In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings ("scriptures"), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. Cult is literally the "care" owed to the god and the shrine. Religion, a term sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices and institutions associated with such belief. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... For the computer game, see Myth (computer game). ... Impiety is a lack of proper concern for the obligations owed to cult in its proper sense. ...

By extension, "cult" has come to connote the total cultural aspects of a religion, as they are distinguished from others through change and individualization. Cult and cultist have recently accrued negative connotations that are separately dealt with at the entry cult. Culture refers to the customs, arts, attitudes, institutions, and other traits that characterize a particular society or nation. ... In religion and sociology, a cult is a group of people devoted to beliefs and goals which are not held by the majority of society, often religious in nature. ...

Some Christians make refined distinctions between worship and veneration, both of which are outwardly expressed in cultus or cult and are indistinguishable to the observer. Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy distinguish between worship (Latin adoratio, Greek latreia [λατρεια]) which is due to God alone, and veneration (Latin veneratio, Greek doulia [δουλεια]), which may be lawfully offered to the saints. These private distinctions between deity and mediators are exhaustively treated at the entries for worship and veneration. Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Worship usually refers to specific acts of religious praise, honour, or devotion, typically directed to a supernatural being such as a god or goddess. ... (Latin veneratio, Greek δουλια dulia) In traditional Christian churches (for example, Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), veneration, or veneration of saints, is a special act of honoring a dead person who has been identified as singular in the traditions of the religion, and through them honoring God who made them and...

Among the observances in the cult of a deity are ritual, which may involve spoken or sung prayers or hymns, and often sacrifice, or substitutes for sacrifice. Other manifestations of the cult of a deity are the preservation of relics or the creation of images, such as icons (usually connoting a flat painted image) or idols (usually connoting three-dimensional objects), and the identification of sacred places, hilltops and mountains, fissures and caves, springs and pools, or groves, which may be the seat of an oracle. The sacred places may be elaborated by construction of shrines and temples, on which are centered public attention at religious festivals (called "Feasts" in some Christian communities) and which may become the center for pilgrimages. A ritual is a formalised, predetermined set of symbolic actions generally performed in a particular environment at a regular, recurring interval. ... Prayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions to the deity. ... See also hymn - a program to decrypt iTunes music files. ... Sacrifice is the practice of offering food, or the lives of animals or people to the gods, as an act of propitiation or worship. ... The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae (remains) and there are many pre-Christian instances of some bone or other part of the corpse, or some intimately associated object, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. ... The Savior Not Made By Hands (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek εικων, eikon, image) is an artistic visual representation or symbol of anything considered holy and divine, such as God, saints or deities. ... The term idol (from Latin idolum: image, form) is used in various contexts: In religion, man-made worshipped articles are idols; their worship is called idolatry. ... For alternate usages of Oracle, see Oracle (disambiguation) An Oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... Eastern Orthodox shrine Buddhist shrine just outside Wat Phnom. ... The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... Christian year and Liturgical year; then become general article on festivals of all religions (e. ... A pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. ...

The comparative study of cult practice is part of the disciplines of the anthropology of religion and the sociology of religion, two aspects of comparative religion. The anthropology of religion involves the study of religious institutions in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. ... The sociology of religion is – among other elements – the study of the practices, social structures, historical backgrounds, universal themes, and roles of religion in society. ... Comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes interpretive differences of common themes and ideas among the worlds religions. ...

See also

• impiety
• list of religious topics