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A
religion is a set of beliefs and practices generally held
by a human community, involving adherence to codified beliefs
and rituals and study of ancestral or cultural traditions,
writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith
and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers
to both the personal practices related to communal faith and
to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.
All religions present a common
quality, the "hallmark of religious thought": the
division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred,
the other profane. Religion is often described as a communal
system for the coherence of belief focusing 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, tradition, rituals,
and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the
core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts
in secular philosophy. Religion is also often 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.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life
and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New
Testament. Christians believe Jesus to be the Son of God and
the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. With an estimated
2.1 billion adherents in 2001, Christianity is the world's
largest religion. It is the predominant religion in Europe,
the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Philippine Islands and
Oceania. It is also growing rapidly in Asia, particularly
in China and South Korea.
Christianity shares its origins
and many religious texts with Judaism, specifically the Hebrew
Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Like Judaism
and Islam, Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion
(see also, Judeo-Christian).
The name "Christian",
meaning "belonging to Christ" or "partisan
of Christ", was first applied to the disciples in Antioch,
as recorded in Acts 11:26. The earliest recorded use of the
term "Christianity" ) is by Ignatius of Antioch. |
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