Final answer:
Religion initially signified a system of beliefs, values, and practices centered around what is sacred, binding adherents into a community with shared spiritual obligations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Religion originally meant a system of beliefs and practices that define what people consider to be sacred or spiritual. The term derives from the Latin religio (respect for what is sacred) and religare (to bind, in the sense of an obligation). As Émile Durkheim remarks, religion is "a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things...beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community, called a church, all those who adhere to them" (1915). Furthermore, religious beliefs and practices are deeply intertwined with cultural and social life, and they form a basis for the moral and ethical guidelines by which many live their daily lives. They are usually practiced publicly by a group, often involving rituals which are considered sacred by its adherents.