I found it to be academically useful because it stimulates further thought and discussion. A good definition must also be precise. Because there are so many different religions, one cannot be too narrow in defining religion. Some use religious texts as a moral guide to relate it to their everyday life, and others rely more on ritual. I chose to leave out any mention of a higher power because while some religions believe in an omnipotent divine being, others believe in the divinity within oneself. I felt that if I included this, it would exclude certain major religions, such as Buddhism. On the same note, one cannot be too broad in their definition either. If there are no boundaries, almost anything can fall under the category of religion. To keep from being too broad, I decided to limit my definition of religion to belief systems that address the most basic questions about life, because ultimately, that is what every religion attempts to do. By limiting my definition in this way, I also was attempting to keep it free of my personal biases. Because I grew up in a Christian family, I know I would have a natural western bias. I tried to define it in a way that would be encompassing of all religions, not just the one that I am used
I found it to be academically useful because it stimulates further thought and discussion. A good definition must also be precise. Because there are so many different religions, one cannot be too narrow in defining religion. Some use religious texts as a moral guide to relate it to their everyday life, and others rely more on ritual. I chose to leave out any mention of a higher power because while some religions believe in an omnipotent divine being, others believe in the divinity within oneself. I felt that if I included this, it would exclude certain major religions, such as Buddhism. On the same note, one cannot be too broad in their definition either. If there are no boundaries, almost anything can fall under the category of religion. To keep from being too broad, I decided to limit my definition of religion to belief systems that address the most basic questions about life, because ultimately, that is what every religion attempts to do. By limiting my definition in this way, I also was attempting to keep it free of my personal biases. Because I grew up in a Christian family, I know I would have a natural western bias. I tried to define it in a way that would be encompassing of all religions, not just the one that I am used