Tac Say Church (Father Diep Church), believer praying after lighting incense, Bac Lieu, Vietnam

Religious Islamic text, The Quran, over 6000 verses in 114 chapters called Surahs, Tamil translation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thien Quang Buddhist Pagoda, Vesak celebration, Birthday of Shakyamuni Buddha, bathing infant Buddha to purify the heart, Tan Chau, Vietnam

Phuoc Long Buddhist pagoda, traditional Chinese lion dancing, celebrating New Year, Tan Chau. Vietnam

Decorations for the Vietnamese and Chinese New Year at a shop in Cholon, the Chinese district, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ranakpur Jain temple (Chaturmukha Dharana Vihara), Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India

Welcome sign at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

The Mask Temple at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Lamanai (Submerged Crocodile), Belize

Pygmy woman extracting water from a tree branch, Dzanga Sangha National Park, UNESCO, Central African Republic

Pha Chiao Sing Kham temple gate at Muang La, Oudomxay Province, northwestern Laos

Standing Stones of Stenness, dating from around 3000BC, UNESCO, Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom

Al Akbar Surabaya National Mosque, The holy books of Quran, Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

View of Kaminarimon Gate, entrance to Senso-ji Temple at night, Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

The Offering Sculptural Ensemble, Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico

View over the Avenue of the Dead towards the Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico

Stone reliefs at Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico

Palace of Quetzalpapalotl, interior, Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico

Avenue of the Dead and The Citadel at sunrise, aerial view, Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico

View of Higashiyama Sugawara Shrine in the Higashi Chaya District, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Honshu, Japan

View of Torii Gate at Fushimi Inari Shrine at dusk, Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, Honshu, Japan

Gate of the Meiji Jingu, one of the main Shinto shrines in Tokyo, Honshu, Japan

Stucco friezes at Balamku Archaeological Site, Campeche State, Mexico

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the most prominent Sikh gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, Delhi, India, Asia

Makha Bucha (Magha Puja) celebrations, monks pray under illuminated Buddha statue annually at Wat Phan Tao temple, Chiangmai, Thailand

Offerings and prayers to the temple deities, Asian woman praying, Guan Di Chinese Temple, Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Temple of the Feathered Serpent, detailed view, The Citadel, Teotihuacan, Mexico State, Mexico

Shinto shrine and stone lantern at Ryuan-ji. Minoh National Park near Osaka, Kansai Japan

Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims prostrating in front of the Jokhang temple, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Hundreds of Jizo, Buddha statues, Zen Buddhism, Yoshino, Nara, Honshu, Japan, Asia

Hindu devotees taking part in the sacred ceremony of evening aati, adoration of the holy River Ganges, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia

The Little White Chapel, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Toba Batak ceremony, Sumatra, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Asia

Yali people dancing at a ceremony, Membegan, Irian Jaya (West Irian) (Irian Barat), New Guinea, Indonesia, Asia

Yali men at a ceremony, Membegan, Irian Jaya (West Irian) (Irian Barat), New Guinea, Indonesia, Asia

Two monks during Za-Zen meditation in the Sodo or Zazendo hall, Elheiji (Eiheiji) Zen monastery, Japan, Asia

Sunday procession arriving at church for service, Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Polynesia, South Pacific Islands, Pacific

Northern Highlands tribesmen with striped body decoration, Goroka, Papua New Guinea, Pacific

White marble religious icon carvings at The Ranakpur Jain Temple at Desuri Tehsil in Pali District of Rajasthan, India

White marble religious icon carvings at The Ranakpur Jain Temple at Desuri Tehsil in Pali District of Rajasthan, India

Unidentified people celebrating Chinese New Year in January 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

Unidentified people celebrating Chinese New Year in January 2025, Bangkok, Thailand

Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel, Monte Sant'Angelo, UNESCO, Foggia, Apulia, Italy

A line of women at a ceremony for the ordination of Buddhist monks, Bagan (Pagan), Myanmar (Burma), Asia

O-mikuji, fortune telling papers, Sapporo Shrine, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, Asia

Sang sang rimpoche uses the dorje, a sacred ritual object to make the first decisive cut into the sand mandala on the last day of the mani rimdu festival. chiwang monastery, solu khumbu, nepal. solu khumbu, nepal

Makuna-colombian shamans,

Makuna-colombian shamans,

Fire ritual at chiwang monastery during the mani rimdu festival. these monks circumambulate the pyre after its ignition. one holds a long book wrapped in a felicitous scarf. the purifying fire takes the offering and raises them towards the sky in smoke. the circumambulatory ritual also recalls the way disciples showed respect for the buddhas body. solu khumbu, nepal

Xavante warriors prepare to wrestle wooden poles, a of taming or harnessing dark jungle forests. Brazil

Wearing tree bark cloth masks and skirts, dancers representing fish spirits are invited during the season of the peach palm harvest to drink the juice. it is a feast and ritual exchange: the host group offers the spirits large quantities of peach palm juice, smoked meat and fish, and shaman-blessed coca and snuff. the visitors are the costumed dancers impersonating animal spirits. people eat the meat and fish, animal spirits receive the fruits of peach palm, which are cultivated, harvested, and processed by humans. this exchange expresses the idea that people and animals depend on each other for survival and reproduction. vaupes basin, eastern colombia amazon, population: 600

Yoruba women dance in trance at a sacred water festival to honor their animistic spirits. nigeria, africa

Kenya. Masai women getting ready to dance at their masai village within the amboseli national park

A solitary mask dancer appears wearing a frightening mask and silk brocade. they circle the courtyard with sprightly leaps. called protectors of faith, or dharmapdla, the origins of figures like these can be traced back to the pre-aryan peoples of india. originally known as yaksas (literally, a wondrous thing), they were tree spirits, who were accepted by the buddhists as defenders of the faith. in nepal and tibet, as in india, local deities were converted into protectors. a devotee of an alien sect devised a means to humiliate the buddha and his disciples. the buddha discovered it and succeeded in converting him to his teaching. due to lack of wisdom, the buddha remarked, some could not realize the goodness of his disciples and he compared the ignorant to the blind and the wise to those who have eyes.nobody is condemned in buddhism, for greatness is latent even in the seemingly lowliest just as lotuses spring from muddy ponds. -the dhammapada. solu khumbu, nepal

Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims prostrating at the Jokhang temple, Barkhor, Lhasa, Tibet, China, Asia

Cremation at pashupati nath temple, kathmandu,nepal

East timor. Sunday mass at the catholic church in aileu

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman wearing traditional headdress

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman wearing traditional headdress

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman wearing traditional headdress

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman wearing traditional headdress

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Native American woman in traditional headdress performing ceremony

Traditional headdress on wooden log

Traditional headdress on wooden log

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Monk blessing a woman, in Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia

The Daibutsu (bronze Great Buddha). Kotoku-in Temple, Kamakura, Japan

The Daibutsu (bronze Great Buddha). Kotoku-in Temple, Kamakura, Japan

The Daibutsu (bronze Great Buddha). Kotoku-in Temple, Kamakura, Japan

Invocations to the fortune at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Wat Phan Tao temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Donation to monks, Wat Suan Dok temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand

woman inviting passersby to enter into her restaurant.

Person who recovers wood used in cremation, which has not burned completely, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Monk praying, in Wat Mahathat, Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai, Thailand

Prayer boards, in Kiyomizu-dera temple, Kyoto. Kansai, Japan.

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Cremation of bodies, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Women wearing kimono.Street scene in Hanamikoji dori street.Geisha's distric of Gion.Kyoto. Kansai, Japan.

Cremation of a body, in Manikarnika Ghat, the burning ghat, on the banks of Ganges river, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Offerings, in Wat Suan Dok, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Persons praying, Monks statue, in Wat Phra Singh temple, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Torii gates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan

Wishing plates at Fushimi Inari-Taisha sanctuary,Kyoto, Japan