The word religion is used today to describe a broad taxon of social formations whose paradigmatic examples include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Although the range of practices that may be called religion has expanded in the 19th century, scholars have primarily treated it as a category-concept with a family resemblance structure rather than as an object that can be understood as having necessary and sufficient properties. This approach to the study of religion raises some philosophical issues that are distinct from those that might arise in the case of other abstract concepts used to sort cultural types.
Emile Durkheim emphasized that social functions determine whether something is considered to be religious, regardless of the specific beliefs and practices involved. This view is a key element of sociological thinking about religion.
Religions provide the means by which people evaluate their own actions, the causes of problems that they face, and the future in general. They also map the conditions and terms for approval and disapproval, for acceptance and rejection, that are fundamental, for good and ill, to all human lives. In addition, religions offer a primary source of value for people. People need value, and are willing to live according to, even die for, what they most value. For many, this value is rooted in their religion. For others, it is not. They can find meaning and value in other sources, such as their families and their jobs.