Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something.
Evelyn Underhill (2001) defines worship thus: "The absolute acknowledgment of all that lies beyond us—the glory that fills heaven and earth. It is the response that conscious beings make to their Creator, to the Eternal Reality from which they came forth; to God, however they may think of Him or recognize Him, and whether He be realized through religion, through nature, through history, through science, art, or human life and character." Worship asserts the reality of its object and defines its meaning by reference to it.
An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, or by a designated leader.
Read more about Worship: Aspects of Worship
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... of the Goddess') is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead ... Shaktas (Sanskrit Śākta, शाक्त), practitioners of Shaktism, focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine ... Shiva, the masculine aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent, and his worship is usually relegated to an auxiliary role ...
... The precise origins of the worship of Santa Muerte are a matter of debate, but it is most likely a syncretism between Mesoamerican and Catholic beliefs ... INAH researcher Elsa Malvido Miranda, the worship of skeletal figures has precedent in Europe during times of epidemics ... After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, the worship of death diminished but was never eradicated ...
... and Roman Catholics Together Reed Biblical Worship Book Review by Reed, Presbyterian Worship Old and New — A Review and Commentary upon Worship in ... pages) An Essay by Reed on Presbyterian Worship — An Extended Review and Commentary Based upon the Geneva Papers by James Jordan Reed on the Decline of American ...
... They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of kami worship ... thus giving it a physical form to allow worship ... Worship at the kamidana typically consists of the offering of simple prayers, food (e.g ...
... Ancestor worship Animal worship Idol worship Intercession Imperial cult Major world religions ...
Famous quotes containing the word worship:
“Oh! thou clear spirit of clear fire, whom on these seas I as Persian once did worship, till in the sacramental act so burned by thee, that to this hour I bear the scar; I now know thee, thou clear spirit, and I now know that thy right worship is defiance. To neither love nor reverence wilt thou be kind; and e’en for hate thou canst but kill; and all are killed. No fearless fool now fronts thee.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“In the Lord’s Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“It is not enough for us to prostrate ourselves under the tree which is Creation, and to contemplate its tremendous branches filled with stars. We have a duty to perform, to work upon the human soul, to defend the mystery against the miracle, to worship the incomprehensible while rejecting the absurd; to accept, in the inexplicable, only what is necessary; to dispel the superstitions that surround religion—to rid God of His Maggots.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)