Religion

Religion is a range of <a href="/facts/Social_system/crIBHftt">social</a>-<a href="/facts/Cultural_system/BBsMjuKY">cultural systems</a>, including designated <a href="/facts/Religious_behaviour/YETV4c2J">behaviors</a> and practices, <a href="/facts/Morals/CSjHHvff">morals</a>, <a href="/facts/Belief/HbPvkGT6">beliefs</a>, <a href="/facts/Worldview/ppdl5PhI">worldviews</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_text/H2HjQEYv">texts</a>, <a href="/facts/Sanctified_places/VAyNH0XX">sanctified places</a>, <a href="/facts/Prophecies/uR8eaHXj">prophecies</a>, <a href="/facts/Ethics_in_religion/TSAXKrlf">ethics</a>, or <a href="/facts/Religious_organization/LakrvKlx">organizations</a>, that generally relate humanity to <a href="/facts/Supernatural/qSlTK0Ss">supernatural</a>, <a href="/facts/Transcendence_(religion)/7XP571KV">transcendental</a>, and <a href="/facts/Spirituality/o2neYDkN">spiritual</a> elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. It is an <a href="/facts/Essentially_contested_concept/ah3CUFXM">essentially contested concept</a>. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the <a href="/facts/Divine/nuR79myA">divine</a>, <a href="/facts/Sacredness/TFqpyxkc">sacredness</a>, <a href="/facts/Faith/ytlgRheF">faith</a>, and a supernatural being or beings.
The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Religions have <a href="/facts/Sacred_histories/IDE8WqNn">sacred histories</a>, <a href="/facts/Narrative/RIVoxJpV">narratives</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mythologies/kG8UTfem">mythologies</a>, preserved in oral traditions, <a href="/facts/Sacred_texts/H2HjQEYv">sacred texts</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_symbol/2Cs8l8am">symbols</a>, and <a href="/facts/Holy_places/2PYaw8m6">holy places</a>, that may attempt to explain the <a href="/facts/Origin_of_life/BvAmLPQP">origin of life</a>, the <a href="/facts/Religious_cosmology/7QbJLQVy">universe</a>, and other phenomena.
Religious practices may include <a href="/facts/Ritual/EIJngpmf">rituals</a>, <a href="/facts/Sermon/AT5m7TaU">sermons</a>, commemoration or veneration (of <a href="/facts/Deities/doCvhDHj">deities</a> or <a href="/facts/Saint/lDE6So1B">saints</a>), <a href="/facts/Sacrifice/nTYAYulo">sacrifices</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_festival/auJXQat9">festivals</a>, <a href="/facts/Feast/gs9PYXzV">feasts</a>, <a href="/facts/Trance/bggQcUcm">trances</a>, <a href="/facts/Initiation/y8KmtN2n">initiations</a>, <a href="/facts/Matrimonial/foMxzuxl">matrimonial</a> and <a href="/facts/Funerary/IW4X3mcx">funerary</a> services, <a href="/facts/Meditation/mlU2nUt7">meditation</a>, <a href="/facts/Prayer/Gzu2VMAo">prayer</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_music/pFCtAgSU">music</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_art/Rn9DJCSA">art</a>, <a href="/facts/Religious_dance/yBLkS9Bb">dance</a>, or <a href="/facts/Public_service/gnDGgRmQ">public service</a>.
There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, though nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings. Four religions—<a href="/facts/Christianity/nKyJHlqq">Christianity</a>, <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, <a href="/facts/Hinduism/oxV9YvQh">Hinduism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Buddhism/G0wsjrSl">Buddhism</a>—account for over 77% of the world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as <a href="/facts/Nonreligious/wr8NFHPJ">nonreligious</a>, meaning that the vast majority of remaining religions account for only 8% of the population combined. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, <a href="/facts/Atheists/patUWN1f">atheists</a>, and <a href="/facts/Agnostics/14ElYVUN">agnostics</a>, although many in the demographic still have various religious beliefs.
Many <a href="/facts/World_religion/ySwuaU9M">world religions</a> are also <a href="/facts/Organized_religion/5kave6zj">organized religions</a>, most definitively including the <a href="/facts/Abrahamic_religion/y9z2Wf9q">Abrahamic religions</a> Christianity, Islam, and <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">Judaism</a>, while others are arguably less so, in particular <a href="/facts/Folk_religion/JQCCczgY">folk religions</a>, <a href="/facts/Indigenous_religion/NJ8eHXGg">indigenous religions</a>, and some <a href="/facts/Eastern_religions/eC2l8CSo">Eastern religions</a>. A portion of the world's population are members of <a href="/facts/New_religious_movement/7Ttfr321">new religious movements</a>. Scholars have indicated that <a href="/facts/Desecularization/K36Wl0kP">global religiosity may be increasing</a> due to religious countries having generally higher birth rates.
The <a href="/facts/Study_of_religion/evl1y5M8">study of religion</a> comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including <a href="/facts/Theology/N71Fyw2M">theology</a>, <a href="/facts/Philosophy_of_religion/1yI4cqMx">philosophy of religion</a>, <a href="/facts/Comparative_religion/qSQ59Vqd">comparative religion</a>, and social scientific studies. <a href="/facts/Theories_of_religion/I4QNWVwK">Theories of religion</a> offer various explanations for its origins and workings, including the <a href="/facts/Ontological/QJKTsEIJ">ontological</a> foundations of religious <a href="/facts/Being/zwJ4I8Bc">being</a> and belief.

Religion open-in-new

Religion