Religious Order

A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates (laity) and, in some traditions, ordained clergy. Religious orders exist in many of the world's religions.

Read more about Religious Order:  Buddhist Tradition, Other Traditions

Famous quotes containing the words religious and/or order:

    “The churches ... have lost much of their authority over youth because they have refused to re-examine their religious sanctions and their dogmatic preaching in the light of modern physiology, psychology and sociology.”
    —Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)

    “Our system is the height of absurdity, since we treat the culprit both as a child, so as to have the right to punish him, and as an adult, in order to deny him consolation.”
    —Claude Lévi-Strauss (b. 1908)