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, Jewish , Hindu Row 2. Islam ic, Buddhist , Shinto Row 3. Sikh , Baha'i , Jain ]] A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as Prayer , Ritual , and Religious Law . Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural Tradition s, writings, history, and Mythology , as well as personal Faith and Mystic Experience . The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. In the frame of (.Durkheim 1976, p.36 Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be Supernatural , sacred, Divine , or of the highest Truth . Moral Code s, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and Scripture s are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular Philosophy . Religion is also often described as a " Way Of Life ". The Development Of Religion has taken many forms in various cultures. "Organized religion" generally refers to an organization of people supporting the exercise of some religion with a prescribed set of beliefs, often taking the form of a Legal Entity (see Religion-supporting Organization ). Other religions believe in personal revelation and responsibility. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with " Faith " or " Belief System ,"The words "belief system" may not necessarily refer to a religion, though a religion may be referred to as "belief system." but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions. ETYMOLOGY The etymology of the word "religion" has been debated for centuries. The English word clearly derives from the Latin ''religio'', "reverence (for the God s)" or "conscientiousness". The precise origins of ''religio'', however, are obscure. It is usually accepted to derive from ' "bind, connect". Likely from a prefixed ', i.e. ''re'' (again) + ''ligare''. This interpretation is favoured by modern scholars such as Tom Harpur and Joseph Campbell , but was made prominent by St. Augustine , following the interpretation of Lactantius . Another possibility is derivation from a reduplicated ''''. A historical interpretation due to Cicero on the other hand connects '''' "read", i.e. ''re'' (again) + ''lego'' in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully". DEFINITION OF RELIGION Religion has been defined in a wide variety of ways. Most definitions attempt to find a balance somewhere between overly sharp definition and meaningless generalities. Some sources have tried to use formalistic, doctrinal definitions while others have emphasized experiential, emotive, intuitive, valuational and ethical factors. Sociologists and anthropologists tend to see religion as an abstract set of ideas, values, or experiences developed as part of a cultural matrix. For example, in Lindbeck's ''Nature of Doctrine,'' religion does not refer to belief in "God" or a transcendent Absolute. Instead, Lindbeck defines religion as, "a kind of cultural and/or linguistic framework or medium that shapes the entirety of life and thought… it is similar to an idiom that makes possible the description of realities, the formulation of beliefs, and the experiencing of inner attitudes, feelings, and sentiments.”George A. Lindbeck, ''Nature of Doctrine'' (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1984), 33. According to this definition, religion refers to one's primary worldview and how this dictates one's thoughts and actions. Other religious scholars have put forward a definition of religion that avoids the reductionism of the various sociological and psychological disciplines that reduce religion to its component factors. Religion may be defined as the presence of a belief in the sacred or the holy. For example Rudolf Otto 's "The Idea of the Holy," formulated in 1917, defines the essence of religious awareness as awe, a unique blend of fear and fascination before the divine. Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late 18th century defined religion as a "feeling of absolute dependence." The ''Encyclopedia of Religion'' defines religion this way:Religion Edition . Winston King. Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 11. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p7692-7701. Other encyclopedic definitions include: "A general term used... to designate all concepts concerning the belief in god(s) and goddess(es) as well as other spiritual beings or transcendental ultimate concerns"Penguin Dictionary of Religions (1997) as quoted on 2 and "human beings' relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, spiritual, or divine."Encyclopædia Britannica (2006) as quoted on 3 RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION In keeping with the Latin etymology of the word, religious believers have often seen other religions as superstition. Likewise, atheists, agnostics, deists, and skeptics regard religious belief as superstition. (Edmund Burke, the Irish orator, once said, "Superstition is the religion of feeble minds.") From the broadest perspective, all religion is a form of superstition. Religious practices are most likely to be labeled "superstitious" by outsiders when they include belief in extraordinary events (miracles), an afterlife, supernatural interventions, apparitions or the efficacy of prayer, charms, incantations, the meaningfulness of omens, and prognostications. Greek and Roman pagans, who modeled their relations with the gods on political and social terms scorned the man who constantly trembled with fear at the thought of the gods, as a slave feared a cruel and capricious master. "Such fear of the gods (deisidaimonia) was what the Romans meant by 'superstition' (Veyne 1987, p 211). For Christians just such fears might be worn proudly as a name: Desdemona. The Roman Catholic Church considers superstition to be sinful in the sense that it denotes a lack of trust in the divine providence of God and, as such, is a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states superstition "in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion" (para. #2110). The Catechism clearly dispels commonly held preconceptions or misunderstandings about Catholic doctrine relating to superstitious practices: Superstition is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand is to fall into superstition. Cf. Matthew 23:16-22 (para. #2111) DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGION See Also: Development of religion There are a number of models regarding the ways in which religions come into being and develop. Broadly speaking, these models fall into three categories:
The models are not mutually exclusive. Multiple models may be seen to apply simultaneously, or different models may be seen as applying to different religions. DEMOGRAPHICS See Also: Major religious groups Demographic Methodologies and Sources There is no consensus among researchers as to the best methodology for determining the religiosity profile of the world's population. A number of fundamental aspects are unresolved: | |||
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