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External Websites
- The Guardian - Religion: why faith is becoming more and more popular
- Verywell Mind - What is Religion?
- World History Encyclopedia - Religion in the Ancient World
- Live Science - The Origins of Religion: How Supernatural Beliefs Evolved
- Learn Religions - What's the Difference Between Religion and Spirituality?
- Social Sciences LibreTexts - Religion
- McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Religion
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The Concept of Religion
- Pressbooks - Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition - Religion
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- religion - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- religion - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Thank you for your feedback
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
External Websites
- The Guardian - Religion: why faith is becoming more and more popular
- Verywell Mind - What is Religion?
- World History Encyclopedia - Religion in the Ancient World
- Live Science - The Origins of Religion: How Supernatural Beliefs Evolved
- Learn Religions - What's the Difference Between Religion and Spirituality?
- Social Sciences LibreTexts - Religion
- McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Religion
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - The Concept of Religion
- Pressbooks - Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition - Religion
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
- religion - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- religion - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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July 21, 2024, 2:27 AM ET (Washington Post)
As a scholar, he's charted the decline in religion. Now the church he pastors is closing its doors
religion, human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. It is also commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death. In many traditions, this relation and these concerns are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitude toward gods or spirits; in more humanistic or naturalistic forms of religion, they are expressed in terms of one’s relationship with or attitudes toward the broader human community or the natural world. In many religions, texts are deemed to have scriptural status, and people are esteemed to be invested with spiritual or moral authority. Believers and worshippers participate in and are often enjoined to perform devotional or contemplative practices such as prayer, meditation, or particular rituals. Worship, moral conduct, right belief, and participation in religious institutions are among the constituent elements of the religious life.
The subject of religion is discussed in a number of articles. For treatment of major and historical religious traditions, see African religion; Anatolian religion; ancient Iranian religion; Arabian religion; Baltic religion; Buddhism; Calvinism; Celtic religion; Christianity; Confucianism; Daoism; Eastern Orthodoxy; Eastern rite church; Egyptian religion; Finno-Ugric religion; Germanic religion and mythology; Greek religion; Hellenistic religion; Hinduism; Islam; Jainism; Judaism; Mesopotamian religion; Middle Eastern religion; Mormon; mystery religion; Native American religions; Neo-Paganism; new religious movement; Old Catholic church; Orphic religion; prehistoric religion; Protestantism; Protestant Heritage, The; Roman Catholicism; Roman religion; Shintō; Sikhism; Slavic religion; Syrian and Palestinian religion; Vedic religion; Wicca; Zoroastrianism. For discussion of perspectives on the existence or role within human life of a supreme God or gods, see agnosticism; atheism; humanism; monotheism; pantheism; polytheism; theism. For cross-cultural discussion of religious beliefs, phenomena, and practices, see angel and demon; ceremonial object; covenant; creed; dietary law; doctrine and dogma; dualism, religious; eschatology; ethics; evil, problem of; feast; Five Ways, the; heaven; hell; Last Judgment; meditation; millennialism; miracle; monasticism; Moon worship; mysticism; myth; nature worship; prayer; priest; priesthood; prophecy; Providence; purgatory; purification rite; reincarnation; religious dress; religious symbolism and iconography; rite of passage; ritual; sacrament; sacrifice; sacred; sacred kingship; saint; salvation; scripture; shamanism; sin; soul; Sun worship; theology; worship. For a review of the efforts to systematically study the nature and classify the forms of religious behaviour, experience, and phenomena, see religion, phenomenology of; religion, philosophy of; religion, study of; religions, classification of; religious experience.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.