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 Indus Valley 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
J. Brice
2013
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 www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
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 www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
J. Brice
2013
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
websitewww.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm,
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 websitewww.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
J. Brice
2013
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
websitewww.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
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
websitewww.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm
J. Brice
2013