Religion, in its broadest sense, is a set of beliefs and practices that people share to organize their lives. It includes rituals, a moral community, and symbolic representations of the world. Traditionally, anthropologists have viewed religion as a signpost for culture. One approach defines religion in terms of belief in a distinctive kind of reality; the other, as any system of beliefs and practices that unites a group of people into a moral community. The third, as articulated by Emile Durkheim, is a more functional definition of religion.
Regardless of its specifics, religion is usually concerned in some way with salvation: either spiritual or bodily. It offers the hope of a better future, whether literal in the form of eternal life in heaven as in Christianity or more symbolic in the form of ending suffering such as in Buddhism. It also provides a framework for organizing daily life, with specific days, symbols and objects that are sacred to believers.
For these reasons, and because it is a cultural phenomenon, religion is challenging to study. Especially since the Enlightenment, most societies have been secularised and disenchanted with religion. Nonetheless, it continues to play a powerful role in the lives of many people. It is a key element of family and friendship structures, forming the backbone of social welfare networks worldwide. It also plays a critical role in establishing educational institutions, hospitals and charities. Increasingly, it is being challenged by movements of skepticism and rationalism, which are attempting to replace religious belief with scientific knowledge.