1/14/19

Christianity is the biggest religion in the world with around 2.2 billion people following. The people that believe in Christianity are known as Christians. Most Christians live in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa. Their denominations are the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, many more). The founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ and their Holy Book is known as the Bible. They believe that Jesus is both human and divine and the Son of God. He led a virtuous life; he was crucified, died, buried, and resurrected; He ascended into heaven where he reigns with God the Father. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and local authorities are known as priests.

The second most populated religion is Islam. There are around 1.5 billion people following this religion and most of them live in Indonesia, Middle East, and North Africa. We call the followers of this faith Muslims. Their main denominations are consisted of them being 75-90% Sunnis and 10-20% Shiites. Their founder is known as Muhammed and he lived from around 570-632. Their holy book is called the Qur'an which is also called Koran. The faith is a monotheistic faith and is also Abrahamic. They have five pillars of faith and these are called testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting and pilgrimage. Muslims see their purpose in life as serving and submitting to Allah (Muslim God), and observing Islamic law. They also have the Hajj which is the place where all the muslims go to. The Hajj is the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime. Hajj means heading to a place for the sake of visiting.

The fourth most populated religion is known as Hinduism. There are around 1.1 billion people following the Hindu faith and we call these followers Hindus. Most of them live in India but some also live in Nepal. Their Holy Book is called the Vedas and this book is about their eternal truths revealed to ancient sages which is composed in verse form. These verses are meant to be sung and easily memorized. Their is no distinct founder of the Hindu faith. Hinduism is a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, strict set of beliefs. It is probably the oldest extant religion, although Hinduism is less a religion than a way of life, or a faith.

The fourth most populated religion is Buddhism. There are around somewhere between 500 million and 1.5 billion followers of this faith. We call these believers Buddhists. They mostly live in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, and Japan. There also 1.2 million Buddhists living in the U.S. Their denominations are Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. The founder os Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. They have four noble truths and these are: 1. There is suffering 2. Attachment to desire is the origin of suffering 3. There is a cessation of suffering 4. The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering. There is also an Eightfold Path and these eight things are Right view, Right intention, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right dedication.

The fifth and final most populated religion is Judaism. There are between 14 and 18 millions of them in the world. We call them Jews. Most of them live in Israel but some live in the U.S. and others are scattered in European countries. The founder of Judaism is Abraham. Their Holy Book is knownas the Torah which is also the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Their belief is an ethical monotheism which means God is one, and concerned with the actions of humankind. They also have the Ten Commandments which is also a part of the Christianity beliefs. There are also the 13 principles of faith. The Jews also celebrate Hanukkah which is a time around Christmas where they light a candle each day and give presents. The Judaism religion is very similar to the Christianity religion.