| | Fred - Thanks for posting!
Of course, I still like the Objectivist approach to the definition. The individual making the assertion or claim must specify what they are talking about. So they may say, "God is the creator of the universe" at which point we can ask, "Did the universe need a creator?" or "Why does postulating a "god' solve the problem?" Or ask them to pretend the word "god" doesn't exist and then explain exactly what they mean, i.e., the genus and differentia of their concept. Or they can specify an attribute of god--all powerful, omniscient, etc--at which point they inevitably fall into gross contradictions.
The real cutting edge work on religion is being done in psychology and evolutionary psychology. See, for example, Pascal Boyer's Religion Explained or Dawkins' good review of the field and explanations of why people believe in The God Dilusion.
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