Religious community

A religious community is a community (group of people) who practice the same religion. The term is used in a wider and a narrower sense.
In the wider sense, the term is used to refer to members of a religion who live in the wider community, not explicitly segregated from others and not dedicated solely to religion, but often worshipping together, usually in a religious venue such as a temple, synagogue, church or mosque; in many religions a group worshipping in common is called a congregation. People who define themselves as having a particular religion are considered to be members of the religion's wider community. Members of one community may tend to live near each other, but this is not an obligation. In this sense reference is made to, for example, the Catholic community of Belfast (a city), or the Jewish community of France (a country). In some cases a person must be formally accepted as a member of a religion and part of the community. In Israel only couples both from the same officially recognized religious community may marry, although marriage elsewhere is recognised.
In a different, narrower sense, a religious community is a group of people of the same religion living together specifically for religious purposes, often subject to formal commitments such as religious vows, as in a monastery.
Canons regular
Canons regular
Monastic orders
Mendicant orders
Clerks regular
Clerical religious congregations
Lay religious congregations
Lay religious communities include groups such as the Hutterites, Bruderhof, Amish and some Mennonite churches. Some of these communities are tightly-bound, such as the Bruderhof and Hutterites. The Amish and similar groups tend to be more loosely formed, but still act in a communal way. All of these communities will claim to be Christ-centred.
Monasteries and convents
Apostolic communities
Eastern Orthodoxy
Buddhist monasteries
Tibetan monasteries

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