A religion is any systematic to communal faith and to group approach to living that involves rituals and communication beliefs about one's origins, one's stemming from shared place in the world, or a conviction. "Religion" is responsibility to live and act in sometimes used the world in particular ways. interchangeably with "faith" or Religion is often equated with "belief system,"[2] but it is more faith and belief in a higher socially defined than personal power or truth, but it is more convictions, and it entails commonly defined in religious specific behaviors, respectively. studies as the patterns that express that faith and reinforce The development of religion has it in day-to-day living. One can taken many forms in various share the philosophy of a cultures, with continental religion, believing in its higher differences. Any case, about the truth, without manifesting that roots, it considers psychological faith religiously.[1] by Sigmund Freud,
Aspects of religion include
narrative, symbolism, beliefs, and practices that are supposed philsophical by Ernesto De to give meaning to the Martino and social by Emile practitioner's experiences of life. Durkheim, along with origins Whether the meaning centers and historical development. on a deity or deities, or an ultimate truth, religion is Religion is often described as a commonly identified by the communal system for the practitioner's prayer, ritual, coherence of belief focusing on meditation, music and art, a system of thought, unseen among other things, and is often being, person, or object, that is interwoven with society and considered to be supernatural, politics. It may focus on specific sacred, divine, or of the highest supernatural, metaphysical, and truth. Moral codes, practices, moral claims about reality (the values, institutions, tradition, cosmos and human nature) rituals, and scriptures are often which may yield a set of traditionally associated with the religious laws and ethics and a core belief, and these may have particular lifestyle. Religion also some overlap with concepts in encompasses ancestral or secular philosophy. Religion is cultural traditions, writings, also often described as a "way history, and mythology, as well of life" or a life stance. as personal faith and religious experience. Etymology Religion is derived from the The history of other cultures' Latin religiō, the ultimate origins interaction with the religious of which are obscure. One category is therefore their possibility is derivation from a interaction with an idea that first reduplicated *le-ligare, an developed in Europe under the interpretation traced to Cicero influence of Christianity.[7 connecting lego "read", i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of Religion and the body politic "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully". Modern A good understanding of the scholars such as Tom Harpur meaning of Christianity before and Joseph Campbell favor the the word "religion" came into derivation from ligare "bind, common usage can be found in connect", probably from a St. Augustine's writing. For prefixed re-ligare, i.e. re (again) Augustine, Christianity was a + ligare or "to reconnect," which disciplina, a "rule" just like that was made prominent by St. of the Roman Empire. Augustine, following the Christianity was therefore a interpretation of Lactantius.[3][4] power structure opposing and However, the French scholar superseding human institutions, Daniel Dubuisson notes that a literal Kingdom of Heaven. relying on this etymology "tends Rather than calling one to self- to minimize or cancel out the discipline through symbols, it role of history"; he notes that was itself the discipline taught Augustine gave a lengthy by one's family, school, church, definition of religio that sets it and city authorities.[8] At this quite apart from the modern point, too, the root of the word "religion".[5] English word "religion", the Latin religio, was in use only to mean History "reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine The word "religion" as it is used things, piety" (which Cicero today does not have an obvious further derived to mean pre-colonial translation into non- "diligence"). [9][10] Max Müller European languages. Daniel characterized many other Dubuisson writes that "what the cultures around the world, West and the history of religions including Egypt, Persia, and in its wake have objectified India, as having a similar power under the name 'religion' is ... structure at this point in history. something quite unique, which What is called ancient religion could be appropriate only to today, they would have only itself and its own history."[6] The called "law".[11] words used in other languages for similar concepts, such as At this point, Western Europe dharma, bhakti, Tao, or Islam, and the rest of the world have vastly different histories. diverged. As Christianity became commonplace, the Much like Christianity, the idea charismatic authority identified of "religious freedom" was by Augustine, a quality we exported around the world as a might today call "religiousness", civilizing technique, even to had a commanding influence at regions such as India that had the local level. This system never treated spirituality as a persisted in the Byzantine matter of political identity.[14] In Empire following the East-West Japan, where Buddhism was still Schism, but Western Europe seen as a philosophy of natural regulated unpredictable law,[15] the concept of "religion" expressions of charisma through and "religious freedom" as the Roman Catholic Church. As separate from other power the Church lost its dominance structures was unnecessary during the Protestant until Christian missionaries Reformation and Christianity demanded free access to became closely tied to political conversion, and when Japanese structures, religion was recast Christians refused to engage in as the basis of national patriotic events.[16] sovereignty, and religious identity gradually became a less With the Enlightenment, religion universal sense of spirituality lost its attachment to and more divisive, locally nationality, but rather than defined, and tied to nationality. being a universal social attitude, [12] It was at this point that it was now a personal feeling or "religion" was dissociated with emotion.[17] Friedrich universal beliefs and moved Schleiermacher in the late 18th closer to dogma in both century defined religion as das meaning and practice. However schlechthinnige there was not yet the idea of Abhängigkeitsgefühl, commonly dogma as personal choice, only translated as "a feeling of of established churches. absolute dependence".[18] His contemporary Hegel disagreed Religious freedom thoroughly, defining religion as "the Divine Spirit becoming In the Age of Enlightenment, the conscious of Himself through idea of Christianity as the purest the finite spirit."[19] William expression of spirituality was James is an especially notable supplanted by the concept of 19th century subscriber to the "religion" as a worldwide theory of religion as feeling. practice. [13] This caused such ideas as religious freedom, a Religious belief reexamination of classical philosophy as an alternative to Religious belief usually relates Christian thought, and more to the existence, nature and radically Deism among worship of a deity or deities and intellectuals such as Voltaire. divine involvement in the universe and human life. • Abrahamic religions are Alternately, it may also relate to practiced throughout the values and practices world. They share in transmitted by a spiritual leader. common the Jewish Unlike other belief systems, patriarch Abraham and which may be passed on orally, the Torah as an initial religious belief tends to be sacred text, although the codified in literate societies degree to which the Torah (religion in non-literate societies is incorporated into is still largely passed on religious beliefs varies orally[27]). In some religions, like between traditions. the Abrahamic religions, it is o Judaism accepts held that most of the core only the prophets of beliefs have been divinely the Torah, but also revealed. relies on the authority of rabbis. Specific religious It is practiced by the movements Jewish people, an ethnic group In the 19th and 20th centuries, currently centered the academic practice of in Israel but also comparative religion divided scattered religious belief into throughout the philosophically-defined Jewish diaspora. categories called "world Today, Jews are religions." However, some outnumbered by recent scholarship has argued Christians and that not all types of religion are Muslims. necessarily separated by o Christianity is mutually exclusive philosophies, centered on the life and furthermore that the utility and teachings of of ascribing a practice to a Jesus of Nazareth as certain philosophy, or even presented in the calling a given practice Gospels and the religious, rather than cultural, writings of the political, or social in nature, is apostle Paul (1st limited.[14][28][29] The list of century CE). The religious movements given here Christian faith is is an attempt to summarize the essentially faith in most important regional and Jesus as the Christ, philosophical influences, but it is the Son of God, and by no means a complete as Savior and Lord. description of every religious As the religion of community. Western Europe during the time of colonization, Christianity has multitude of been propagated traditions which are throughout the generally world. Christianity is categorized as Sunni practiced not as a and Shia, although single orthodoxy but there are other as a mixture of minor groups as Catholicism, Eastern well. Wahhabi Islam Orthodoxy, Oriental is the established Orthodoxy, and religion of the many forms of Kingdom of Saudi Protestantism. In the Arabia. There are United States, for also several Islamic example, African- republics, including Americans[30] and Iran, which is run by Korean-Americans[31] a Shia Supreme usually attend Leader. separate churches o The Bahá'í Faith was from Americans of founded in the 19th European descent. century in Iran and Many European since then has countries as well as spread worldwide. It Argentina have teaches unity of all established a religious specific church as philosophies and the state religion, accepts all of the but this is not the prophets of Judaism, case in the United Christianity, and States nor in many Islam as well as other majority additional prophets Christian areas. including its founder o Islam refers to the Bahá'u'lláh. religion taught by o Smaller Abrahamic the Islamic prophet groups that are not Muhammad, a major heterodox versions political and of the four major religious figure of groupings include the 7th century CE. Mandaeism, Islam is the Samaritanism, the dominant religion of Druze, and the northern Africa, the Rastafari Middle East, and movement. South Asia. As with • Indian religions are Christianity, there is practiced or were founded no single orthodoxy in the Indian subcontinent. in Islam but a Concepts most of them share in common include are Theravada, karma, caste, Mahayana, and reincarnation, mantras, Vajrayana. yantras, and darśana. o Sikhism is a Islam in India has also monotheistic been influenced by Indian religion founded on religious practices. the teachings of o Hinduism is a Guru Nanak and ten synechdoche successive Sikh describing the Gurus in 15th similar Indian century Punjab. religious Sikhs are found philosophies of mostly in India. Vaishnavism, o Jainism, taught Shaivism, and primarily by Parsva related groups, and (9th century BCE) is the predominant and Mahavira (6th religion of the Indian century BCE), is an subcontinent[32] ancient Indian Hinduism is not a religion that monolithic religion prescribes a path of in the Romannic non-violence for all sense but a religious forms of living category containing beings in this world. dozens of separate Jains are found philosophies mostly in India. amalgamated as o There are dozens of Sanātana Dharma. new Indian religions o Buddhism was and Hindu reform founded by movements, such as Siddhattha Gotama Ayyavazhi and in the 6th century Swaminarayan BCE. Buddhists Faith. generally agree that • Yazdânism is a non- Gotama aimed to Abrahamic monotheistic help sentient beings category including the end their suffering traditional beliefs of the by understanding Yazidi, Alevi, and Ahl-e the true nature of Haqq. phenomena, thereby • Religious movements escaping the cycle centered in the United of suffering and States are often derived rebirth (saṃsāra), from Christian tradition. that is, achieving They include the Latter Nirvana. The main Day Saint movement, schools of Buddhism Christian evangelicalism, and Unitarian religion, and modern Universalism among Catholic beliefs such hundreds of smaller as the Virgin of groups. Guadalupe. Native • Folk religion is a term American religion is applied loosely and practiced across the vaguely to disorganized continent of North local practices. It is also America. called paganism, o Australian Aboriginal shamanism, animism, culture contains a ancestor worship, and mythology and totemism, although not all sacred practices of these elements are characteristic of folk necessarily present in religion. local belief systems. The o Chinese folk category of "folk religion" religion, practiced can generally include by Chinese people anything that is not part of around the world, is an organization. The a primarily social modern neopagan practice including movement draws on folk popular elements of religion for inspiration. Confucianism and o African traditional Taoism, with some religion is a remnants of category including Mahayana any type of religion Buddhism. Most practiced in Africa Chinese do not before the arrival of identify as religious Islam and due to the strong Christianity, such as Maoist influence on Yoruba religion or the country in San religion. There recent history, but are many varieties adherence to of religions religious ceremonies developed by remains common. Africans in the New religious Americas derived movements include from African beliefs, Falun Gong and I- including Santería, Kuan Tao. Candomblé, o Traditional Korean Umbanda, Vodou, religion was a and Oyotunji. syncretic mixture of o Folk religions of the Mahayana Buddhism Americas include and Korean Aztec religion, Inca shamanism. Unlike religion, Maya Japanese Shinto, Korean shamanism founding. The was never codified largest religious and Buddhism was movements never made a social centered in Japan necessity. In some include Soka Gakkai, areas these Tenrikyo, and traditions remain Seicho-No-Ie among prevalent, but hundreds of smaller Korean-influenced groups. Christianity is far more influential in Sociological classifications of society and politics. religious movements suggest o Traditional Japanese that within any given religious religion is a mixture group, a community can of Mahayana resemble various types of Buddhism and structures, including "churches", ancient indigenous "denominations", "sects", practices which "cults", and "institutions". were codified as Shinto in the 19th Religion and superstition century. Japanese people retain While superstitions and magical nominal attachment thinking refer to nonscientific to both Buddhism causal reasoning, applied to and Shinto through specific things or actions, a social ceremonies, religion is a more complex but irreligion is system about general or common. ultimate things, involving • A variety of new religious morality, history and movements still practiced community. Because religions today have been founded may include and exploit certain in many other countries superstitions or make use of besides the United States magical thinking, while mixing and Japan, including Cao them with broader Đài in Vietnam. considerations, the division o Shinshūkyō is a between superstition and general category for religious faith is subjective and a wide variety of hard to specify. Religious religious believers have often seen other movements founded religions as superstition.[33][34] in Japan since the Likewise, some atheists, 19th century. These agnostics, deists, and skeptics movements share regard religious belief as almost nothing in superstition. Religious practices common except the are most likely to be labeled place of their "superstitious" by outsiders when they include belief in one attributes an importance in extraordinary events (miracles), some way magical to certain an afterlife, supernatural practices otherwise lawful or interventions, apparitions or the necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayer, charms, efficacy of prayers or of incantations, the sacramental signs to their mere meaningfulness of omens, and external performance, apart prognostications. from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into Greek and Roman pagans, who superstition. Cf. Matthew 23:16- modeled their relations with the 22 (para. #2111) gods on political and social terms, scorned the man who Religion and science constantly trembled with fear at the thought of the gods as a Religious knowledge, according slave feared a cruel and to religious practitioners, may capricious master. Such fear of be gained from religious the gods (deisidaimonia) was leaders, sacred texts what the Romans meant by (scriptures), and/or personal superstitio (Veyne 1987, p 211). revelation. Some religions view Early Christianity was outlawed such knowledge as unlimited in as a superstitio Iudaica, a scope and suitable to answer "Jewish superstition", by any question; others see Domitian in the 80s AD, and by religious knowledge as playing a AD 425, Theodosius II outlawed more restricted role, often as a pagan traditions as complement to knowledge superstitious. gained through physical observation. Some religious The Roman Catholic Church people maintain that religious considers superstition to be knowledge obtained in this way sinful in the sense that it is absolute and infallible denotes a lack of trust in the (religious cosmology). divine providence of God and, as such, is a violation of the first The scientific method gains of the Ten Commandments. The knowledge by testing Catechism of the Catholic hypotheses to develop theories Church states that superstition through elucidation of facts or "in some sense represents a evaluation by experiments and perverse excess of religion" thus only answers cosmological (para. #2110). questions about the physical universe. It develops theories of Superstition is a deviation of the world which best fit religious feeling and of the physically observed evidence. practices this feeling imposes. It All scientific knowledge is can even affect the worship we subject to later refinement in offer the true God, e.g., when the face of additional evidence. Scientific theories that have an Epistemology overwhelming preponderance of favorable evidence are often Many theories exist as to why treated as facts (such as the religions sometimes seem to theories of gravity or evolution). conflict with scientific knowledge. In the case of Many scientists have held strong Christianity, a relevant factor religious beliefs (see List of may be that it was among Christian thinkers in science) Christians that science in the and have worked to harmonize modern sense was developed. science and religion. Isaac Unlike other religious groups, as Newton, for example, believed early as the 17th century the that gravity caused the planets Christian churches had to deal to revolve about the Sun, and directly with this new way to credited God with the design. In investigate nature and seek the concluding General truth. Scholium to the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, The perceived conflict between he wrote: "This most beautiful science and Christianity may System of the Sun, Planets and also be partially explained by a Comets, could only proceed literal interpretation of the Bible from the counsel and dominion adhered to by many Christians, of an intelligent and powerful both currently and historically. being." Nevertheless, conflict The Catholic Church has always has repeatedly arisen between held with Augustine of Hippo religious organizations and who explicitly opposed a literal individuals who propagated interpretation of the Bible scientific theories that were whenever the Bible conflicted deemed unacceptable by the with Science. The literal way to organizations. The Roman read the sacred texts became Catholic Church, for example, especially prevalent after the has in the past[37] reserved to rise of the Protestant itself the right to decide which reformation, with its emphasis scientific theories were on the Bible as the only acceptable and which were authoritative source concerning unacceptable. In the 17th the ultimate reality.[41] This view century, Galileo was tried and is often shunned by both forced to recant the heliocentric religious leaders (who regard theory based on the church's literally believing it as petty and stance that the Greek Hellenistic look for greater meaning system of astronomy was the instead) and scientists who correct one.[38][39] Today, regard it as an impossibility. however, only 7% of the members of the National Some Christians have disagreed Academy of Sciences believe in or are still disagreeing with a god.[40 scientists in areas such as the validity of Keplerian astronomy, as "the two most potent forces the theory of evolution, the in human life."[49] method of creation of the universe and the Earth, and the Proponents of Hinduism claim origins of life. On the other that Hinduism is not afraid of hand, scholars such as Stanley scientific explorations, nor of the Jaki have suggested that technological progress of Christianity and its particular mankind. According to them, worldview was a crucial factor there is a comprehensive scope for the emergence of modern and opportunity for Hinduism to science. In fact, most of today's mold itself according to the historians are moving away demands and aspirations of the from the view of the relationship modern world; it has the ability between Christianity and to align itself with both science science as one of "conflict" — a and spiritualism. This religion perspective commonly called uses some modern examples to the conflict thesis.[42][43] Gary explain its ancient theories and Ferngren in his historical volume reinforce its own beliefs. For about Science & Religion states: example, some Hindu thinkers have used the terminology of In the Bahá'í Faith, the harmony quantum physics to explain of science and religion is a some basic concepts of central tenet.[47] The principle Hinduism such as Maya or the states that that truth is one, and illusory and impermanent therefore true science and true nature of our religion must be in harmony, thus rejecting the view that Mysticism and esotericism science and religion are in conflict.[47] `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son Mysticism focuses on methods of the founder of the religion, other than logic, but (in the case asserted that science and of esoteric mysticism) not religion cannot be opposed necessarily excluding it, for because they are aspects of the gaining enlightenment. Rather, same truth; he also affirmed meditative and contemplative that reasoning powers are practices such as Vipassanā and required to understand the yoga, physical disciplines such truths of religion and that as stringent fasting and whirling religious teachings which are at (in the case of the Sufi variance with science should not dervishes), or the use of be accepted; he explained that psychoactive drugs such as LSD, religion has to be reasonable lead to altered states of since God endowed humankind consciousness that logic can with reason so that they can never hope to grasp. However, discover truth.[48] Shoghi Effendi, regarding the latter topic, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, mysticism prevalent in the described science and religion 'great' religions (monotheisms, henotheisms, which are perhaps India, and the mystery religions relatively recent, and which the of ancient Egypt, Israel word 'mysticism' is more recent (Kabbalah,) and Greece are than,) includes systems of examples of ones that are also discipline that forbid drugs that esoteric. can damage the body, including the nervous system. Spirituality
Mysticism (to initiate) is the A sadhu performing namaste in
pursuit of communion with, or Madurai, India conscious awareness of ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual Members of an organized truth, or Deity through direct, religion may not see any personal experience (intuition or significant difference between insight) rather than rational religion and spirituality. Or they thought. Mystics speak of the may see a distinction between existence of realities behind the mundane, earthly aspects of external perception or their religion and its spiritual intellectual apprehension that dimension. are central to being and directly accessible through personal Some individuals draw a strong experience. They say that such distinction between religion and experience is a genuine and spirituality. They may see important source of knowledge. spirituality as a belief in ideas of religious significance (such as Esotericism is often spiritual God, the Soul, or Heaven), but (thus religious) but can be non- not feel bound to the religious/-spiritual, and it uses bureaucratic structure and intellectual understanding and creeds of a particular organized reasoning, intuition and religion. They choose the term inspiration (higher noetic and spirituality rather than religion spiritual reasoning,) but not to describe their form of belief, necessarily faith (except often perhaps reflecting a as a virtue,) and it is disillusionment with organized philosophical in its emphasis on religion (see Major religious techniques of psycho-spiritual groups), and a movement transformation (esoteric towards a more "modern" — cosmology). Esotericism refers more tolerant, and more to "hidden" knowledge available intuitive — form of religion. only to the advanced, These individuals may reject privileged, or initiated, as organized religion because of opposed to exoteric knowledge, historical acts by religious which is public. All religions are organizations, such as Christian probably somewhat exoteric, Crusades and Islamic Jihad, the but most ones of ancient marginalisation and persecution civilizations such as Yoga of of various minorities or the Spanish Inquisition. The basic development, are similarly precept of the ancient spiritual called "myths" in the tradition of India, the Vedas, is anthropology of religion. The the inner reality of existence, term "myth" can be used which is essentially a spiritual pejoratively by both religious approach to being. and non-religious people. By defining another person's Myth religious stories and beliefs as mythology, one implies that The word myth has several they are less real or true than meanings. one's own religious stories and beliefs. Joseph Campbell 1. A traditional story of remarked, "Mythology is often ostensibly historical thought of as other people's events that serves to religions, and religion can be unfold part of the world defined as mis-interpreted view of a people or mythology."[51] explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon; In sociology, however, the term 2. A person or thing having myth has a non-pejorative only an imaginary or meaning. There, myth is defined unverifiable existence; or as a story that is important for 3. A metaphor for the the group whether or not it is spiritual potentiality in the objectively or provably true. human being.[50] Examples include the death and resurrection of Jesus, which, to Ancient polytheistic religions, Christians, explains the means such as those of Greece, Rome, by which they are freed from sin and Scandinavia, are usually and is also ostensibly a categorized under the heading historical event. But from a of mythology. Religions of pre- mythological outlook, whether industrial peoples, or cultures in or not the event actually occurred is unimportant.