World Religions:

A Comparison World History

Followers of the Major Religions

Buddhism:      373 Million followers No personal deity Siddhartha Gautama (563B.C. - 483 B.C. ) was the founder, people follow his teachings. Many sacred texts, no main one Buddhist monks and nuns are the leadership

The Buddha:  The Buddha is not considered a god, rather he is seen as an example on how to live your life.

Basic Beliefs of the Buddhist:  People reach complete peace and happiness, Nirvana, when they divorce themselves from worldly things and desires.  Noble Eightfold Path is the way that a person reaches Nirvana

Hinduism:      840 million followers Began around 3000 B.C.

Three main gods (Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva) No one founder or holy book, several texts including the Vedas Leaders include the guru, Holy Man, and Brahmin priests Since Hinduism has more than one god, what type of religion is it?

Basic Principles of Hinduism:     Reincarnation People reach happiness when they let go of worldly possessions Worship, knowledge and virtuous acts also lead to happiness Karma

      Islam: One God (Allah) Began 622 A.D. after Muhammad left Mecca.

Muhammad is the founder The Qur’an is the holy book  Sharia law There are no clergy leaders Followers are known as Muslims (1.25 billion followers)

 Basic Beliefs of the Muslim: Person achieves salvation by following the 5 pillars and living a just life.

 The 5 pillars are:      Faith Almsgiving Fasting Hajj Prayer

Judaism:      15 million followers God (Yahweh) The founder is Abraham around 2000 B.C. Holy books include the Hebrew Bible or Torah Rabbis

Basic Beliefs of Judaism:  There is only one god who watches over his people.

 A person serves god by studying the torah and living its teachings.  God protects his people, but also holds them accountable for their sins.

Christianity:     2.1 Billion followers Jesus Christ is the founder The holy book is the bible The leaders of the Christian church are the clergy members

Basic Beliefs of the Christian:  There is only one god and he protects and watches over his people  Jesus was the son of god and he died for man’s sins.

Confucianism:     Not known how many followers due to blending with other ideas. Confucius (551 B.C. – 479 B.C.) was the founder  Some say the main deity as well Holy books include Analects and 5 Classics (Classic of poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites etc..) No clergy

  Basic Beliefs of Confucianism: Strong family relationships Social order, harmony and good government  Education is very important