If you defined religion based on your own...

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Yes, this approach was mentioned in an intro religion course I took way back when. The core idea was "to reconnect" and then the question became "reconnect with what?"

I always thought it came from "to bind," as in binding a person with vows, in the case of a religious/monastic order, or binding a community together. Etymology Online also mentions the connotation of binding or obliging a follower to a god:

religion | Origin and meaning of religion by Online Etymology Dictionary

 

[Quintessence]

I always thought it came from "to bind," as in binding a person with vows, in the case of a religious/monastic order, or binding a community together. Etymology Online also mentions the connotation of binding or obliging a follower to a god:

religion | Origin and meaning of religion by Online Etymology Dictionary

It's something of a potayto, potahto. The professor I learned this from related the root "ligare" to words like "ligament," which as a life science major, clicked with me. In any case, it means linking/binding/connecting/joining two (or more) things together.