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Also known as folk religion, popular piety (or popular religion, personal piety) refers to religious practices that arose and occur outside of official religious institutions. Typically the term is used within the context of the Catholic church in Western Europe, and the practices are generally allowed, if not accepted.
The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative degrees of civility in different societies, [2] but this concept of a ranking order has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.
The list of religious populations article provides a comprehensive overview of the distribution and size of religious groups around the world. This article aims to present statistical information on the number of adherents to various religions, including major faiths such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others, as well as smaller religious communities.
The most popular religion in the United States is Christianity, comprising the majority of the population (73.7% of adults in 2016), with the majority of American Christians belonging to a Protestant denomination or a Protestant offshoot (such as the Latter Day Saint movement or the Jehovah's Witnesses). [66]
The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion; but outside official doctrine and practices. [1] The term "folk religion" is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects.
Internalization of beliefs during childhood, which can form and shape humans' beliefs in different domains. Albert Einstein is often quoted as having said that "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." Political beliefs depend most strongly on the political beliefs most common in the community where one lives. [87]
The utility of the World Religions Paradigm has experienced a sustained and rigorous critique from many scholars of religion. [19] The scholar of religion Graham Harvey for instance noted that many scholars "object strongly" to the paradigm. [20] In 1978, the scholar of religion Jonathan Z. Smith called it a "dubious category". [21]
Religion is the substance, the ground, and the depth of man's spiritual life." [83] When religion is seen in terms of sacred, divine, intensive valuing, or ultimate concern, then it is possible to understand why scientific findings and philosophical criticisms (e.g., those made by Richard Dawkins) do not necessarily disturb its adherents. [84]