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Religious Studies & Theology vocabulary · Study of Religion

Religion

Meaning in religious studies & theology, with examples

/rɪˈlɪdʒən/nounCore term

In religious studies & theology, religion means: A system of beliefs, practices, values and communities that relates people to what they regard as sacred, divine or ultimately real.

In Turkish: din

How it is used

The central word of the field. Scholars debate how to define religion at all, so in papers you often see phrases like 'the concept of religion' or 'what counts as religion'. Countable for particular traditions (world religions), uncountable for the phenomenon in general (religion in modern society).

Example sentences

  1. Durkheim and Weber offered very different answers to the question of what religion does in society.

  2. This course compares how five major religions understand death and mourning.

Common collocations

  • world religions
  • organized religion
  • freedom of religion
  • practise a religion
  • define religion
  • theologyThe systematic study of God, the divine and religious belief, usually carried out from within a particular faith tradition and its sources.
  • religious studiesAn academic field that studies religions from the outside, using methods from history, sociology, anthropology, psychology and philosophy, without judging which beliefs are true.
  • sacredSet apart and treated with special reverence because of a connection to God, the divine or religious tradition; often contrasted with the profane, or ordinary.
  • beliefSomething a person or group accepts as true, especially an idea about God, the world or the afterlife; also the state of accepting it.

More terms: Study of Religion

Practise with graded reading

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