So words are simply accepted representation of specific ideas. When we put them in sentences we are trying to convey complex ideas. So here's the thing. Does the word or words define the idea or is the idea defined by a set of words.
Clearly calling science a religion is a case of words trying to change the meaning of an idea, rather than that idea being defined by a set of words.
Having said that, the dictionary meaning is in fact, a group of people that share like ideas, but even if you try to make the word science describable by the word religion, does that really convey the meaning to your audience? Isn't that the point of using a specific set of words when conveying an idea? When people think about religion they think of theists, people who, in general, believe they know that a god exists, but cannot provide evidence to prove it. This idea is antithetical to science.
Science says nothing about a specific god, but through evidence and experiment makes claims about what is provisionally true, that is, true until new evidence is accepted to supplant old ideas. Clearly, this isn't what we know the word religion mean.
