The number of religious denominations. Types of World Religions

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 dignity 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:

All human life is suffering.
Desire is the cause of suffering.
To conquer suffering, one must get rid of desire with the help of a specific state - nirvana.
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, Brahminism, 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.

The followers of Jesus Christ are united in more than 100 churches, movements and sects. These are Eastern Catholic churches (22). Old Catholicism (32). Protestantism (13). Orthodoxy (27). Spiritual Christianity (9). Sects (6). It is the largest world religion both in terms of the number of adherents, which are about 2.1 billion, and in terms of geographical distribution - almost every country in the world has at least one Christian community.

In the question of the relationship between Christianity and science, one can see two extreme - although dominant, but equally wrong points of view. Namely, firstly, that religion and science are in no way consistent with each other - religion, brought to its ultimate "foundations", does not need science and denies it, and vice versa, science, for its part, excludes religion to the extent that is able to explain the world without resorting to the services of religion. And, secondly, that between them, in fact, there are no and cannot be any fundamental disagreements - already due to the different subject matter and different directions of "metaphysical" interests. It is not difficult to see, however, that both points of view (1) dialectically presuppose each other and (2) in the same way, dialectically (“antinomically”, etc.) are determined in relation to one principle (“unity” of the world, being, consciousness etc.) - negative in the first case, positive in the second.

Judaism is divided into 11 currents: Orthodox Judaism, Litvaks, Hasidism, Orthodox Modernism, Religious Zionism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Humanistic Judaism Movement, Renovation Judaism of Rabbi Michael Lerner, Messianic Judaism). Has up to 14 million followers.

The positive aspects of the interaction between science and the Torah are as follows. According to the Jewish worldview, the world was created for the sake of the Torah and the Torah was the plan for the creation of the world. Therefore, potentially they form a harmonious whole.

Islam is divided into 7 currents: Sunnis, Shiites, Ismailis, Kharijites, Sufism, Salafis (Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia), radical Islamists. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims. Muslim communities exist in more than 120 countries and unite, according to various sources, up to 1.5 billion people.

The Quran encourages the development of science and scientific knowledge, encourages people to think about natural phenomena and study them. Muslims consider scientific activity an act of a religious order. On my own example, I can say that when working under contracts in Muslim countries, I always met with a warm welcome, respect and gratitude. In the Russian regions, they strive to get information “for free, please” and forget to say thank you.

Buddhism consists of three main and many local schools: Theravada - the most conservative school of Buddhism; Mahayana - the latest form of development of Buddhism; vajrayana - an occult modification of Buddhism (Lamaism); Shingon-shu is one of the main Buddhist schools in Japan, belonging to the Vajrayana direction. The estimate of the number of followers of Buddhism ranges from 350 to 500 million people. According to the Buddha, “everything we are is the result of our thoughts, the mind is everything.”

Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan. Forms of Shinto: temple, imperial court, state, sectarian, folk and domestic. Zealous supporters of Shintoism, who gave preference to this particular religion, turned out to be only about 3 million Japanese. The development of science in Japan speaks for itself.

Religions of India.
Sikhism. Religion based in Punjab, in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. 22 million followers.
Jainism. Dharmic religion, which appeared in India around the 6th century BC. e., preaches non-harm to all living beings in this world. 5 million followers.

Hinduism. A religion that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The historical name of Hinduism in Sanskrit is sanatana-dharma, which means "eternal religion", "eternal path" or "eternal law". It has its roots in the Vedic civilization, which is why it is called the oldest religion in the world. 1 billion followers.

The privileged caste is the Brahmins. Only they alone could be clergymen. Brahmins in ancient India had great advantages. In addition to the monopoly on professional religious activities, they also had a monopoly on pedagogical and scientific activities.

Religions of China.
Taoism. Chinese traditional teaching, including elements of religion, mysticism, divination, shamanism, meditation practice, science.

Confucianism. Formally, Confucianism never had an institution of the church, but in terms of its significance, the degree of penetration into the soul and education of the consciousness of the people, it successfully played the role of religion. In imperial China, Confucianism was the philosophy of scholarly thinkers. Over 1 billion followers.

African traditional religions. Confessed about
15% of Africans include a variety of representations of fetishism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Some religious beliefs are common to many African ethnic groups, but they are usually unique to each ethnic group. Has 100 million followers.
Voodoo. The general name for religious beliefs that appeared among the descendants of black slaves taken from Africa to South and Central America.
It is difficult to say anything about the place of science in these religions, since there is a lot of magic there.

Shamanism. The well-established name in science for a complex of people's ideas about the ways of conscious and purposeful interaction with the transcendental ("other world") world, primarily with spirits, which is carried out by a shaman.

Cults. Phallic cults, the cult of ancestors. In Europe and America, the cult of ancestors ceased to exist long ago, having been replaced by the study of pedigrees. It still exists in Japan today.

Reviews

In general, the concept of religion is a very strange concept. It is very Eurocentric.

Confucianism is not a religion. Not because there is no Church (in Islam it does not exist either), but because there is no single cult, one holy book, etc.

Hinduism, too, cannot be called a religion (it is not one doctrine).

Well, animism is a very general name for a mixture of mythology, belief in spirits, etc.
The most interesting thing is that religion gives rules, dogmas on how a person should live now, how to act, and at the same time answers the question of how the world works.

After all, science does not give dogmas how a person should act, how many times a day to pray, etc. etc. Religion requires a person to have faith; science does not give answers why a person is in trouble, an arm or a leg is sick, etc., science is engaged in other things.

Therefore, science and religion as categories cannot be compared at all.

Then you have such questions.

1. What is Science and what does it do?

2. What is religion, what does it do and what is it for?

From here, from comparison-comparison, there will be an answer. Just try to think for yourself. Personally, I made a conclusion for myself, found the answer, partially false convergence of science and religion lies in the 18-19th century, when the formation of science proper, scientific knowledge was completed (for example, before science was often understood as philosophy with all its uncertainty), therefore it was required under the pressure of religious dogma something to oppose religion.

Moreover, Science is a more or less concrete concept, while Religion is a rather vague one.

Whether you go to the mosque on Fridays, attend synagogue on Saturdays, or pray at church on Sundays, religion has touched your life in one way or another. Even if the only thing you've ever worshiped is your favorite couch and TV best friend, your world has still been shaped by other people's religious beliefs and practices.
People's beliefs influence everything from political opinions and artwork to the clothes they wear and the food they eat. Religious beliefs have repeatedly quarreled peoples and inspired people to violence, they also played an important role in some scientific discoveries.
It is no news to anyone that religion has a very strong influence on society. Every civilization, from the ancient Maya to the Celts, had some sort of religious practice. In its earliest forms, religion provided society with a system of beliefs and values according to which it could reproduce and educate the youth. In addition, it also helped to explain the processes and phenomena of such a beautiful and so complex and sometimes frightening world around.
Evidence of some rudimentary religion has been found as far back as Neolithic artefacts, and although religion has evolved greatly from the primitive rites of the time, no faith really dies. Some, such as the Druid worldview, continue to live to the present day, while others, such as the ancient Greek and Roman religions, live on as part and parcel of later Christianity and Islam.
Below we have made a small overview of 10 religions. Despite their ancient origins, many of them have strong parallels with the major modern religions.

10: Sumerian Religion

While there is anecdotal evidence indicating that humans may have been practicing religion as early as 70,000 years ago, the earliest reliable evidence of a religion being formed is around 3500 BC. That is, by the time the Sumerians built the world's first cities, states and empires in Mesopotamia.
Of the thousands of clay tablets that are found in the areas where the Sumerian civilization was located, we know that they had a whole pantheon of gods, each of which "managed" its own sector of phenomena and processes, that is, by the grace or wrath of a particular god, people explained for themselves that could not be otherwise explained.
All the gods of the Sumerians had a "binding" to specific astronomical bodies, they also controlled natural forces: for example, sunrise and sunset were attributed to the sparkling chariot of the sun god Utu. The stars were thought to be the cows of Nannar, the deity of the Moon, who traveled the sky, and the crescent moon was his boat. Other gods represented such things and concepts as the ocean, war, fertility.
Religion was a central part of the life of Sumerian society: the kings claimed to act at the will of the gods and thus performed both religious and political duties, and sacred temples and giant terraced platforms known as ziggurats were considered the dwellings of the gods.
The influence of the Sumerian religion can be traced in most of the existing religions. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest surviving piece of ancient Sumerian literature, contains the first mention of a great flood, which is also found in the Bible. And the seven-tiered Babylonian ziggurat is probably the same Tower of Babel that quarreled the descendants of Noah.

9: Ancient Egyptian Religion

In order to be convinced of the influence of religion on the life of Ancient Egypt, just look at the thousands of pyramids located in the region. Each building symbolizes the belief of the Egyptians that a person's life continues even after death.
The reign of the Egyptian pharaohs lasted approximately from 3100 to 323 BC. and consisted of 31 separate dynasties. The pharaohs, who had a divine status, used religion to maintain their power and subjugate absolutely all citizens to themselves. For example, if a pharaoh wanted to gain favor with more tribes, all he had to do was adopt their local god as his own.
While the sun god Ra was the main god and creator, the Egyptians recognized hundreds of other gods, about 450. Moreover, at least 30 of them received the status of the main deities of the pantheon. With so many gods, the Egyptians were uncomfortable with a true coherent theology, however they were bound by a shared belief in an afterlife, especially after the invention of mummification.
The manuals, called "coffin texts", gave those who could afford this manual in funeral arrangements the assurance of immortality. The tombs of wealthy people often contained jewelry, furniture, weapons, and even servants for a fulfilling life after death.
Flirt with Monotheism
One of the first attempts to establish monotheism occurred in ancient Egypt, when the pharaoh Akhenaten came to power in 1379 BC. and declared the sun god Aten the only god. The pharaoh tried to erase all mention of other gods and destroy their images. During the reign of Akhenaten, the people put up with this so-called "Atenism", however, after his death he was declared a criminal, his temples were destroyed, and his very existence was deleted from the records.

8: Greek and Roman Religion

Gods of Ancient Greece

Like the Egyptian religion, the Greek religion was polytheistic. Although the 12 Olympian deities are most widely recognized, the Greeks also had several thousand other local gods. During the Roman period of Greece, these gods were simply adapted to Roman needs: Zeus became Jupiter, Venus became Aphrodite, and so on. In fact, much of Roman religion was borrowed from the Greeks. So much so that the two religions are often referred to collectively as the Greco-Roman religion.
The Greek and Roman gods had rather nasty personalities. They were not alien to jealousy, anger. This explains why people had to make so many sacrifices in the hope of appeasing the gods, making them refrain from doing harm, instead helping people, doing good deeds.
Along with sacrificial rites, which were the primary form of Greek and Roman worship, festivities and rituals occupied an important place in both religions. In Athens, at least 120 days of the year were holidays, and in Rome, not much was done without first performing religious rituals that guaranteed the approval of the gods. Special people followed the signs sent by the gods, watching the chirping of birds, weather events or animal entrails. Ordinary citizens could also question the gods in sacred places called oracles.

Rite Religion
Perhaps the most impressive feature of Roman religion was the importance of ritual in virtually every aspect of daily life. Not only were the rituals performed before every senate meeting, festival, or other social event, they also had to be performed flawlessly. If, for example, a prayer was found to be misread before a government meeting, then any decision made during that meeting could be invalidated.

A religion based solely on nature, Druidism emerged from shamanic practices and witchcraft in prehistoric times. Initially, it was distributed throughout Europe, but then concentrated in the Celtic tribes with their advance towards the British coast. It continues to be practiced today among small groups.

The main idea of Druidism is that a person must perform all actions without harming anyone, even himself. There is no other sin than harming the Earth or others, the Druids believe. In the same way, there is no blasphemy or heresy, since man is incapable of harming the gods, and they are able to protect themselves. According to Druid beliefs, people are only a small part of the Earth, which in turn is a single living being, inhabited by gods and spirits of all kinds.

Although Christians tried to suppress Druidism for its polytheistic pagan beliefs and accused its followers of performing cruel sacrifices, the Druids were actually a peaceful people who practiced meditation, reflection, and awareness rather than sacrificial acts. Only animals were sacrificed, which were then eaten.
Since the entire religion of Druidry was built around nature, its ceremonies were associated with the solstices, equinoxes and 13 lunar cycles.

Somewhat similar to the pagan faith of Wicca, Asatru is a belief in the pre-Christian gods of Northern Europe. Dating back to the beginning of the Scandinavian Bronze Age around 1000 BC. Asatru took many of the ancient Scandinavian Viking beliefs, and many of Asatru's followers continue to reproduce Viking customs and traditions, such as sword fighting.
The main values of religion are wisdom, strength, courage, joy, honor, freedom, energy and the importance of family ties with ancestors. Like druidism, Asatru is based on nature, and all worship is tied to the change of seasons.
Asatru states that the universe is divided into nine worlds. Among them are Asgard - the kingdom of the gods and Midgard (Earth) - the home of all mankind. The connection of these nine worlds is the World Tree, Yggdrasil. The main god and creator of the universe is Odin, but Thor, the god of war, the defender of Midgard, was also highly respected: it was his hammer that the Vikings depicted on their doors to drive away evil. The hammer, or Mjollnir, is worn by many Asatru followers in the same way that Christians wear a cross.
Tax exemption
Although some aspects of Asatru may seem implausible to the uninitiated, it is becoming more and more widespread throughout the world. In addition to being a registered religion in Iceland and Norway, it is tax-exempt in the United States.

To be fair, it needs to be clarified that, technically, Hinduism is not just one religion. Under this concept, in fact, many beliefs and practices come from India.
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in existence, with roots dating back to around 3000 BC. Although some of its supporters argue that the doctrine has always existed. The scriptures of the religion are collected in the Vedas, the oldest known religious works in the Indo-European languages. They were collected approximately between 1000 and 500 BC. and are revered by the Hindus as eternal truth.

The overarching idea of Hinduism is the search for "moksha", belief in fate and reincarnation. According to Hindu ideas, people have an eternal soul, which is continuously reborn in different incarnations, according to its lifestyle and actions in previous lives. Karma describes the consequences that result from these actions, and Hinduism teaches that people can improve their destiny (karma) through prayer, sacrifice, and various other forms of spiritual, psychological, and physical disciplines. Ultimately, by following righteous paths, the Hindu can be freed from rebirth and attain "moksha".
Unlike other major religions, Hinduism does not claim any founder. Its connection with any particular historical event is not traced. Today, almost 900 million people around the world consider themselves Hindus, with the majority of them living in India.

4: Buddhism

Buddhism, which originated in India around the 6th century BC, is similar to Hinduism in many ways. It is based on the teachings of a man known as the Buddha, who was born as Siddhartha Gautama and grew up as a Hindu. Like Hindus, Buddhists believe in reincarnation, karma, and the idea of attaining total liberation—Nirvana.
According to Buddhist legend, Siddhartha had a rather closed youth and was amazed when he discovered that the people around him seemed to experience such things as grief, poverty and disease. After meeting a group of people seeking enlightenment, Siddhartha began looking for a way to end human suffering. He fasted and meditated for a long time, and finally achieved the ability to break out of the eternal cycle of reincarnation. It was this achievement of 'bodhi' or 'enlightenment' that led to him being now known as the Buddha or 'Enlightened One'.
Four Noble Truths: (chatvari aryasatyani), the four truths of the Holy One is one of the basic teachings of Buddhism, which is followed by all its schools.
1. All existence is suffering.
2. All suffering is caused by human desires.
3. Renunciation of desires will end suffering.
4. There is a way to end suffering - the Eightfold Path.
Buddhism does not place too much emphasis on the deity, self-discipline, meditation and compassion are much more important. As a result, Buddhism is sometimes regarded more as a philosophy than a religion.
Way
Like Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are more philosophy than religion. Both originated in China in the 5th - 6th centuries BC. both are actively practiced in China today. Taoism, which is based on the concept of "Tao" or "The Way", greatly values life and promotes simplicity and a relaxed approach to life. Confucianism is based on love, kindness and humanity.

Another religion originating from India. Jainism proclaims the achievement of spiritual freedom as the main goal. It originates from the lives and teachings of the Jains, spiritual teachers who have reached the highest level of knowledge and understanding. According to the Jain teachings, the followers of religion can achieve freedom from material existence or karma. As in Hinduism, this liberation from reincarnation is called "moksha".
Jains also teach that time is eternal and consists of a series of upward or downward movements that last for millions of years. During each of these periods, there are 24 Jainas. Only two of these teachers are known in the current movement: Parsva and Mahavira, who lived in the 9th and 6th centuries BC, respectively. In the absence of any higher gods or a creator god, followers of Jainism revere Jain.
Unlike Buddhism, which condemns suffering, the idea of Jainism is asceticism, self-denial. The Jain lifestyle is governed by the "Great Vows" which proclaim non-violence, honesty, sexual abstinence, renunciation. Although these vows are strictly observed by hermits, Jains also follow them according to their abilities and circumstances, with the aim of self-development along the 14-stage path of spiritual growth.

While other religions have had short periods of monotheism, Judaism is considered the world's oldest monotheistic faith. The religion is based on what the Bible describes as agreements between God and some of the founding fathers. Judaism is one of three religions that trace their origins to the patriarch Abraham, who lived in the 21st century BC. (The other two are Islam and Christianity.)
Five Books of Moses enter the beginning of the Hebrew Bible, forming the Torah (Pentateuch), the Jewish people are the descendants of Abraham and will one day return to their country of Israel. Therefore, the Jews are sometimes called the "chosen people."
The religion is based on the ten commandments, which are a sacred agreement between God and people. Along with 613 other guidelines contained in the Torah, these ten commandments define the believer's way of life and thought. By following the laws, the Jews show their commitment to the will of God and strengthen their position in the religious community.
In rare unanimity, all three major world religions recognize the Ten Commandments as fundamental.

Zoroastrianism is based on the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, who lived between 1700 and 1500 BC. His teachings are revealed to the world in the form of 17 psalms called Gathas, which make up the Holy Scripture of Zoroastrianism, known as the Zend Avesta.
A key aspect of the Zoroastrian faith is ethical dualism, the constant struggle between good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Angra Mainyu). Personal responsibility is of great importance to Zoroastrians, as their fate depends on the choice they make between these two forces. Followers believe that after death, the soul comes to the Bridge of Judgment, from where it goes either to heaven or to a place of torment, depending on which deeds prevailed during life: good or bad.
Since positive choices are not so difficult to make, Zoroastrianism is generally seen as an optimistic belief: Zarathustra is allegedly the only child who laughed at birth instead of crying. Zoroastrianism is currently one of the smallest of the world's major religions, but its influence is widely felt. Christianity, Judaism and Islam have all been shaped by his postulates.

Today there are more than 5,000 religions in the world, but only three are the main ones - Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. All of them help a person find the meaning of life and understand why he comes to this world. They combine faith in higher spiritual powers and the continued existence of the soul after the death of the body. About what religions are, will be discussed in this article.

What religions exist?

Those who are interested in which religion is the most widespread should answer that Christianity. Its followers worship Jesus Christ, the son of God, who sacrificed himself for the sins of all mankind. This religion is practiced by about 2.5 billion people worldwide. There are some of its currents, such as Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy, which differ somewhat from each other, and numerous sects have broken away from Christianity. Islam is the second most widespread religion. The Prophet Muhammad preached faith in the one God of Allah 600 years before the birth of Christ, and today Muslims of all countries revere him as the greatest seer and the sacred teaching of the Quran, which Allah sent down to him.

Buddhism arose around the same time as Islam. This religion originated in India and today its main followers live in Asia and the countries of the Far East. Buddhism calls to enter nirvana and see life as it is. The practice of self-restraint and meditation is practiced. For those who are interested in which religion is the very first, it is worth answering that Hinduism, which originated in 1500 BC.

However, it is also not a unified system of religious teachings and includes such schools and cults as Krishnaism, Tantrism, Shaivism, etc. Hinduism has never had its founder, a single system of values and a common doctrine. For those who are interested in what dogmas the oldest religion in the world professes, it is worth saying that special importance is attached to the personal creator or God, the impersonal Absolute, as well as pluralism and non-absoluteness.

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 oneself 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, 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