Bible Dictionary
RELIGION
Religion in biblical usage often refers to the outward expression of worship and religious practice. It may describe Jewish worship, Christian devotion, or an external form of religious observance.
Definition
Religion, in older English, often means the outward expression of worship and religious practice. The term can refer to worship, Judaism, Christian observance, or an external form of devotion.
Biblical Usage
The word describes Jewish religion, religious practice, and worship. In James it concerns the outward expression of religious observance; in Acts and the Maccabean books it can refer to religious worship or a particular religious identity.
Historical Background
Elizabethan English frequently used “religion” and “religious” for external worship. Neglecting this sense has led to careless interpretations of passages concerning religion.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>re-lij'-un: "Religion" and "religious" in Elizabethan English were used frequently to denote the outward expression of worship. This is the force of threskeia, translated "religion" in Ac 26:5; Jas 1:26,27 (with adjective threskos, "religious"), while the same noun in Col 2:18 is rendered "worshipping" ("cult" would give the exact meaning). And in the same external sense "religion" is used by the King James Version for latreia, "worship" (so the Revised Version (British and American)), in I Macc 1:43; 2:19,22. Otherwise "Jews' religion" (or "religion of the Jews") appears in 2 Macc 8:1; 14:38 (the Revised Version (British and American) bis); Ga 1:13,14 (Ioudaismos, "Judaism"); and "an alien religion" in 2 Macc 6:24 (allophulismos, "that belonging to another tribe"). The neglect of the external force of "religion" has led to much reckless misquoting of Jas 1:26,27. Compare Ac 17:22.</p><p>See SUPERSTITION.</p><p>Burton Scott Easton</p>