IS CHRISTIANITY A RELIGION OR A REALITY?

RFTH Team

Is Christianity a Religion?

On the surface, the question of whether Christianity is a religion may seem like a simple one—one that warrants a simple yes or no answer. Google will confidently tell you that yes, Christianity is a religion”, while the face-value definition of both religion and Christianity seems to agree.

And yet, ask a Christian this same question, and the answer you’ll get will be something different. Something far deeper and more profound than the mere adherence to religious practices. “No,” you will hear, “Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship. A loving, intimate relationship with God Himself.”

Is Christianity a religion or a relationship? What does this mean and, if true, what makes Christianity different from other religions? Let’s get into it.

Defining Religion

Before we can answer the question of whether Christianity is a religion, first it’s important we understand what religion is. Religion, in its broadest sense, is a set of beliefs, practices, or moral values designed to guide the way humans think, behave, and interact with the physical and spiritual world around them. This often includes traditions like rituals, ceremonies, sacred texts, or a system of ethics to help govern human behavior.

In essence, religion is humanity’s effort to reach God or a god-like transcendence—to obtain perfection, an afterlife, or divine approval.

Christianity as a Religion

With this definition in mind, when viewed from a conventional perspective, yes, technically Christianity can be considered a religion. It certainly shares many characteristics commonly associated with religious traditions.

Christianity has a sacred text, the Bible, which contains teachings, narratives, and moral guidelines. It has established places of worship, like churches, where believers gather for communal prayer, worship, and religious instruction. Christianity also features religious ceremonies like baptism and communion, which hold deep significance for its followers. Furthermore, Christianity adheres to a system of beliefs centered around the concept of God, the divinity of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Trinity. This faith teaches a moral code based on love, compassion, and ethical behavior that guides how Christians should treat others and themselves.

In this sense, Christianity certainly aligns with the typical criteria used to define religion from an outside perspective. But it’s missing a key tenet: Christianity holds that, despite all its traditions, ceremonies, and encouraged behavior, it is impossible for humanity to reach God through our works alone. Religion, on its own, is useless without divine intervention.

And this is where Christianity becomes more than a simple religion.

Christianity as a Relationship

At the core of Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Without belief in Him, acceptance of His work on the cross, and the commitment to daily engage with, grow closer to, and learn more about Jesus, all religious Christian practices, like going to church or paying tithe, are in vain. Christianity isn’t about weekly attendance to church, getting baptized, or being a “good person”. It’s about having a deep, meaningful relationship with God that transforms your heart, your mind, and your character from the inside out. And the only way we can have a relationship with God is through belief in Jesus Christ.

By placing your trust in Christ, you can find forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life with God. You will also be in a right relationship with Him, not because of your own works, but because of Christ’s work on the cross to take your punishment of sin upon Himself—making you righteous in God’s eyes. This opens you up to feel the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in your heart, further guiding you into a closer relationship with God and how to be more like Him as you go about your daily life.

Like any healthy relationship, Christianity and the relationship we can have with God isn’t one-sided. Unlike most religions where humans are taught to simply try their best while screaming into the void in the hopes God hears us, Christianity affirms that God knows us intimately, loves us deeply and pursues a relationship with us endlessly—all we have to do is respond.

Every good and perfect work we do as Christians—whether trying to love others as Jesus does, getting baptized, or going to church to learn more about Him—is simply a byproduct of that first initial decision to accept relationship with God. Without that relationship, Christianity is simply another religion, full of futile practices and doctrine.

So, is Christianity a Religion or a Relationship?

If religion is humanity’s effort to reach God—to obtain perfection, an afterlife, or divine approval—then no, Christianity is not a religion. The Bible makes it clear that humanity cannot reach God through works alone. This is why God, in His great love, instead reached out towards humanity for us through Jesus; offering us a way to achieve righteousness, eternal life in heaven, and God’s holy approval through belief in Him.

Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship. A free gift of grace, forgiveness, redemption, and intimacy with God by believing in Jesus and accepting His work on the cross; not because we earned it, but because His love is greater than our sin.

He’s offering that free gift of salvation, freedom, and relationship with Him out to you now.

Will you commit to know Him?