RELIGION

Religion

Religion

Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs (Wilfred , 1962)

Aspects of religion include narrative, symbolism, beliefs, and practices that are supposed to give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life. Whether the meaning centers on a deity or deities, or an ultimate truth, religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art, among other things, and is often interwoven with society and politics. It may focus on specific supernatural, metaphysical, and moral claims about reality (the cosmos and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws and ethics and a particular lifestyle. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. The development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures, with continental differences. (Wilfred , 1962)

The term "religion" refers both to the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system", but it is more socially defined than personal convictions, and it entails specific behaviors, respectively.

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. (Wilfred , 1962)

The religious category is not transhistorical or universal; rather, Daniel Dubuisson writes that "what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name religion is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history." Other languages, even though they may have terms which overlap with "religion", often use them to mean different things. For example, the word used to translate "religion" into modern Indo-Aryan languages is dharma, which means "law". Throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ...