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Religion & Systems of Beliefs – Do you know

Buddhism is a religion which has variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha. Two major branches of Buddhism are: Theravada (“The School of the Elders”) and Mahayana (“The Great Vehicle). The foundations of Buddhist religion are the 3 Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community)

Christianity: It is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Followers of the Christian religion are known as Christians. Moderns Christianity teaches Jesus as the Son of God and the savior of humanity. The three largest groups in the world of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches & the various churches of Protestantism. Christianity has around 2.2 billion followers. Christianity is world’s largest religion.

Confucianism is a life- system that is normally considered as one of the world religions. It is based on teachings of Confucius ,a Chinese thinker.It originated in China.

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings.This is based on 23 teachers of old times. Out of them , Mahavira became one of the most influential Jainism teachers. Jain sangha is divided into two major sects, Digambar and Svetambar.

Judaism is the religion and way of life of the Jewish people. Jewish population was estimated at 13.4 million, or roughly 0.2% of the total world population. About 42% of all Jews reside in Israel and about 42% reside in the United States and Canada.

Hinduism is the major religion of South Asia. Other name for it is Sanātana Dharma. Demographically, Hinduism is the world’s 3rd largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Major books are the Upanishads, Purāṇas , Mahābhārata and Ramayana. The word Hindu is derived from word Sindhu, the local name of a river called Indus which has disappeared now. Hinduism is generally regarded as the world’s oldest organized religion.

Islam : The word Islam means ‘submission to God. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim. Major book is Quran, which is considered to be the word of God. Most Muslims belong to one of the two groups; with 80-90% being Sunni and 10-20% being Shia. Islam is the second-largest religion and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion. Its name was derived from the Chinese words “shin tao” (“The Way of the Kami”).The Kami are the Shinto deities. The word “Kami” is generally translated as “god” Unlike most other religions, Shinto has no real founder, no written scriptures, no body of religious law. About 84% of the population of Japan follow two religions: an amalgam of both Shinto and Buddhism

Sikhism is religion founded in the fifteenth century in North part of India on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji ,the first teacher of Sikhs ,and ten successive Sikh Gurus . The principal beliefs of Sikhism are faith and justice. The holy scripture for Sikhism is the Gurū Granth Sāhib Ji

Taoism (pronounced “Dow”) can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is on how to spend life. The founder of Taoism is believed by a few religious historians to be Lao-Tse. Several Chinese martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, feng shui, and many styles of qigong originated from Taoism.

Compiled from Wikipedia by Stephen & Nadeem,Mirzapur