It has long been a feature of evangelistic preaching or general evangelical parlance to insist that Christianity isn’t really a religion. You may well have heard Christians themselves say something like, ‘Christianity is not really a religion, it is a relationship’. I wonder what you have made of it when you have heard it said?

I think I understand what people are driving at when they emphasise relationship over religion, and I will return to it at the end. There can be no doubt that Christianity certainly does involve a relationship with God. But that doesn’t change the fact that Christianity is a religion.

The bible refers to Christianity as a religion

This is what James 1:26-27 says:

²⁶ If anyone^[a] thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

However else we cut it, James is clear there is a form of religion that is pure and undefiled. As a practicing Christian, it seems likely James is referring to Christianity. Certainly, what James calls ‘pure and undefiled religion’ are some traits he expects Christian believers to be doing. Christianity, according to James, is a religion.

The church has historically referred to Christianity as a religion

The church father, Augustine of Hippo, once wrote ‘that which is known as the Christian religion existed among the ancients, and never did not exist.’ The French reformed theologian, John Calvin, wrote his treatise, Institutes of the Christian Religion. The Victorian Christians – notably highlighted here with reference to J.C. Ryle – regularly spoke about true religion being a heartfelt Christian faith. Likewise, in one of his sermons (of which many other examples can be cited) C.H. Spurgeon spoke about religion as a reality and true religion, which he makes clear is a heartfelt Christian faith. J. Gresham Machen wrote a book called The Origin of Paul’s Religion: The Classic Defence of Supernatural Christianity. John Stott states in his book The Gospel: A Life-Changing Message, ‘We begin by reaffirming that Christianity is a historical religion.’ We could go on, but you get the point. The church has historically named Christianity as a religion.

The meaning of the word ‘religion’

If we run with the dictionary definition of the word ‘religion’, here is how the OED defines the word:

the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods, and as a particular system of faith and worship.

Meriam-Webster offers the following definitions:

1: an organized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices

2: commitment or devotion to a god or gods, a system of beliefs, or religious observance : the service and worship of a god, of multiple gods, or of the supernatural

On these dictionary definitions, it is difficult to except Christianity. Whilst we might want to argue that academic definitions are a bit more serious, involved and frankly accurate than those from the dictionary (and there is a good case for that), it bears saying these dictionary definitions are much closer to what the average person understands when they use the term. If these dictionary definitions are what people mean when they say religion, Christianity is inevitably included.

You may be wondering why any of this matters. What difference does it make if we call Christianity a religion or a relationship? I think there are a few things worth saying here.

First, if the ordinary usage of the word clearly covers Christianity, the church has historically used the word to refer to Christianity and the bible itself applies the word to Christianity, we make ourselves look a bit foolish if we insist Christianity isn’t a religion. For the sake of not sounding silly and speaking against our own book, we do well to refer to Christianity in the way both scripture and the church do.

Second, we end up confusing people. I appreciate that what people are usually trying to communicate when they emphasise relationship not religion is something like the Victorians were trying to communicate with true and false religion. The purpose is to say Christianity is not about following a set of empty rituals and rules; it is more about the person of Jesus and our relationship with him. That is absolutely true. But it just so happens that is also well within the bounds of what a religion is when we compare it to the definitions above. It is perfectly legitimate to recognise Christianity is both a religion and fundamentally about our relationship to Jesus. Insisting it is not a religion tends to confuse people more than it clarifies anything helpful.

Third, adding further to the confusion, it is a hollow attempt to sound non-religious despite most people hearing the word Christianity and automatically associating it with religion. For some it will come across as disingenuous whilst for others it will come across as obtuse. In either case, it will not come across as true.

Fourth, it is counterproductive in our effort to reach the lost. Notwithstanding points two and three above, how our phraseology is heard may be an issue. Trying to decouple Christianity from religion can sound like we are rejecting normal and traditional terminology through sleight of hand. It does not strengthen our case to be bringing what is true but actively undermines it. It can also be heard by many to be denying the exclusivity of Christ and any demands the gospel may make upon them. If someone insists the bible doesn’t advocate religion and doesn’t call people to be religious, that may sound like its bucking expectations but it may just as well be heard as “all roads lead to God” and “I don’t have to be a Christian”.

I suspect what those who emphasise relationship over religion are trying to get away from is an external religion of works that by-passing our hearts altogether. When I have stood in open airs and heard people insist that ‘religion’ does not save’, I suspect they mean legalism does not save. Which, of course, it doesn’t and we are entirely right to reject it and distance biblical Christianity from it. But religion, true religion, a heart-felt faith in Jesus that determines how we relate to God and, in turn, affects our entire lives, surely that does save. Indeed, that is the religion that James is speaking about being pure and undefiled; a religion that is more than mere external rites and rituals; a religion that moves beyond mental assent to the truth to a life-altering, living application of that truth in practice.

We would do better to admit Christianity is, indeed, a religion. It is ‘an organized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices’ and is, indeed, ‘commitment or devotion to a god or gods, a system of beliefs, or religious observance : the service and worship of a god, of multiple gods, or of the supernatural’. What sets the Christian religion apart is that it is a religion centred on worship of the only triune God who calls us into a relationship with him by his grace through faith in Jesus Christ and, by that alone, grants his people salvation from which any works that follow are evidence of the fact rather than necessary and meritorious. This is what makes Christianity unique among religions, not that it is the only one that isn’t actually a religion at all.