisfactory answer to your interesting question until you go back to the first "hominisation" of man, the time when early man evolved to that great leap allowing him, for the first time to "reflect" or think in the abstract.

Observing that it was the sun that caused a tiny seed to sprout and grow and produce food, it was natural for man to hold in awe, and to "worship", if you like, the SUN itself. So the first religious symbol was the SUN GOD. Later there were religions in which other features of nature were "worshipped". Icons were made to look
like early man's concept of his "God".

You can easily go on from Pantheism (the worship of many Gods to
one God) and from paganism to christianity, all well documented by wise men, philosophers, prophets, and of course religious hucksters by the ton.

A good start is the book, Pheomenon of Man by Chardin and the Ascent of man is also a good primer. The study of Religious History is a fascinating one. I've been at it for more than 50 years and am just beginning to learn some of the truths that have been obscured and twisted by those who have used religion as a road to power and wealth.

interesting...
who said I was looking for a satisfactory answer... I'd be happy just to stimulate a little discussion... I really would prefer unsatisfactory ones :wink: .
Yours Truly,
Second Socrates

In my mind religion is a set of organized practices/rituals based on a system of beliefs with philosophical and/or mythological roots.

I like that answer... I like it
-Second Socrates

It's a mysterious human practice that creates something from nothing, then worships it.

Religion is that guilt-ridden obligation I was forced to participate in when a child until I received First Communion. From that point on, with that as a foundation, I was allowed to choose my own form of religion. I chose "none of the above."

Religion is the ammunition that keeps people apart and at war with each other.