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Definition: religion from The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology

Basically, a system of beliefs with either an institutionalized or a traditionally defined pattern of ceremony. Religion is regarded by many as a cultural universal which emerges invariably as an outcome of the need to understand the human condition. Most, although not all, religions share certain characteristics, notably the concept of a (or several) supreme being(s), the promise of a pathway to an ideal existence and an afterlife.

Religion

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
So far as archaeologists and anthropologists can tell, for as long as there have been humans there has been religion – at least in the sense that some of the earliest burials found show evidence of ritual associated with the dead continuing in another life. As to exactly how or why religion originated, and how it developed in pre-history, we can only make educated guesses. Religion is surprisingly difficult to define. Socio-anthropological definitions tend to be either substantive (what religion is ) or functional (what religion does ). Both are useful, but both have problems. Substantive definitions are often too exclusive; any definition that includes ‘God’, for example, will miss out most forms of Buddhism. Functional definitions suffer from the opposite problem: they are often too inclusive. By some functional definitions, Marxism would be a religion. If the definition is broadened enough to include, for example, new age beliefs and practices, it can also be argued that football…
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Full text Article Religion

From New Americans: A Guide to Immigration Since 1965
The new post-1965 immigrants who have come to the United States from all over the world have brought not only their economic and political aspirations but also their Qurans and Ramayanas, their images of the Bodhisattva Guan Yin and the Virgin of Guadalupe. They have brought Thai and South Indian…
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Full text Article religion

From Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
Sacred things are believed to be so extraordinarily important, powerful, and different from mundane or profane affairs that they need to be protected by special rules and restrictions or taboos (see sacred and profane dichotomy ). Religion elaborates on experiences of the sacred, building them into…
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Full text Article Religion

From Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained
So far as archaeologists and anthropologists can tell, for as long as there have been humans there has been religion – at least in the sense that some of the earliest burials found show evidence of ritual associated with the dead continuing in another life. As to exactly how or why religion…
| 2,494 words
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Full text Article religion

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Code of beliefs and practices formulated in response to a spiritual awareness of existence. It may involve either faith in a state of existence after earthly death, or a desire for union with an omnipotent spiritual being, or a combination of the two. Polytheistic religions, such as those of ancient…
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Full text Article religion

From The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology
In sociology, there are broadly two approaches to the definition of religion. The first, following E. Durkheim (1912), defines religion in terms of its social functions: religion is a system of beliefs and rituals with reference to the SACRED which binds people together into social groups. In this…
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Full text Article Religion

From Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable
The Republic of Ireland has traditionally been seen as an overwhelmingly Catholic country, and indeed only a very small percentage of the population belongs to other faiths. Since 1980, as a result of scandals such as clerical sexual abuse ( see BISHOP BRENDAN ), abuse of power by the hierarchy ( …
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Latin religiō originally meant ‘obligation, bond’. It was probably derived from the verb religāre ‘tie back, tie tight’ (source of English rely), a compound formed from the prefix re - ‘back’ and ligāre ‘tie’ (source of English liable, ligament , etc). It developed the specialized sense ‘bond…
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From The Columbia Encyclopedia
a system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social consequences of their actions; and a frame of reference by which individuals may relate to their group and…
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Full text Article RELIGION

From Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology
Religion’s referent can be endlessly illustrated, but its nature is notoriously hard to define. R. Otto argued that a specific quality – a ‘sense of the holy’ – may be found in all its core instances, while M. Eliade (1907–86) highlighted the distinction between the sacred and the profane. Others…
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Full text Article Religion

From International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Since the early 1990s, geographical research on religion, spirituality and faith has expanded considerably in size and scope. Prior to that time, geographers engaged with the topics of religion, spirituality, and faith in a more limited way. Their concern…
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