Portal:Religion
The Religion Portal
Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; 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 and/or saints), 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 may also attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of religious beliefs.
There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide. About 84% of the world's population is affiliated with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or some form of folk religion. 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.
The study of religion comprises 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, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief. (Full article...)
Vital article
Vital articleThe meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various connotations can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God" as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life. (Full article...)
Did you know (auto-generated)
Did you know (auto-generated)- ... that Gamaliel's principle has been used to support religious pluralism and reforms within religious groups?
- ... that sympathetic accounts of Norway's first Christian kings include descriptions of them committing gruesome torture against pagans, but non-sympathetic accounts do not?
- ... that Gujarati writer Manilal Dwivedi was invited to present a paper at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions, but was unable to attend due to financial constraints?
- ... that in the 1657 hymn "Morgenstern der finstern Nacht" with text by Angelus Silesius, the glory of Jesus is likened to a thousand suns?
- ... that the ancient Indian religion Jainism holds that the universe was not created?
- ... that some stone circles such as Stonehenge were perhaps great graveyards of honoured spiritual leaders in prehistoric religion?
Featured pictures
Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, by Benjamin West (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
The Punishment of Loki, by Louis Huard (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Giant Skrymir and Thor at Útgarða-Loki, by Louis Huard (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Giant Suttung and the Dwarfs at Suttungr, by Louis Huard (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Devotees during Lathmar Holi, by Narender9 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Achilles sacrificing to Zeus for Patroclus' safe return at Ambrosian Iliad, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Young monks in Cambodia at Buddhism in Cambodia, by JJ Harrison (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Mandala, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Folio from a Quran, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Shroud of Turin, by Giuseppe Enrie (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
A Virgin with a Unicorn, by Domenichino (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Nias megalith, by Ludwig Borutta (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Psalm 23, unknown author (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Meleager et Atalanta at Calydonian Boar, by Giulio Romano and François Louis Lonsing (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
B'nai B'rith membership certificate, by Louis Kurz (edited by Durova and Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
A Word of Comfort caricature at Joseph Priestley, by Dent William (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Cheyenne sun dance gathering, by Henry Chaufty (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Revelation 22:17 at Book of Revelation, by Joseph Martin Kronheim (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Omer calendar at Counting of the Omer, by Baruch Zvi Ring (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Battle at Lanka, Ramayana, by Sahibdin (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
Martyrdom of Joseph and Hiram Smith at Death of Joseph Smith, by G.W. Fasel and Charles G. Crehen (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Culture, entertainment, and lifestyle/Religion and mythology)
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listen); 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory of relativity, but he also made important contributions to the development of the theory of quantum mechanics. Relativity and quantum mechanics are together the two pillars of modern physics. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from relativity theory, has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation". His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory. His intellectual achievements and originality resulted in "Einstein" becoming synonymous with "genius". (Full article...)
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| Conceptions of God |
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