There are several versions of the origin of the word religion. According to one of them, it comes from the Latin religion- conscientiousness, piety, reverence, religion, holiness, worship, etc. According to another version, it comes from the Latin verb religion meaning to connect, connect. There is also an opinion that it could come from another verb reeligere, that is, to reunite.

Since this word has so many variants of origin, the definition of this concept is given a large variety. But really religion - it is a way for people to communicate with God. And that's why there are so many of them.

God is one, but all people are different and everyone chooses in life for himself the path that is easier for him to go through. That is why the Lord allowed the existence of so many religious movements. After all, all true religions will eventually lead to Him. For some, this path will be short, and for some, a large number of lives will be needed. It depends on which religious direction a person has chosen. And although the preachers of different religions claim that only their path is true and short, however, they are all different.

As a person surrenders to God, so God answers him. If a person's heart is completely open to communion with God, then He leads him along the shortest path. If there are material attachments in a person, then the Almighty directs him along the path that will give the person time to get rid of these attachments. It all depends on the choice of the person himself.

There are several directions in religions:

1. Atheism is the denial of the existence of God.
2. Monotheism is the worship of one God.
3. Polytheism is the worship of multiple gods.
4. Pure theism is the recognition of the right of existence of all true religions, because there is an understanding that God is one.

If we briefly consider what the main religious movements gave people, then we can say the following:

1. Judaism- Through the Jews, the Lord gave 10 Commandments, observing which all exactly and in the sequence in which they go, a person will certainly achieve the perfection of his life. This is a very important point. Since, only having realized the first Commandments, a person will be able to follow the rest without deviations. These Commandments are so important that even the followers of Vaishnavism ask Christians to follow them.
2. Christianity“Jesus taught people love for God and neighbor, which did not exist before, since all worship was performed out of fear of the might of the Almighty. He brought the concept of loving service to the Almighty from his travels in India and the Himalayas, where he studied with local priests for 7 years. The Gospel confirms the novelty of the teaching that Jesus brought to the people.
3. Islam- despite the fact that Christianity refers to monotheism, the Koran denies this, affirming the polytheism of Christianity due to equating Jesus with the position of the Almighty, as well as the worship of the mother of Jesus, as the mother of God, on a par with God Himself. The Prophet Muhammad tried to revive the religious foundations and return people to the path of monotheism, to the path of worshiping God Himself. In doing so, he gave what Jesus did not: he described some of the attributes of God. The Bible says almost nothing about God. Thanks to the prophet Muhammad, people were able to at least know a little about who God is.
4. Buddhism- this trend preaches love for all living beings. It arose when the sacrifices made by people to cleanse their sins took on a threatening character, and there were not so many animals left. To protect sentient beings, the Lord incarnated in the form of Buddha (not to be confused with God Himself), rejected the authority of the Vedic scriptures, and stopped the massacres. It was a temporary measure needed at that time. Since the Vedas were considered non-authoritative, the personal aspect of God was rejected. As a result, the main idea is to worship the impersonal Absolute and merge with emptiness, with radiance. But, since God is a person, the predictions say that this direction will disappear over time.
5. Hinduism- its uniqueness lies in the fact that, despite the single name, it represents a multitude of religious trends. Some of them preach the philosophy of emptiness, some follow polytheism, and Vaishnavism preaches pure theism. Therefore, it is impossible to consider it as a single trend, it is illogical. The ancient Vedic predictions speak of the onset of the Golden Age, which will last about 10,000 years, then the degradation of people will continue. A number of predictors say that this century will come after the catastrophe of 2012. However, followers of Vaishnavism believe that it began about 500 years ago with the advent of the Lord in the form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who preached the glories of the Holy Name in India. He gave people the simplest, easiest and shortest way to God through the chanting of the maha-mantra: "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare".

Often people do not know how to choose the right religion. They do not understand that it is not enough to know, you need to follow what a certain religious movement preaches. For, as the Bible says, even demons believe in God and tremble before Him, but faith without works is dead. To achieve perfection in life, you need to go to it. And to make it easier to figure out which path to choose, you need to find answers to just three questions:

1. What is the purpose of this religion?
2. How is this goal achieved?
3. How do you feel when you look at those who have achieved this goal?

If all the answers to these questions satisfy a person, he can safely begin his journey home to God.

Religion(from lat. religio, (possibly from lat. religare - to connect, or relegere - to single out, or reeligere - to re-elect) - 1) a special form of interaction (society) with; 2) true religion -.

Religion seeks to answer the primary question for every person about. Unlike science, which establishes only the necessary causal relationships and impersonal laws of natural life, religion reveals to man the purpose of his being, indicates his destiny in the world - a destiny, the fulfillment of which means the fulfillment of man's mission on Earth. Outside the definition of this destiny, human life loses all meaning, it is equivalent to unconscious animal life.

To reveal the meaning of human existence, religion can only reveal the true First Cause of being, which created the world and endowed it with its own meaning. Religion is called upon to point to the Eternal Absolute Being, which is beyond all forms of conventions and limitations, possessing all the perfections in comparison with the limited and conditional being of man. Having determined the First Cause of being, religion must give a clear teaching about It.

But this does not exhaust the essence of religion, since it is intended not only to point to the Higher Being, but also to reveal the path of cognition of the Higher Being - the path of connection (religare - to connect) the Absolute Being and man. It is in the disclosure of the path of connection between the Higher Being and man that the essence of religion lies, since it is in this connection that the meaning of human life lies.

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 holy 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 being 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.

Those who lived millennia ago had their own beliefs, deities and religion. With the development of human civilization, religion also developed, new beliefs and currents 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: Jesus Christ is considered the founder of Christianity, the prophet Mohammed is the founder of Islam, and Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened), is Buddhism. 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 through contemplation and meditation achieved enlightenment 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 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, 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, taking into account the fact 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 successors of Magomed to the first four caliphs, 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 salat (daily five times prayer), 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 norms 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.

Religions of the world

Religion is people's confidence in the existence of some huge, unknown, strong, powerful, wise and just force that invented, created this world and guides it - from the life and death of every person to the phenomena of nature and the course of history.

Causes of Belief in God

— Fear of life. Since ancient times, in the face of the formidable forces of nature and the vicissitudes of fate, man felt his smallness, defenselessness and inferiority. Faith gave him hope for at least someone's help in the struggle for existence.
— Fear of death. In principle, any accomplishment is available to a person, he knows how to overcome any obstacles, solve any problems. Only death is not subject to him. Life, no matter how hard it is, is good. Death is terrible. Religion allowed a person to hope for the endless existence of the soul or body, not in this, but in another world or state.
— The need for laws. The law is the framework in which a person lives. The absence of limits or going beyond them threatens humanity with death. But man is an imperfect being, therefore the laws invented by man are less authoritative for him than the laws allegedly of God. If it is possible and even pleasant to violate human laws, then God’s decrees and commandments cannot be

“But how, I ask, after that a man? Without God and without a future life? After all, now everything is allowed, everything can be done?(Dostoevsky "The Brothers Karamazov")

world religions

• Buddhism
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam

Buddhism. Briefly

: more than 2.5 thousand years.
: India
- Prince Siddhartha Guatama (VI century BC), who became the Buddha - "enlightened".
. "Tipitaka" ("three baskets" of palm leaves, on which the revelations of the Buddha were originally recorded):

• Vinaya Pitaka - rules of conduct for Buddhist monks,
• Sutta-pitaka - sayings and sermons of the Buddha,
• Abidhamma Pitaka - three treatises systematizing the provisions of Buddhism

: peoples of Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, Mongolia, China, Japan, Tibet, Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva
: a person can become happy only by getting rid of all desires
: Lhasa (Tibet, China)
: Wheel of Law (Dharmachakra)

Judaism. Briefly

: more than 3.5 thousand years
: Land of Israel (Middle East)
Moses, leader of the Jewish people, organizer of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt (XVI-XII centuries BC)
. Tanakh:

• Pentateuch of Moses (Torah) - Genesis (Bereshit), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bemidbar), Deuteronomy (Dvarim);
• Nevi'im (Prophets) - 6 books of senior prophets, 15 books of junior prophets;
• Ketuvim (Scriptures) - 13 books

: Israel
: Don't give someone what you don't want for yourself
: Jerusalem
: temple lamp (menorah)

Christianity. Briefly

: about 2 thousand years
: Land of Israel
: Jesus Christ is the son of God, who descended to earth in order to accept suffering to redeem people from original sin, resurrected after death and ascended back to heaven (12-4 BC - 26-36 AD) )
: Bible (Holy Scripture)

• Old Testament (Tanakh)
• New Testament - Gospels; Acts of the Apostles; 21 epistles of the apostles;
  Apocalypse, or Revelation of John the Evangelist

: peoples of Europe, North and South America, Australia
: the world is ruled by love, mercy and forgiveness
:

• Catholicism
• Orthodoxy
• Greek Catholicism

: Jerusalem, Rome
: cross, (on which Jesus Christ was crucified)

Islam. Briefly

: about 1.5 thousand years
: Arabian Peninsula (southwest Asia)
: Muhammad ibn Abdallah, messenger of God and prophet (c. 570-632 AD)
:

• Koran
• Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah - stories about the actions and sayings of Muhammad

: peoples of North Africa, Indonesia, Near and Middle East, Pakistan, Bangladesh
: worship of Allah, who is eternal and is the only one capable of assessing a person’s behavior to determine him to paradise