The Meaning and Purpose of Religion

I was recently asked, "What is the meaning of the word religion, and what is the purpose of religion?"


I used to place myself in the camp of those who call themselves spiritual, but not religious. Religion, it seemed to me, put rules before people and had no heart. As I have matured spirituality, I can now see this from a different perspective. I defined religion too narrowly.

Having taken Latin for 2 1/2 years, I know that the two Latin words “re” and “ligare” form the word religion, and literally mean “to bind together, to reconnect.” Our English words ligature and ligament share the same “ligare” root.

Without ligare, that is, ligaments, we would have bones and muscles and blood vessels and organs hanging out in a blobby bag of skin. We could not move or stand or walk, and our internal system would not communicate correctly. In order for everything in the human body to work correctly, it takes ligaments. And for a surgical procedure to heal correctly, it takes ligatures, sutures.

What I have come to see about religion is its role as a ligament. Are there those who emphasize the bones over the muscles, rules over kindness, mind over heart, sin over love, belief over actions, blind obedience over rational thought? The how to do it correctly over the human need to be connected and reconnected? The kevah (rote) over the kavannah (heart and intentions)? Absolutely. In every religion, even in Judaism. Splitting off the idea of spiritual as being separate from religion is a bit like trying to move a muscle without a ligament which keeps it attached properly to a bone. 

I choose to believe that religion ought to, in some way, reconnect us to the further development of our higher (spiritual) selves and its aspirations towards love, compassion, generosity, and kindness; to work towards a more harmonious world; and to grow into an individual who, as a world citizen, takes responsibility for being a caretaker of the earth and of our fellow world citizens in a mutual and equal partnership. It seeks for the highest good within oneself, within others, and within one’s endeavors.

I do not equate creeds, beliefs, rules, or proscribed rituals as the end all and be all of religion. Rather, they are means to an end, vehicles to enable or restrict one’s spiritual development. They are not completely unnecessary, nor can they enable one to grow spiritually in and of themselves.

Religion, misused and exploited, can be the most dangerous and the most persuasive force on earth, but at its best, can be the path of re-connecting a person to higher spiritual truth, and the reason behind the most loving and noble of actions.

While I am uncertain whether any religion, or scientific theory for that matter, can sufficiently answer the questions of “where did we come from?” and “what is our ultimate end?”, I am certain that religion can, and should, guide us in answering the question “how shall we live?” Holocaust survivor Victor Frankl found that the crucial thing for individuals surviving and thriving in life is to develop a personal sense of purpose and meaning, through helping others to remember their joys, sorrows, sacrifices, and blessings, and thereby bringing to mind the meaningfulness of their lives as already lived. This should be the highest role religion plays, the largest meaning of religion, I think.

What is the meaning of life? It is to imbue life with meaning, one moment at a time, to expand the small, finite individual into the vast, expansive Infinite Oneness of life. That, to me, is religion at its most intrinsic level of meaning and purpose: to reconnect to the Source and Ground of our Being so that we can be reconnected to our earth and our fellow humans, and live according to our principles and virtues which lead us to our highest good.