A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent. The term is often used interchangeably with religious sisters, who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work in the wider society.
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A nun is a woman who dedicates her life to religious service by taking vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, usually living in a monastery or convent. Nuns matter because they represent a significant commitment to spiritual life and contemplation within religious traditions, and some engage in charitable work that serves their communities.
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Article
23 sectionsContents
- Christianity
- Catholicism
- Membership and vows
- Leadership
- Distinction between a nun and a religious sister
- United States
- Canada
- Early modern Spain
- Eastern Orthodox
- Protestantism
- Evangelical Lutheranism
- Anglicanism
- Presbyterian
- Methodism
- Buddhism
- Thailand
- Taiwan
- Tibet
- Japan
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent. The term is often used interchangeably with religious sisters, who do take simple vows but live an active vocation of prayer and charitable work in the wider society.
In Christianity, nuns are found in the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican and some Presbyterian traditions, as well as other Christian denominations. In the Buddhist tradition, female monastics are known as Bhikkhuni, and take several additional vows compared to male monastics (bhikkhus). Nuns are most common in Mahayana Buddhism, but have more recently become more prevalent in other traditions.