Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word religion. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word religion, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say religion in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word religion you have here. The definition of the word religion will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofreligion, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Most books on the philosophy of religion try to begin with a precise definition of what its essence consists of. […] I shall not be pedantic enough to enumerate any of them to you now. Meanwhile the very fact that they are so many and so different from one another is enough to prove that the word “religion” cannot stand for any single principle or essence, but is rather a collective name.
1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 160:
Phallicism was, therefore, at the root of all religion, and was definitely the opponent of evil and darkness.
1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 103:
Religion is not identical with spirituality; rather, religion is the form spirituality takes in a civilization; it is not so much the opiate of the masses as it is the antidote for the poisons of civilization.
1722, William Wollaston, “Sect. V. Truths relating to the Deity. Of his exiſtence, perfection, providence, &c.”, in The Religion of Nature Delineated, page 81:
Ignorant and ſuperſtitious wretches meaſure the actions of letterd and philoſophical men by the tattle of their nurſes or illiterate parents and companions, or by the faſhion of the country: and people of differing religions judge and condemn each other by their own tenents; when both of them cannot be in the right, and it is well if either of them are.
Priest: I wasn't being rude. Father: Just bear in mind that there are plenty of other religions you know. Some of them, I may say, offering much greater range and value.
Oh with what religion doe I respect and observe the same!
Usage notes
Some prefer a definition of religion that includes only theistic groups, viewing non-theistic religions as merely philosophical systems.
Some use the word as a catch-all term for all systems of belief pertaining to morality, life after death (or lack thereof), the existence of a greater power, etc. Thus, nominally "non-religious" belief systems such as atheism, agnosticism, or spiritualism are sometimes included within the concept of "religion" despite not meeting the criteria for a religion in the traditional sense. This usage is opposed by some atheists who claim it is inaccurate to describe their beliefs as "religious beliefs."
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
On the scales below, circle the one ( + ) or (-) number which best represents your situation on both the belief and practice dimensions for each of the traditional and nontraditional forms of religioning.
2013, Monica R. Miller, Religion and Hip Hop, →ISBN, page 74:
A similar caution is made by Nye when he calls for a re-evaluation of the category of religion in relationship to theory and method, suggesting that this category: be reconstructed in terms of practice theory as religious practice or religioning.
2015, Alexander Horstmann, Jin-Heon Jung, Building Noah’s Ark for Migrants, Refugees, and Religious Communities, →ISBN, page 13:
Religious practice and action (“religioning”) can be liberating, and can connect displaced people with the spirits of home.
1994, Timothy Morton, Shelley and the Revolution in Taste, →ISBN, page 238:
The discussion of diet and health raises the question of the importance of discussing vegetarianism in relation to the contemporary religioning of health; as Ross remarks, 'health has replaced sexuality as the new privileged discourse of bodily truth and inner essence'.
2011, Andrew O'Shea, Pedagogy, Oppression and Transformation in a 'Post-Critical' Climate, p 116
The ideas expressed above challenge us to continuously rupture and interrupt racialized, classed, gendered, religioned and sexualized norms that inhere between and within institutions, understandings of bodies and our Selves.
2013, Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip, Stephen Hunt, The Ashgate Research Companion to Contemporary Religion and Sexuality, →ISBN:
If queer Jews, Muslims and Christians are engaged in queering their religions, they are also engaged in what might becalled 'religioning' the queer.