There is no such thing as a "special revelation". If there is, God has chosen to make religious choice a gamble: his revelation looks exactly like other man-made belief systems evidence-wise. It is safer to say that all religions are man-made. They represent a phase in human evolution and thinking.

Religion has been given many definitions. One of the earliest definitions has been to call it a belief in God or spiritual beings;

"the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods."

Religions do involve belief in gods and other supernatural powers. Religions believe that there is a divine plan in the universe, and that plan can only exist if a divinity set it up in the universe. However, seeking or understanding God is not usually the most prevalent feature or the most apt description of religiosity. Buddhism, the fourth-largest religion, 

Émile Durkheim defined religion as a “unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things". Sacredness is a common feature of religiosity. However, it is hardly the central focus of religious activity. More important than sacredness is the concept of meaning. Or, as Paul Tillich defined it as an "ultimate concern". Religions also involve a system of beliefs and practices, which deal with this ultimate concern, or purpose of life.  

I define religion as a prescientific, organized endeavor to understand the purpose of life and to align with it in daily practice. They try to guide humans to live a virtuous, constrained, civilized, sober, non-materialistic life with two lines of justification: carrot and stick. With this practice, great rewards can be had: psychic powers, God's favor and protection, heaven, salvation or liberation. Without this endeavor it is believed that man will face dire consequences, suffering in hell or on Earth as inferior lifeforms. Religions seek to give men a higher ideal to live for than material self-interest and physical pleasure.

Religion is about belonging to a community. In the past, religion also helped to cement social groups by creating a collective identity. Furthermore, it is also a matter of believing and behaving; it is about believing in a definite purpose of the universe as well as the behaviors needed to achieve this purpose.

Religions contain descriptions of how the world operates as a purposeful whole. They conceive of the universe as a divine plan. It is believed that humans are spiritual beings within a created, material world. There are also prescriptions of ethical values, norms, rituals and practices which help to meet the demands of this plan. In general, religions promulgate a non-materialistic, sober and unselfish lifestyle as a necessary condition for the fulfillment of this plan and human purpose.

In Judaism, it is believed that man is in a covenant with God and must practice the laws given to him by God. The Jewish concept of the afterlife is often referred to as "Olam Ha-Ba," which means "the world to come" in Hebrew. It is believed to be a continuation of the individual soul's journey after death. In Christianity, man is believed to be a fallen being in need of salvation through Jesus. Humans must be joined to the Savior and practice a Christian lifestyle by abiding by the Ten Commandments. Islam teaches that man must practice the five pillars and strive to understand God's will and live according to it. The end goal is in Christianity, heaven, and in Islam, paradise. Mormons believe they must follow the teaching of Christ and God's commandments, repent of their sins so that God, at the end of their lives, judges them favorably, or even become gods themselves.

Within Hinduism, it is believed that the atman, the spirit, is born in a human body repeatedly. Karma prevents man from freeing himself from the cycle, but this can be helped by living according to the divine law. Hindus also seek liberation from the cycle of rebirth through four paths, including Karma Yoga, the path of action and good deeds, Jnana, the path of knowledge and wisdom; and Raja, the path of mental discipline and meditation. The vast majority of Hindus are bhaktas, who practice their religion as a path of devotion to God. Correspondingly, the aim of Jain life is to achieve omniscience and the liberation of the soul from the cycle fo reincarnation. There are three parts to this goal: right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct. Buddhists pursue Nirvana, the extinguishing of personal desire, which can end their suffering. They do this through the Eightfold Path which consists of eight practices: right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi. 

In religious thinking, it believed that correct religious practice leads to a favorable afterlife. In monotheistic religions, it is heaven or paradise, which awaits the righteous after a lifetime's efforts. In Eastern religions, the practice must continus over numerous lifetimes. Correct religous practice helps to avoid incarnations as inferior lifeforms and ends in the liberation of the soul from the cycle of reincarnation. 

Crutch for Philosophy

Religion represents a phase in human evolution in which man is capable of asking fundamental questions but not answering them with the aid of specific knowledge. Religiosity probably began with beliefs about supernatural forces controlling nature. It is thought that supernatural entities are a by-product of the human mind tendency to over-ascribe agency to stones, trees, and clouds. Early religion probably consisted of reciprocal activity: sacrifices were made to spirits and gods in the hopes that protection and good fortune would be granted in return. Religion was useful for survival by getting groups of people to act in unison. A common belief system helped in the formation of groups that could work together more productively, defend against external dangers like predators and human enemies. Rituals signal the person’s commitment to the religion’s beliefs and thereby show his belonging to others. Perhaps rituals are started by accidental reinforcement, and then they become codified into religion. It was, for example, likely useful to have a newborn washed in fresh water. Religious practices probably emerged in the Upper Paleolithic tens of thousands of years ago. Only within the last few thousand years has religion evolved over time into the conscious endeavor to understand human purpose that it manifests itself as nowadays. It is less and less about belief in gods or a God who operates in nature and more and more about understanding the laws of nature.

Religion could be thought of as a pre-philosophy. It deals with answers to deep, philosophical questions but without the critical, analytical approach normally associated with philosophical thinking. It assumes a certain tradition or authority as the source of the given truth and works from there. The truth is mostly presumed by authority, and not proven rationally. This makes the thought process of answering the fundamental questions immensely easier. Treating religions as revealed truth spares the believer from the difficult and arduous process of learning and thinking through the answers independently. It is also true that before the information and scientific revolutions, knowledge was much more difficult to obtain.