What are the main religions of the world

Since the beginning of humanity there have always been a lot of philosophical beliefs and doctrines that responded to the great approaches of human beings: where we come from, where we are going, what is the meaning of life, and so on. When these philosophies began to have a significant number of followers is when they began to establish some practices to lead a religious life that was consistent with the ideology promulgated. Books with the Bible or the Qur'an are religious treatises that contain the philosophical and mythical component of Christianity and Islam in order to unify the followers of these religions.

In this article we are going to discover what are the main religions of the world . In this article we will begin with Christianity, which is followed by approximately 2300 million people; We will continue with the Islam that is followed by 1, 900 million, then with Buddhism, which is followed by 1, 600 million.

Christian religion

Christianity is one of the most important religions in the world . The name comes from the word "Christ", the messiah, the person sent by God to spread his word among humans. His belief is based on the existence of God, the creator of the Universe and of all the life we find on planet Earth.

The origin of Christianity comes from Judaism and contains different forms although, yes, among them the same scriptures, the Bible, worship God and believe that Jesus is Christ, the savior of humanity. The churches or sacred temples are also an essential element within this religion and practitioners should go to these spaces to listen to the teachings of Christ through different preachers: priests, bishops, elders or pastors. In we tell you how to study the Bible.

Next we are going to differentiate you the different branches that there are within the Christianity :

The Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Apostolic Church was the one that created Catholicism, one of the aspects of the Christian religion and whose center is in the Vatican. The highest authority is the Pope of Rome and, in addition to worshiping the figure of Jesus, also worships the Virgin Mary and other saints .

Through the study of the Bible, the teachings of Christ can be reached and its maximum symbol is the cross, since it recalls the crucifix in which Jesus was martyred. The purpose of this religion is to prepare the faithful for the eternal salvation that is found after life, in the kingdom of heaven or paradise.

The Orthodox Religion

When the Catholic Church was founded, it was divided between that of the West and the Orthodox of the East that took place in 1054. So, we can say that the Orthodox religion drinks from the Catholic source but with some differences that are worth remarking . It is followed by approximately 300 million faithful and among its differences we highlight the following:

They do not believe in Purgatory : when men die, they do not stay in Purgatory but go to a final judgment, moment in which all the acts of their life will be valued before accessing the kingdom of heaven.
There is no Original Sin : in this religion, the act committed by Adam and Eve in paradise did not take place, in what they believe is in the "ancestral" sin that is the capacity of free will that humans have and that, for Therefore, they allow us to choose the path of good or evil.
They do not believe in the virginity of the Virgin : they consider that the Virgin Mary became pregnant by natural means, that is, having sexual relations.
They do not believe in the Pope : the figure of the Pope of Rome who is so venerated in Catholicism, in this religion does not have the same value because, in the eyes of God, no one except the Holy Father can know the whole truth.
Clerics do not fulfill celibacy : the preachers of the divine word do not have to fulfill the order of chastity and, in fact, they can be married and have a family.

Protestantism

In the sixteenth century this new aspect of Christianity appeared due to the reforms that Luther initiated in the Catholic Church. One of the main reasons why this movement emerged was to reject the authority of the Pope of Rome and managed to reform the beliefs of some European countries, thus creating new sub-religion such as Lutheranism in Sweden, Anglicanism in England and Calvinism in Scotland and Geneva.

An approximate figure of 700 million people are Protestants and their conceptions come from the ecclesiastical reform, therefore, they present some notable differences with respect to Catholicism. Next we will highlight the most outstanding:

They only believe in the Bible : Catholics base their faith on the teachings in the Bible but also on Roman Catholic traditions, such as venerating the Virgin, the existence of Purgatory, and so on. Protestants only believe in the word that is in the sacred book and, therefore, reject all those acts that do not appear in this text.
Nor do they believe in the figure of the Pope : in the same way as the Orthodox, Protestants do not believe in the Pope because they consider that only God has the knowledge of the world.
They do not believe in the Seven Sacraments : Catholics have to perform these seven sacraments during their lives in order to be saved, however, Protestants already have salvation by the mere fact of believing in the divine word. The sacraments are baptism, communion, confirmation, penance, extreme unction, priestly order and marriage.

Islam or the Muslim religion

Judaism also bore the fruit of the birth of another religion, the Muslim or Islamist. In fact, the word "Islam" is Arabic and means "submission" to Allah who is God. It is also a religion that only believes in one God (monotheistic) and whose prophet was Muhammad who was born in Mecca in 570.

Everyone who accepts the faith that preaches Islam is called "Muslim" and, as such, has the Koran as his holy book and in whose scriptures we find the teachings that Muhammad preached in order to spread the word of God among humanity . This religion also has temples or centers of worship that are called mosques and where they have to go to pray and venerate the divine worship.

At least once in their lives, Muslims must go to Mecca on a pilgrimage during the fast of Ramadan, to arrive pure and clean to the sacred place. Ramadan consists of being fasted for a whole month when the sun is in the sky and with the body completely pure, that is, without being able to shower, use hygiene products (cologne, deodorant, etc.), drink water or eat absolutely nothing . It will be in the night hours when the Muslims will be able to do it.

Buddhist religion

Another of the main religions of the world is Buddhism, which, unlike the previous ones, is non-theistic, that is, it does not believe in the existence of God but focuses on the teachings that were spread by Siddhartha Gautama in the 5th century BC and that deal with humanitarian aspects, of kindness and love to all living beings on Earth.

His point of departure was in India and, currently, is one of the most revered religions in many Asian countries; In recent years, its teachings have extended to the Eastern world and, at present, its ideology is part of continents like the European or the American.

The main objective of Buddhism is to overcome human suffering, only then can the inner happiness that is the basis for peace in the world be reached. The thought of this religion is that you can not work for a better world if the people who integrate it do not try to cultivate positive thoughts and energies, for this reason, the change begins within us. In order to achieve spiritual peace, practices such as meditation are carried out so as to be able to control negative thoughts and impulses and learn to be masters of ourselves.

Through self-knowledge and the projection of energy in the cosmos, we will be able to make ourselves wiser and overcome what causes us to suffer. Achieving happiness is only a matter of awareness of the present, of attention, of control and, above all, of leading a prosperous and respectful life with everything that surrounds us, both animate and inanimate.

Karma is one of the essential elements in Buddhism because it considers that all the acts we commit, whether good or bad, are returned by the wheel of life and, therefore, it is important to always lead a good life to collect good fruits, not only in this life, but also in the coming ones as another of the key elements of this doctrine is reincarnation. In this article we tell you what Karma is so that you understand its meaning.

The Judaism

14 million people in the world are Jewish, the mother religion of both Christianity and Islam. In fact, it is the oldest monotheistic religion in the world and believes in the existence of a God who is the creator of the Universe.

People who are Jewish, in addition to having a strong belief in God, also perform religious practices giving great importance to the role of the family as teachers to spread the teachings of God.

The sacred book of this religion is the Torah (which is also known as Pentateuch) and consists of 5 books where you can find the main beliefs and doctrines of this religious thought. In any case, the basic belief of the Jews is that God chose this people to reveal the universal law that is within the Ten Commandments as well as within the Torah itself. With these teachings, the people can be guided to a path full of grace and virtue.

The Jews, however, not only consider themselves Jews for religious reasons but have also created a whole culture behind them, a tradition and even a nation. All these concepts are interrelated but, depending on the community in which they are located, the tradition will incorporate elements or others inspired by the countries they arrived at.