Religion is Not About Beliefs
Jules Evans defined a religion as a system that binds us in religio: a kind of sacredness, obligation, faith and “cosmic certainty” towards a particular set of precepts. Those outside the religio are framed as “existential threats”, with a strong in-out dynamic bound by a common transcendent ideal.
Alexander Beiner • Is Religion Coming Back?
Following a religion improves your daily actions, feels wonderful, and connects you to a worldwide community. These are better reasons than insisting it’s absolutely true.
Same with philosophies, nationalities, norms, and concepts like loyalty, destiny, and identity. None of these are true. But they are useful.
Derek Sivers • Make Believe
Ethnographers have consistently found that most people in small hunting or farming societies are basically ignorant of their own people’s religious beliefs, even the ones that are public.