Religion

A Religion is a sociocultural system that encompasses a religious belief system (that often posits supernatural forces), its ensuing religious ideology, and its associated religious traditions.

• Context:
  • It can (typically) be associated with Religious Practices.
  • It can (typically) be followed by Religious Adherents.
  • It can (often) be a Elevated-Significance System (with elevated-significance practices).
  • It can (typically) establish Sacred Profane Distinction through religious rituals.
  • It can (typically) maintain Religious Community through formal practices and informal practices.
  • It can (typically) preserve Sacred Texts and sacred places.
  • It can (typically) facilitate Religious Prayer and religious meditation.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Non-Theistic Religion to being a Monotheistic Religion to being a Polytheistic Religion.
  • It can range from being a Non-Institutionalized Religion to being an Organized Religion.
  • It can range from being a Local Faith System to being a Global Religious Movement, depending on its cultural scope.
  • ...
  • It can incorporate Sacred Elements through ritual practices.
  • It can develop Religious Mythology via supernatural concepts.
  • It can establish Social Organization within religious communities.
  • It can provide Ultimate Meaning for human existence.
  • It can evolve through Cultural Adaptation and Competitive Dynamics by innovating practices, adjusting doctrines, and expanding its reach.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • An Indigenous Religion, such as: Incan Religion, Mayan Religion.
  • A Polytheistic Religion, such as: Hinduism.
  • A Non-Theistic Religion, such as: Buddhism.
  • A Monotheistic Religion, such as: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Bahaism.
  • A Non-Institutionalized Religion, such as: Animist Religion or Shamanist Religion.
  • A Syncretic Religion, such as: Santeria, Cao Dai.
  • A Folk Religion, such as: Chinese Folk Religion, African Traditional Religion.
  • A Contemporary Religious Movement, such as: New Age Movement, Scientology.
  • A Mystery Religion, such as: Ancient Egyptian Religion, Eleusinian Mysteries.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Personal Spirituality, which may not be associated with a defined belief system or tradition.
  • Philosophical Ethical System, such as Utilitarianism, which offers a moral framework without necessarily positing supernatural forces.
  • Atheism, which does not posit any god or gods.
  • Existentialism, a philosophical tradition that emphasizes individual existence and personal freedom, which may not involve any belief in supernatural entities.
  • Humanism, a philosophical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, which may be secular in nature.
• See: Religious Institute, Cultural System, Religious Behaviour, Religious Text, Shrine, Ethics in Religion, Religious Organization, Religion is the Opium of The Masses.

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References

2024-12-29

• Perplexity.ai
  • Question: Define "Religion" in its broadest sense, including its core components, essential elements, and sociological framework.
  • Answer: A Religion is a complex social-cultural system encompassing several key dimensions that shape human understanding and behavior in relation to what is considered sacred, divine, or transcendent.
    • Core Components:
      • Beliefs and Worldview:
        • A Religion consists of systematic beliefs that form a coherent framework in relation to a transcendent being, thing, or principle.
        • These beliefs can relate to any form of transcendent reality that extends beyond purely physical and scientific analysis.
      • Sacred and Profane:
        • Religious systems distinguish between sacred (holy, set apart) and profane (everyday, common).
        • This distinction manifests through special rituals, practices, and objects that hold religious significance.
      • Practice and Community:
        • Religious expression involves both formal and informal practices.
        • While individual practice is important, Religion typically involves some form of community that helps regulate beliefs and related conduct.
    • Essential Elements:
      • Designated behaviors, practices, and moral systems.
      • Sacred texts, places, and prophecies.
      • Organized institutions and communities.
      • Devotional or contemplative practices like prayer and meditation.
    • Sociological Framework:
      • Fundamental Aspects:
        • Belief systems that shape worldview.
        • Mythology involving supernatural and sacred concepts.
        • Regular practices and rituals.
        • Social organization within a religious community.
      • The depth dimension of Religion appears in almost every known culture, providing norms and meaning that transcend ordinary experience.
      • This universal aspect manifests differently across cultures, but consistently serves to organize life around ultimate concerns and transcendent values.
  • Citations:

[1] https://talkabout.iclrs.org/2020/07/21/towards-a-constitutional-definition-of-religion-challenges-and-prospects/
[2] https://study.com/academy/lesson/religion-key-concepts-and-definitions.html
[3] https://www.britannica.com/topic/religion
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relig
[5] https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-religion/

2017

• (Wikipedia, 2017) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion Retrieved:2017-10-22.
  • Religion is any cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, world views, texts, sanctified places, ethics, or organizations, that relate humanity to the supernatural or transcendental. Religions relate humanity to what anthropologist Clifford Geertz has referred to as a cosmic "order of existence".However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life, the Universe and other things. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, but about 84% of the world's population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. The study of religion encompasses a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the scientific revolution in the western world, some aspects of religion have cumulatively been criticized. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists and agnostics. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs.

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