Religious

I had this discussion with my boss about the meaning of the word "religious". Dictionary.com defines "religious" as:

re-li-gious
Pronunciation [ri-lij-uhs] adjective, noun, plural -gious.
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with religion: a religious holiday.
2. imbued with or exhibiting religion; pious; devout; godly: a religious man.
3. scrupulously faithful; conscientious: religious care.
4. pertaining to or connected with a monastic or religious order.
5. appropriate to religion or to sacred rites or observances.
–noun
6. a member of a religious order, congregation, etc.; a monk, friar, or nun.
7. the religious, devout or religious persons: Each year, thousands of the religious make pilgrimages to the shrine.

The discussion was over whether or not the word is a negative connotation. Many people feel it is negative, a sterotype that implies overly-zealous religious fanatics who take the basis of religion much too far and give religion a bad rap.

Not so, I would argue. Religious as an adjective means simply to have religion in your life, whatever that means to you. Perhaps the use of the word as a noun is somewhat negative by definition but I would disagree. I consider myself to be a religious person. My religion is love and polyamorous. I do not think that one God is the be all and end all of true religious faith. To me, that is like eating one food for your whole life or watching the same TV show every day (though I can watch old episode of "Friends" on a pretty much daily basis).

My religion is all-encompassing. That means that I want to know your thoughts. Share thoughts, opinions, facts. Whatever. Just share, but with love.