Category:Religious Systems
From Eurêka
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Religious Systems
WARNING Religious words, terms, phrases and symbols often have unrelated and/or multiple meanings and the following is but a crude rendering of a vast lexicon of religious terms.
Note Conservative Christian faith groups often define terms very differently than other faith groups and secular movements.
Religion Belief, typically organised into doctrine, in the existence of one or more invisible beings who, command human beings to live and act in certain ways, and reward or punish accordingly.
Note If a world-view and an attached ethics does not premise the existence of supernatural agencies in the universe, typically as the explanation of its existence, as determiners of its point, and as arbiters of the right behaviour for humanity, it is not a religion; it is a philosophy at best, and an outlook anyway, but it is not religion.
Spinoza Argued that no group or religion could rightly claim infallible knowledge of the Creator’s partiality to its beliefs and ways.
- Spinoza excommunication After the excommunication, Spinoza spent the rest of his life — he died in 1677 at the age of 44 — studying the varieties of religious intolerance. Spinoza’s reaction to the religious intolerance he saw around him was to try to think his way out of all sectarian thinking. He understood the powerful tendency in each of us toward developing a view of the truth that favors the circumstances into which we happened to have been born. Self-aggrandizement can be the invisible scaffolding of religion, politics or ideology.
Deism belief Based solely on reason, in a God who created the universe and then abandoned it, assuming no control over life, exerting no influence on natural phenomena, and giving no supernatural revelation." Wisdom traditions Religions as expressed in New Age circles.
Religious authority Belief, typically organised into doctrine, in the existence of one or more invisible beings who, command human beings to live and act in certain ways, and reward or punish accordingly. Acceptance of authority, the rigid structure of a “Church” or a “Temple,” and a unified dogma (with the consequent schisms and claims to “authenticity'”) is the foundation of religion.
- Religious discipline Religion comprises of a system of beliefs and practices that centers on a matter of deep meaning, or ultimate concern, and involves socialization (believers tend to form communities), showing a preference for symbolic language over every day speech, use ceremonies (especially at birth, marriage and death), take a metaphysical view of life (there is more to the world than one can see) and require behavior adjustments (attending Sunday school or shunning pork).
Note Generally, religion demands belief in the supernatural and suspension of rational thought. In the latter case, especially in modern times, the clash between the role of science and religion in daily life, provides the foundation for hypocrisy found in all religions such as having one of the Ten Commandments state, “they shalt not kill,” but supporting military chaplains, war and capital punishment.
Organized religion Mainstream religions of Christendom.
Organized religious group Organized system of beliefs concerning powers believed to control human destiny on this Earth and in some life hereafter, in which there is belief in a god or gods, and in which there are sets of rules, usually accepted as divinely inspired, governing all human behavior in this life.
- Shared belief Belief in the transcendent, the divine, and the acting out of that belief. Also involves ritual and worship. Each separate religious group Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or the myriad of denominations and sects has an elaborate cult and code, as well as a creed, and all must be fully appreciated if it is to be understood.
- Religious belief Parting of the Red Sea, the virgin birth or Muhammad ascending to heaven on a winged horse are examples of religious beliefs held without question,
Institutional religion System that functions to maintain and perpetuate cultural beliefs about forces considered to be supernatural and sacred, that provides guides for moral conduct, and that prescribes symbolic practices considered to be in harmony with beliefs about the supernatural.
Natural religion Religious practices based on principles derived solely from reason and the study of nature.
Monotheistic religions Religions that believe in one God.
Polytheistic religions Religions with many gods.
Ethical religions Religions where the belief in a high god is linked to concepts of morality and salvation.
Redemptive religions Religions centered on redemption.
Universal religions Religions such as Christianity and Islam that provide a doctrine and practice that can accommodate everyone without distinction.
World Religions
World religions Religions which have a following on a very large scale. These include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Judeo-Christian tradition Mutual theological heritage shared by Jews and Christians based on the Old Testament.
- Judeo-Christian-Islam tradition Qur'an demands belief in monotheism, specifically the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, referring to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and Mary, mother of Jesus (far more space is given to her in the Qur'an than in the New Testament).
- Abraham tradition Adding Muslims to the Judeo-Christian tradition because they trace their theological heritage to Abraham.
- People of the Book Depiction of Jews and Christians in the Qur’an, meaning that they have their own scriptures bestowed upon them by God who they share.
Major religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, religions which remain major because they sanctify the social structure of the place they occur.
- Traditional religion Religion absorbed in a person’s upbringing, ingrained in the first years of life that satisfies the culture within which the given religion operates.
Mystery religions (Mystery cults) Religions and cults that are (1) Restricted in membership, (2) Require the performance of initiative and other ceremonies under conditions of secrecy, or promise spiritual privileges to their members, e.g., Mormons.
- See also Greco-Roman cults
Orthodoxy
Orthodox (Orthodoxy) Believing established dogma and opinions.
- Ultra-orthodox Extremely orthodox, or belonging to an extreme wing of an orthodox group.
Religion Inventory
Leading religions of the world ranked by number of adherents (2002)
(1) Christianity 2 billion.
(2) Islam 1.3 billion.
(3) Hinduism 900 million.
(4) Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 850 million.
(5) Buddhism 360 million.
(6) Chinese traditional religion 225 million.
(7) Primal-indigenous 150 million.
(8) African Traditional & Diasporic 95 million.
(9) Sikhism 23 million.
(10) Juche 19 million.
(11) Spiritism 14 million.
(12) Judaism 14 million.
(13) Baha'i 6 million.
(14) Jainism 4 million.
(15) Shinto 4 million.
(16) Cao Dai 3 million.
(17) Tenrikyo 2.4 million.
(18) Neo-Paganism 1 million.
(19) Unitarian-Universalism 800 thousand.
(20) Rastafarianism 700 thousand.
(21) Scientology 600 thousand.
(22) Zoroastrianism 150 thousand.
