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Is Religion A Religion? Essay

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Islam is a religion. A simple statement, but not all together true. A religion, as commonly defined, is an organization or collection of a set of beliefs and practices. To be religious or do to something religiously does not always pertain to the spiritual; the word religion can be used to describe many things. One can do something religiously referring from how they conduct their prayers, to something more trivial as playing video games. Another way to define religion is to describe it as something that is a way of life. Yet, once again, this does not constitute that religion is spirituality. In many parts of the world sports are described as being ones religion, as they are followed and supported with fervor. Another defining factor of religion is that most religions, if not all, have some sort of sacred text or holy relic. However, to a football fan, the Lombardi Trophy which is awarded to the winner of the SuperBowl, can be viewed as a ‘holy’ relic. The idea of something being holy is all rooted in subjectivity; what I consider holy may not be deemed as such by a friend or acquaintance.
If religion and sports have so many things in common, what are some of the differences? To start, believing in a God or Gods are a defining characteristic of religion, but they are not the very essence of religion; enlightenment and ultimate salvation are the core distinguishing points of religion. Religious practices are undertaken with the hope that an individual will reach a level of

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