Religion means different things to different people. For example, religion to a modern protestant-descended American means something very different to a Salafi

Religion means different things to different people. For example, religion to a modern protestant-descended American means something very different to a Salafi Muslim. To one, religion is law. To the other, it's superficial pomp. If your ancestral law (Salafi religion) dictates that you will slaughter animals a certain way lest the wrath of God and your kin and your ancestors strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger, that to violate such a tenet is to violate the law, then by God you will do it. A rationalist (protestant religion) might divine the religious practice has roots as a hygienic practice that was useful for stone age peoples in a desert climate, but today has no practical use, and he might be right, but that doesn't matter to the Salafist. The Salafist's "why" for doing things is very different and much more personally compelling than the protestant's "why". The protestant would be well-served in realizing that, although he distinguishes religion from state or law, many others in this world do not.