What does the word “religion” mean to you? Is it defined by faith, belief, trust, commonality, culture, tradition, deity, lack of a deity, peoplehood, way of life? Is it defined by biblical literalism, by orthodoxy, by anti-science, by an implicit superiority? Is it all those things in equal measure, or are some more important? What is the opposite of religion? Do you assume that your definition is universal and applicable to others?
Do your ideas and concepts about religion exist in English, or do they only really exist in another language?
What is the honorable and good way to bury someone who has died, and to mourn their passing? What is the language of death? What makes a death good or bad? How is the body treated? What are the ritual, sacred, cultural, practical, ethical traditions around death?
What are the legal particulars that evolved into the marriage ceremony you imagine as the default? How is that marriage celebrated? What IS marriage, and who has authority over it?
How does someone come into this world? How is their coming celebrated, before and after the actual birth? How is their name chosen? What names are off limits? How many names do they get? When are the names used? What do they mean? How do they honor family?How do they become a part of the community?
As someone ages, how will they pass through meaningful, institutionalized rites of passage? When are they responsible? When are they an adult?
What is the relationship between humanity and nature? The relationship between humanity and the earth? What is our position in the natural world? What rights do we have or not have, what duties do we have or not have?
What is your view about the occult? Your concept of angels, demons, and the devil? What do magic, divination, and astrology look like to you?
What ubiquitous symbols exist in your culture? What phrases and idioms do you use to convey meaning beyond the explicit? Do you use these without thinking about their origin?
How is the year celebrated? What seasons are given special honor, and why? What themes are strong enough to provoke holidays and observances? What ARE those holidays and observances? What holidays do you consider “religious,” “secular,” or “national?” How do you observe them? What rights do you feel you have around them - do you have the right not to work on certain days, and why those days? Do you have the right to celebrate them publically, even in a government supposedly separated from religion, and what gives you that right?
What IS prayer? How does one do it? Does it matter or make a difference? What is it’s intention?
How much do you know about the culture, beliefs, history, traditions, and oppressions of different religious groups? How much do you know about your own group, or the dominant group in your country?
Looking at the entire list, do you expect other people to have similar answers as you? Why?
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