IS CHRISTIANITY A RELIGION OR RELATIONSHIP?

At first, I really loved the quote, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion,” until I realized it’s baseless and misleading. Many modern churches now treat the word religion as something negative—linking it to ideas like “legalism,” “earning God’s favor through human effort,” “living by law rather than grace,” and “empty ritual,” among others. The aim is to make Christianity more marketable: less boring, more relatable, less strict, more personal.

But what is religion, really? The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a particular system of faith and worship.” Merriam-Webster offers a similar meaning: “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.” By those definitions—and by common understanding—Christianity is unmistakably a religion. Like Judaism, Islam, or Hinduism, it has shared beliefs and practices rooted in faith. To insist otherwise is to deny reality, ignoring the entire history, doctrines, and practices of Christianity. And for the record, “religion” isn’t inherently bad; Scripture even speaks of “religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father” (James 1:27).

Does calling Christianity a religion mean it’s not a relationship? Of course not. I don’t know who decided we have to choose between the two. Christianity is both. Its religious and relational aspects are inseparable—two sides of the same coin. In fact, a so-called “personal relationship with Christ” that rejects the guidance of Christian doctrine and practice is often shallow or counterfeit. The rituals, teachings, and shared disciplines of the faith nurture and protect our intimacy with God. Remove them, and worship becomes a matter of personal whim, leaving everyone to invent their own version of God—no right, no wrong.

The opposite is also true: religious activities and public declarations of faith are empty performances if a person neglects a genuine relationship with Christ. That was the problem of many religious leaders in Jesus’ day: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Without sincerity of heart, God is not pleased.

Here’s the balance we must keep in mind: Christianity is more than a religion, but never less. It is indeed a relationship—but one that is holy, covenantal, and anything but ordinary.