- 1[uncountable] knowledge about and understanding of something; the process of understanding something or making someone understand it The newspapers provided little enlightenment about the cause of the accident. spiritual enlightenment Topic CollocationsReligionbeing religious
- believe in God/Christ/Allah/free will/predestination/heaven and hell/an afterlife/reincarnation
- be/become an agnostic/an atheist/a believer/a Buddhist/Christian/Hindu/Muslim, etc.
- convert to/practice a religion/Buddhism/Catholicism/Christianity/Islam/Judaism, etc.
- go to church/temple (= the synagogue)
- go to the local church/mosque/synagogue
- belong to a church/a religious community
- join/enter the Church/a convent/a monastery/the clergy/the priesthood/a religious sect/a cult
- praise/worship/obey/serve/glorify God
- attend/hold/conduct/lead a service
- perform a ceremony/a rite/a ritual/a baptism/the Hajj/a bar mitzvah/a bat mitzvah
- carry out/perform a sacred/burial/funeral/fertility/purification rite/the last rites
- go on/make a pilgrimage
- celebrate Christmas/Diwali/Easter/Eid/Hanukkah/Passover/Ramadan
- observe/break the Sabbath/a fast/Ramadan
- deliver/preach/hear a sermon
- lead/address the congregation
- say/recite a prayer/blessing
- preach/proclaim/spread the word of God/the Gospel/the message of Islam/a message
- study/follow the dharma/the teachings of Buddha
- read/study/understand/interpret scripture/the Bible/the Koran/the Gospel/the Torah
- be based on/derived from divine revelation
- commit/consider something heresy/sacrilege
- seek/find/gain enlightenment/wisdom
- strengthen/lose/question your faith
- keep/practice/abandon the faith
- save/purify/lose your soul
- obey/follow/keep/break/violate a commandment/Islamic law/Jewish law
- be/accept/do God's will
- receive/experience divine grace
- achieve/attain enlightenment/salvation/nirvana
- undergo a conversion/rebirth/reincarnation
- hear/answer a prayer
- commit/confess/forgive a sin
- do/perform penance
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- 2the Enlightenment [singular] the period in the 18th century when many writers and scientists began to argue that science and reason were more important than religion and tradition
Check pronunciation: enlightenment