Nishijima Roshi had a pretty good definition of "religion" that would include the traditional religions, but also atheists and agnostics, humanists and communists, or folks whose belief is that they have no belief ...
From
A Heart to Heart Chat on Buddhism with Old Master Gudo (Expanded Edition)
by Gudo Nishijima (Author), Jundo Cohen (Translator)
In other words, you have some feeling or belief about your place or relationship to the universe (including a refusal to have an opinion), and you act upon it in life. That is your religion.
Gassho, J
SatTodayLAH
[T]here are two elements central to a religion: The first is that there is some way of thinking or ideology believed true concerning the meaning and workings of the world and mankind’s place in it, and the other is that the actions of the individual are sought to be regulated in accordance with that way of thinking believed true. Namely, one aspect of the content possessed by something which constitutes a ‘religion’ is a faith in some ideology which is a world-view, and the other aspect is a discipline and regulation of the faithful’s actions to accord with the ideology thought proper in that faith. It is by this definition that I believe that all men and women, almost without exception, have a religion.
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A Heart to Heart Chat on Buddhism with Old Master Gudo (Expanded Edition)
by Gudo Nishijima (Author), Jundo Cohen (Translator)
In other words, you have some feeling or belief about your place or relationship to the universe (including a refusal to have an opinion), and you act upon it in life. That is your religion.
Gassho, J
SatTodayLAH
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