Although the word nun carries a specific, historically circumscribed meaning, especially in Catholic Christianity, it is also widely used to refer more generally to women ascetics and monastics in different religious traditions. In this overview, nuns are mainly considered phenomenologically as a specific group of religious persons who share certain characteristics across different religious traditions, cultures, and historical periods.

Meaning of the Word Nun

In its original Christian context, the term nun refers to a member of a religious order or a congregation of women living under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In Roman Catholic Canon Law, only those women living under so-called solemn vows are truly "nuns" (moniales) in a full sense, whereas those under "simple vows" are called "sisters" (sorores). However, this strict legal and linguistic distinction is little observed; the popular usage of the term nun has been widened to include...