Religion

Religion is a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.

In the current world, religion has become increasingly consequential to the geopolitics. Many theocracies around the world have very important roles to the global scenario, and followers of certain religions may be more apt to follow the ideas of their political leaders and, thus, exercise political influence on the national and even international scale. In many cases, religion may be more authoritative than the governments.

Religious identity, which may or may not be exclusionary, remains a potent connection as people seek a greater sense of identity and belonging in times of intense change. Over 80 percent of the world is religiously affiliated and that share is increasing, due largely to high fertility rates in the developing world.