rə̇ˈlijən, rēˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Latin religion-, religio reverence, piety, religion, probably from religare to tie back, tie up, tie fast + -ion-, -io -ion — more at rely
1. : the personal commitment to and serving of God or a god with worshipful devotion, conduct in accord with divine commands especially as found in accepted sacred writings or declared by authoritative teachers, a way of life recognized as incumbent on true believers, and typically the relating of oneself to an organized body of believers
ministers of religion
2. : the state of a religious
retire into religion
the nun died in her thirtieth year of religion
3.
a. : one of the systems of faith and worship : a religious faith
monotheistic religions
tolerant of all religions
for bidding discrimination because of race, color, or religion
b. : the body of institutionalized expressions of sacred beliefs, observances, and social practices found within a given cultural context
the religion of this primitive people
4. : the profession or practice of religious beliefs : religious observances
the kernel of his practical religion was that it was respectable, and beneficial to one's business, to be seen going to services — Sinclair Lewis
5. archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness , fidelity
6.
a. : a personal awareness or conviction of the existence of a supreme being or of supernatural powers or influences controlling one's own, humanity's, or all nature's destiny
only man appears to be capable of religion
b. : the access of such an awareness or conviction accompanied by or arousing reverence, gratitude, humility, the will to obey and serve : religious experience or insight
in middle life he suddenly got religion
7.
a. : a cause, principle, system of tenets held with ardor, devotion, conscientiousness, and faith : a value held to be of supreme importance
by making democracy our religion and by practicing as well as preaching its doctrines — W.O.Douglas
Marxism was his religion
he has made a religion of pleasure, and it is a brave thing to do these days — Gerald Sykes
b. : a quality, condition, custom, or thing inspiring zealous devotion, conscientious maintenance, and cherishing
a religion with him to preserve in good condition all that had lapsed from his mother's hands — Thomas Hardy
Synonyms:
faith , church , creed , communion , denomination , sect , cult , persuasion : religion is a general term especially applicable to the great revelations and the larger subdivisions among their believers
the Christian religion
the Roman Catholic or Methodist religion
faith is applicable to any formulated and established major religious group; it may or may not suggest ardent, complete acceptance
the Muhammadan faith
the Mormon faith
men of all faiths
church is likely to stress the existence of an established formal organization and procedure; it may suggest a Christian rather than non-Christian context
the Orthodox Church
the Presbyterian Church
creed differs from faith in more strongly suggesting formal doctrinal expression of what is believed — accord on the basis of doctrinal assent — but is applicable to most religious groups
men of the Lutheran creed
the creed of Hebraism
communion may suggest accord on liturgical or sacramental practice and earnest, close fellowship in worship; it is applicable to both larger and smaller groups. denomination is likely to suggest a smaller section called by a distinctive name of a larger group
various Protestant denominations
sect now indicates a smaller group which has split off from a larger through discontent with some matter of doctrine or observance
the Uniat sect
a sect composed of the followers of John Huss
cult suggests a small group holding to unusual, grotesque, or secret spurious notions and rituals
forbade the practice of certain eastern cults, and expelled from Rome Greek and Asiatic magicians — John Buchan
persuasion may suggest conviction arising from evangelism or exhortation — often it is more or less interchangeable with faith
chapel goers, people of Wesleyan persuasion