like theology?

https://www.google.com/search?q=religion+definition

a group of ppl believing in a diety?

that one

"the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods."

well animism existed for a really long time

shamanism too

I don't know if we can prove it but I bet belief in spirits in nature exists as far back as communication does

the bird knows when it rains, the worms will rise to the surface for easy feeding.........do the birds have a rain god.......is that a religion?

birds lack a concept of belief

more like pattern recognition

"The remains of one of the earliest anatomically modern humans to be cremated was buried near Lake Mungo." -40,000 BCE

I disagree, the bids belivie, that when it rains, there will be worms

so does belief = religion?

thats more my question

Thats biological instinct not belief

is the rain " superhuman controlling power"

then I'd say it's any belief in the supernatural

that's also shared amongst a group

I think the bides belive it is

*birds

so is religion an instinct run a mock?

I think the most basic reason to have religion (in an evolutionary sense) is in order to not kill yourself because we're all gonna die anyway

well 'religion' in the more modern sense..........are man made instutions

I think it's to help facilitate meaning in order to make life worthwhile

^^

not even to make it worthwhile, but to see cause and effect in nature

the trees grow because the tree gods willed them to

or perhaps each tree is a lesser spirit under the guidance of a forest god

either way lol

i think very strong beliefs of u-understood knowledge is basically religion, which predates humans.......to answer your question....

*un-

misunderstood?

un-understood

not understood

gotcha

I don't think you can say religion exists if people can't communicate that religion to each other, and that would apply to animals

The bids know nothing of precipitation, evaporation, boiling tempature......

and religion does require worship

*birds

there's a difference between religion and superstition