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A
religion is a set of tenets and practices, often centred upon specific
supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and
often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law. Religion also encompasses
ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as
personal faith and religious experience. The term "religion" refers to both the
personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and
communication stemming from shared conviction.
In
the frame of western religious thought, religions present a common quality, the
"hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two
comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane. 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. |
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The
development of religion has taken many forms in various cultures. "Organized
religion" generally refers to an organization of people supporting the exercise
of some religion with a prescribed set of beliefs, often taking the form of a
legal entity (see religion-supporting organization). Other religions believe in
personal revelation. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith"
or "belief system," but is more socially defined than that of personal
convictions.
Religion is based on the message
of Allah to His Messengers also known as Prophets. The major religions of the
world are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are other religions but whether
they are subsequent to the teachings of the Prophets remain to be proven. They
are Hinduism, Parsi and Buddhism. A person who does not believe in any religion
is atheist. Although Christianity is the largest religion in the world but its
divided mainly in Catholics and Protestants and some other sub-faiths. Pope of
Vatican city Rome is the head of Catholics. Islam is the second largest religion
in the world but is the fastest growing religion of the world. |
