A religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a supernatural The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to being above or beyond what is natural, unexplainable by natural law or phenomena. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others. Supernatural beliefs have existed in many agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.[1]

Aspects of religion include narrative The term mythology can refer to either the study of myths or a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story; however, the academic, symbolism A symbol is something such as an object, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On maps, crossed sabres may indicate a battlefield. Numerals are symbols for numbers. All language consists of symbols, beliefs, and practices that are supposed to give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life. Whether the meaning centers on a deity A deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers or deities, or an ultimate truth Truth can have a variety of meanings, from the state of being the case, being in accord with a particular fact or reality, being in accord with the body of real things, events, actuality, or fidelity to an original or to a standard. In archaic usage it could be fidelity, constancy or sincerity in action, character, and utterance. The term has no,[2] religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to some greater power in the universe through deliberate intentional practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words, song, or complete silence. When language is used, prayer may take, ritual A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers, or dictated purely by logic, chance, necessity, etc, meditation Meditation is a mental discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation is a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines, music Music is an art form whose medium is sound. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation), dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. The word derives from Greek μουσική (mousike), "(art) of the Muses" and art Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. It encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music, literature, film, sculpture, and paintings. The meaning of art is explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics, among other things, and is often interwoven with society Society or human society is the manner or condition in which the members of a community live together for their mutual benefit. By extension, society denotes the people of a region or country, sometimes even the world, taken as a whole. Used in the sense of an association, a society is a body of individuals outlined by the bounds of functional and politics Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to. It may focus on specific supernatural The term supernatural or supranatural pertains to being above or beyond what is natural, unexplainable by natural law or phenomena. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others. Supernatural beliefs have existed in many, metaphysical Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that investigates principles of reality transcending those of any particular science. Cosmology and ontology are traditional branches of metaphysics. It is concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world. Someone who studies metaphysics would be called either a "metaphysician", and moral In its first, descriptive usage, morality means a code of conduct or a set of beliefs distinguishing between right and wrong behaviors. Descriptive morality does not explain why any behavior should be considered right or wrong, only that it may be classified so. For the most part right and wrong acts are classified as such because they cause claims about reality Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist." Literally, the term denotes what is real; in its widest sense, this includes everything that is, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible. Reality in this sense includes being and sometimes is considered to include nothingness, as well. By contrast, (the cosmos In its most general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from a Greek term κόσμος meaning "order, orderly arrangement, ornaments," and is the antithetical concept of chaos. Today the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The words cosmetics and cosmetology originate from the same and human nature Human nature is the concept that there is a set of characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that all 'normal' humans have in common. The branches of science associated with the study of human nature include sociology, sociobiology and psychology, particularly evolutionary psychology and developmental psychology) which may yield a set of religious laws In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by God defining and governing all human affairs. Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of ethics and morality which are upheld and required by God. Examples include customary Halakha and Hindu law, and to an extent, Sharia (Islamic law), ethics Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue, and a particular lifestyle Lifestyle was originally coined by Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler in 1929. The current broader sense of the word dates from 1961. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions However, on a more basic theoretical level, tradition can be seen as information or composed of information. For that which is brought into the present from the past, in a particular societal context, is information. This is even more fundamental than particular acts or practices even if repeated over a long sequence of time, writings, history, and mythology The term mythology can refer to either the study of myths or a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story; however, the academic, as well as personal faith Faith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. The word "faith" can refer to a religion itself or to religion in general. As with "trust", faith involves a concept of future events or outcomes, and is used conversely for a belief "not resting on logical proof or material and religious experience Religious experience is a subjective experience where an individual reports contact with a transcendent reality, an encounter or union with the divine.

The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith Faith is the confident belief or trust in the truth or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. The word "faith" can refer to a religion itself or to religion in general. As with "trust", faith involves a concept of future events or outcomes, and is used conversely for a belief "not resting on logical proof or material" or "belief system,"[3] but it is more socially defined than personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors The religions of the world consist of religious images and religious behaviour. The religious images of the religions from the past and of present day religions, like gods, ghosts and worshipped ancestors, concepts of guilt, dogmatic teachings and ideas of the hereafter, are generally quite well known. Religious behaviour on the other hand, the, respectively.

Religions by country This article gives an overview about religion by country. Note that the Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will show dual figures; those are the percentage of people who believe in God and the percentage of nominal adherents who celebrate traditional religious holidays although not professing belief in God: Cultural Jews and
North America Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana •
Canada Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of groups, and Canada has no official religion. The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms mentions "God", and the monarch carries the title of "Defender of the Faith", but no specific beliefs are specified, and support for religious pluralism is an important part of · United States Religion in the United States is remarkable both in its high adherence level compared to other developed countries as well as its diversity. The First Amendment to the country's Constitution prevents the government from having any authority in religion, and guarantees the free exercise of religion. A majority of Americans report that religion · Mexico Mexico religion is Roman Catholic in its majority, and the Constitution of 1917 and the anti-clerical laws imposed limitations on the church and sometimes codified state intrusion into church matters. The government does not provide any financial contributions to the church, and the church does not participate in public education. However, Cuba Cuba is traditionally a Catholic country. In some instances Catholicism is much modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic belief is Santería, which was brought to Cuba by the slaves from Africa and spread to neighboring islands; it shows similarities to Brazilian Umbanda and has been receiving a degree of official support · Haiti About 95% of the population claim Christian beliefs, and the most professed denomination by far is Roman Catholicism. Similar to the rest of Latin America, Haiti was colonized by Roman Catholic European powers. Following in this legacy, Catholicism is enshrined in the Haitian constitution as the official state religion, and between 80 and 85% of · Dominican Republic Morgan Foley was the leader of Protestantism for women in the 1800s. During the 1820s, Protestants migrated to the Dominican Republic from the United States. West Indian Protestants arrived on the island late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, and by the 1920s, several Protestant organizations were established all throughout the country, Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago is a multi-religious nation. The largest religious groups are the Roman Catholics and Hindus; the Anglicans, Muslims, Presbyterians, Methodist are among the smaller faiths. Two Afro-Caribbean syncretic faiths, the Shouter or Spiritual Baptists and the Orisha faith are among the fastest growing religious groups. The fastest · Nicaragua Religion in Nicaragua is a significant part of the culture of Nicaragua and forms part of the constitution. Religious freedom and religious tolerance is promoted by both the Nicaraguan government and the constitution
South America

Chile Chile people are Catholic majority, with an estimated 71% of Chileans belonging to that church. According to census data other declared denominations or groupings include: Protestant or Evangelical , Jehovah's Witnesses (1%), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (0.9%), Jewish (0.1%), Atheist or Agnostic (8.3%), and other (4.4%). Less · Colombia Religion in Colombia is an expression of the different cultural heritages in the Colombian culture including the Spanish colonisation, the Native Amerindian and the Afro-Colombian · Peru According to the 1993 Census, 89% of the Peruvian population over 12 years old declared themselves as Catholics, 6.7% as Evangelicals, 2.6% as of other denominations, 1.4% as non-religious and 0.2% did not specify any affiliation · Bolivia The Roman Catholic church has a dominant presence in religion in Bolivia. The most recent estimation for religion in Bolivia, based on the study of Gallup 2007-2008 and recent data from various NGO's during 2008-2009, shows the following religious situation in Bolivia: Brazil Although over seventy percent of the population declared themselves Roman Catholic in the last census , Brazilian religions are very diversified and inclined to syncretism – the union, or attempted fusion, of different systems of thought or belief. In recent decades there has been a great increase of Neo-Pentecostal churches, which has decreased · Argentina A majority of the population of Argentina is nominally Roman Catholic. According to one source, about 76.5% of Argentinians are Roman Catholic, 11.3% religiously indifferent, 9% Protestant , 1.2% Jehovah's Witnesses, and 0.9% Mormons.In the last decades, as in the rest of America, there has been a rise in Evangelical movements, which have mostly Paraguay According to article 24 of the Paraguayan Constitution of 1992, freedom of religion is recognised and there is no official religion. Relations between the State and the Catholic church are to be based on independence, co-operation and autonomy. The independence of religious organisations is guaranteed

Europe Religion in Europe has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe for at least a millennium and a half has been Christianity. A number of countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities. Smaller religions include Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Hinduism which are found in their largest groups

Iceland Religion in Iceland was initially the Norse paganism that was a common belief among mediaeval Scandinavians until Christian conversion. Later, the nation became half-Christian and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianization culminated in the Pietism period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present, the · Ireland The primary religion in the Republic of Ireland is Christianity. Irish Christianity is dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. Historically, prior to the arrival of Christianity, Celtic polytheism was the dominant religion of the nation · United Kingdom Religion in The United Kingdom is about the development of religion in the United Kingdom since its formation in 1707. The Treaty of Union that led to the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain ensured that there would be a Protestant succession as well as a link between church and state that still remains Portugal The most predominant religion in Portugal is Roman Catholicism. Approximately 84% of the population are nominally Catholic, but only about 19% attend mass and take the sacraments regularly. Yet a larger number wish to be baptized, married in the church, and receive last rites · Spain Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity present in the country by far. According to a July 2009 study by the Spanish Center of Sociological Research about 76% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, 2% other faith, and about 20% identify with no religion. Most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services · Italy · France Netherlands · Belgium · Germany Switzerland · Luxembourg · Austria Denmark · Sweden · Norway · Finland Poland · Lithuania · Moldova · Russia Albania · Serbia · Montenegro Bulgaria · Romania · Greece · Cyprus · Malta Turkey

Middle East

Egypt · Israel · Lebanon Jordan · Armenia · Azerbaijan Iran · Iraq · Syria · Cyprus · Turkey

Africa

Algeria · Nigeria · Sudan · Ethiopia · Seychelles Uganda · Zambia · Kenya · South Africa

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Afghanistan · Pakistan · India Nepal · Sri Lanka · Vietnam China · Hong Kong · Macau · Taiwan North Korea · South Korea · Japan Malaysia · Singapore · Philippines

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Religion Portal

The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. It considers psychological and social roots, along with origins and historical development.

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 codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures 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" or a life stance.

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How did religion stay consistent through out the middle ages, the renaissance, and the enlightenment in europe?
Q. As far as religion goes. What about it stayed the same in European History from 1000-1750. This by the way is not some school assignment I am seriously asking this question out of the curiosity for knowledge.
Asked by katastrophickiwi - Mon Dec 28 17:28:54 2009 - - 3 Answers - 0 Comments

A. The Christian religion didn't stay consistent during those times. It fragmented and fragmented, then fragmented again. What stayed consistent was the New Testament, generally speaking. The reason the New Testament remained consistent while Christianity went from Catholicism to the four winds was tied to the fact that when the documents to be canon [to be part of the New Testament] were chosen during the 300s by Constantine and the Bishops they were selected for their political cohesion. They were selected from hundreds of early Christian documents because they provided something akin to a 'Constitution' of the Church. The books selected created a bureaucracy, a hierarchy of structure. That's the primary value of almost all of the… [cont.]
Answered by Jack P - Mon Dec 28 17:54:42 2009

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