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A religious order may mean any of the following:
Buddhist tradition In Buddhist societies such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Tibet, a religious order is one of the strikingly large number of monastic orders of monks and nuns. A well-known Chinese Buddhist order is the ancient Shaolin order in Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. Christian tradition A religious order, also called "Institute of Consecrated Life", is an organization of people who live to achieve a common purpose through a form of promised or vowed life. In the Roman Catholic Church the members of such orders, termed religious, are not members of the hierarchy but belong to the laity, unless individuals are ordained priests. Their male members are usually termed monks, whereas female members are referred to as nuns if they live apart from general society, and sing the divine office; or friars or brothers or sisters if they are active in society as teachers, doctors, nurses or in other active social service. Some religious orders have "Third Orders" of associated lay members who have taken promises to an order or taken private vows such as vows of poverty or virginity, but who do not live in formal community with them. In modern English, the traditional term "nun", a term properly reserved for cloistered women, is often used loosely to describe religious sisters who live in community, but are active in broader society. A few monastic religious orders practice literal isolation (cloistering) from the outside world; while the majority or religious orders remain engaged with the world in various ways, such as teaching, medical work, producing religious artworks and texts, designing and making vestments and writing religious instruction books, while maintaining their distinctiveness in communal living. All, however, may be distinguished by the vows (such as poverty, chastity, obedience, stability), promises or disciplines (such as self denial, fasting, silence) that they undertake as members of their religious order. Among the best-known Christian religious orders are those which have a variety of life styles including monastic, mendicant, and apostolic. Famous orders of the Catholic Church include in order of foundation: Benedictines, Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Salesians, Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Congregation of Holy Cross. Other traditions A form of ordered religious living is common also in many tribes of Africa and South America, though on a smaller scale. Christian articles Islamic articles Christian links Other links | ||||||||
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