Types of Religion
There are various types of religion in the world, different religion with their various system of beliefs and practices. Every religion in the world relates to a man’s culture and way of life. We have so many religion in the world but here we are going to discuss on the five major religion in the world; which are Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism. Now let’s dive in and discuss brief on these religions:
Islam: Islam religion is the world’s second largest religion practiced all over the world. It was originated in the 7th Century at Mecca, where Prophet Muhammad got his first revelation from Allah at the mountain peak. Islamic religion is said to be an Abrahamic religion in which it consists of the early prophets such as; Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The Islam religion is practiced in 49 countries in the world, but mostly in Saudi Arabia where most of them live. Islam is a monotheistic religion in which they believe in one God. Islam religion is a popular religion and practiced by so many people in the world. People who practice this religion are called Muslims, they believe and subject to every will and commandments of Allah. Allah is referred to as the supreme God, the creator of all things on earth. The laws and sacred scriptures of the Islam religion lies in a sacred book called Quran, this book was inculcated in the early days of prophet Muhammad where he had an encounter with the Almighty Allah. Prophet Muhammad is believed and seen as the last and main prophet of Allah. Prophet Muhammad originated the law of brotherhood, teachings of Allah, love, oneness of God, remaining humble, and disabled the worship of idols in the life of all Muslims. Muslims worship in a place called mosque. The teachings and obligations of the Islam religion are encapsulated to the five pillars of faith which includes; Alms-giving, Prayer, Fasting, Deceleration of faith and Pilgrimage. Holiday practices in Islamic religion are: Eid al-fitr and Eid al-Adha, Ramadan, Ashura, and Prophet Muhammad birthday.
Christianity: This is the world’s largest religion with 2.8 billion adherents across the universe. It evolved during the 1st Century AD. Christian religion is also classified as the Abrahamic monotheistic religion, alongside with Judaism and Islam. Christianity emanated from Judaism they were deeply rooted in their beliefs and practices before Jesus Christ came with his great teaching. Few people who believed in Jesus Christ started a movement with Christ teachings and then formed Christianity, they had to split from Judaism. The followers of Christian religion are referred to as Christians. They worship in a sacred place called Church every sabbath day, these churches are being shared in different groups namely; The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Protestant Church. This religion have a holy book that consists of holy and sacred messages and scriptures called the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible is divided into two parts: The Old Testament and The New Testament. Christianity is centered on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he is the son of God and the last prophet sent on earth from God to redeem mankind from all forms of sin. Jesus Christ is seen and referred to as the Messiah and Savior of Humanity. Christians believe that Jesus will return to take the righteous ones to his kingdom and this is referred to as the Second Coming of Christ. In the Christian religion there’s an acronym called the Trinity and this means: God the father, God the Son(Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. They all work as one in the kingdom of heaven, although while Jesus ascended God sent the Holy Spirit to guide the Christians here on earth. Jesus had a great teachings about: love, forgiveness, repentance, and the kingdom of God, he spread this teachings on earth amongst his disciples. The practices of this religion are: Prayer, Communal Worship, Baptism, and Sacrements. The Christian religion have two great holidays that are being celebrated once every year which are: Easter and Christmas. Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the tomb, while Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ.
Hinduism: Hinduism is the world’s oldest and largest religion in the world, it has about 1.2-1.35 billion adherents in the world. It was founded in early 3000BC. It is commonly practiced in Indian. Hinduism is both monotheistic and henotheistic form of religion, whereas they worship one God and also acknowledge other gods. Hindus worship many gods and goddesses together with Brahman, who is believed to be the supreme God amongst all others. Hindus worship many gods and goddesses which makes it tedious to trace its origin, other gods worshipped by Hindus are: Vishnu, Devi, Shiva, Krishna, Lakshmi, Saraswati. Hindus place of worship is called PUJA, they can also to choose to worship from their various homes. So many Hindus have an exceptional shrine dedicated to the gods and goddesses. They present flowers, oils and so on as a means of offering to their god. Hinduism is centered on myths, philosophy and metaphysics. It’s holy book is called VEDAS, which contains sets of hymns and revelations received by the ancient saints and sages. They based on the notion of Dharma meaning Way of life,they also believe in the dogma of samsara which is the (continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation)and Karma which is the( universal cause law of good or bad actions with effects). Hindus sees cows as sacred, some do not eat beef or pork, while many are vegetarians. Hinduism principles are centered on patience, virtue, harmony, unity of existence, and divinity of humans. Hindus have numerous holidays practices namely; Holi, Diwali, Krishna, Navaratri.
Buddhism: This is the world’s fourth largest religion with over 470 million followers. Buddhism originated 2,500 years ago in India as a movement between the 6th and 4th Centuries BCE. Buddhism is an Indian religion and mostly viewed as philosophy, it practices has been eminent in the South Asia. It was founded by Siddhartha Gautama(Buddha meaning Enlightened), he lived during the 5th Century BC. He is acknowledged as an exceptional being with great wisdom. This religion is also known as Buddha Dharma/ Dharmavinaya (meaning discipline and doctrines). Buddhism does not worship any particular or unrivaled God or Deity, instead they dwell on great teachings of wisdom, morality, humanity and peace. Buddhism is viewed as the way of life of a particular people or spiritual tradition. They worship in a sacred temple or their homes. Buddhists holy book has many sacred piece and scriptures which are; Tripitaka, Sutras, and the book of the dead. There are three main forms of Buddhism namely; Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism. The Buddha was a prince but he did suffered a lot in life due to circumstances and that gave him the enlightenment of mankind and great ideas of wisdom, he had valuable and chronic teachings of wisdom and ethics. His teachings are called Dharma, where he laid great teachings concerning the important morality of life which includes; wisdom, kindness, compassion, and generosity. He taught the four noble truths which is the core teachings of the Buddhism religion and these truths are; The truth of suffering (Dukka), The truth that causes suffering (Samudaya), The truth of the end of suffering (Nirhodha), The truth of the path that sets us free from suffering (Magga). Buddhist accepts and believe in the law of karma and reincarnation, they believe in enlightenment, wisdom and meditation whereas meditation helps calm the mind and soul. Their core belief is that human life cycle revolves around suffering and rebirth, but once you have a good state of enlightenment you can overcome the cycle with victory. Buddhism festivals are: Vesak( this memorialize the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha), Upodatha( this is celebrated at every quarter of the moon), and also the the Buddhist New Year.
Judaism: This is the world’s oldest religion. It is an Abrahamic Monotheistic religion, they believe in one God. There are over 14 million Jews worldwide and many of them live in the United States and Israel. The founder of Judaism can be traced back to the first earthly fathers of Judaism, God had his first encounter with Abraham, which makes him the founder of Judaism. Abraham’s son Isaac and his grandson Jacob are main figures in the ancient Jewish history. The Jews believed that God made a distinctive covenant with Abraham, and God choose to bless him and his descendants. After 1,000 years, God used a man named Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt from where they suffered slavery for hundreds of years. God disclose his Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai while he was leading the Israelites. The first Jewish temple was built by king David’s son, Solomon around 1000 BC and this temple became the main place of worship for the Jews. Torah is the first five books of the Tanakh, Tanakh is a sacred text in the Jewish religion. The Tanakh also includes the Old Testament same with the Christian Bible but in a different order. All the sacred texts and scriptures were outlined laws for the Jews to follow and obey. Torah means teachings or law. There are other holy books some written, while some were oral; examples are 1.Talmud: Talmud contains the importance of 613 Commandments of the Jewish religion and also the interpretation of thousands of rabbis. 2. Shabbat: This is a remarkable day for prayer and rest for the Jews. It begins at sunset on Friday and continues until nightfall on Saturday. The Jews believe in the existence of only one God, whereas he communicates to them through holy prophets either for their good deeds or bad deeds. They suffered persecution severely due to their religious beliefs, though they came together to unite and form the nation Israel which is still standing tall till today. Types of Judaism are: Orthodox Judaism, Hasidic Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Humanistic Judaism. Their holidays are: Passover, sukkot, Yom kippur.
These are just a brief review of the five major religion in the world, and they are all monotheistic and believe in one supreme God.
