Portal:Religion

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The Religion Portal

P religion world.svg
Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual nature and a study of inherited ancestral traditions, knowledge and wisdom related to understanding human life. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to faith as well as to the larger shared systems of belief.

In the larger sense, religion is a communal system for the coherence of belief—typically focused 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, traditions, and rituals are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion can also be described as a way of life.

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 and responsibility. "Religion" is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system," but is more socially defined than that of personal convictions.

More about religion...

Selected article

Our Lady of Vladimir (12th century)
The Eastern Orthodox Church is a Christian body that views itself as the historical continuation of the original Christian community established by Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, preserving the traditions of the early church unchanged, accepting the canonicity of the first seven ecumenical councils held between the 4th and the 8th centuries, and maintaining the unbroken link between its clergy and the Apostles by means of Apostolic Succession.

The Orthodox Church is organized into numerous autocephalous "jurisdictions" or "particular churches", the largest single one of which in terms of membership is the Russian Orthodox Church. Other major jurisdictions include the Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian and Romanian churches. Each of these has its own synod of bishops to act as governors. The Orthodox Church holds the Patriarch of Constantinople to be the first among equals among the Orthodox episcopacy.

Based on the numbers of adherents, Eastern Orthodoxy is the second largest Christian communion in the world after the Roman Catholic Church, and the third largest grouping if Protestantism is counted as a whole. Estimates of the number of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide range from 50 million to 350 million, with 220 million being one of the most commonly cited figures.

Selected picture

Tibetan Bhavacakra in Sera, Lhasa.
Credit: Philipp Roelli

The Bhavacakra (Sanskrit, भवचक्र) or Wheel of becoming (Tibetan srid.pa'i 'khor.lo) is a complex symbolic representation of saṃsāra in the form of a circle (mandala), used primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Saṃsāra is the continuous cycle of birth, life, and death from which one liberates oneself through enlightenment.

Selected religious figure

Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Ζεύς Zeús, genitive: Διός Díos), is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky and thunder, in Greek mythology. His symbols are the thunderbolt, bull, eagle and the oak.

The son of Cronus and Rhea, he was the youngest of his siblings. He was married to Hera in most traditions, although at the oracle of Dodona his consort was Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione. Accordingly, he is known for his erotic escapades, including one pederastic relationship, with Ganymede. His trysts resulted in many famous offspring, including Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the Muses (by Mnemosyne); by Hera he is usually said to have sired Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.

Did you know...

  • ...that the word, Christian, only appears three times in the Bible?
  • ...that one key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself?
  • ...that Islam is the fastest growing religion worldwide?

On this day...

December 16:

Selected quote

Qur'an
Say: (It is) the truth from the Lord of you (all). Then whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve. Lo! We have prepared for disbelievers Fire. Its tent encloseth them. If they ask for showers, they will be showered with water like to molten lead which burneth the faces. Calamitous the drink and ill the resting-place!
Qur'an, Sūra 18:29

Selected scripture

Illuminated Guru Granth folio with nisan (Mool Mantar) of Guru Gobind Singh. Collection of Takht Sri Harimandir Sahib, Patna.
The Guru Granth Sahib (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, gurū grantha sāhiba) — Granth is Punjabi for book; Sahib is Hindi meaning master, from Arabic, meaning companion, friend, owner, or master. It is the holy scripture of the Sikh and Ravidasi faiths.

In the Sikh view it is considered to be more than just a holy book. The Sikhs treat this Granth (holy book) as a living Guru. The holy text spans 1430 pages and contains the actual words spoken by the Sikh Gurus and various other Saints from other religions including Hinduism, Islam, the Kabirpanthi religion and the Ravidasi religion.

The Adi Granth is often used to refer to the Guru Granth Sahib. The Adi Granth only forms the portion of the Granth which Guru Arjan compiled in 1604. This term is often used interchangeably so it is important to note the context within which it is used. The Granth was made a guru by the last of the living Sikh Masters, Guru Gobind Singh in 1708.

The holy text comprises over 5000 Shabhads or hymns which are poetically constructed; and set to classical form of music rendition Ragas; can be set to predetermined musical Talas (rhythmic beats) and have a definite message for the whole of humanity.

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