Religion

Even though the beliefs and traditions of Judaism are found in the ancient world beliefs, ancient Jews saw Jewish identity as being about an ethnic or nationa identity and did not entail a compulsory belief system or regulatedrituals. In the 1st century Josephus used the Greek term ioudaismos (Judaism) as an ethnic term which was not the same as the modern abstract concepts of religion or a set of beliefs.

The idea of "Judaism", as a religion, was invented by the Christian Church. and it was not until the 19th century that Jews began to see their ancestral culture as a religion like Christianity.The Greek word threskeia, which was used by Greek writers, is found in the New Testament. Threskeia is sometimes translated as "religion" in today's translations, however, the term was understood as generic "worship" well into the Middle Ages.

     In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern texts, but up to the mid-1600s translators translated din as "law".
     A religion may or may not contain various elements ranging from the belief in sacred things, a supernatural being or beings or some sort of transcendence that provides norms and strength for life.
   Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of deities and/or saints, sacred rituals, festivals, trances, initiations, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to that religon. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that may also attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena   .
     There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide. More than three-quarters of the world's population is affiliated with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism.


Religion
Religion:(noun) Anglo Norman from Old French from Latin religiō. from relegere - re “again” + lego ”read” 1 : the belief in a god or in a group of gods 2 : an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods _____________________________________________
Religion is an abstraction usually defined as a distinct sets of beliefs, doctrine or practices that generally involve supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements; though there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.
Religion is a recent invention in the English language. The Western concept of religion was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, despite the fact that ancient sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of what we today think of religion. Neither do the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written. For example, there is no precise equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities. One of its central concepts is, halakha, meaning the walk or path (sometimes translated as law) which guides religious practice and belief and many aspects of daily life.		World religions
		BUDDHISM CHRISTIANITY HINDUISM ISLAM JUDAISM NEW AGE PAGANISM WICCA

Even though the beliefs and traditions of Judaism are found in the ancient world beliefs, ancient Jews saw Jewish identity as being about an ethnic or nationa identity and did not entail a compulsory belief system or regulatedrituals. In the 1st century Josephus used the Greek term ioudaismos (Judaism) as an ethnic term which was not the same as the modern abstract concepts of religion or a set of beliefs. The idea of "Judaism", as a religion, was invented by the Christian Church. and it was not until the 19th century that Jews began to see their ancestral culture as a religion like Christianity.The Greek word threskeia, which was used by Greek writers, is found in the New Testament. Threskeia is sometimes translated as "religion" in today's translations, however, the term was understood as generic "worship" well into the Middle Ages. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern texts, but up to the mid-1600s translators translated din as "law". A religion may or may not contain various elements ranging from the belief in sacred things, a supernatural being or beings or some sort of transcendence that provides norms and strength for life. Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of deities and/or saints, sacred rituals, festivals, trances, initiations, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sacred histories and narratives, preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to that religon. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that may also attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena . There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide. More than three-quarters of the world's population is affiliated with Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism.