In a past article I asked and answered the question “What Is Religion?”

But, what is the opposite of religion, or belonging?

When religion and belonging fail, they invert everything. The Hebrew Bible offers a precise diagnostic framework for recognizing when the structures of religion, belonging, or any relationship have collapsed internally, even while maintaining external forms.

The answer lies not in secularism or disbelief, but in a concept the prophets called nekar (נֵכָר)—alienation.