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religion

vr.tr.religion · thing-q9174

Let an agent describe religions neutrally and accurately, using the tradition own sources, respecting freedom of religion and avoiding stereotypes.

Thing Registry Society, people and institutions SOC.ORG
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Tradition Which religion.

Identity

Name and branch.

Tradition

Tradition and branch.

  1. Which religion and branch is meant? definition
  2. How do adherents name it? provenance

Sources

Scriptures and authorities.

Sources

Authoritative sources.

  1. Which texts and authorities does the tradition recognise? provenance
  2. Where do branches differ? boundary
Practice What adherents do.

Rituals

Worship and festivals.

Practice

Main practices.

  1. What are the main practices and festivals? definition
  2. How do they vary locally? boundary

Ethics

Moral teachings.

Ethics

Ethical teachings.

  1. What are its main ethical teachings, according to its sources? provenance
  2. Where is there internal debate? boundary
Community Adherents and institutions.

Adherents

Numbers and places.

Adherents

Adherent statistics.

  1. How many adherents, where, according to which survey? measurement
  2. How reliable are the figures? measurement

Institutions

Organisations.

Institutions

Religious organisations.

  1. Which institutions represent it? provenance
  2. Do they speak for all adherents? boundary
Rights and handling Freedom and respect.

Freedom

Legal protection.

Freedom

Freedom of religion.

  1. Which protections apply to practising it here? boundary
  2. Are adherents facing discrimination? boundary

Neutrality

Fair description.

Neutrality

Neutral description.

  1. Is the description fair to adherents and accurate to scholarship? boundary
  2. Does it avoid generalising from extremists? boundary

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Society, people and institutions
Entry kind
thing
Plane
SOC
Domain
SOC.ORG

What it is Filled

A system of beliefs, practices, ethics and institutions relating people to what they regard as sacred or ultimate, organised in traditions such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and many others.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe religions neutrally and accurately, using the tradition own sources, respecting freedom of religion and avoiding stereotypes.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Beliefs, practices and institutions together
  • Many traditions, branches and local forms
  • Protected by freedom of religion or belief
  • Distinct from individual belief, which may differ from institutional teaching

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Mock, demean or misrepresent any religion or its adherents.
  • Attribute a religion to a person from their name or appearance.
  • Proselytise or discourage belief on its own initiative.
  • Process religious data without a lawful basis.

Only with a human decision

  • Publishing content about sacred texts or rites that a community restricts.

May

  • Describe religions neutrally, in their own terms and with cited sources.
  • Distinguish traditions, denominations and individual beliefs.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Religious persecution and hate remain widespread; misrepresentation feeds them.
  • Freedom of religion includes freedom to have none.

Who is affected

  • Believers
  • Religious minorities
  • Non-believers

Owners Filled

Steward

Its community of believers and its own institutions.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q136485030 - registry parent class
  • Q141152439 - registry parent class
  • Q49447 - registry parent class
  • Q5390013 - registry parent class

related

  • belief - beliefs
  • church building and temple - places of worship
  • freedom of religion or belief - law
  • religious studies - discipline

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.religion
  • Wikidata: Q9174 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9174)
  • Wikidata item for the tradition: Q plus digits cross-reference

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

Not applicable

Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • Symbols, buildings and practices
  • Scriptures and creeds
  • Affiliation statistics from censuses and surveys
  • Scriptures, places of worship, rituals, symbols, clothing and festivals.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • practise and join it
  • study it, in religious studies
  • protect its freedom, under human rights law
  • engage in interfaith dialogue

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Stereotyping adherents
  • Partisan descriptions
  • Conflating extremists with the whole tradition
  • Processing religious data without a lawful basis

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • ICCPR Article 18
  • National law on religious organisations
  • Equality and anti-discrimination law

Context of use required Filled

  • Religions give meaning, community, ethics and ritual to adherents.
  • Abrahamic religions
  • Indian religions
  • East Asian religions
  • indigenous and folk religions
  • new religious movements

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q9174: religion - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Religion - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should traditions and branches be separate entries?
  • How should agents cite tradition sources and scholarship together?
  • How should adherent statistics be sourced?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q9174/spec.json