Category
Religion
This page surveys "religion" as a subject of study, not as a claim about what is or isn't true. It draws together dictionary definitions from multiple countries and a chronological, sourced timeline spanning prehistoric practices through today's global demographics. Coverage is deliberately spread across many traditions — Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Islamic, Sikh, and secular/interfaith movements — with no tradition treated as more or less legitimate than another.
Definitions from around the world
The same word carries different shades of meaning depending on where you look. Here is how religion is defined by dictionaries from different countries.
“an organized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices”
“the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship”
“Ensemble déterminé de croyances et de dogmes définissant le rapport de l’homme avec le sacré.”
English: “A defined set of beliefs and dogmas defining humankind's relationship with the sacred.”
“(meist von einer größeren Gemeinschaft angenommener) bestimmter, durch Lehre und Satzungen festgelegter Glaube und sein Bekenntnis”
English: “A particular faith and its creed, adopted (usually by a larger community) and fixed through doctrine and statutes.”
“Conjunto de creencias o dogmas acerca de la divinidad, de sentimientos de veneración y temor hacia ella, de normas morales para la conducta individual y social y de prácticas rituales, principalmente la oración y el sacrificio para darle culto.”
English: “A set of beliefs or dogmas about divinity, feelings of veneration and awe toward it, moral norms for individual and social conduct, and ritual practices — principally prayer and sacrifice — offered in its worship.”