- "Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements."
The system of beliefs, practices, and symbols that are related to the sacred and that bond people together in a community of believers.
Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion: Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Religion explores the diverse frameworks and perspectives used in anthropological research to understand the role and significance of religion in human societies.
Mythology: Mythology in the context of Anthropology and Religion refers to the study of traditional narratives and stories that explain the worldview, beliefs, and cultural values of a particular society or religious group.
Beliefs and Practices: Beliefs and Practices in anthropology and religion refers to the study of the shared systems of meanings, ideas, values, rituals, and behaviors that shape and guide the religious experiences and expressions of individuals and communities.
Religious Institutions and Authority: Religious Institutions and Authority in anthropology of religion refers to the formal organizations and individuals that hold power, influence, and perform religious rituals within a specific religious tradition or community.
Religious Rituals and Symbols: Religious rituals and symbols encompass the performative actions and visual representations used by religious groups to communicate and enact their beliefs, values, and interactions with the sacred.
Religious and Spiritual Experience: Religious and spiritual experience refers to subjective encounters and interactions with the divine or supernatural, which shape beliefs, practices, and identities.
Religious Conflict and Tolerance: Religious conflict and tolerance in anthropology refers to the study of conflicts rooted in religious beliefs, practices, and identities, as well as the exploration of processes promoting coexistence and acceptance of diverse religious traditions within societies.
Comparative Religion: Comparative Religion is a field within anthropology that seeks to understand similarities and differences among various religious beliefs, practices, and worldviews across cultures and societies.
Culture and Religion: Culture and religion in anthropology examines the interconnectedness between cultural beliefs, practices, and institutions, exploring how they shape and are shaped by people's religious worldviews and behaviors.
Religion and Society: Religion and Society in anthropology explores the dynamic relationship between religious beliefs, practices, and institutions and their influence on social structures, norms, and collective identities.
Animism: The belief that all objects and living things have a spirit or soul.
Polytheism: The belief in multiple gods or deities.
Monotheism: The belief in one God or deity.
Pantheism: The belief that God or spirit is infused in everything in the universe.
Nature religions: These religions worship and revere nature and its elements, such as earth, air, fire, water, and sky.
Shamanism: The belief in a spiritual world that can be accessed through a shaman or spiritual leader.
Taoism: A Chinese philosophy and religion that emphasizes balance, harmony, and oneness with nature.
Confucianism: A Chinese ethical and philosophical system that focuses on social harmony and maintaining order.
Buddhism: A religion and philosophy that originated in India and emphasizes the relief from suffering and achieving enlightenment.
Hinduism: A major religion of India that emphasizes the belief in multiple gods and the cycle of reincarnation.
- "Although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion."
- "Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, matrimonial and funerary services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, or public service."
- "Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred texts, symbols, and holy places, that primarily aim to give life meaning."
- "Religions may contain symbolic tales that may attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena; some followers believe these to be true stories."
- "Four religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—account for over 77% of the world's population."
- "92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious."
- "The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and agnostics, although many in the demographic still have various religious beliefs."
- "A portion of the world's population, mostly located in Africa and Asia, are members of new religious movements."
- "The study of religion comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology, philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and social scientific studies."
- "Most definitively including the Abrahamic religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism."
- "Nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings."
- "Traditionally, both faith and reason have been considered sources of religious beliefs."
- "Scholars have indicated that global religiosity may be increasing due to religious countries having generally higher birth rates."
- "Both faith and reason have been considered sources of religious beliefs."
- "Religious practices may include rituals, commemorations or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, matrimonial and funerary services..."
- "Although there is an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings."
- "Religion is a range of social-cultural systems that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements."
- "Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings."
- "Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred texts, symbols, and holy places."