Nearly everything that exists in modern day society can easily be defined by the majority of the population, producing a collaborative and similar definition. If a student were to ask a simple question of, “What is ‘history’?” or even something more challenging such as, “What is ‘art‘?” the majority of responses would answer that they are the culmination of past events, and freedom of expression by a human, respectively. With most objects, both concrete and abstract, forming a definition is not a challenge; however the question, “What is ‘religion’?” has spurred millions upon millions of definitions from countless people who can be divided into two categories; insider or outsider. In Gary Kessler’s book, Studying Religion, Kessler does not preach his own views of religion; instead he teaches readers how to be a sympathetic outsider, while studying the practices and religion of an insider, among many other aspects that make up the foundation of religion. After reading portions of Kessler’s book, I would confidently say that although I do not incorporate a religion into my personal life, Kessler’s writings have influenced me to become a better student of the aspects of religion that he writes about, including sacred power and spirituality as well. If you had asked me to define religion ten years ago, I would have said that I was a Christian, I go to church at my school every Friday, and that I believe that Jesus Christ gave his life for my sins. It seems like a very standard response, albeit it does not necessarily answer the question, but more importantly is the context of my answer. Throughout my young adulthood, from kindergarten till sixth grade, my parents put me in private, Christian schools to get my education. Because of this, I incorporated school with religion and vice versa, so I guess you could say that I never found religion independently, nor did I