world religions. Major Religions of the World

What to believe? Major Religions of the World

In modern world there are thousands of beliefs and religions, some of which have millions of adherents, while others have only a few thousand or even hundreds of believers.

Religion is one of the forms of understanding the world, which is based on faith in higher powers. As a rule, each religion includes a number of moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, religious rituals and rituals, and also unites a group of believers into an organization. All religions rely on a person's belief in supernatural forces, as well as on the relationship of believers with their deity (deities). Despite the apparent difference in religions, many postulates and dogmas of various beliefs are very similar, and this is especially noticeable when comparing the main world religions.

Christianity

The founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth, 2 BC Bethlehem - 33 AD Jerusalem), the son of God and the God-man (that is, he combines the nature of the divine and the human). The second person in the structure of the Trinity. God the Son embodies the Word of God, the mediator between God and people, through whose mouth the Lord proclaims the truth of Revelation.

He was the son of a poor carpenter from Galilee. Until the age of 30, he lived in complete obscurity, then he preached a doctrine that no one had heard before. A small circle of disciples formed around him. But his disciples did not understand him either, numerous enemies pursued him until they triumphed over him, betraying him to a shameful death on the cross as a criminal and a villain. Jesus Christ died on the cross "for the atonement of the sins of men", and then resurrected and ascended to heaven.


This is the religion, the geography of which is the most extensive. It was based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, hence the name "Christianity". Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and believe in the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). The Bible says that Jesus will return to earth to judge the living and the dead.

The Bible is the holy book of Christians, it consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament describes life before the birth of Jesus Christ. The New Testament records the life and teachings of Jesus himself. The New Testament includes: the Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles - 21 Epistles of the Apostles, the Apocalypse (or the Revelation of John the Theologian). There are four Gospels: Mark (AD 70), Luke (AD 80), Matthew (AD 90), and John (AD 100). Texts that are not included in the code of the Bible, but recognized by the church as sacred, are called Apocrypha.

The difference between the three main areas of Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy) is that Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics and Protestants, do not believe in the existence of purgatory, and Protestants consider inner faith to be the key to the salvation of the soul, and not the observance of many sacraments and rituals, therefore, the churches of Protestant Christians are more modest than the churches of Catholics and Orthodox, and the number of church sacraments among Protestants is less than among Christians who adhere to other currents of this religion.

In the Protestantism movement that arose in Europe in the 16th century, during the Reformation, there are 3 main dogmas, including the recognition of only the Bible as true Holy Scripture, the recognition of the salvation of the soul only through the acceptance of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, and the denial of the primacy of the Pope. For Protestants, any believer can be called a priest, and there is no need for the intercession of saints or the Virgin Mary.

The personal head of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The patriarch rules the church together with the Holy Synod. The Russian Orthodox Church is divided into dioceses, headed by diocesan bishops. Dioceses include deanery districts, which are divided into parishes. At the head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, the secular and spiritual leader of the Vatican. The governing body of the Vatican is called the Holy See.
Symbols of Christianity - Orthodox and Catholic cross.

The number of adherents of Christianity around the world exceeds 2 billion, of which in Europe - according to various estimates from 400 to 550 million, in Latin America - about 380 million, in North America - 180-250 million (USA - 160-225 million, Canada - 25 million), in Asia - about 300 million, in Africa - 300-400 million, in Australia - 14 million. The approximate number of adherents of various Christian denominations: Catholics - about 1 billion, Protestants - about 400 million (including 100 million Pentecostals, 70 million Methodists, 70 million Baptists, 64 million Lutherans, about 75 million Presbyterians and movements close to them), Orthodox and adherents of the Ancient Eastern churches (“non-Chalcedonian” churches and Nestorians) - about 240 million, Anglicans - about 70 million, Gregorian - 10 million.

Islam

The founder of Islam was the prophet Muhammad (c. 570-632) from the family of one of the large tribes of the Quraysh. Prone to loneliness, Muhammad indulges in pious reflections. According to legend, in his youth, angels cut open the chest of Muhammad and washed his heart, and in 610, at the age of 40, he received the Revelation on Mount Hira during a 40-day fast, and the words of the heavenly messenger Jabrail (Archangel Gabriel) were imprinted in the heart of the Prophet as "inscription". Muhammad, with a small group of followers, suffers persecution and moves in 622 from his native Mecca to Medina. Muhammad's struggle for the establishment of a new religion - faith in one God (Allah) - ended with a victory over pagan Mecca in 630.

The Koran (Arabic “reading aloud, by heart”) was sent down to the Prophet Muhammad by Allah - the main sacred book of Muslims, a record of sermons delivered by Muhammad in the form of “prophetic revelations”. The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters (suras) divided into 6204 verses (verses). Most of these verses are mythological in nature, and only about 500 verses contain instructions relating to the rules of conduct for Muslims. Another authoritative and obligatory source of law for all Muslims is the Sunnah (“Holy Tradition”), which consists of numerous stories (hadith) about the judgments and actions of Muhammad himself.

"Islam" means "obedience to God", this religion is based on the teachings of Muhammad. The followers of Islam are known as Muslims. They believe in the one God of Allah and his prophet Mohammed, in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife. They also adhere to the five basic principles of Islam, the five rules on which the faith of a true Muslim is based: reciting mahada aloud (the main provision of the creed is “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”); five daily prayers (namaz); observance of fasting (ura-za) in the month of Ramadan; charity - zakat (obligatory payment of a tax, the collection of which is prescribed in the Koran, and the amount of taxation is developed in Sharia) and sadaka (voluntary donation); hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

Sharia (Muslim law) is organically linked with Islam and its teachings. This is a set of religious and legal norms, compiled on the basis of the Koran and the Sunnah, containing the norms of state, inheritance, criminal and marriage and family law. Islam considers legal institutions as part of a single law and order. Hence, the commandments and prohibitions that make up the norms of Shariah are also attributed divine significance.

Today there are three main branches of Islam - Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The Sunnis consider the first four caliphs to be the successors of Mohammed, and, in addition to the Koran, they recognize the Sunnahs as sacred books, the Shiites believe that only his direct blood descendants can be the successors of the Prophet. Kharijites are the most radical branch of Islam, the beliefs of its supporters are similar to those of the Sunnis, but the Kharijites recognize only the first two caliphs as the successors of the Prophet.

The religious center, the venue for religious events in Islam - the mosque. The symbol of Islam is a star and a crescent.

Only 18% of Muslims live in Arab countries. Almost half of all Muslims live in North Africa, about 30% - in Pakistan and Bangladesh, more than 10% in India, the first place among the countries in terms of the number of Muslims belongs to Indonesia. In addition, there are significant numbers of Muslims in the US, China, Europe, the former Soviet republics, and South America.
There are over 1 billion Muslims worldwide, making it the second largest religion after Christianity.

Buddhism

The founder of Buddhism is a princely son named Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, who later became known as the Buddha ("Enlightened One"). He was born within the current eastern border of Nepal and was the first person to achieve enlightenment (nirvana). He spent his whole life in India and devoted it to the philosophy of being. His parables were based on the suffering of Samsara (one of the main concepts in Buddhism, denoting birth and death).


Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha. The biography of Buddha reflects the fate of a real person framed by myths and legends, which over time almost completely pushed aside the historical figure of the founder of Buddhism. Based on the teachings of the Buddha, his followers wrote the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), which is considered a sacred book by the followers of most of the currents of Buddhism. The main currents of Buddhism today: Hinayama (Theravada Buddhism - "Narrow Path to Liberation"), Mahayana ("Wide Path to Liberation") and Vajrayana ("Diamond Path").

Despite some differences between orthodox and new currents of Buddhism, this religion is based on the belief in reincarnation, that is, the rebirth of a person after death in a new body, which depends on the deeds of a past life (the law of karma). The main thing that, according to Buddhism, a person should strive for is the search for the path of enlightenment, after passing which one can free oneself from an endless chain of rebirths and find absolute peace and dissolution in eternity, that is, to achieve nirvana.

One of the most important symbols of Indian philosophy is the soul. The soul is drowning in the “waters of Samsara”, trying to get rid of its past mistakes, to cleanse itself. An important principle of life follows from this: one cannot resist evil.
The difference between Buddhism and other religions is the belief of Buddhists that a person’s karma depends on his actions, and everyone goes his own way of enlightenment and is responsible for his own salvation, and the gods, whose existence Buddhism recognizes, do not play a key role in the fate of a person, since they are also subject to the laws of karma.

In Buddhism, unlike Christianity and Islam, there is no church, but there is a community of believers - the sangha, which is formed in a particular Buddhist temple or monastery. This is a spiritual brotherhood that helps in advancing along the Buddhist path. The two main symbols of Buddhism are the images of the Buddha himself, sitting in the lotus position, and the Dharma chakra (the wheel of the law).
In the world there are about 400 million practicing Buddhism in everyday life and 1 million Buddhist monks. Buddhism is widespread in Asian countries (India, Thailand, Tibet, Korea, Mangolia, Laos, Indonesia, etc.).

In addition to these three world religions, in every corner of the world there are national and traditional religions, also with their own directions. They originated or gained special distribution in certain countries. On this basis, the following types of religions are distinguished:
● Hinduism (India);
● Confucianism (China);
● Taoism (China);
● Judaism (Israel);
● Sikhism (Punjab state in India);
● Shintoism (Japan);
● paganism (Indian tribes, peoples of the North and Oceania).
Let us dwell on Hinduism and Judaism in more detail.

Hinduism

An Indian religion formerly called "Sanatana Dharma" which means "eternal law". It is believed that Hinduism is the most ancient religion in the world (formed in the 1st millennium AD), there is no definite unity in it. Hindu teachings are stored in a large number of scriptures that have carried philosophical teachings for thousands of years. These scriptures are divided into two parts - shruti (basic) and smriti (additional), they describe the main dogmas, which are sacred rules for every follower of this religion.

Hinduism is the result of the development of the Vedic religion and Brahminism and the process of further assimilation of folk beliefs. The basis of Hinduism is the doctrine of the reincarnation of souls (samsara), which takes place in accordance with the law of retribution (karma) for virtuous or bad behavior, determined by the veneration of the supreme gods (Vishnu or Shiva) or their incarnations, and the observance of caste household rules.

Religious rites are performed in temples, at local and domestic altars, in sacred places. Animals (cow, snake), rivers (Ganges), plants (lotus), etc. are revered as sacred. Hinduism is characterized by the idea of ​​the universality and universality of the supreme deity, which was especially evident in the teachings of bhakti. Modern Hinduism exists in the form of 2 currents: Vishnuism and Shaivism.

It is one of the largest religions in the world in terms of the number of followers (approximately 95% of all Hindus are in India). Hinduism is practiced by about 1 billion people, this religion is the third largest.

Judaism

Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning over 3,000 years. The Jewish religion in the process of becoming became a generalized name for the Jewish people. Also the oldest monotheistic religion. Its main feature is the doctrine of the special role of the Jewish people. "Jews are more pleasing to God than angels," "just as a person in the world stands high above animals, so Jews stand high above all peoples in the world" - the Talmud teaches. Election is conceived in Judaism as the right to domination. The rejection of Christ and the expectation of another instead of Him became the spiritual cause of the state-national catastrophe of the Jews - at the beginning of the 2nd century, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews were scattered around the world.

Before Christ came, there was one religion that we now call Judaism. Later, Christianity came out of it and Islam would be based on it. It can be assumed that if the Jews had accepted Jesus 2,000 years ago, recognizing Him as the Messiah, then they would not have had to create the Christian religion, everything would have been done within the framework of the then existing Judaism.

Jews distinguish three main periods in the formation of religion: temple (named after the period when the Jerusalem temple existed), rabbinical and talmudic. Judaism preaches faith in the one God who created the universe and rules it, in the value of a spiritual person who lives his life in accordance with the laws of God and continuously strives to comply with the regulations given in the sacred books.

Tanakh is the so-called "Jewish Bible", which tells about the creation of the world, man, the religious and philosophical aspects of Judaism, and describes in detail the rules that a believer must follow. (The Christian Old Testament is based on the texts of the Tanakh.) Torah - the first five books of the Tanakh (Pentateuch of Moses), the next 8 books - Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Scriptures) - 11 books. Talmud ("Oral Torah") - comments on the Torah, compiled by Jewish sages.

One of the external symbols of Judaism since the 19th century is the six-pointed Star of David. A more ancient symbol is the Menorah, which, according to the Bible and tradition, stood in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. Since it is traditionally believed that modern Jews mainly come from the tribe of Judah and the kingdom of Judah that existed on its territory, the lion - the symbol of this tribe - is also one of the symbols of Judaism. Sometimes a lion is depicted with a royal scepter - a symbol of royal power, which the forefather Jacob endowed this tribe in his prophecy. There are also images of two lions, on both sides of the tablets - standing "on guard of the commandments."

Today, there are 13.4 million Jews worldwide, or about 0.2% of the total population of the Earth. About 42% of all Jews live in Israel and about 42% live in the US and Canada, most of the rest live in Europe.

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As you can see, the greatest religions of the world are based on different teachings, and it cannot be said that any of them is the best or the main one. Everyone has the right to choose what to believe. We know that religious teachings are often the cause of wars and human suffering, but it must be remembered that any religion teaches, above all, tolerance and peace.

All these beliefs have some common features, and the similarity of Islam and Christianity is especially noticeable. Belief in one God, in the existence of the soul, in the afterlife, in fate and in the possibility of the help of higher powers - these are the dogmas that are inherent in both Islam and Christianity. The beliefs of Buddhists differ significantly from the religions of Christians and Muslims, but the similarity between all world religions is clearly visible in the moral and behavioral standards that believers must comply with.

The 10 Biblical Commandments that Christians are required to observe, the laws prescribed in the Koran, and the Noble Eightfold Path contain moral norms and rules of conduct prescribed for believers. And these rules are the same everywhere - all the major religions of the world forbid believers from doing evil deeds, harming other living beings, lying, behaving loosely, rudely or disrespectfully towards other people and call to treat other people with respect, care and love and develop in positive qualities in character.

A very long time ago, such a wonderful feeling was born in a person as faith in God and higher powers that determine the fate of people and what they will do in the future. There is a huge number, each of which has its own laws, orders, memorable calendar dates, and prohibitions. How old are the religions of the world? - a question that is difficult to give an exact answer.

Ancient signs of the birth of religions

It is known that in various forms began to exist already a huge number of years ago. Previously, it was common for people to sacredly and blindly believe that 4 elements can bestow life: air, water, earth and the sun. By the way, such a religion exists to this day and is called polytheism. How many religions exist in the world, at least the main ones? Today there are no bans on this or that religion. Therefore, more and more religious movements are being created, but the main ones still exist, and there are not so many of them.

Religion - what is it?

It is customary to include a certain sequence of rituals, rites and customs in the concept of religion, performed either daily (daily prayer is an example here), or periodically, and sometimes even once. This includes wedding, confession, communion, baptism. Any religion, in principle, is aimed at uniting completely different people into large groups. Despite some cultural differences, many religions are similar in the message that comes across to believers. The difference lies only in the external design of the rituals. How many major religions are there in the world? This question will be answered in this article.

Christianity, Buddhism and Islam can be considered. The latter religion is practiced more in the countries of the East, and Buddhism is practiced in Asian countries. Each of the listed religious branches has a history that lasts for more than several thousand years, as well as a number of indestructible traditions that are observed by all deeply religious people.

Geography of religious movements

As for geographical fragmentation, here about 100 years ago it was possible to trace the predominance of any confession, but now this does not exist at all. For example, earlier, more convinced Christians lived in Africa, Europe, South America, and the Australian continent.

The inhabitants of North Africa and the Middle East could be called Muslims, and the people who settled in the territory of the South-Eastern part of Eurasia were considered to be believers in the Buddha. On the streets of Central Asian towns, now more and more often you can see Muslim mosques and Christian churches standing almost side by side.

How many major religions are there in the world?

As for the question of knowledge of the founders of world religions, most of them are known to all believers. For example, the founder of Christianity was Jesus Christ (according to another opinion, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit), the founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Guatama, whose other name is Buddha, and, finally, the foundations of Islam, according to many believers, were laid by the Prophet Muhammad.

An interesting fact is that both Islam and Christianity conditionally come from the same faith, which is called Judaism. Isa Ibn Mariam is considered the successor of Jesus in this faith. Related to this branch of faith are other famous prophets who were mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. Many believers believe that the prophet Muhammad appeared on earth even before people saw Jesus.

Buddhism

As for Buddhism, this religious denomination is rightfully recognized as the most ancient among all that are only known to the human mind. The history of this faith has an average of about two and a half millennia, perhaps even much more. The origin of a religious movement called Buddhism began in India, and the founder was Siddhartha Guatama. The Buddha himself achieved faith gradually, step by step moving towards the miracle of enlightenment, which then the Buddha began to generously share with his fellow sinners. The teachings of the Buddha became the basis for writing a sacred book called the Tripitaka. To date, the most common stages of the Buddhist faith are considered to be Hinayama, Mahayama and Wajayama. Adherents of faith in Buddhism believe that the main thing in a person's life is a good state of karma, which is achieved only by doing good deeds. Every Buddhist himself goes the way to the purification of karma through deprivation and pain.

Many, especially today, are wondering how many religions are there in the world? It is difficult to name the number of all directions, because almost every day new ones appear. In our article we will talk about the main ones. The following religious trend is one of them.

Christianity

Christianity is a faith that was founded thousands of years ago by Jesus Christ. According to scientists, the religion of Christianity was founded in the 1st century BC. This religious trend appeared in Palestine, and the eternal fire descended to Jerusalem, where it still burns. Nevertheless, there is an opinion that people learned about this faith even earlier, and almost for a whole thousand years. There is also an opinion that for the first time people met not with Christ, but with the founder of Judaism. Among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants can be distinguished. In addition, there are huge groups of people who call themselves Christians, but who believe in completely different dogmas and attend other public organizations.

Postulates of Christianity

The main inviolable postulates of Christianity is the belief that God has three guises (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), belief in saving death and in the phenomenon of reincarnation. In addition, the followers of Christianity practice the belief in evil and good, represented by angelic and devilish forms.

Unlike Protestants and Catholics, Christians do not believe in the existence of the so-called "purgatory", where the souls of sinners are selected for heaven or hell. Protestants believe that if faith in salvation is preserved in the soul, then a person is guaranteed to go to heaven. Protestants believe that the meaning of the rites is not beauty, but sincerity, which is why the rites are not pompous, and their number is much smaller than in Christianity.

Islam

As for Islam, this religion is considered relatively new, as it appeared only in the 7th century BC. The place of appearance is the Arabian Peninsula, where the Turks and Greeks lived. The place of the Orthodox Bible is occupied by the Holy Quran, which contains all the basic laws of religion. In Islam, as well as in Christianity, there are several directions: Sunitism, Shiaism and Kharijitism. The difference between these directions from each other lies in the fact that the Sunnis recognize four caliphs as the "right hand" of the Prophet Mohammed, and in addition to the Koran, the collection of instructions of the prophet is considered a sacred book for them.

Shiites believe that only blood heirs can continue the work of the prophet. The Kharijites believe in almost the same thing, they only believe that only blood descendants or close associates can inherit the rights of the prophet.

The Muslim faith recognizes the existence of Allah and the Prophet Mohammed, and is also of the opinion that life after death exists, and a person can be reborn into any living creature or even an object. Any Muslim firmly believes in the power of holy customs, therefore, annually makes a pilgrimage to holy places. Jerusalem is truly the holy city for all Muslims. Salat is an obligatory ritual for every adherent of the Muslim faith, and its main meaning is prayer in the mornings and evenings. The prayer is repeated 5 times, after which the believers try to observe the fast according to all the rules.

In this faith, during the month of Ramadan, believers are forbidden to have fun, and are allowed to devote themselves only to prayer to Allah. Mecca is considered the main city of pilgrims.

We have covered the main areas. Summing up, we note: how many religions in the world, so many opinions. Unfortunately, representatives of not all religious movements fully accept the existence of another direction. Often this even led to wars. In the modern world, some aggressive figures use the image of a "sectarian" or "totalitarian sect" as a scarecrow, promoting intolerance towards any non-traditional religiosity. However, no matter how different the religious directions, they, as a rule, have something in common.

Unity and Differences of Major Religions

The commonality of all religious denominations is hidden and at the same time simple in that they all teach tolerance, love for God in all manifestations, mercy and kindness towards people. Both Islam and the Christian faith promote resurrection after death on earth, followed by rebirth. In addition, Islam and Christianity jointly believe that fate is destined by heaven, and only Allah or, as Christians call it, the Lord God, can correct it. Although the teachings of Buddhists are strikingly different from Christianity and Islam, these “branches” are united by the fact that a certain morality is sung, under which no one is allowed to stumble.

The instructions given to the Most High sinful people also have common features. For Buddhists, these are dogmas, for Christians there are commandments, and for adherents of Islam, these are excerpts from the Koran. It doesn't matter how many world religions there are in the world. The main thing is that they all bring a person closer to the Lord. The commandments for each faith are the same, only they have a different style of retelling. Everywhere it is forbidden to lie, kill, steal, and everywhere they call for mercy and tranquility, for mutual respect and love for one's neighbor.

Have a good day everyone! The concept of religions is found quite often in exams in the humanities. Therefore, I would recommend looking at these religions of the world, their list, in order to better navigate them.

A little about the concept of "World Religions". Often, it refers to the three main religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. This understanding is not complete to say the least. Since these religious systems have different currents. In addition, there are a number of religions that also unite many people. Before publishing the list, I also recommend that you read the article about .

List of world religions

Abrahamic religions- these are religions that go back to one of the first religious patriarchs - Abraham.

Christianity- briefly about this religion you can. It is presented today in several directions. The key ones are Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the New Testament). It unites about 2.3 billion people today

Islam- how religion took shape in the 7th century AD and absorbed the revelations of Allah to its own prophet Muhammad. It was from him that the prophet learned that one should pray a hundred times a day. However, Muhammad asked Allah to reduce the number of prayers, and as a result, Allah allowed to pray five times a day. By the way, the concepts of heaven and hell in Islam and Christianity are somewhat different. Paradise here is the quintessence of earthly goods. Holy book Quran. Unites today about 1.5 billion people.

Judaism- the religion of the predominantly Jewish people, unites 14 million adherents. Most of all I was struck by the divine service: in its time one can behave quite naturally. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the Old Testament).

Other religions

Hinduism- unites about 900 million followers and includes faith in the eternal soul (atman) and in the universal God. This religion and others like it are also called dharmic - from the Sanskrit word "dharma" - things, the nature of things. Religious priests here are called Brahmins. The key idea is in the rebirth of souls. Who cares, except for jokes, look at Vysotsky: a song about the transmigration of souls.

Buddhism- unites over 350 million adherents. It comes from the fact that the soul is bound by the wheel of samsara - the wheel of reincarnations, and only work on itself can allow it to break out of this circle into nirvana - eternal bliss. There are different branches of Buddhism: Zen Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. The sacred texts are called Tripitaka.

Zoroastrianism(“Good Faith”) is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, incorporates faith in the single god Ahura Mazda and his prophet Zarathushtra, unites about 7 million people. Religion embodies belief in good and evil thoughts. The latter are the enemies of God and must be eradicated. Light is the physical embodiment of God and is worthy of reverence, which is why this religion is also called fire worship. Thus, in my opinion, this is the most honest religion, since it is thoughts that determine a person, and not his actions. If you agree with this - put like at the end of the post!

Jainism- unites approximately 4 million adherents and proceeds from the fact that all living beings are eternally living in the spiritual world, calls for self-improvement through the cultivation of wisdom and other virtues.

Sikhism- unites about 23 million adherents and includes the understanding of God as the Absolute and as a part of every person. Worship happens through meditation.

Juche is a North Korean political ideology that many refer to as a religion. It was formed on the basis of the transformation of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and synthesis with traditional Chinese philosophy.

Confucianism- in the strict sense of the word, it is a more ethical and philosophical doctrine than religion and combines ideas about proper behavior, ritual and tradition, which, according to Confucius, must be represented. The main treatise is Lun-yu. Consolidates about 7 million people.

Shintoism- this religion is prevalent mainly in Japan, so read about it.

Khao Dai- a fairly new religious system that appeared in 1926 and combines many provisions of Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. Calls for equality between the sexes, for pacifism, etc. It originated in Vietnam. In essence, religion embodies everything that has been lacking in this region of the planet for a long time.

I hope you got an idea about the religions of the world! Like, subscribe for new articles.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

Religion is a certain worldview, seeking to know the higher mind, which is the root cause of everything that exists. Any belief reveals to a person the meaning of life, his destiny in the world, helping to find a goal, and not an impersonal animal existence. There have always been and will be many different worldviews. Thanks to the eternal human search for the root cause, the religions of the world were formed, the list of which is classified according to two main criteria:

How many religions are there in the world?

Islam and Buddhism are recognized as the main world religions, each of which is divided into numerous large and small branches and sects. It is difficult to say how many religions, beliefs and beliefs there are in the world, due to the regular creation of new groups, but according to some information, there are thousands of religious movements at the present stage.

World religions are called so because they have gone far beyond the borders of the nation, the country, have spread to a huge number of nationalities. Non-worldly confessions within a smaller number of people. The basis of the monotheistic view is the belief in one God, while the pagan view suggests the presence of several deities.

The largest world religion that arose 2,000 years ago in Palestine. It has about 2.3 billion believers. In the 11th century there was a division into Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and in the 16th century Protestantism also separated from Catholicism. These are three large branches, there are more than a thousand other small ones.

The main essence of Christianity and its distinctive features from other religions are as follows:

Orthodox Christianity has adhered to the tradition of faith since apostolic times. Its foundations were formulated by the Ecumenical Councils and dogmatically enshrined in the Creed. The teaching is based on Holy Scripture (mainly the New Testament) and Holy Tradition. Divine services are performed in four circles, depending on the main holiday - Easter:

• Daily.
• Seven.
• Movable annual.
• Fixed annual.

In Orthodoxy, there are seven main Sacraments:

• Baptism.
• Chrismation.
• Eucharist (Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ).
• Confession.
• Unction.
• Wedding.
• Priesthood.

In the Orthodox understanding, God is one in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The ruler of the world is interpreted not as an angry avenger for the misdeeds of people, but as a Loving Heavenly Father who takes care of his creation and bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments.

Man is recognized as the image and likeness of God, with free will, but fallen into the abyss of sin. Those who wish to restore their former holiness, to get rid of passions, the Lord helps on this path.

Catholic teaching is a major trend in Christianity, spread mainly in Europe, Latin America and the United States. This creed has much in common with Orthodoxy in understanding God and the relationship between the Lord and man, but there are fundamental and important differences:

• the infallibility of the head of the church of the Pope;
• Holy Tradition is formed from 21 Ecumenical Councils (the first 7 are recognized in Orthodoxy);
• the distinction between the clergy and the laity: people in rank are endowed with Divine Grace, they are assigned the role of shepherds, and the laity are herds;
• the doctrine of indulgence as a treasury of good deeds done by Christ and the Saints, and the Pope, as the vicar of the Savior on earth, distributes the forgiveness of sins to whom he wants and who needs it;
• adding your understanding to the dogma of the Holy Spirit emanating from the Father and the Son;
• introduction of dogmas on the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary and Her bodily ascension;
• the doctrine of purgatory as the average state of the human soul, cleansed from sins as a result of severe trials.

And there are also differences in the understanding and performance of some Sacraments:

It arose as a result of the Reformation in Germany and spread throughout Western Europe as a protest and a desire to transform the Christian Church, getting rid of medieval ideas.

Protestants agree with Christian ideas about God as the Creator of the world, about human sinfulness, about the eternity of the soul and salvation. They share the understanding of hell and heaven, while rejecting the Catholic purgatory.

Distinctive features of Protestantism from Catholicism and Orthodoxy:

• minimizing church sacraments - until Baptism and Communion;
• there is no division into clergy and laity, every well-prepared person in matters of Holy Scripture can be a priest for himself and for others;
• worship is held in the native language, is based on joint prayer, reading psalms, sermons;
• there is no veneration of saints, icons, relics;
• monasticism and the hierarchical structure of the church are not recognized;
• salvation is understood only by faith, and good deeds will not help to be justified before God;
• recognition of the exclusive authority of the Bible, and each believer interprets the words of Scripture at his own discretion, the criterion is the point of view of the founder of the church organization.

The main directions of Protestantism: Quakers, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons.

The youngest world monotheistic religion. The number of believers is about 1.5 billion people. The founder is the prophet Mohammed. Holy book - Koran. For Muslims, the main thing is to live according to the prescribed rules:

• pray five times a day;
• observe the fast of Ramadan;
• give alms 2.5% per year of income;
• make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Some researchers add the sixth duty of Muslims - jihad, manifested in the struggle for faith, zeal, diligence. There are five types of jihad:

• inner self-perfection on the way to God;
• armed struggle against unbelievers;
• struggle with your passions;
• separation of good and evil;
• taking action against criminals.

Currently, extremist groups use the jihad of the sword as an ideology to justify their bloody activities.

A world pagan religion that denies the existence of a Deity. Founded in India by Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Briefly boils down to the teaching of the four noble truths:

1. All human life is suffering.
2. Desire is the cause of suffering.
3. To conquer suffering, one must get rid of desire with the help of a specific state - nirvana.
4. To free yourself from desire, you need to follow eight basic rules.

According to the teachings of the Buddha, to acquire a calm state and intuition, to clear the mind will help:

• a correct understanding of the world as a lot of suffering and sorrow;
• gaining a firm intention to curtail your wishes and aspirations;
• control of speech, which should be friendly;
• performing virtuous deeds;
• trying not to harm living beings;
• the expulsion of evil thoughts and the mood for good ones;
• the realization that human flesh is evil;
• perseverance and patience in achieving the goal.

The main branches of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. Along with it, there are other religions in India, spread to varying degrees: Hinduism, Vedism, Brahmanism, Jainism, Shaivism.

What is the oldest religion in the world?

The ancient world was characterized by polytheism (polytheism). For example, the Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman religions, druidism, asatru, Zoroastrianism.

Judaism is considered one of the ancient monotheistic beliefs - the national religion of the Jews, based on the 10 commandments given to Moses. The main book is the Old Testament.

Judaism has several branches:

• Litvaks;
• Hasidism;
• Zionism;
• orthodox modernism.

There are also different types of Judaism: Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanistic and Renovationist.

Today it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question "What is the oldest religion in the world?", as archaeologists regularly find new data to confirm the emergence of different worldviews. We can say that beliefs in the supernatural have been inherent in mankind at all times.

The huge variety of worldviews and philosophical beliefs since the emergence of mankind does not make it possible to list all the religions of the world, the list of which is regularly updated with both new currents and branches from existing world and other beliefs.

Those who lived millennia ago had their own beliefs, deities and religion. With the development of human civilization, religion also developed, new beliefs and trends appeared, and it is impossible to unequivocally conclude whether religion depended on the level of development of civilization or vice versa, it was people's beliefs that were one of the guarantees of progress. In the modern world there are thousands of beliefs and religions, some of which have millions of adherents, while others have only a few thousand or even hundreds of believers.

Religion is one of the forms of understanding the world, which is based on faith in higher powers. As a rule, each religion includes a number of moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, religious rituals and rituals, and also unites a group of believers into an organization. All religions rely on a person's belief in supernatural forces, as well as on the relationship of believers with their deity (deities). Despite the apparent difference in religions, many postulates and dogmas of various beliefs are very similar, and this is especially noticeable when comparing the main world religions.

Major world religions

Modern researchers of religions distinguish three main religions of the world, the adherents of which are the vast majority of all believers on the planet. These religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as numerous currents, offshoots and based on these beliefs. Each of the world's religions has more than a thousand years of history, scriptures and a number of cults and traditions that believers should observe. As for the geography of distribution of these beliefs, if even less than 100 years ago it was possible to draw more or less clear boundaries and recognize Europe, America, South Africa and Australia as "Christian" parts of the world, North Africa and the Middle East as Muslim, and the states located in the southeastern part of Eurasia - Buddhist, now every year this division is becoming more and more conditional, since on the streets of European cities you can increasingly meet Buddhists and Muslims, and in the secular states of Central Asia, on the same street there can be a Christian temple and mosque.

The founders of world religions are known to every person: the founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ, Islam - the prophet Mohammed, Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened). However, it should be noted that Christianity and Islam have common roots in Judaism, since the beliefs of Islam also include the prophet Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus) and other apostles and prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Bible, but Islamists are sure that the fundamental teachings are still the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, who was sent to earth later than Jesus.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the oldest of the world's major religions, with a history of more than two and a half thousand years. This religion originated in the southeast of India, its founder is considered to be Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who achieved enlightenment through contemplation and meditation and began to share the truth that had been revealed to him with other people. Based on the teachings of the Buddha, his followers wrote the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), which is considered a sacred book by the followers of most of the currents of Buddhism. The main currents of Buddhism today are Hinayama (Theravada Buddhism - "Narrow Path to Liberation"), Mahayana ("Wide Path to Liberation") and Vajrayana ("Diamond Path").

Despite some differences between the orthodox and new currents of Buddhism, this religion is based on the belief in reincarnation, karma and the search for the path of enlightenment, after which you can free yourself from the endless chain of rebirths and achieve enlightenment (nirvana). The difference between Buddhism and other major religions of the world is the belief of Buddhists that a person’s karma depends on his actions, and everyone walks his own path of enlightenment and is responsible for his own salvation, and the gods, whose existence Buddhism recognizes, do not play a key role in the fate of a person, for they are also subject to the laws of karma.

Christianity

The birth of Christianity is considered to be the first century of our era; The first Christians appeared in Palestine. However, given that the Old Testament of the Bible, the holy book of Christians, was written much earlier than the birth of Jesus Christ, it is safe to say that the roots of this religion are in Judaism, which arose almost a millennium before Christianity. Today, there are three main areas of Christianity - Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy, branches of these areas, as well as those who also consider themselves Christians.

At the heart of the beliefs of Christians is the belief in the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in angels and demons and in the afterlife. The difference between the three main directions of Christianity is that Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics and Protestants, do not believe in the existence of purgatory, and Protestants consider inner faith to be the key to the salvation of the soul, and not the observance of many sacraments and rites, so the churches of Protestant Christians are more modest than the churches of Catholics and Orthodox, as well as the number of church sacraments among Protestants is less than among Christians who adhere to other currents of this religion.

Islam

Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, it originated in the 7th century in Arabia. The holy book of Muslims is the Quran, which contains the teachings and instructions of the prophet Mohammed. At the moment, there are three main branches of Islam - Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The main difference between the first and other branches of Islam is that the Sunnis consider the first four caliphs to be the legal successors of Magomed, and, in addition to the Koran, they recognize the sunnahs telling about the prophet Magomed as sacred books, and the Shiites believe that only his direct blood can be the successors of the Prophet descendants. Kharijites are the most radical offshoot of Islam, the beliefs of the supporters of this trend are similar to those of the Sunnis, however, the Kharijites recognize only the first two caliphs as successors of the Prophet.

Muslims believe in the one God of Allah and his prophet Mohammed, in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife. In Islam, great attention is paid to the observance of traditions and religious rites - every Muslim must perform salah (five daily prayers), fast in Ramadan and at least once in his life make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Common in the three major world religions

Despite the difference in rituals, beliefs and certain dogmas of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, all these beliefs have some common features, and the similarity of Islam and Christianity is especially noticeable. Belief in one God, in the existence of the soul, in the afterlife, in fate and in the possibility of the help of higher powers - these are the dogmas that are inherent in both Islam and Christianity. The beliefs of Buddhists differ significantly from the religions of Christians and Muslims, but the similarity between all world religions is clearly visible in the moral and behavioral standards that believers must comply with.

The 10 Biblical Commandments that Christians are required to observe, the laws prescribed in the Koran, and the Noble Eightfold Path contain moral norms and rules of conduct prescribed for believers. And these rules are the same everywhere - all the major religions of the world forbid believers from doing atrocities, harming other living beings, lying, behaving loosely, rudely or disrespectfully towards other people and urge to treat other people with respect, care and and develop in character positive traits.