As a lawyer, years ago I attempted to legally define religion. To my surprise I learned that because of the Separation clause of the First Amendment, courts in the United States have refused to legally define religion. Therefore there is no legal definition of religion.
Thus the separation clause which states that " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion is itself under constitutional law too vague to be enforceable.
Subsequently, Federal and state courts adopted the separation clause as a restriction upon their review of issues which may be tainted with claims of "Religion . As a result, injuries have been judicially allowed to be inflicted upon citizens of the United States with no recourse or recompense at law or in equity.
The only way to define religion is by the elimination of certain activities generally considered to be non-religious in nature. In that regard, activities of business, crime or politics reduces a claim of "religion or "religious activity to such things as worship (with no definition), prayer (beseeching an indefinable Deity), Mass ( "religious gathering), doing good works, living a "religious life, administering "religious thought practice and its exercise.
Any activities clearly outside the scope of those indefinable activities are clearly not protected by the separation clause imposed upon the congress by the constitution or unjustly adopted as a restriction upon the courts.
For example, murder of a member of any religious organization is not protected nor is the orchestrated murder of any non member of any church for purposes of protecting the security or image of that church.
When such activities are discovered it becomes incumbent upon States, federal authorities and courts to separate the non religious activity from the protected "religious activity.
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