religious order
Quick Summary
Monasticism is a religious practice where individuals attempt to live by a rule that goes beyond ordinary spiritual or societal requirements. Members, often celibate and ascetic, separate themselves from society by living as hermits or joining communities called coenobia. This practice is found in various religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Daoism.1
In Roman Catholicism, a religious order is a group of men or women who profess solemn vows to live together under a religious rule and a superior's authority. Examples include the Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits. Monastic institutions have historically played roles in learning, culture, and even politics. The core of monasticism involves a voluntary commitment to religious works that exceed societal norms, often inspired by founders who interpreted religious tenets more radically.23
- religious order: Top Questions
- monasticism
- monasticism
- monastery
- monasticism - Nature and significance
- vow
- Roman Catholicism - Religious orders: Canons and monks
- monasticism - Spiritual perfection
- monasticism - Conquest of the spiritual forces of evil
- cenobitic monasticism
- monasticism - Cenobitic
- monasticism - Other organizational or institutional types
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
monasticism…live in cenobitic (common life) communities. The term monasticism implies celibacy, or living alone in the sense of lacking a spouse, which became a socially and historically crucial feature of the monastic life.
Read More…live in cenobitic (common life) communities. The term monasticism implies celibacy, or living alone in the sense of lacking a spouse, which became a socially and historically crucial feature of the monastic life.
Read More
history of EuropeDevotional life…regular clergy, which included the religious orders of monks, canons regular (secular clergy who lived collegiately according to a rule), and mendicants. Each of these orders had a superior, who was advised by a chapter general that comprised representatives of the religious houses of the order. Orders, like dioceses, were…
Read More…regular clergy, which included the religious orders of monks, canons regular (secular clergy who lived collegiately according to a rule), and mendicants. Each of these orders had a superior, who was advised by a chapter general that comprised representatives of the religious houses of the order. Orders, like dioceses, were…
Read More


