Definition of Religion

"A system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic."

This definition of religion seems to imply that religion is nothing more than physical, tangible things allowing people to have intangible beliefs. It states that a system of symbols establishes feelings in men about "a general order of existence." It then goes on to say that these feelings are "clothed with an aura of factuality" which make people think that what they believe is realistic.

While religion does in fact include the use of symbols and tangible things to reinforce and inspire faith, stating that the basis of religion is these symbols seems ridiculous. Why not then call "Packerism" a religion? Particularly as you get closer and closer to Green Bay, there are a large number of symbols which create very powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods in men, and for some they might even form "conceptions of a general order of existence." And anyone who has met a true Packers fan knows that they are convinced that what they feel for the Packers is based on facts - facts which many people base their moods and motivations on.


True, the example of "Packerism" may be a little extreme and something of a stretch, but I feel that it illustrates that there is a lot more to religion than Clifford Geertz seems to think.