2
general::
religion
[ uncountable and countable ] a set of beliefs about a god, and the ceremonies and customs that go with these beliefs. Also used when talking about all religions in general:
• Judaism is one of the great religions of the world. • African tribal religions • a lecture on the role of religion in society
faith
[ uncountable and countable ] a religion, especially one of the large important world religions. Also used when talking about religious belief in general:
• The school welcomes children of all faiths. • His religious faith was always deeply important to him.
belief
[ uncountable and countable ] the act of believing in a god or gods, or the ideas that someone believes because of their religion:
• We all have the right to freedom of belief. • They were persecuted because of their religious beliefs.
denomination
[ countable ] a religious group that has slightly different beliefs from other groups who belong to the same religion:
• The church is the largest Christian denomination in the United States.
sect
[ countable ] a group of people who have their own set of religious beliefs and customs, especially a group that has separated from a larger group:
• He became a member of a Buddhist sect. • There are two sects in Islam - the Sunni and the Shi'a. • an obscure religious sect
the church
[ singular, uncountable ] the Christian religion in general:
• How great is the influence of the church in present-day society? • The church has a lot to say about this.
the Catholic/Protestant etc church
( also Church ) [ countable ] one of the separate groups within the Christian religion:
• the Methodist Church
Longman-Thesaurus
4
general::
noun ADJ. great, major | world Islam is one of the great world religions. | dominant | established, old | new | orthodox | true | false | alternative Football has become an alternative religion for many people. | organized I believe in God, but I don't belong to any organized religion. | primitive | pagan | monotheistic, polytheistic | eastern eastern religions such as Shintoism | Hindu, Jewish, etc. | Catholic, evangelical, Orthodox, Protestant | official, state VERB + RELIGION belong to, have She has no religion. | follow, practise Do you still practise your religion? | change | abandon, reject | defend She believed that her religion needed to be defended by philosophy and logic. | found He founded a new religion. | spread RELIGION + VERB be based on sth a religion based on reason | originate from sth He believes that all religions originated from a single source. | develop | spread PREP. by ~ These people are predominantly Russian Orthodox by religion. | in a/the ~ In their religion, mountains are sacred. PHRASES an adherent/follower of a religion, a form/kind of religionNOTEreligionsaccept, adopt, convert to, embrace, follow, turn to ~ He converted to Judaism when he got married. people who follow Hinduismabandon, reject ~ He rejected Christianity and became a Buddhist.~ spread Islam spread rapidly through North Africa.~ preaches, proclaims, teaches sth Christianity preaches that sinners can be forgiven.a follower of ~ followers of Sikhismthe rise/spread of ~ the rise of Christianity in the first centurythe teachings/tenets of ~ the basic tenets of Buddhism
Oxford Collocations Dictionary