The world religion is derived from the Latin noun religion, which denotes both (1)_____ observance of ritual obligations and an inward spirit of reverence. In modern usage, religion covers a wide spectrum of (2)_____ that reflects the enormous variety of ways the term can be (3)_____. At one extreme, many committed believers (4)_____ only their own tradition as a religion, understanding expressions such as worship and prayer to refer (5)_____ to the practices of their tradition. They may (6)_____ use vague or idealizing terms in defining religion, (7)_____, true love of God, or the path of enlightenment. At the other extreme, religion may be equated with (8)_____, fanaticism, or wishful thinking. By defining religion as a sacred engagement with what is taken to be a spiritual reality, it is possible to consider the importance of religion in human life without making (9)_____ about what is really is or ought to be. Religion is not an object with a single, fixed meaning, or (10)_____ a zone with clear boundaries. It is an aspect of human (11)_____ that may intersect, incorporate, or transcend other aspects of life and society. Such a definition avoid the drawbacks of (12)_____ the investigation of religion to Western or biblical categories (13)_____ monotheism or church structure, which are not (14)_____. Religion in this understanding includes a complex of activities that cannot be (15)_____ to any single aspect of human experience. It is a part of individual life but also of (16)_____ dynamics. Religion includes not only patterns of language and thought. It is sometimes an (17)_____ part of a culture. Religious experience may be expressed (18)_____ visual symbols, dance and performance, elaborate philosophical systems, legendary and imaginative stories, formal (19)_____, and detailed rules of some ways. There are as many forms of religious expression as there are human cultural (20)_____.