Facts about Religion
a distillation of the Western folk category of religion: Religion as a cultural system.
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.
The notion of gentiles ("nations") in Judaism reflect this state of affairs, the implicit assumption that each nation will have its own religion.
That is, a religion will generally have answers to metaphysical and cosmological questions about the nature of being, of the universe, humanity, and the divine.
Ancient polytheistic religions, such as those of Greece, Rome, and Scandinavia, are usually categorized under the heading of mythology.
Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion, arranged by historical origin and mutual influence.
Sociologists and anthropologists tend to see religion as an abstract set of ideas, values, or experiences developed as part of a cultural matrix.
Religion is the organization of life around the depth dimensions of experience—varied in form, completeness, and clarity in accordance with the environing culture.
Friedrich Schleiermacher in the late eighteenth century defined religion as a "feeling of absolute dependence."
The principle states that that truth is one, and therefore true science and true religion must be in harmony, thus rejecting the view that science and religion are in conflict.
Jaspers saw Socrates, Confucius and Siddhartha Gautama as "paradigmatic personalities," whose quest for meaning would bring transformative change in humanity's self-understanding.
Religions of pre-industrial peoples, or cultures in development, are similarly called "myths" in the anthropology of religion.
Over and above these developments, a great variety of cults and new religious movements originated in the 20th century, many proposing syncretism of elements of established religions.
Given its ubiquity in human affairs and world history, religion has been a perennially controversial topic for generations.
One's interpretation of these methods depends on one's approach to the relationship between religion and science, as discussed above.
Some individuals draw a strong distinction between religion and spirituality.
Historical examples include Germanic polytheism, Celtic polytheism, Slavic polytheism and pre-Hellenistic Greek religion, as well as Hinduism and Chinese folk religion.
Religion is only one of the methods for trying to answer one or more of these questions.
The subject of religion can induce a range of responses from love, compassion and goodwill, to fear, loathing, and xenophobia.
The word "Religion" has been defined in a wide variety of manners, with most definitions attempting to find a balance somewhere between overly restrictive categorizations and meaningless generalities.
The result is the growing recognition among historians of science that the relationship of religion and science has been much more positive than is sometimes thought.
When more or less distinct patterns of behaviour are built around this depth dimension in a culture, this structure constitutes religion in its historically recognizable form.
Religion and philosophy meet in several areas, notably in the study of metaphysics and cosmology.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states superstition "in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion.
Religion may be defined as the presence of a belief in the sacred or the holy.
The mystery religions of ancient Greece, the Gnostic systems of the Middle East, and the Hindu path of jnana marga are examples of esoteric religiosity.
One's interpretation of these methods depends on one's approach to the relationship between religion and science, as discussed above.
Religion in Europe has been a major influence on today's society art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. Three countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus.
The world's 20 largest religions and their number of believers are:Christianity (2.1 billion)Islam (1.3 billion)Nonreligious (Secular/Agnostic/Atheist) (1.1 billion)Hinduism (900 million)Chinese traditional religion (394 million)Buddhism 376 million.Primal-indigenous (300 million)More items...
This principle of order is also paramount in the world's oldest religion still being practiced today: Hinduism (known to adherents as Sanatan Dharma, 'Eternal Order'). Although often viewed as a polytheistic faith, Hinduism is actually henotheistic.
You may have never heard of the religion known as Jainism, but it's considered one of the most peaceful on Earth. Jainism is one of the four major religions to come of out of India (the others are Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), and the vow of non-violence is one of its defining features.Nov 3, 2016
Find out what they are below.Hinduism (founded around the 15th–5th century BCE)Zoroastrianism (10th–5th century BCE)Judaism (9th–5th century BCE)Jainism (8th–2nd century BCE)Confucianism (6th–5th century BCE)Buddhism (6th–5th century BCE)Taoism (6th–4th century BCE)Shintoism (3rd century BCE–8th century CE)
This principle of order is also paramount in the world's oldest religion still being practiced today: Hinduism (known to adherents as Sanatan Dharma, 'Eternal Order'). Although often viewed as a polytheistic faith, Hinduism is actually henotheistic.
Roman Catholicism was the official religion during the colonial era. Evangelical Protestantism (Protestants are called Evangelicos in Latin America) and later Orthodoxy have increased in recent decades. About 40% of Guatemalans are Protestant, chiefly independent Evangelicals and Pentecostals.
According to government estimates, 70 percent of the population was Roman Catholic, 29 percent was Protestant (usually defined as all non-Roman Catholic Christians), and the remaining 1 percent practiced other religions or was atheist.
Judaism, the first and oldest of the three great monotheistic faiths, is the religion and way of life of the Jewish people. The basic laws and tenets of Judaism are derived from the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.Jan 1, 2014
By all accounts, Francis Allan, Poe's foster-mother, was a pious and deeply religious woman. John Allan, while apparently less religious than his wife, strongly adhered to such Christian virtues as hard work, honesty and thriftiness, though one might question the depth of his sense of charity or forgiveness.Jan 14, 2014
To avoid conflict between majority Protestants and minority Catholics in the colony, Calvert instituted a progressive religious policy called The Maryland Toleration Act that allowed all Christians, regardless of sect, to freely worship in Maryland.May 9, 2013
Christianity in Turkey. Since up to 98 percent of the population are Muslims, Christians are obviously a minority religion in Turkey. Because it is a secular country, the only Muslim country in the world that has no state religion, the Constitution guarantees religious freedom, and tolerance is the rule.
The religious affiliation of the Israeli population as of 2016 was 74.7% Jewish, 17.7% Muslim, 2.0% Christian, and 1.6% Druze, with the remaining 4.1% including both minor faiths such as Samaritanism and Baha'iism, and irreligious people with no faith. Israel does not have a constitution.
Pennsylvania's religious spectrum also included small communities of Roman Catholics and Jews. Delaware, first settled by Scandinavian Lutherans and Dutch Reformed, with later infusions of English Quakers and Welsh Baptists, had perhaps the most diverse beginnings of any middle colony.
54.61% of the people in Rhode Island, Rhode Island are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 44.89% are Catholic; 0.38% are LDS; 1.44% are another Christian faith; 0.84% in Rhode Island, Rhode Island are Jewish; 0.23% are an eastern faith; 0.14% affilitates with Islam.
(Sanātana Dharma) Hinduism is the world's third most popular religion, with around 750 million followers. The religion of Hinduism originated in Northern India, near the river Indus, about 4000 years ago and is the world's oldest existing religion.
William Penn, (born October 14, 1644, London, England—died July 30, 1718, Buckinghamshire), English Quaker leader and advocate of religious freedom, who oversaw the founding of the American Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.
Though Milton's mother was a staunch member of the Reformed Mennonite Church and wore plain clothes and a bonnet throughout her life, formal religion was never a part of Milton Hershey's life. When he was asked once what his religion was, he is said to have replied, “The Golden Rule.”
Although exact figures on religious affiliations do not exist, it is estimated that approximately 55 percent of the total population adhere to traditional beliefs, and 40 percent are Christian, about evenly divided between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the remaining 5 percent being Muslim.
Most of the Hindustani are Hindu, but some practice Islam or Christianity instead. Also the Javanese practice either Islam or Christianity. With 20% of the population, Suriname has the largest Muslim community by percentage in the New World.Feb 5, 2016
When talking about Poland, “religion” often means “Catholicism”. About 90% of Poles are Roman Catholics, although this number may be overestimated as the statistics often include people who were baptised Catholic, even if they later abandoned the Church.
Korea is a country where all the world's major religions, Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism and Islam, peacefully coexist with shamanism.
The religious identities of the people of Paraguay, have since national independence been oriented towards the Christianity, and specifically the Roman Catholic Church.
The Ottoman Empire now included so much of the territory where Islam was practiced, and so many of the Islamic holy places, that Suleiman was widely regarded as the religious leader of Islam, as well as the earthly ruler of most Muslims.Sep 4, 2009
According to a 2006 official survey approximately 58.2% of Uruguayans defined themselves as Christian (47.1% Roman Catholic, 11.1% Protestant), and approximately 40.4% of the population professes no religion (23.2% as "believing in God but without religion", 17.2% as atheist or agnostic), 0.6% as followers of Umbanda ...
A majority of Jordanians are Muslim, about 92% are Sunni Muslim, and 1% are Shia or Sufi. Cities in the south of Jordan, have the highest percentage of Muslims. Christians, living mostly in Amman or the Jordan Valley , make up 6% of the total, with 1% representing other religions.
The most recent study conducted by Statistics Lebanon, a Beirut-based research firm, found that approximately Lebanon's population is estimated to be 54% Muslim (27% Shia; 27% Sunni), 5.6% Druze, who do not consider themselves to be Muslims, 40.4% Christian (21% Maronite, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Melkite, 1% Protestant ...
Mesoamerican
Christianity is the largest religion in Wales. Until 1920 the established church was the Church of England, but from 1920 the disestablished Church in Wales, still Anglican, was self-governing. Wales also has a strong tradition of nonconformism, including Methodism.
The Indonesian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. The government recognises only six official religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism).
The main religion in Bulgaria is Bulgarian Orthodox. There are also Roman Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, Jews etc. Around twelve percent of the people are Muslim.
With 93% of its population being considered religious, Islam is the majority and constitutionally established state religion in Morocco. The vast majority of Muslims in Morocco are Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence.
Romania is a secular state, and it has no state religion. However, Romania is one of the most religious countries in the European Union and an overwhelming majority of the country's citizens are Christian. The Romanian state officially recognizes 18 religions and denominations.
The Muslim population of Iraq is approximately 60–65 percent Shi'a, 15–20 percent Arab Sunni and 17 percent Sunni Kurdish. Iraqi Kurds are mainly secular Sunnis, with a sizeable Shia Feyli population. Most Kurds are located in the northern areas of the country, with most following the Shafi school of Islamic law.
Talfah, the father of Saddam's future wife, was a devout Sunni Muslim and a veteran of the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War between Iraqi nationalists and the United Kingdom, which remained a major colonial power in the region. Later in his life relatives from his native Tikrit became some of his closest advisors and supporters.
Many Malaysian Chinese practice various faiths, including Mahayana and other sects of Buddhism, the Chinese folk religions, Confucianism and Daoism. Although Buddhism was influential prior to the arrival of Islam, the majority of the current Chinese population arrived during British rule of Malaya.
Religion. Three major religions or philosophies shaped many of the ideas and history of Ancient China. They are called the three ways and include Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Taoism was founded during the Zhou Dynasty in the 6th century by Lao-Tzu.
Religions in China. China is a multi-religious country. Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism have all developed into culture-shaping communities throughout Chinese history. Freedom of belief is a government policy, and normal religious activities are protected by the constitution.
Roman Catholicism
Asia is the largest and most populous continent, with a wide variety of religions, and was the birthplace of many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastranism.