Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use.

Technical definition

In the lexicon of the Church, especially the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox, religious as a noun usually refers to a member of a religious order of monks, nuns, friars, clerics regular, or other individuals who take the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (the evangelical counsels). Neither of those groups should be identified as clergy, which in Catholicism includes bishops, priests and deacons. A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) which can co-occur with (in)definite articles and attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. ... A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... Roman Catholic priest A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The diaconate is one of three ordained offices in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches. ...

Though seemingly redundant, there are also "religious priests" used in reference to priests who are members of orders, such as the Society of Jesus or the Franciscans. Such clergy are differentiated from diocesan priests who serve under a bishop or archbishop who has jurisdiction over a geographically defined diocese. The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu (S.I. or S.J.) in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. ... Franciscans is the common name used to designate a variety of mendicant religious orders of men or women tracing their origin to Francis of Assisi and following the Rule of St. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ...

See also: Religious order A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ...

Folk uses

The term religious is often used in the common vernacular as a foil to the term spiritual. In this sense, religious may carry a pejorative sense of overly adhering to dogma or ritual at the expense of partaking in relationship with the divine. In Hinduism, spiritual goals and personal experience (self-realization) through yoga and meditation are seen as the ultimate way to attain God (Moksha) and are inseparable from the religion. ...

See also

• Spiritual
• Religion
• Emergent Church

See: Spirituality Spiritual music Spiritual dance The Age of Spiritual Machines Spiritual possession This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

External links

(listed alphabetically)

• An Online Community for discussing religious ideas