Quakers Quakers, also called Friends, are a historically Christian denomination whose formal name is the Religious Society of Friends or Friends Church. Members of the various Quaker movements are all generally united by their belief in the ability of each human being to experientially access the light within, or “that of God in every one”. Some...
Christian Views On Slavery Christian views on slavery are varied regionally, historically and spiritually. Slavery in various forms has been a part of the social environment for much of Christianity’s history, spanning well over eighteen centuries. In the early years of Christianity, slavery was an established feature of the economy and society...
Criticism Of Christianity Criticism of Christianity has a long history stretching back to the initial formation of the religion during the Roman Empire. Critics have challenged Christian beliefs and teachings as well as Christian actions, from the Crusades to modern terrorism. The intellectual arguments against Christianity include the suppositions that...
Apocalypse An apocalypse (ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, “an uncovering”) is the disclosure or revelation of knowledge. In religious and occult concepts an apocalypse usually discloses something hidden, or provides what Bart Ehrman has termed “a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities”. Historically, the term has a heavy religious connotation as commonly seen...
Catholic Church And Islam Relations between the Catholic Church and Islam deal with the current attitude of the Catholic Church towards Islam, as well as the attitude of Islam towards the Catholic Church and Catholics, and notable changes in the relationship since the 20th century. Second Vatican Council and Nostra aetate The...
Christian Kabbalah The Renaissance saw the birth of Christian Kabbalah (often transliterated as Cabala to distinguish it from Jewish Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah, also spelled Cabbala. Interest grew among some Christian scholars in the mystical aspects of Jewish Kabbalah, which they interpreted under their Christian theology. Background The movement was influenced by a desire to interpret aspects...
Religion in India Religion in India is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. The preamble of Indian constitution states that the entire constitution is rooted in Hinduism as it encompasses all the different faiths, doctrines and theories that exist. However, at a later stage, the word secularism...
Christendom Christendom historically refers to the “Christian world“: Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates or prevails. Since the spread of Christianity from the Levant to Europe and North Africa during the early Roman Empire, Christendom has been divided in the pre-existing Greek East and Latin West. Consequently, different versions...
Prayer Beads Prayer beads are used by members of various religious traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Umbanda, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and the Bahá’í Faith to mark the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions, such as the rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism, dhikr (remembrance of God) in Islam and jaap in Hinduism. Origins and etymology Beads are among the earliest human ornaments...
Buddhism In The West Buddhism in the West (or more narrowly Western Buddhism) broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia in the Western world. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years. The first Westerners to become Buddhists were Greeks...
Japanese New Religions Japanese new religions are new religious movements established in Japan. In Japanese, they are called shinshūkyō (新宗教) or shinkō shūkyō (新興宗教). Japanese scholars classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as “new religions”; thus, the term refers to a great diversity and number of organizations....
Religion in Africa Religion in Africa is multifaceted and has been a major influence on art, culture and philosophy. Today, the continent’s various populations and individuals are mostly adherents of Christianity, Islam, and to a lesser extent several traditional African religions. In Christian or Islamic communities, religious beliefs are also sometimes characterized with syncretism with the...
Christian Humanism Christian humanism regards humanist principles like universal human dignity, individual freedom, and the importance of happiness as essential and principal components of the teachings of Jesus. It emerged during the Renaissance with strong roots in the patristic period. Historically, major forces shaping the development of Christian humanism were the Christian doctrine that God,...
Redemption In Theology Redemption in theology is an essential concept in many religions, including Judaism and Christianity. The English word “redemption” means ‘repurchase’ or ‘buy back. See Theology Christianity Main articles: Atonement in Christianity and Salvation in Christianity See also: Redeemer (Christianity) In Christian theology, redemption (Greek: apolutrosis) refers to the deliverance of Christians from sin. It assumes...
Secular Theology Secular theology rejects the substance dualism of modern religion, the belief in two forms of reality required by the belief in heaven, hell, and the afterlife. Secular theology can accommodate a belief in God–as many nature religions do–but as residing in this world and not separately from it....
Middle Eastern Religions Middle Eastern religions originated in the Middle East; namely Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and Iranic religions. Smaller minority religions, such as the Bahá’í Faith, Druze, Nusairism, Manichaeism, Sabianism, Bábism, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Gnosticism, Yarsanism, Samaritanism, Shabakism, Ishikism, Ali-Illahism, Alevism, Yazdânism and Zoroastrianism are also present in the Middle East....
Native American Church The Native American Church (NAC), also known as Peyotism and Peyote Religion, is a Native American religion that teaches a combination of traditional Native American beliefs and Christianity, with sacramental use of the entheogen peyote. The religion originated in the Oklahoma Territory (1890-1907) in the late nineteenth century, after peyote was...
Rite A rite is an established, ceremonial, usually religious, act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories: rites of passage, generally changing an individual’s social status, such as marriage, adoption, baptism, coming of age, graduation, or inauguration; communal rites, whether of worship, where a community comes together to worship, such as Jewish synagogue or Mass, or of another character,...
Great Disappointment The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller‘s proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, what he called the Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 prophecy during the Second Great Awakening led him to the conclusion that Daniel’s “cleansing of the sanctuary”...
The Trinity In World Religions The Trinity is found in many different world religions. The study of comparative religion gives Man the opportunity to examine the commonalities, as well as differences, between diverse belief structures. The Trinity is definitely a commonality, one of which is most commonly recognized in the...