The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception. The religion is estimated to have 5 to 8 million adherents, known as Baháʼís, spread throughout most of the world's countries and territories.
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano, and depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source. When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.
Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women.
Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.
A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from pre-existing denominations. Some NRMs deal with the challenges that the modernizing world poses to them by embracing individualism, while other NRMs deal with them by embracing tightly knit collective means. Scholars have estimated that NRMs number in the tens of thousands worldwide. Most NRMs only have a few members, some of them have thousands of members, and a few of them have more than a million members.
Proselytism is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization.
The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in different societies, but this practice has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.
The Matrix is an American cyberpunk media franchise consisting of four feature films, beginning with The Matrix (1999) and continuing with three sequels, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections (2021). The first three films were written and directed by the Wachowskis and produced by Joel Silver. The screenplay for the fourth film was written by Lana Wachowski, David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, was directed by Lana Wachowski, and was produced by Grant Hill, James McTeigue, and Lana Wachowski. The franchise is owned by Warner Bros., which distributed the films along with Village Roadshow Pictures. The latter, along with Silver Pictures, are the two production companies that worked on the first three films.
The red pill and blue pill are metaphorical terms representing a choice between learning an unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the "red pill" or remaining in the contented experience of ordinary reality with the "blue pill". In Freudian psychology, the corresponding principles are the reality principle and the pleasure principle. The pills were used as props in the 1999 film The Matrix.
Baháʼís are persecuted in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Baháʼí Faith originated and where one of the largest Baháʼí populations in the world is located. The origins of the persecution stem from a variety of Baháʼí teachings which are inconsistent with traditional Islamic beliefs, including the finality of Muhammad's prophethood, and the placement of Baháʼís outside the Islamic religion. Thus, Baháʼís are seen as apostates from Islam.
Religion in Taiwan is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices, predominantly those pertaining to the continued preservation of the ancient Chinese culture and religion. Freedom of religion is inscribed in the constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The majority of Taiwanese people practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism often with a Confucian worldview, which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion.
The Baháʼí Faith and related topics have appeared in multiple forms of fiction. The mention of this religion can be seen in science fiction, fantasy, short stories, novelettes, novels, and TV series. In 2005, an estimated value of 30 references could be found relating Baháʼí Faith to different forms of fiction. An estimated third of these references have a significant relationship with the religion in the way that these forms of fiction show the Baháʼí Faith as a crucial aspect of the story. The first known occurrence is perhaps in the writings of Marie von Najmajer, who wrote a poem dedicated to Tahirih in Gurret-úl-Eyn: Ein Bild aus Persiens Neuzeit which was published in 1874. After a series of works covering the events of the Bábí period, most of the focus shifted towards Baháʼí specific related connections. Soon Khalil Gibran wrote two books - The Prophet and Jesus, The Son of Man. There is some second-hand evidence for the sustained influence of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in these works. In modern times the first known occurrence is of a short story by non-Baháʼí Tom Ligon The Devil and the Deep Black Void, - he also wrote a sequel The Gardener. The next fictional publication, in 1991, which references the Baháʼí Faith may be a short story "Home Is Where..." by Baháʼí Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff,
The Matrix Comics is a set of comics and short stories based on The Matrix film series and written and illustrated by figures from the comics industry. One of the comics was written by the Wachowskis and illustrated by the films' concept artist Geof Darrow. The comics and stories were originally presented for free on the Matrix series' website between 1999 and 2003. One of them was printed in 1999 to be given away at theaters as a promotional item for The Matrix, but Warner Bros. recalled it due to its mature content. Most of them were later republished by the Wachowskis' Burlyman Entertainment, along with some new stories and updates with color to some of the existing ones, in two printed trade paperback volumes in 2003 and 2004 and a deluxe hardcover twentieth anniversary edition in 2019.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Zambia and is recognised as the state religion by the country's constitution. Before the arrival of European missionaries, the various ethnic groups residing in the territory of modern day Zambia practiced a variety of African traditional religions.
Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. Another Iranian religion known as Manichaeanism was present in Iran during this period. Jewish and Christian communities thrived, especially in the territories of northwestern, western, and southern Iran—mainly Caucasian Albania, Asoristan, Persian Armenia, and Caucasian Iberia. A significant number of Iranian peoples also adhered to Buddhism in what was then eastern Iran, such as the regions of Bactria and Sogdia.
The Baháʼí Faith in Kazakhstan began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Kazakhstan, as part of the Russian Empire, had indirect contact with the Baháʼí Faith as far back as 1847. Following the arrival of pioneers the community grew to be the largest religious community after Islam and Christianity, although only a minor percent of the national whole. By 1994 the National Spiritual Assembly of Kazakhstan was elected and the community had begun to multiply its efforts across various interests. The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated some 6,400 Baháʼís in 2005.
The Baháʼí Faith bears a strong bond to the nation of Turkey as Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, was exiled to Constantinople, current-day Istanbul, by the Ottoman authorities during the formative days of the religion. Since the establishment of the Baháʼí Faith in Turkey's predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, and in Turkey, the legal standing of the religion has been contested as progressively wider scales of organization of the religion have been attempted by the community. In the 21st century, many of the obstacles to the religion remain in place, as Baháʼís cannot register with the government officially. Despite this, members do not face significant persecution due to the separation of religion and state in Turkey, and there are estimated to be 10,000 to 20,000 Baháʼís and around one hundred Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies in Turkey.
The Baháʼí Faith in Bahrain begins with a precursor movement, the Shaykhís coming out of Bahrain into Iran. Abu'l-Qásim Faizi and wife lived in Bahrain in the 1940s. Around 1963 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Bahrain was elected in the capital of Manama. In the 1980s, many anti-Baháʼí polemics were published in local newspapers of the Bahrain. Recent estimates count some 1,000 Baháʼís or 0.2% of the national population or a little more by Association of Religion Data Archives estimated there were some 2,832 Baháʼís in 2010. According to the Bahraini government the combined percentage of Christians, Jews, Hindus and Baháʼís is 0.2%.
Religious censorship is a form of censorship where freedom of expression is controlled or limited using religious authority or on the basis of the teachings of the religion. This form of censorship has a long history and is practiced in many societies and by many religions. Examples include the Edict of Compiègne, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum and the condemnation of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The Matrix Resurrections is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and the first in the Matrix franchise to be directed solely by Lana. It is the sequel to The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and the fourth installment in The Matrix film franchise. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The film is set sixty years after Revolutions and follows Neo, who lives a seemingly ordinary life as a video game developer having trouble with distinguishing fantasy from reality. A group of rebels, with the help of a programmed version of Morpheus, free Neo from a new version of the Matrix and fight a new enemy that holds Trinity captive.
