- "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 study of beliefs, practices, and institutions that relate to supernatural or transcendent forces or entities.
Religion and Culture: This topic explores the relationship between religion and cultural practices. It discusses how different religions influence the way people live, interact, and think about the world.
Theology: This topic involves the study of religious beliefs and doctrines. It explores the foundational beliefs of different religions and how those beliefs shape religious practices.
History of Religion: This topic covers the origins and evolution of different religions. It explores the historical context and key events that led to the development of different religious traditions.
Comparative Religion: This topic examines the similarities and differences between different religions. It explores how different religious traditions approach similar themes, such as the concept of God or the afterlife.
Religion and Society: This topic explores the role of religion in society. It discusses how religion shapes social norms and values, and how societies have been influenced by different religious traditions.
Religion and Politics: This topic explores the relationship between religion and political power. It discusses how different religious traditions have influenced political structures and policies throughout history.
Religious Ethics: This topic examines the ethical frameworks that different religions provide. It explores the moral principles that guide religious practices and how those principles shape behavior.
Religion and Science: This topic explores the relationship between religion and science. It discusses how different religious traditions approach scientific knowledge and innovation.
Interfaith Dialogue: This topic explores how different religious traditions interact with each other. It discusses the challenges and opportunities of interfaith dialogue, and how it can be used to promote understanding and cooperation between different religious communities.
Religion and Environment: This topic examines the relationship between religion and environmental issues. It explores how different religious traditions approach environmental ethics and sustainability.
Christianity: A monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as presented in the New Testament.
Islam: A monotheistic religion based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and the holy book of the Quran.
Hinduism: A polytheistic religion with a complex belief system based on various ancient texts, including the Vedas.
Buddhism: A non-theistic religion that focuses on individual spiritual development and reaching enlightenment.
Judaism: A monotheistic religion that originated in ancient Israel and is based on the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud.
Sikhism: A monotheistic religion originating in the Punjab region of India that emphasizes the importance of meditation and the unity of all religions.
Taoism: A Chinese philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with nature and the importance of living a simple and peaceful lifestyle.
Confucianism: A Chinese ethical and philosophical system that emphasizes the importance of social relationships, respect for elders, and the pursuit of knowledge and self-improvement.
Shintoism: A Japanese religion that emphasizes the worship of spirits, including ancestors and the kami, the spirits that inhabit all things.
Zoroastrianism: An ancient religion originating in Persia that focuses on the struggle between good and evil and emphasizes personal responsibility and ethical behavior.
- "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."