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Many sociologists believe that religion is a social institution. On the other hand, some of the Islamic scholars believe that religion is
meta-institutional, hence, it should not be thought of as a social institution. Therefore, in this article, the researcher has tried to answer
the following question scientifically:
- Why are there two different conclusions concerning religion as a social institution?

The two research hypotheses are: I. Religion is a social institution.
II. Religion is not a social institution.
In doing this research, an epistemological method put forward by the late professor Tabataba'i has been applied. The sociologists have also
been classified in two groups:
1. The sociologists, such as Durkheim , who believe that the origin of all
institutions is the society itself.
2. The sociologists who believe that since institutions are established in
the society and control the human behavior, they are called so .
On the basis of the research findings, it can be concluded that some
of the Islamic scholars' viewpoints are different regarding religion as a
social institution because they have adopted the first group's definition of a social institution and the second group's definition of religion