ABSTRACT
The religious impulse veers away from secular contexts or the collective state; it is about individuals trying to face ultimate reality. A social scientist can approach religions in terms of the activities they support. To say vaguely that people have "spiritual needs" can underspecify their condition. People become sick and eventually die; they would like to know why. They become married and have children; they want for themselves and their offspring a kind of recognition that religious congregations provide. When bad things happen to good people, they want to live despite injustice.
