Traditionally, scholars have considered religion to be a taxon for social formations that are present in more than one culture and share at least some of the same defining properties. They have often sorted them into groups like the “world religions” or their regional variants, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. This is a form of social taxonomy that is not without its problems.
As a result, many scholars have been critical of this concept, calling for an alternative approach to studying religious life. Perhaps the most influential of these is Talal Asad’s Genealogies of Religion, which applies Michel Foucault’s genealogical method to argue that assumptions baked into anthropologists’ notion of religion have distorted their grasp of historical realities. His goal is not to dismiss the reality of religion, but to make scholars recognize that its existence does not necessarily imply it is a private inner state.
Religion is a complex influence in the world, sometimes bringing people together and other times serving as a source of division. Nevertheless, there are some basic characteristics that are common to most religions:
For example, all religions offer some type of salvation. This may be in the form of forgiveness of sins through Christ’s death and resurrection for Christians or the attainment of nirvana in heaven for Buddhists. Most religions also have sacred places, objects, and rituals. Pilgrimages to Rome or Jerusalem are common for Christians, while pilgrimages to the Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini are typical of Buddhism.