World Religions
“All rivers flow to the Sea.
The Sea refuses no river.” (Pete Townsend)
In the United States, there are people from over 194 countries, speaking more than 300 languages. Many of these people have many different religions. The six most popular religions are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism Buddhism, Sikhism and Judaism. Because we all have to live, work, and study together, it helps when we understand what religious beliefs other people have. These religions have thousands of years of history and cannot be explained completely here, but we can begin to understand them.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest continuous religion in the world. It started more than 4,000 years ago in India. People living in the IndusValley and the Aryans started this religion together. Hindus can believe in thousands of different gods. One of the most popular gods is Krishna. Hindus have many different beliefs. One of their beliefs is called reincarnation. Reincarnation means people die and are born again in a better or worse form. People’s good or bad actions, called Karma, determine how they will be born again. The important or sacred writings of Hinduism are in many different books. One of the most famous books is called the Veda. The Veda has over a 1,000 songs or hymns in it. There are about 800 million people who practice Hinduism. They sometimes go to Hindu temples to meditate or talk to their gods.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion. Try this website
Buddhism
Buddhism is about 2,500 years old. Like Hinduism, it started in India. The founder’s name was Siddattha Gotama or Buddha. (Buddha means the wise or smart one.) Buddha was a Hindu prince. He was looking for a way to escape from reincarnation, or dying and being born again and again. He told people to stop wanting things. If Buddhists believe this and do it, then they will stop suffering. This escape from suffering is called Nirvana. Buddha’s teachings are in a book called the Tipitaka. There are about 800 million people who practice Buddhism. They sometimes go to Buddhist temples to meditate.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion. Try this website
Judaism
Judaism is about 4,000 years old. It started in the Middle East near what is now Israel. A man named Abraham started it. Abraham said that he talked to God. God told Abraham that Jews should only believe in one god, not in many gods as people believed at that time. Later, God helped the Jews escape from slavery. God gave their leader, Moses, ten rules or commandments. These rules, beliefs, and other writings are in a book called the Tenakh or the Old Testament of the Bible. Half of the world’s 14 million Jews live in the USA. They pray in synagogues.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion. Try this website
Christianity
Christianity is over 2,000 years old. Like Judaism, it started in the Middle East in what is now Israel. Jesus was the son of Jews. Christians call him Jesus Christ. The word Christ means someone who saves people. Jesus said he was the son of God and that he came to save people from doing wrong or sinning. Jesus said that if people said they were sorry for their sins or doing bad things, they would escape suffering and go to heaven. His teachings are in a book called the New Testament of the Christian Bible. There are more than two billion Christians in the world. They pray in churches.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion.
Try this website
Islam
Islam was started about 1,400 years ago. It started in the Middle East in what is now Saudi Arabia. A man named Mohammed started it. He was known as the “Trusted”one. Mohammed was an orphan who said he talked to God when he was about 40 years old. Mohammed told his followers that they should follow only one god, “Allah”, and stop praying to other gods. The things God told Mohammed are in a book called the Koran. One of the principle beliefs is that God is Allah and he controls all things that happen in life. There are also other special rules about how to act listed in the Koran. There are about one billion Muslims around the world. They pray in Mosques.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion. Try this website
Sikhism
Sikhism was founded about 500 years ago. It began in what is now northwest India and Pakistan. It was started by a man named Guru Nanak. Guru means teacher. His parents were Hindus. When he was about 30 years old, he was working with both Hindus and Muslims, even though there had been many conflicts between the two groups. After spending days in isolation, he told his followers that he had had a revelation about religion. The main beliefs of Sikhs follow his revelation: God doesn’t care about the superficial differences among religions as long as they believe in god. The Sikh stories are written in a book called the Guru Granth Sahib. For the first 200 years of the religion, a Guru or teacher was the leader of the religion, but now the book Granth Sahib has taken the place of Gurus. It is read in a temple called the “Gurdwara.” There are no priests in the temple, anyone, man or woman can lead the reading and prayer ceremonies.
Go to the Internet and look for more information about this religion. Try this website
J. Brice
2013