World Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Religion == [[File:yggdrasil.jpg|thumb|270px|right|upright=1.35|[[Yggdrasil]], an attempt to reconstruct the Norse [[world tree]] which connects the [[heaven]]s, the world, and the [[underworld]].]] [[Religious cosmology|Mythological cosmologies]] depict the world as centered on an ''[[axis mundi]]'' and delimited by a boundary such as a [[Oceanus|world ocean]], a [[Jörmungandr|world serpent]] or similar.<ref>Hemer, C. J. "Worldly" Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|via=OED Online}}</ref> === Hinduism === Hinduism constitutes a family of religious-philosophical views.<ref name="Ranganathan"/> These views present perspectives on the nature and role of the world. [[Samkhya]] philosophy, for example, is a metaphysical dualism that understands reality as comprising 2 parts: [[purusha]] and [[prakriti]].<ref name="Ruzsa"/> The term "purusha" stands for the individual conscious self that each of "us" possesses. Prakriti, on the other hand, is the 1 world inhabited by all these selves.<ref name="Britannica2"/> Samkhya understands this world as a world of matter governed by the law of cause and effect.<ref name="Ruzsa"/> The term "matter" is understood in a sense in this tradition including physical and mental aspects.<ref name="Parrot"/> This is reflected in the doctrine of [[tattva]]s, according to which prakriti is made up of 23 principles or elements of reality.<ref name="Parrot">{{cite journal |last1=Parrot |first1=Rodney J. |title=The Problem of the Sāṃkhya Tattvas as Both Cosmic and Psychological Phenomena |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |date=1986 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=55–77 |jstor=23444164 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23444164 |issn=0022-1791}}</ref> These principles include physical elements, like water or earth, and mental aspects, like intelligence or sense-impressions.<ref name="Britannica2">{{cite web |title=Indian philosophy - The Samkhya-karikas |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indian-philosophy/The-Samkhya-karikas#ref61595 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=15 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The relation between purusha and prakriti is conceived as 1 of observation: purusha is the conscious self aware of the world of prakriti and does not causally interact with it.<ref name="Ruzsa">{{cite web |last1=Ruzsa |first1=Ferenc |title=Sankhya |url=https://iep.utm.edu/sankhya/ |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> A conception of the world is present in [[Advaita Vedanta]], the monist school among the [[Vedanta]] schools.<ref name="Ranganathan">{{cite web |last1=Ranganathan |first1=Shyam |title=Hindu Philosophy |url=https://iep.utm.edu/hindu-ph |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> Unlike the realist position defended in Samkhya philosophy, Advaita Vedanta sees the world of multiplicity as an illusion, referred to as [[Maya (religion)|Maya]].<ref name="Ranganathan"/> This illusion includes impression of existing as separate experiencing selfs called [[Jiva]]s.<ref name="Menon"/> Instead, Advaita Vedanta teaches that on the most fundamental level of reality, referred to as [[Brahman]], there exists no plurality or difference.<ref name="Menon"/> All there is <!-- double "is" is not a grammatical error --> is 1 all-encompassing self: [[Ātman (Hinduism)|Atman]].<ref name="Ranganathan"/> Ignorance is seen as the source of this illusion, which results in bondage to the world of mere appearances. Liberation is possible in the course of overcoming this illusion by acquiring the knowledge of Brahman, according to Advaita Vedanta.<ref name="Menon">{{cite web |last1=Menon |first1=Sangeetha |title=Vedanta, Advaita |url=https://iep.utm.edu/adv-veda/ |website=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy |access-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> === Christianity === [[Contemptus mundi]] is the name given to the belief that the world, in all its vanity, is nothing more than a futile attempt to hide from God by stifling our desire for the good and the holy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chastitysf.com/q_cm.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708140237/http://www.chastitysf.com/q_cm.htm|url-status=dead|title=Contemptus Mundi : Contempt of the world | Catholic Christian Healing Psychology|archive-date=8 July 2011|website=www.chastitysf.com}}</ref> This view has been criticised as a "pastoral of fear" by historian [[Jean Delumeau]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/Handbook/Mission.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605035017/http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/Handbook/Mission.htm|url-status=dead|title=Parish Missions|archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> {{lang|la|Orbis Catholicus}} is a Latin phrase meaning 'Catholic world', per the expression [[Urbi et Orbi]], and refers to that area of [[Christendom]] under [[papal supremacy]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Marty|first=Martin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MoolUlqQdmAC|title=The Christian World: A Global History|publisher=Random House Publishing Group|year=2008|isbn=978-1-58836-684-9|pages=42}}</ref> === Islam === {{Main|Dunya}} In Islam, the term "dunya" is used for the world. Its meaning is derived from the root word "dana", a term for "near".<ref>Attas, Islam and Secularism{{Page needed|date=July 2023}}</ref> It is associated with the temporal, sensory world and earthly concerns, i.e. with ''this world'' in contrast to the ''spiritual world''.<ref name="Concise">{{cite book |title=Concise Encyclopaedia of Islam: Edited on Behalf of the Royal Netherlands Academy. Fourth Impression |date=2001 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-0-391-04116-5 |url=https://brill.com/view/title/7552 |language=en |chapter=dunyâ}}</ref> Religious teachings warn of a tendency to seek happiness in ''this world'' and advise a more ascetic lifestyle concerned with the afterlife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oktar |first1=Adnan |title=The Truth of the Life of This World |date=1999 |url=https://harun-yahya.net/en/books/1001/The-Truth-of-the-Life-of-This-World/chapter/2681/Mans-True-Abode-Hereafter |chapter=Man's True Abode: Hereafter}}</ref> Other strands in Islam recommend a balanced approach.<ref name="Concise"/> === Mandaeism === In [[Mandaean cosmology]], the world or earthly realm is known as [[Tibil]]. It is separated from the World of Light ({{transliteration|myz|alma d-nhūra}}) above and the World of Darkness ({{transliteration|myz|alma d-hšuka}}) below by [[aether (classical element)|aether]] ({{transliteration|myz|ayar}}).<ref name="Aldihisi 2008">{{cite thesis|url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444088/|last=Aldihisi|first=Sabah|year=2008|title=The story of creation in the Mandaean holy book in the Ginza Rba|type=PhD|publisher=University College London}}</ref><ref name="Buckley 2002">{{cite book|last=Buckley|first=Jorunn Jacobsen|title=The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-19-515385-5|oclc=65198443}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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