Religious community
A religious community is a community (group of people) who practice the same religion. The term is used to refer to members of a religion who live within a community, but not segregated from others and not dedicated solely to their faith. They worship together in a religious venue such as a temple, synagogue, church or mosque. In many religions, a group worshipping in common is called a congregation. In a narrower sense, a religious community is a group of people of the same religion living together specifically for religious purposes, often subject to formal commitments such as  religious vows, as in a convent or a monastery. Most religious communities are part of the way religions are organized, and most religions have some form of Religious order. Christianity. Christianity has had a variety of religious groups dating back to the early church. Christian monasticism began in the Eastern churches, and eventually moved to the west. Eastern Orthodoxy. Christian monasticism began in the Eastern Mediterranean in Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East and Eastern Catholicism, monastic communities of monks and nuns followed the Rule of St Basil. Intentional communities . While not Christian in nature, an "intentional community" is a voluntary residential community designed to have a high degree of social cohesion. There are many secular communities, but monasteries, kibbutzim and ashrams are the religious versions. Lay religious communities are Christian examples of intentional communities. They include groups such as the Hutterites, Anabaptist "Bruderhof Communities", Amish and some Mennonite churches, and the "Shaker communities". Buddhist monasteries. In Buddhism, the Buddhist monastery "(Vihāra)" is a place for Buddhist monks and nuns "(bhikkhu)". In early Sanskrit and Pali texts, Vihāra meant any arrangement of dwellings for the bhikkhu. Over time, the concept  evolved into an architectural style for living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard. Hindusim. An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Traditionally, an ashram would be located far from human habitation, among natural surroundings conducive to spiritual instruction and meditation. Islam. In Islam, ' ( ) is an Arabic word meaning "community", but is different from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. It is a synonym for "" (, 'the Islamic community'); and is commonly used to mean the collective community of Islamic people. The Quran typically refers to the ummah as a  single group that shares common religious beliefs, specifically those that are the objects of a divine plan of salvation.