When we say we're studying religion, what is it in the world of human actions that we're talking about? This is a question scholars of religion must ask themselves, right from the start of their studies. For if scholars, like the people whom they study, presume that their word ‘religion’ refers to something outside of the world of human actions – something that apparently existed well before, and will long outlast, such actions – then how can one even talk about such things? So just what do scholars mean when they say something is ‘religious’?

As a way of offering an answer to this question, imagine the following situation, which is likely so ordinary that it will strike you as uninteresting: You walk into a dark room and fumble for the light switch on the wall; finding it, you casually flick it on as you enter the room – but nothing happens. Surprised that you're still in the dark, you quickly flick it back and forth a few more times, much like people who impatiently push the ‘Close Door’ button on elevators, as if that'll help. But still, nothing happens. With one hand still on the switch, you peer into the darkness, to where you think the light is on the ceiling. ‘The bulb's burnt out’, you mutter to yourself, as you wonder if you've got any spare bulbs in the cupboard.