Can*Con 2019: The Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts

Nearly all civilizations throughout history have had some sort of institution or belief system that we would recognize as religion. How do we work this into our world-building in a way that is organic and original, perhaps drawing on existing traditions without stealing or merely creating a "fantasy" version of an existing system? How do we account for the fact that religions are generally extremely varied, even internally, and how do we work that into a story in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming? Is there space to include some of the strange stories that nearly all religions have?