I think that most would agree that religion is, in fact, a system that encompasses social-cultural practices of specified manners and traditions. Many organizations practice a set of morals, views, sanctified places, ethics, and how they relate to humanity, the supernatural, transcendental, and spirituality.
However, there is no scholarly consensus regarding what makes a religion. Each religion has its own set of rituals, faiths, sacrifices, music, and public service. Some have one god, and some have many, and there is a question of how life began and what should be the practice for funerary proceedings.
The beginning was about 50,000 years ago and has evolved through time as man and cultures have also evolved.