What makes a religion?

[Mystic]

I tried to follow your post. It's pretty wordy.

Here's my problem, you asserted that I have a religion. You also asserted that "Yet all religions claim to follow the truth, to be devoted to it."
However, I have never made such a claim. In fact, I do not claim to know what truth is and I do not believe that absolute truth is a real thing.

This is was to do with the outward religions. This was to explain something is going wrong in what all these outward religions are claiming but at the same time, they are following falsehood. There is disconnect to what the outward religion is and what inwardly is happening in them.

What is happening is that they are all at the end following falsehood despite holding the seeking truth and inclining to truth as one of the most important essential virtues of humanity.

What I'm saying you don't have a religion in the conventional sense of the word. But when it comes down to an inward perspective of what is going on (in these people following falsehood), from my perspective, that is happening to you as well (and I see religions come down to two, and the paths come down to two).

[Losty]

I don't know...I don't hold anything to such a high degree of value. I'm not following any path. I just wind up wherever life takes me. I don't think I'm seeking anything nor do I have any specific intentions in mind. I'm just...living.

[madog]

So you have millions of religions then? .... (assumptions) you don't believe in zeus? you don't believe in fairies?, you don't believe in Yetti? you don't believe in (insert other other things you don't believe in here).

From one perspective, one angle, yes. For example, the Islam Atlas and I follow are different religions as they appear outwardly for sure. Isis and Sufis follow different Islam as well. Wahabis have their own concept of God that differs from rest of Muslims. 
 

Why are you discussing Islamic religions .... you state that not believing in God is a religion, my point was that if that is a fact then not believing in the flying spaghetti monster is a religion ... so if you don't believe in the flying spaghetti monster that is another of your many religions ....

[Mystic]

I don't know...I don't hold anything to such a high degree of value. I'm not following any path. I just wind up wherever life takes me. I don't think I'm seeking anything nor do I have any specific intentions in mind. I'm just...living.

From my perspective:

Not following the true path is itself following a path of falsehood.  Apathy to the truth is itself rebellion against it. Apathy to the existence of God is disrespect of God.

[Silver]

Religions are tricky things to nail down. I've been thinking about what makes a set of beliefs into a religion. What is the minimum requirement? Of course religions tend to make claims about the origin and/or nature of reality, but is that necessary?

I remember a college course in Philosophy whereby we were informed of a list of certain requirements for a particular set of beliefs to be considered a religion.

It was so long ago, though, and I honestly cannot remember the list.

[Edwardo Piet]

I love to respect people.

[Losty]

I don't know...I don't hold anything to such a high degree of value. I'm not following any path. I just wind up wherever life takes me. I don't think I'm seeking anything nor do I have any specific intentions in mind. I'm just...living.

From my perspective:

Not following the true path is itself following a path of falsehood.  Apathy to the truth is itself rebellion against it. Apathy to the existence of God is disrespect of God.

Point to me a clear path of truth and a self evident God and perhaps I'll be interested.

[Mystic]

From my perspective:

Not following the true path is itself following a path of falsehood.  Apathy to the truth is itself rebellion against it. Apathy to the existence of God is disrespect of God.

Point to me a clear path of truth and a self evident God and perhaps I'll be interested.

I've tried over the years. What do you think of the argument that we require an just judgement and perception to who we are, to have an exact merit type value? Is it that we don't have exact merit type value or is that it doesn't require perception to exist? Or is that we do have and it requires perception, and we are the perception that maintains it?

I feel the Quran aside from the name of God, begins with that argument in the first Surah revealed (Suratal Iqra). 

"Do they (the human) think no one sees them (the human)?"

[Silver]

"Do they (the human) think no one sees them (the human)?"

Very dangerous ground indeed, especially since that sentence alone is open to interpretation. However, isn't that the way with all scripture? So open to interpretation that those who want to maintain the power they hold sway over people that their interpretations are above reproach.

[Mystic]

"Do they (the human) think no one sees them (the human)?"

Very dangerous ground indeed, especially since that sentence alone is open to interpretation.  However, isn't that the way with all scripture?  So open to interpretation that those who want to maintain the power they hold sway over people that their interpretations are above reproach.

This is verse doesn't stand alone, there is other verses like "Is he who is upholder of every soul by what it has earned..." then goes on negate polytheism with that.

Anyways, I find it telling the first Surah revealed didn't say "does he think no one created him" which is what a conventional arguer would argue. It referred to something most philosophers would not think to argue and say, that does he think there is no perception out there that sees them as they truly are.

You can read Quran with negative attitude, or you can begin to reflect over it with charitable attitude towards it.