What is Religion?

the above is one of several definitions of sacred

Yes that is a good demonstration of sacredness

Yes, the object does not have to be physical.

As I said earlier I chose the "analytical" definition which is what we get when there are controversial meanings and we drill down to the core meaning of a word.

I dont see how you can compute that as misleading since it is one of the several definitions to choose from in the dictionary?

My usage is right out of the dictionary as well. I didnt make anything up. I simply chose a usage that is different from your choice. Words that are polysemous you have a choice of usage and people need to then look at the context the word is used in to determine its usage.

Yes we are talking about religion, and secular/profane is the distinction between that which can be classified as religious and that which is classified as secular.

The definition I use did not change or reverse your definition, it merely broadened it to include more religious variants than you choose for yourself.

Granted I agree that a reportive definition is more popular than an analytical definition however both are perfectly legitimate definitions.

For instance "matters" ie 'valuations of conscience' imo clearly fall under the umbrella of 'religious valuations' and both atheists and theist make valuative decisions of conscience as a matter of course every day of their lives in some form or another.

Analyzing the core constituents of the word religion then placing things that fall within the the scope of those core constituents is not a stipulative definition, its analytical in its scope. Stipulative has a different meaning.

 

Analysing the dialectic of the sacred, Mircea Eliade outlines that religion should not be interpreted only as "belief in deities," but as "experience of the sacred."[11] The sacred is presented in relation to the profane;[12] the relation between the sacred and the profane is not of opposition, but of complementarity, as the profane is viewed as a hierophany.[13]

Sociology
French sociologist Émile Durkheim considered the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane to be the central characteristic of religion: "religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden."[2]: 47 

Durkheim explicitly stated that the dichotomy sacred/profane was not equivalent to good/evil. The sacred could be good or evil, and the profane could be either as well.[14]: 99 

Indic religions

See also: Sacred groves of India, Sacred banyan trees of India, Sacred Vedic rivers, and Sacred Sapta Sindhu rivers
Indian-origin religion, namely Hinduism and its offshoots Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, have concept of revering and conserving ecology and environment by treating various objects as sacred, such as rivers, trees, forests or groves, mountains, etc.

Hinduism
Sacred rivers and their reverence is a phenomenon found in several religions, especially religions which have eco-friendly belief as core of their religion.

Buddhism
In Theravada Buddhism one finds the designation of ariya-puggala ('noble person'). Buddha described the Four stages of awakening of a person depending on their level of purity. This purity is measured by which of the ten samyojana ('fetters') and klesha have been purified and integrated from the mindstream. These persons are called (in order of increasing sanctity) Sotāpanna, Sakadagami, Anāgāmi, and Arahant.

Judaism
The Hebrew word kodesh (קֹדֶשׁ) is used in the Torah to mean 'set-apartness' and 'distinct' like is found in the Jewish marriage ceremony where it is stated by the husband to his prospective wife, "You are made holy to me according to the law of Moses and Israel." (את מקדשת לי כדת משה וישראל). In Hebrew, holiness has a connotation of oneness and transparency like in the Jewish marriage example, where husband and wife are seen as one in keeping with Genesis 2:24. Kodesh is also commonly translated as 'holiness' and 'sacredness'.[25] The Torah describes the Aaronite priests and the Levites as being selected by God to perform the Temple services; they, as well, are called "holy."

Holiness is not a single state, but contains a broad spectrum.
Sacredness - Wikipedia

 

All true, but all of what you've said has to do with the sacred or holy, which is the essence of religion. Not sure what point Meagain was trying to make, but my point is that primal religion involved giving sacred or supernatural meaning to natural objects or events.

 

Typically, the material objects were regarded as being imbued with sacred meaning or representing something beyond the object itself. In Hinduism, the idols are a way of focusing bhakti (religious devotion), while the supreme existence (Brahman) remains outside the grasp of human comprehension. Jeaneane D. Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, pp. 41–45 Likewise, Awolalu tells us that in most traditions of Africa, the image is "symbolic, an emblem and implies the spiritual idea which is worshiped".J. O. Awolalu (1976), "What is African Traditional Religion?" Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 10, No. 2, pages 8, 1–10. Aristotle saw images is mental intermediaries bridging the gap " between the inner world of the mind and the outer world of material reality", Paul Kugler (2008) . The Cambridge Comanion to Jung, ,pp78-79. The notion that idolators were bowing to "sticks and stones" reflects a Christian prejudice, much like the Protestant objection that Catholics worship idols (of saints). The line between veneration and worship is admittedly a fine one. People often confuse the tangible symbol with the metaphysical reality. Biblidolarty is common among Christian fundamentalists, and images easily morph into idolatrous superstition--as immortalized in the song "I don't care if it rains and freezes, s'long as I got my plastic Jesus..." The most insidious and dangerous form of idolatry or worship of false gods is intangible but commonplace in modernity; the worship of power, wealth, status, and/or sensual indulgence--in general, Self.