When is something not a thing? The term religion is often used on the assumption that ‘it’ is something. But what is this ‘thing’ that the term refers to? Does the term create an expectation that there is something (perhaps real or concrete) about religion?
There are definitely some things that are things. A hollowed out piece of wood, through which we can infuse (if we wish) the smoke of burning tobacco leaves, is very often a thing that can be called a ‘pipe’.
(I will leave here without detailed comment the famous picture by Margritte drawing attention to the relationship between signifier and signified, which makes the statement ‘ceci n’est pas une pipe’ — this is not a pipe. For some related discussion about this, Russell McCutcheon applies some of the implications of Magritte’s picture to the study of religion.)
A large building where people meet together can be a number of different types of things: if the people are being taught, then the thing is a school, college, or university; if people are singing together, then it may be a concert hall or a church; if the people are sick, then this thing may be a hospital.
