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Religion (from O.Fr. religion religious community, from L. religionem (nom. religio) respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods, obligation, the bond between man and the gods) is derived from the Latin religiÅ, the ultimate origins of which are obscure.
The Sociological Approach to Religion. From the Latin religio (respect for what is sacred) and religare (to bind, in the sense of an obligation), the term religion describes various systems of belief and practice concerning what people determine to be sacred or spiritual (Durkheim 1915; Fasching and deChant 2001).