Religion
<p><b>Religion</b> is an organized collection of <a title="Belief system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief_system">beliefs</a>, <a title="Cultural system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_system">cultural systems</a>, and <a title="World view" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_view">world views</a> that relate humanity to an order of existence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-1">[note 1]</a></sup> Many religions have <a title="Mythology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology">narratives</a>, <a title="Symbol" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol">symbols</a>, and <a title="Sacred history" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_history">sacred histories</a> that are intended to explain the <a title="Meaning of life" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_of_life">meaning of life</a> and/or to explain the <a title="Creation myth" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creation_myth">origin of life</a> or the <a title="Religious cosmology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_cosmology">Universe</a>. From their beliefs about the <a title="Cosmos" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos">cosmos</a> and <a title="Human nature" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_nature">human nature</a>, people derive <a title="Moral code" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_code">morality</a>, <a title="Ethics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics">ethics</a>, <a title="Religious law" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_law">religious laws</a> or a preferred <a title="Lifestyle (sociology)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_(sociology)">lifestyle</a>. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-2">[1]</a></sup>
Many religions may have organized <a title="Religious behaviour" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_behaviour">behaviors</a>, <a title="Clergy" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clergy">clergy</a>, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, <a title="Holy places" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_places">holy places</a>, and <a title="Religious text" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_text">scriptures</a>. The practice of a religion may also include <a title="Ritual" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual">rituals</a>, <a title="Sermon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sermon">sermons</a>, commemoration or veneration of a <a title="God" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God">deity</a>, <a title="Gods" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gods">gods</a> or <a title="Goddess" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddess">goddesses</a>, <a title="Sacrifice" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice">sacrifices</a>, <a title="Festival" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival">festivals</a>, <a title="Banquet" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banquet">feasts</a>, <a title="Trance" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance">trance</a>, <a title="Initiation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiation">initiations</a>, <a title="Funeral" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral">funerary services</a>, <a title="Matrimony" class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrimony">matrimonial services</a>, <a title="Meditation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation">meditation</a>, <a title="Prayer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer">prayer</a>, <a title="Music" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music">music</a>, <a title="Art" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art">art</a>, <a title="Dance" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance">dance</a>, <a title="Community service" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_service">public service</a> or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain <a title="Mythology" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology">mythology</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-3">[2]</a></sup>
The word <i>religion</i> is sometimes used interchangeably with <i><a title="Faith" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith">faith</a></i>, <i><a title="Belief system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief_system">belief system</a></i> or sometimes <i><a title="Dharma" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma">set of duties</a></i>;<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup> however, in the words of <a title="Émile Durkheim" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Durkheim">Émile Durkheim</a>, religion differs from private belief in that it is "something eminently social".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-5">[4]</a></sup> A global 2012 poll reports that 59% of the world's population is religious, and 36% are <a title="Irreligion" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion">not religious</a>, including 13% who are <a title="Atheism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism">atheists</a>, with a 9 percent decrease in religious belief from 2005.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-gia_6-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-gia-6">[5]</a></sup> On average, women are more religious than men.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup> Some people follow multiple religions or multiple religious principles at the same time, regardless of whether or not the religious principles they follow traditionally allow for <a title="Syncretism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism">syncretism</a>.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion#cite_note-8">[</a></sup></p>