Biblical usage of the word “religion”A closer look at the biblical usage of the word
“religion” will demonstrate that the word is seldom used
with any positive implication, but generally has a negative
connotation.
When Paul traveled to Athens he observed an
abundance of idols, even an idol to an “unknown god,” lest
they might have missed any. Paul stands up and declares,
“Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all
respects” (Acts 17:22). What does Paul mean by referring
to their pervasive idolatry as being “religious?” The Greek
word that Paul used was deisidaimon, which is derived
from two other Greek words: deido, meaning “to fear or
respect,” and daimon, the word for “demon.” What Paul
was saying was that he had observed that they had “great
fear or respect for demons,” and were thus very religious or
superstitious. Festus used the same Greek word to
pejoratively refer to the Jewish religion, when he explained
to King Agrippa that the Jews who brought charges against
Paul “had some points of disagreement with him about
their own religion” (Acts 25:19).
In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul was confronting
the regional religionism of Asia as well as the Judaizing