Why can’t it be both, like… ::::d+r:::: Actually, I haven’t heard very many people use this line of thinking, perhaps once or twice ever. Have you asked them for examples of what they think is a religion, not a relationship? I’m sure, like you say, there are many religions where a relationship between the worshipper and the godhead is important (while there are probably also ones where it is not. ETA: for example, religions where the entities are taken as symbols or archetypes rather than beings.)