Religion vs. Myth (Disparate Things #4)

I enjoy drawing parallels between seemingly disparate things, so here's a question for today. What's the relationship between myth and religion?

I have a feeling many might say either "nothing" or "everything." By this they mean, respectively, "Myths are false and religion is true" or "Religion is fake so they're the same." But we can't answer the question unless we define terms.

What is religion? To start off, I'll be upfront and say I seldom use this word. Why? Because to me it's usually shorthand for "human attempts to appease God using ritual or good works." And Christianity, at least, doesn't fall into this category, because it's top down not bottom up: Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. He initiates; we don't. To be clear, the foregoing isn't my "serious" definition of religion. But I do think it's what many people picture when they hear the word, so I'm reticent to say the word. 

Is religion a set of beliefs about God? No, because this doesn't encompass all world religions either; Buddhism and Taoism, to name two examples, don't believe in a god. Is it belief in the supernatural? No, because that doesn't define, for example, Hinduism. Well then, what even is religion? 

I think it's this: Religion is your master narrative about the meaning of life. Your religion explains who and what human beings are, what business we should be about, and why any of it matters. By the way, this is why it's impossible to extract religion from the public square. Everybody not only has a religion, but it's the most basic thing about them. Religion--something a lot of people think is an optional add-on to life at most--is far more central than we normally consider. Does secular life even exist, really? Or is it something people accept by faith without realizing they do so?

Okay, then, what is myth? This word is even more misunderstood than religion. We think the core definition of "myth" is "false." But this too is a shorthand definition that evolved because most myths are false. It may help to think of the Greek mythology you learned in middle school. Were these gods and goddesses real? Of course not. But what purpose did such characters serve in Greek (and Roman) culture? A mythology is a collection of stories (myths) a society tells to explain natural phenomenon or human relations, often including supernatural elements or characters. The word "myth" does have a secondary meaning as "popular false belief," but again, that derived from the knowledge that most myths aren't factual. So what have we arrived at?

Religion is your master narrative about the meaning of life. Your religion explains who and what human beings are, what business we should be about, and why any of it matters. 

Myths are stories (narrative) a culture tells to explain the world around them and how it works. 

What's the relationship between religion and myth? They are basically the same. 

This is why J. R. R. Tolkien told C. S. Lewis, "Christianity is the only true myth." Christianity is the true narrative about how the world works. We have this one true myth about who and what human beings are, what business we should be about, and why any of it matters. And--oh yes--about Who is God.