How do you define the word ‘religion’?

Many people who believe in God (or gods) and engage in some form of prayer don’t go to church at all, don’t define themselves as being part of a particular franchise.  Are they religious?  Many would respond they are ‘spiritual.’  Which means, as I take it, they don’t submit to any earthly authority on the subject of their faith.  Freeform.  Is free form spirituality a religion? 

Jesus was religious, we can assume, because he went to synagogue, celebrated the Passover, participated (unconventionally and often controversially) in the Judaism of his time and place. 

But did he think any of that would be happening in the Kingdom?  Not necessarily.  Religion, as he interpreted it, might be a way for men and women to commune with God in a world run by men, to learn the proper way to live–but in a world where God ruled, where everyone had faith and behaved well, because otherwise they wouldn’t be there–where’s the need? 

Let’s say that religion is like a boat navigating rough seas–and the Kingdom is where it takes you–if the pilot knows the course.  Some might make their way there without it (strong swimmers).  But none of them have any need for a boat once they’re home and dry.  (Resisting the temptation to launch into a poor rendition of a Frank Loesser classic). 

It does seem he felt all earthly authorities would be superseded by the coming of the Kingdom, and the religious authorities of his time, the temple priesthood, the Pharisees, etc–he tended not to hold in high regard.  So we can be pretty sure he thought Judaism, as it existed then, would no longer exist.  Did he think there would be a new and better form of the faith he was raised in?  I’m not sure.  He probably wasn’t either.  Visions are like that.  Short on specifics. 

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I see no mention of religion there.  Just behavior.  If your religion has not inspired you to treat others as you would be treated, you might as well have had no religion at all.  

So logically, if you’re in the Kingdom, you’ve proven your merit, and you don’t need religion.  I mean, religion is about faith in something you can’t prove, right?  Well, you’re living in the Kingdom of God.  Nobody needs proof.  The proof is that you’re there, because a divine being empowered by God said you had earned it through good behavior, and these other people had failed to get there, because they had not behaved well.

Maybe you’d still pray (honestly not sure), but again, people with no religion at all often pray.  Jesus said that the Pharisee’s self-satisfied prayers were not heard, but the Publican’s self-effacing prayers were.  The more religious man has less faith and less capacity for self-criticism (Jesus was very big on self-criticism).  

So I’m not convinced Jesus was actually such a big fan of religion, but he still felt there was potential benefit in it, if you understood the deeper meaning behind it, instead of getting hung up on the small stuff.