Julie asked:

My question is simply, well, not that it's simple but...What is religion? Is there a definition out there for
religion that suits all religions? My thoughts are that there isn't one, but I have an assignment to find a
definition of religion which I agree with.

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The first point to make is that there are serious doubts as to whether a definition is possible for many
things much simpler than religion. The classic example given by Wittgenstein was of 'games'
(Philosophical Investigationsparas 66—71). There are many different types of games: ball games,
card games, olympic games, board games etc. etc. To give a common feature that they all share is
probably impossible. They do not all have competition, they don't all have winners and losers — think
of patience. A child throwing a ball in the air is playing a game, but this seems to have little in
common with a serious game of chess. if it is impossible to find a definition for a 'game', why should
it be possible to define something as complex as religion?

We are tempted to say that there must be something in common between all games, in order that we
should call them all games. But this is to miss the force of the argument. It is true that all games
have something in common: the trivial seeming fact that they all are games. It might be a plausible
answer to your question to say that all religions have something in common, just simply that they are
all religions.

Just because a sharp analytic definition is not possible, this needn't rule out the possibility that certain
general features couldn't be outlined. We can teach a child the meaning of the word 'game' by
showing her various games, and telling her what they were. In time, the child will come to understand
the meaning of the word, although she will not have any definition. A similar tactic might be taken for
any definition of religion, i.e. giving examples of various religions, beliefs and practises. Although this
would not probably be satisfactory for your assignment, it is, I think, the only strictly correct way of
doing it.

William Greenwood