Pwehaps this question would be a good start, Where did you get your "definition" of religion from? And why does it seem right?

I'll start. I was 1st taught that there was faith and then there was church. Faith was believeing and church was rules and man made mumbo jumbo. (I was a child at the time) In my teen yrs I didn't necessarily see a connectio between HOW I believed and WHAT I believed. In college I took sociology, as mentioned before, and in studying it noticed a firm sociological set up that is religion. The faith, or belief if you will, stood seperate from that organised structure of society. Therefore my seperation of faith and religion.

Why it seems right is by power of observation. All religions seem to have similar guidelines. When to worship, how to worship, the hierarchy of those in control/power etc. On the other hand those who share the same belief seem to be pretty much on the same page. Just as I see and feel God in all things of nature so does others. There is no organisation and no teaching. Each of us came to that conclusion alone, and then sharing came second.

So for me I see a distinction in belief/faith and religion. What roots does your's come from?