Christianity
Christianity is one of the biggest religions in the world today, with 2.2 billion adherents. They are mainly found in Europe, the Americas and Southern Africa. They have several denominations, but the three main denominations are Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. The founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ who was born of the virgin Mary and crucified by the Romans after three years of ministry throughout Europe. Jesus is believed to be the son of God, both human and divine, he is said to have led a virtuous life, and after he was killed, it is said that he resurrected and ascended to Heaven. Christians are monotheistic, meaning they only believe in one god (in three persons; father, son, holy spirit), and their holy book is called the Bible.
Islam
Islam is also one of the largest religions in the world, with 1.5 billion adherents. They are mostly found in Indonesia, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. They have just 2 denominations, Sunnis (comes from the Arabic word "people following the traditions of Muhammad") and Shiite (comes from the Arabic word "party" or "support group"). Most Muslims tend to be considered Sunnis rather than Shiites (about 55% more Muslims are Sunnis than Shiites). The founder of this religion is Muhammad, who was born 570 A.D. and died 632 A.D. The holy book is the Quar'an (Koran), and they are monotheistic, meaning they believe in only one God (Allah). They are also Abrahamic in origin. A part of the Islamic faith is the five pillars, which is something that many Muslims live their life by. The Five Pillars are testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting and pilgrimage. Muslims see their purpose in life as serving their God, Allah and to live by Islamic Law.
Hinduism
Hinduism is another large religion in the world, with 1.1 billion adherents. Hindus are usually found in Nepal or India. Their holy book is the Vedas, which are Eternal Truths revealed to ancient sages. There are 4 basic Vedic texts in Hinduism, those being the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda, and the Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda was not composed during any determinable time, since it was a collective output of many sages and visionaries known as Rishis. They went on adding Mantras, poems and hymns for centuries. One of the main ideas of this Veda is the ultimate and harmonious structure of reality. There are 1028 hymns in this Veda. In the Sama Veda sets the music from the Rig Veda to be chanted at appropriate stages and correct modulations and tone. It has 1549 hymns. The Yajur Veda gives directions for the performance of rituals and ceremonies. I was unable to find the amount of hymns in this Veda. Finally, the Athara Veda deals with mostly ethical priciples, and some sciences, like Ayurveda (the sciences of life and longevity). It has about 730 hymns. There is no distinct founder of the Hindu faith, it is just a series of intellectual or philosophical points of view. It is the oldest practiced religion in the world.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a smaller faith, but still one of the top 5 largest religions in the world, with 500 million-1.5 billion adherents. Buddhist are usually found in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, and Japan, but there are about 1.2 million Buddhist in the U.S.A. The founder is Siddharth Guatama, who is also called "Buddha", in the Buddhist faith, he is referred to as "the one who was awakened from a deep sleep of ignorance." After his death, the community he had founded became a religious movement, and later became Buddhism, which became an established state religion by the emperor. There are four denominations in Buddhism, Tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. In Buddhism, there are rules and truths you must realize and follow in the Buddhist faith to be fully at peace. One of these is the Four Noble Truths. 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. The eightfold path is how to be fully at peace, or how to rid yourself of suffering. The eightfold path is as follows; right view. right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right dedication.
Judaism
Judaism, although not one of the biggest religions in the world, with only 14-18 million adherents, still is very significant and major in the establishment of other religions. Jews can be found in the United States as well as Israel. Their founder is Abraham who was led to the promised land by God, and was promised a covenant with God as well. Their holy book is the Torah, which is the first 5 books of the Old Testament, which is a part of the Bible (Christianity). These five books are genesis, exodus, Leviticus, numbers and Deuteronomy. Jews believe in Ethical Monotheism, which means they believe that there is one God, who is concerned with the actions of humankind. They also believe in the 13 principles of faith, as well as the 10 commandments, which were received by Moses on Mt. Sinai. They were often persecuted because they were the first faith to be monotheist. Many people thought this was wrong, and this opinion resulted in a lot of death, war and violence towards Jews.
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