Religion. What is it?

I regard it as "morality" in ones relations with God, or the gods, or the Holy. In other words, it is giving God his due, just as morality is giving ones fellow human being his due.

So what is pseudo-religion? Pseudo-morality would probably be amorality: treating ones companions with no morality at all, which does not mean necessarily being immoral. But to treat the companions without reference to any moral measures at all: rewarding evil acts, punishing good acts, arbitrarily and randomly.

So a pseudo-religion would be treating the Holy as if it were not Holy, God as if He were not God (or gods). It would be akin to having a blasphemous attitude to God/the Holy.

I've noticed that "religion" has become synonymous with, "evil, oppressive social structure". It has come closer to "morality" or "immorality" in that it measures religion against human freedom and realization, as if religion were essentially inimical to humanity. But "moral" and "immoral" are terms presupposing human beings and relationships among them. These are the correct terms applied to oppressive social structures. "Religion" is not about priests or pontiffs or witch doctors, but of the divinity beyond these human beings.

"Religion", if it is to have any useful meaning at all, should not be diluted to "morality", but must keep its fundamental connection with the divine, whatever the "divine" is understood to be.

I think what's happening is that the divine is so forgotten or reduced to human or material reality, that it's getting confused with morality. Atheism is swallowing up all perception of the "holy". And in the absence of the Holy, "religion" is left with only earthbound connotations and denotations. It is conceptually diluted and destroyed.

I write this note because the post seems to make no indication of what the author means by "religion". I read that "religion" comes from death. It is a form of fear, I suppose.

I think some people have a more positive take on the reality of religion.