Religion

Definition

Religion is human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death.  In many traditions, this relation and these concerns are expressed in terms of one's relationship with or attitude toward gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are expressed in terms of one's relationship with or attitudes toward the broader human community or the natural world. In many religions, texts are deemed to have scriptural status, and people are esteemed to be invested with spiritual or moral authority.  Believers and worshipers participate in and are often enjoined to perform devotional or contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, or particular rituals. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.

Religion. (2014). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com.proxy.devry.edu/EBchecked/topic/497082/religion

 

Terms to Search

attitudes, beliefs, belief and doubt, church, church and state, clergy, conversion (religion), education, ethics, faith, freedom of religion, fundamentalism, heresy, history, intolerance, mosque, perception, philosophy, religion, religious beliefs, religious groups, religious institutions, religious life, spiritual life, spirituality, temple, theology, tolerance, name of specific religion (e. g., Shinto, Taoism, etc.) and another subject  (e. g., history, politics, society, etc.).

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