Religion not Relationship

I've noticed on many Facebook profiles that followers of Christ clarify the item where "Religion" is defined. Many state that "it's not religion, it's relationship." A popular saying is along the lines of "we all need a personal relationship with God." Where is "personal relationship" used in the Bible? This cliche, Christian catchphrase that began at somepoint in the 1970s was used to describe Christianity as more than meaningless, empty, religious ritual. I will concede that such a phrase may have been necessary at a certain time in a certain place. I pose, however, that our time and place necessitates the very opposite type of language. Following Christ is religious. It does, indeed, involve intimate conversation, listening, solitude, and other such things that may be deemed "relational with God." It does involve social action, compassion, and ministry that also may be deemed "relational with others." Are these things not also religious? Are we scared to admit that following the way of Christ is spiritual and religious?

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." The Letter of James, Chapter 1, Verse 27.