List of different religions of the peoples of the earth. Religions of the world. World religious teachings Religion all religions

Have a good day everyone! The concept of religions is found quite often in exams in the humanities. Therefore, I would recommend looking at these religions of the world, their list, in order to better navigate them.

A little about the concept of "World Religions". Often, it refers to the three main religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. This understanding is not complete to say the least. Since these religious systems have different currents. In addition, there are a number of religions that also unite many people. Before publishing the list, I also recommend that you read the article about .

List of world religions

Abrahamic religions- these are religions that go back to one of the first religious patriarchs - Abraham.

Christianity- briefly about this religion you can. It is presented today in several directions. The key ones are Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the New Testament). It unites about 2.3 billion people today

Islam- how religion took shape in the 7th century AD and absorbed the revelations of Allah to its own prophet Muhammad. It was from him that the prophet learned that one should pray a hundred times a day. However, Muhammad asked Allah to reduce the number of prayers, and as a result, Allah allowed to pray five times a day. By the way, the concepts of heaven and hell in Islam and Christianity are somewhat different. Paradise here is the quintessence of earthly goods. Holy book Quran. Unites today about 1.5 billion people.

Judaism- the religion of the predominantly Jewish people, unites 14 million adherents. Most of all I was struck by the divine service: in its time one can behave quite naturally. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the Old Testament).

Other religions

Hinduism- unites about 900 million followers and includes faith in the eternal soul (atman) and in the universal God. This religion and others like it are also called dharmic - from the Sanskrit word "dharma" - things, the nature of things. Religious priests here are called Brahmins. The key idea is in the rebirth of souls. Who cares, except for jokes, look at Vysotsky: a song about the transmigration of souls.

Buddhism- unites over 350 million adherents. It comes from the fact that the soul is bound by the wheel of samsara - the wheel of reincarnations, and only work on oneself can allow it to break out of this circle into nirvana - eternal bliss. There are different branches of Buddhism: Zen Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. The sacred texts are called Tripitaka.

Zoroastrianism(“Good Faith”) is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, incorporates faith in the single god Ahura Mazda and his prophet Zarathushtra, unites about 7 million people. Religion embodies belief in good and evil thoughts. The latter are the enemies of God and must be eradicated. Light is the physical embodiment of God and is worthy of reverence, which is why this religion is also called fire worship. Thus, in my opinion, this is the most honest religion, since it is thoughts that determine a person, and not his actions. If you agree with this - put like at the end of the post!

Jainism- unites approximately 4 million adherents and proceeds from the fact that all living beings are eternally living in the spiritual world, calls for self-improvement through the cultivation of wisdom and other virtues.

Sikhism- unites about 23 million adherents and includes the understanding of God as the Absolute and as a part of every person. Worship occurs through meditation.

Juche is a North Korean political ideology that many refer to as a religion. It was formed on the basis of the transformation of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and synthesis with traditional Chinese philosophy.

Confucianism- in the strict sense of the word, it is a more ethical and philosophical doctrine than religion and combines ideas about proper behavior, ritual and tradition, which, according to Confucius, must be represented. The main treatise is Lun-yu. Consolidates about 7 million people.

Shintoism- this religion is prevalent mainly in Japan, so read about it.

Khao Dai- a fairly new religious system that appeared in 1926 and combines many provisions of Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. Calls for equality between the sexes, pacifism, etc. It originated in Vietnam. In essence, religion embodies everything that has been lacking in this region of the planet for a long time.

I hope you got an idea about the religions of the world! Like, subscribe for new articles.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

Those who lived millennia ago had their own beliefs, deities and religion. With the development of human civilization, religion also developed, new beliefs and currents appeared, and it is impossible to unequivocally conclude whether religion depended on the level of development of civilization or vice versa, it was people's beliefs that were one of the guarantees of progress. In the modern world there are thousands of beliefs and religions, some of which have millions of adherents, while others have only a few thousand or even hundreds of believers.

Religion is one of the forms of understanding the world, which is based on faith in higher powers. As a rule, each religion includes a number of moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, religious rituals and rituals, and also unites a group of believers into an organization. All religions rely on a person's belief in supernatural forces, as well as on the relationship of believers with their deity (deities). Despite the apparent difference in religions, many postulates and dogmas of various beliefs are very similar, and this is especially noticeable when comparing the main world religions.

Major world religions

Modern researchers of religions distinguish three main religions of the world, the adherents of which are the vast majority of all believers on the planet. These religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as numerous currents, offshoots and based on these beliefs. Each of the world's religions has more than a thousand years of history, scriptures and a number of cults and traditions that believers should observe. As for the geography of distribution of these beliefs, if even less than 100 years ago it was possible to draw more or less clear boundaries and recognize Europe, America, South Africa and Australia as "Christian" parts of the world, North Africa and the Middle East as Muslim, and the states located in the southeastern part of Eurasia - Buddhist, now every year this division is becoming more and more conditional, since on the streets of European cities you can increasingly meet Buddhists and Muslims, and in the secular states of Central Asia, on the same street there can be a Christian temple and mosque.

The founders of world religions are known to every person: Jesus Christ is considered the founder of Christianity, Prophet Mohammed is the founder of Islam, Siddhartha Gautama is the founder of Buddhism, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened). However, it should be noted that Christianity and Islam have common roots in Judaism, since the beliefs of Islam also include the prophet Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus) and other apostles and prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Bible, but Islamists are sure that the fundamental teachings are still the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, who was sent to earth later than Jesus.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the oldest of the world's major religions, with a history of more than two and a half thousand years. This religion originated in the southeast of India, its founder is considered to be Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who through contemplation and meditation achieved enlightenment and began to share the truth that had been revealed to him with other people. Based on the teachings of the Buddha, his followers wrote the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), which is considered a sacred book by the followers of most of the currents of Buddhism. The main currents of Buddhism today are Hinayama (Theravada Buddhism - "Narrow Path to Liberation"), Mahayana ("Wide Path to Liberation") and Vajrayana ("Diamond Path").

Despite some differences between the orthodox and new currents of Buddhism, this religion is based on the belief in reincarnation, karma and the search for the path of enlightenment, after which you can free yourself from the endless chain of rebirths and achieve enlightenment (nirvana). The difference between Buddhism and other major religions of the world is the belief of Buddhists that a person’s karma depends on his actions, and everyone goes his own way of enlightenment and is responsible for his own salvation, and the gods, whose existence Buddhism recognizes, do not play a key role in the fate of a person, for they are also subject to the laws of karma.

Christianity

The birth of Christianity is considered to be the first century of our era; The first Christians appeared in Palestine. However, taking into account the fact that the Old Testament of the Bible, the holy book of Christians, was written much earlier than the birth of Jesus Christ, it is safe to say that the roots of this religion are in Judaism, which arose almost a millennium before Christianity. Today, there are three main areas of Christianity - Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy, branches of these areas, as well as those who also consider themselves Christians.

At the heart of the beliefs of Christians is the belief in the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in angels and demons and in the afterlife. The difference between the three main directions of Christianity is that Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics and Protestants, do not believe in the existence of purgatory, and Protestants consider inner faith to be the key to the salvation of the soul, and not the observance of many sacraments and rites, so the churches of Protestant Christians are more modest than the churches of Catholics and Orthodox, as well as the number of church sacraments among Protestants is less than among Christians who adhere to other currents of this religion.

Islam

Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, it originated in the 7th century in Arabia. The holy book of Muslims is the Quran, which contains the teachings and instructions of the prophet Mohammed. At the moment, there are three main branches of Islam - Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The main difference between the first and other branches of Islam is that the Sunnis consider the successors of Magomed to the first four caliphs, and, in addition to the Koran, they recognize the sunnahs telling about the prophet Magomed as sacred books, and the Shiites believe that only his direct blood can be the successors of the Prophet. descendants. Kharijites are the most radical offshoot of Islam, the beliefs of the supporters of this trend are similar to those of the Sunnis, however, the Kharijites recognize only the first two caliphs as successors of the Prophet.

Muslims believe in the one God of Allah and his prophet Mohammed, in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife. In Islam, great attention is paid to the observance of traditions and religious rites - every Muslim must perform salat (daily five times prayer), fast in Ramadan and at least once in his life make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Common in the three major world religions

Despite the difference in rituals, beliefs and certain dogmas of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, all these beliefs have some common features, and the similarity of Islam and Christianity is especially noticeable. Belief in one God, in the existence of the soul, in the afterlife, in fate and in the possibility of the help of higher powers - these are the dogmas that are inherent in both Islam and Christianity. The beliefs of Buddhists differ significantly from the religions of Christians and Muslims, but the similarity between all world religions is clearly visible in the moral and behavioral norms that believers must comply with.

The 10 Biblical Commandments that Christians are required to observe, the laws prescribed in the Koran, and the Noble Eightfold Path contain moral norms and rules of conduct prescribed for believers. And these rules are the same everywhere - all the major religions of the world forbid believers from doing atrocities, harming other living beings, lying, behaving loosely, rudely or disrespectfully towards other people and urge to treat other people with respect, care and and develop in character positive traits.

Depending on their distribution and role, all religions are divided into world and national.

The most widespread of the world's religions is Christianity, which is practiced by approximately 2.4 billion people, mainly in Europe, America and Australia. The second place in terms of the number of believers (1.3 billion) is occupied by Islam (Muslims), which is declared the state religion in many countries, located mainly in Asia and Africa.

The third place among world religions in terms of the number of adherents belongs to Buddhism (500 million), which is widespread in Central, Southeast and East Asia.

Recently, the Islamic factor has begun to exert a very great influence on the entire world development. Today, the Muslim world includes more than 50 countries, and there are Muslim communities in 120 countries.

Large in terms of the number of inhabitants are Islamic states - Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran, Turkey, Egypt. Almost 20 million people practice Islam in Russia; it is the second largest and most popular religion in the country after Christianity.

Table 1. Main features of the geography of religions

Religions Main areas and countries of distribution
Christianity (Catholicism) Countries of Southern Europe, North and Latin America, Asia (Philippines)
Christianity / Orthodoxy) Eastern European countries (Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine)
Christianity (Protestantism) Countries of Western and Northern Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa (South Africa and former British colonies)
Islam European countries (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia), Asian countries, North Africa
Buddhism and Lamaism China, Mongolia, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia (Buryatia, Tyva, Kalmykia)
Hinduism India, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Confucianism China
Shintoism Japan

Interpretation of the data in the table in the regional plan testifies to the following: Christianity in all its forms is distributed almost exclusively in foreign Europe.

At the same time, Catholicism is most widely represented in the southern, partly in the western and eastern parts of Europe, and Protestantism is most widely represented in Northern, Central and Western Europe.

Orthodoxy is widespread in the east and southeast of Europe.

All world and many major national religions are spread in Foreign Asia. This is, first of all, Islam, as well as Buddhism and Christianity, which has spread only in the Philippines, Lebanon (along with Islam) and Cyprus. The national religion of Israel is Judaism.

In North Africa, in a number of countries lying south of the Sahara, in Somalia and, in part, in Ethiopia, Islam dominates.

Protestantism prevails among the white population in South Africa.

In all other African countries, as a rule, both Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism) and traditional local beliefs are represented.

In the Americas, Christianity dominates in two of its forms - Protestantism and Catholicism. For example, in the United States, the majority of believers are Protestants and Catholics. Latin America is dominated by Catholicism. As a result, America accounts for more than half of all Catholics in the world.

In Australia, the majority of believers are Protestants, who are about twice as many as Catholics.

Wahhabism and its characteristics

Socio-political consequences of the spread of Wahhabism in the world

If Wahhabism had remained within the borders of Saudi Arabia, it seems that there would not have been any particular problems. However, since the early 1970s Wahhabism began to purposefully and very actively spread outside of Saudi Arabia ...

The rise and development of Islam

Chapter 2

Islam in the modern world

A century and a half from the beginning of the 19th to the second half of the 20th century was an important turning point in the evolution of Islam. Changes in the socio-economic structures of the countries of the East, the formation of a new class - the national bourgeoisie ...

Geography of World Religions

2.1 The spread of religions in the modern world

World experience in the spread of religions shows that the religious composition of the population is not static and is subject to significant and sometimes fundamental changes over time.

Geography of religions

This dynamic, according to religious scholars...

Unity and Diversity of Indigenous Religions in North America

4. Representations of the North American Indians about the world

If we want to understand the essence of the religions of the North American Indians, it will be natural to start with an analysis of their ideas about the world.

This concept can be interpreted in various ways...

Mortuary cult of ancient Egypt

Chapter 1 Egyptian conception of the afterlife

The ancient Egyptians considered the afterlife to be a continuation of life on earth. According to ideas, the afterlife of a person exists in two forms - this is the soul and life force. The life force resides in the tomb...

Catholicism in the modern world

5.

Catholicism in the modern world

The beginning of the modern understanding of the social development of the world in Catholicism was laid by the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII "Rerum novarum" ("New things", 1891), which had the subtitle "On the position of the working class, or on the so-called social question" ...

The place of man in the Buddhist cultural tradition

2 Buddhist view of the world and the purpose of man in this world

An important aspect of Buddhism is the idea of ​​the inseparability of knowledge and morality.

The improvement of knowledge is impossible without morality, that is, without voluntary control over one's passions and prejudices...

world religions

1.3 Buddhism in the modern world

Perhaps, none of the Eastern religions evoked such complex and contradictory feelings among Europeans as Buddhism.

And this is quite understandable - Buddhism, as it were, challenged all the basic values ​​​​of the Christian European civilization ...

world religions. Buddhism

Buddhism in the modern world

Buddhism India Ethical Buddhism has become known to the general public in recent years, and those who are interested can study the various Buddhist schools and traditions. An outside observer may be confused by the many currents and the external difference in forms ...

Religions in the modern world

2. The religious situation in the modern world

The position of religion in modern society is quite contradictory, and it is simply impossible to assess its role, possibilities and prospects in any unambiguous way.

You can definitely say...

Religion is the opium of the people

2.3 Faith in the modern world

Religion in the modern world plays almost the same important role as it did millennia ago, because according to polls conducted by the American Gallup Institute, at the beginning of the 21st century, more than 90% of people believed in the existence of God or higher powers ...

Religion and religious belief

4.

Religion today has a great power of influence on the spiritual life of a person, primarily on morality. In our country, the influence of religion has increased significantly. On television, we often see worship services taking place in churches ...

Religion as a social institution

1.1 The concept and essence of religion in the modern world

Before considering religion as a social institution of society, it is necessary to consider what the concept of "social institution" is.

Social institutions are organized associations of people...

The role of a "servant of God" today

3. CHURCH TRADITIONS IN THE MODERN WORLD

If you look at some time ago (Soviet times), Christian communities were isolated, state propaganda worked for this, even Christian children were outcasts, so church traditions were in a sense the only world ...

The role of religion in the modern world

3.

The role of religion in the modern world

According to the American Gallup Institute, in 2000, 95% of Africans, 97% of Latin America, 91% of the United States, 89% of Asia, 88% of Western Europe, 84% of Eastern Europe believed in God and a "higher being" , 42.9% - Russia ...

The spread of Islam in the world

Islam or Islam, the second most faithful religion in the world in Christianity.

At the beginning of the XXI century. There are more than half a million Muslims in the world, i.e., every fourth inhabitant of our planet has spoken Islam. 2/3 of Muslims live in Asia, about 1/3 in Africa, the Muslim population from other regions is relatively small (Table 1).

Table 1

Distribution of Muslims by regions of the world, 2005.

"Islamic dog" occurs in the tropical latitudes of the northern hemisphere throughout the Old World.

The boundaries of this religious and cultural space are well defined. The north crosses the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, then at the foot of the North Caucasus, along the border of forests and steppes in Eurasia, and then along the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt. The southern border runs along the southern borders of the Sahara, then crosses the Indian Ocean, and in the east it shifts slightly into the southern hemisphere, almost touching Australia.

On the map on p. 26 black colors that show predominant Muslim dominance, colored in North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Compare this map with the map of people in the world. Did you notice the similarity? 80% of this intense shady area is inhabited by Arab people who speak the same Arabic language and have a common Arab identity. Very concentrated Muslims, not Arabs, are Turkey (with Turks), Iran (with Persians), Afghanistan and Pakistan (with an abundance of multilingual ethnic groups).

It is above all the closest neighbor of the Arabs; their fate is closely intertwined with the fate of the Arab people.

table 2

Countries with the highest percentage of Muslims, 2005

The state population of the country,
millions of people. The proportion of Muslims
%
Bahrain 0.7 0.7 100,0
West Sahara 0,3 0,3 100,0
Kuwait 2,3 2,3 100,0
Mauritania 3,1 3,1 100,0
Maldives 0,3 0,3 100,0
Saudi Arabia 26,4 26,4 100,0
Somalia 8,6 8,6 100,0
Yemen 20,7 20,7 99,9
turkey 69,7 69,5 99,8
Algeria 32,5 32,2 99,0
Afghanistan 29,9 29,6 99,0
Oman 3.0 3.0 99,0
Morocco 32,7 32,3 98,7
Iran 68,0 66,7 98,0
Comoros 0.7 0.7 98,0
Palestinian territories 3,8 3,7 98,0
Tunisia 10,1 9,9 98,0
Iraq 26,1 25,3 97,0
Libya 5,8 5,6 97,0
Mayotte (Fr.) 0.2 0.2 97,0
Niger 11,7 11,3 97,0
Pakistan 162,4 157,5 97,0
United Arab Emirates 2,6 2.5 96,0
Gambia 1,6 1,5 95,0
Qatar 0.9 0.8 95,0

Why is the Islamic world so close to the Arab world?

The point of Islamic religious foundations: Islam was created in the Arab media, the main book of Muslims "Quran" is sacred in Arabic, only to become a true Muslim, can only be read in Arabic, and prayers in Arabic can be read.

Although the proportion of Muslims in the population is mainly located in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa, countries in terms of the number of Muslims located in South and Southeast Asia.

Most Muslims live in Indonesia - more than 200 million, in second place with almost 160 million - in Pakistan, finally, third - it already seems to be a non-Muslim India, where 130 million people are recognized as the Prophet Muhammad (!). Is this paradoxical, since the cradle of Islam is Saudi Arabia in the list of countries (Table 3), with the number of Muslims being only fifteenth?

Table 3

Countries with the largest number of Muslims, 2005

Country Number of Muslims,
millions of people. The number of Muslims
millions of people.
Indonesia 213 Tanzania 13
Pakistan 158 Niger 11
India 130 mali 11
Bangladesh 127 Senegal 10
Egypt 73 Tunisia 10
turkey 70 Somalia 9
Iran 67 Guinea 8th place
Nigeria 64 Azerbaijan 7
China 37 Thailand 7
Ethiopia 35 Kazakhstan 7
Morocco 32 Burkina Faso 7
Algeria 32 Ivory Coast 6
Afghanistan 30 Tajikistan 6
Sudan 29 USA 6
Saudi Arabia 26 Philippines 6
Iraq 25 Congo (Kinshasa) 6
uzbekistan 24 France 6
Yemen 21 Libya 6
Russian Federation 20 Jordan 5
Syria 17 Chad 5
Malaysia 14 Kenya 5

According to the Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (http://www.hajinformation.com) and the Muslim population worldwide.

Much will become clear if we remember what natural conditions prevail in the Middle East.

Hot dry climate, lack of water limits the entire population in these areas. South and Southeast Asia are different, where conditions tend to be more comfortable to live in and manage.

Muslims in India make up only 12%, but more than one billionth of the country, turning into a 130 millionth situation with China. Local Muslims (Ujghuri, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Dungans, etc.) make up less than 3% of the "middle kingdom" of the population, but the absolute numbers of this figure reach 37 million - this is more than in such large Muslim countries as Algeria, Morocco but Iraq.

QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES ON THE MAP, p.

the first Do you remember from history where and when the source of the source?

3.2 Geography of world religions

Who was the main prophet of this faith? In what city was he born and lived? Find this place on a geographic map and evaluate its geographic location.

second Using the map of the Arab caliphate of the new school atlas for the history of the Middle Ages, Mark cartogram (pp. 24-25) and cartogram (p. 26), the upper limit of the territorial distribution of the Arabic calypso (best use of photocopy).

In what regions of the world do Muslims live outside the historical Arab state - the Caliphate?

What do you think, under what circumstances?

What part, formerly part of the Arab estate, is now almost without a Muslim population?

What historical events made it?

third The desktop "Personal Data in the World" published in "Geography" number 6-12/2006 identifies five Muslim countries (with a population of more than half representing Muslims) with the highest GDP per capita. Where did the wealth of these countries come from?

Have they always been distinguished by a high level of economic development? At what point did the economic boom start in these countries?

fourth On print publications, online news agencies, TV news, they have created centers of inter-ethnic conflicts on the opposite map, including Muslims.

Are there conflicts in a world where both opposites represent Muslims?

Give examples, mark on the map. I appreciate the relative position of the tricks you mark with you. Are there spatial patterns on their site? Where are these conflicts more: in countries with high or low percentages of Muslims?

fifth Find a map of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) (for example, from Geography,
No. 17/2005). Compare this card with the cartogram and cartogram given in this issue.

Which countries with more than 6 million Muslims do not belong to the OIC and do not even have observers in it? Why do you think so?

What religions are predominant in these countries?

Until the eighteenth century. were the main characteristics of the geography of religions, and since then there have been no major changes in it. Changes, mainly related to the number of believers in individual religious movements, which were associated with a large increase in the population of a certain group (the number of Christians, especially Orthodox and Protestants), grew more slowly.

To understand the geography of religions, it is important to know how they are classified.

The oldest religions traditionally received from distant ancestors. At present, the geography of their distribution is quite wide, but the number of believers is small, with the exception of Africa.

World religions are characterized by a much larger number of followers and a wider territorial distribution. Universal religions have members in many countries and regions of the world, and ethnic divided mainly between people of the same nationality.

About 2/5 believers in the world Christians(Estimates of the number of believers are relative, because

The main characteristics of the geography of world religions are the structural-logical scheme

Religion is not counted among the population in most countries of the world). This is the absolute majority in America, Australia and Europe. In Africa, their numbers are about the same as for Muslims, and there are relatively few Christians in Asia. It can be said that Christianity is the religion of the Western world (see also the article "Population of the Earth").

Half of Christian believers Catholics. The most "Catholic" region in the world has become Latin America, where the absolute absolute number of Catholics is more than 9/10 of the population.

Half of the Catholics in Europe, and very relative prevail - only 1/3. The largest country in the world with the number of Catholics (in millions, ..): Brazil - 133, Mexico - 76, USA - 67, the Philippines - 54, Italy - 48. Among them is Spain, called the "beloved daughter of Catholicism." "

As for all Christians, the city of Jerusalem has become sacred to Catholics (Jerusalem is also a sacred place to Muslims and Jews), which is actually the birthplace of Christianity.

The pure Catholic sanctuary is Rome, where the Vatican is located (the religious center of the Catholic world, where the residence of the main Catholic is the Pope). During the pilgrimage, Christianity in sacred places is not as widespread as, for example, between Muslims or Hindus. However, the southern French city of Lourdes annually receives up to 2 million Catholics from the local miraculous spring.

Protestants There are half of the Catholics in the world.

Their primary focus is in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada. Only in Australia Protestants make up an absolute majority among loyal people (about 2/3). The majority of Protestants are concentrated (in millions) in the USA - 70, Great Britain - 40, Germany - 30. Many Protestants are concentrated in South Africa, Australia and Canada.

room orthodox The believers are relatively small and their main focus is in Eastern Europe.

Orthodox only in Europe represent an important part of the likely population (about 1/4). The largest Orthodox believers in the country are Russia, Ukraine, Romania.

The second largest religion in the world Islam.

The majority of Muslims in Asia, but in Africa, together with Christians, constitute the majority of the probable population. There are much more Muslims in Europe (about 1/10 believers). Among the indigenous peoples, Islam is mainly carried out in southeastern Europe, in the territory of the former Ottoman Empire.

Many immigrant Muslims in France and the UK. The majority of believers are Sunni Muslims, and only in Iran and part of Iraq are there many members of the Shia interpretation of Islam. In the Islamic political world, these religious differences sometimes lead to complex conflicts. Islamic countries are quite compactly located from North Africa to South Asia. The exception is a large Islamic settlement in Southeast Asia. The largest Muslim believers in the country (in millions): Indonesia - 161, Pakistan - 126, India - 100, Bangladesh - 100, Turkey - 58.

Pilgrimage to sacred places is one of the most important elements of the Islamic faith.

Special worship had two places in Saudi Arabia in Mecca - the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad (in the Russian transcription of Muhammad) and Medina - at the end of his burial. The Shiites have their own holy places in Iraq. Millions of Muslims made annual pilgrimages to Arabia's holy sites, although they are now mostly on planes.

third world religion Buddhism which is significantly less than the first two in terms of the number of believers.

Buddhists were quite compact in Asia, except for their western part. The pilgrimage is not so great, but many believers visited the birthplace of Buddha in Lumbini, a small village (foothills of the Himalayas), where a monument with the inscription: “Here the sublime was born” was preserved. The maximum number of Buddhists in the world (millions of people ..) Japan - 92, China - 70 , Thailand - 54 Myanmar - 39, Vietnam - 38.

Among the ethnic religions, the most adherents are the Hindu and Chinese religions.

Religious buildings are great dishes.

They create a special kind of settlements. It is unlikely that everyone will confuse a mosque with an Orthodox church. We are less aware of the appearance of Hindu, Buddhist or Shinto shrines. The photograph shows the exterior of some of the more characteristic temple buildings.

It is customary to destroy tribal, local (national) and world religions. The world religions are Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.

world religions

Buddhism, the oldest world religion, exists mainly in two main varieties - Hinayana and Mahayana, which also need to be added to Lamaism. In the world religion developed in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam and many other countries. Buddhism as a world religion has reached its most perfect image in Tibet in Lamaism In Russia, Lamaism is practiced by the inhabitants of Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia.

There are currently about 300 million members of this religious lesson.

Christianity is spreading among the peoples of Europe and in other parts of the world where migrants live in this part of the world. In Europe, almost exclusively Christianity in all its forms.

The number of Christianity is approaching 2 billion people. Christianity includes three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism, in which there are many different religions and religious associations.

Catholicism (Catholicism) is the most important branch of Christianity.

The most widely represented in the southern, partially western and eastern parts. It was professed by the Latins (Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, etc.), as well as the Irish, Bretons, Basques, some German countries (Austrians, Flemings, part of the Germans), most of the faithful Hungarians, some Slavic peoples (Poles, Czechs , Croats, Slovenes, most Slovaks, some western Ukrainians and Belarusians), Lithuanians and the Latvian side. Catholicism is the dominant religion in Latin America and the Philippines; There are important groups of Catholics in the United States and Canada (French Canadians), as well as in Indo-China and some African countries (former colonies).

Protestantism.

The largest areas of Protestantism are Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Methodism, and Baptism. Protestantism is widespread in Northern, Central and Western Europe.

It is spoken by most Germans, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, English, Swedish, Finnish.

§16. Ethnic composition of the population. Geography of world religions

It is predominant in the United States and other English speaking countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand). For example, there are 140 million believers in the United States—72 million Protestants and 52 million Catholics.

In Canada, there are slightly more Catholics than Protestants. In Australia, Protestants predominate among believers, about twice as many as Catholics. Large groups of Protestants are present in South Africa, Brazil, Estonia and Latvia.

Orthodoxy of Byzantine origin was established in the east and southeast of Europe. Kievan Rus received Christianity in 988 with Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

Orthodoxy is practiced in almost Slavic countries - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro. Orthodox also profess such nations as Mordvins, Maris, Komis, Udmurts, Chuvashs, some countries of the Caucasus (Georgian and South Ossetians) and Siberia (Yakuts, etc.). The Armenian Gregorian Church is located near the Orthodox Church.

In many countries of the African continent, Christianity is actually represented (Catholicism and Protestantism, since these countries were recently colonies of European countries) and traditional local beliefs.

In Africa, Christianity is a monophyte in Ethiopia and partly in Egypt.

Islam is the second in Christianity in terms of adherents of the world faith (1.1 billion people).

Muslim (Islam), divided into two currents - Sunnis and only in Iran (partially in Iraq, Yemen, Azerbaijan) - Shiites. Sunni Islam is widespread in southwestern Asia, as well as in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines. Significant Sunni groups are found in India (about 150 million) and in western China. His confession is all the peoples of the North and Sub-Saharan Africa - the inhabitants of Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Somalia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Niger, Chad, Gambia, Mauritania and others.

On the territory of the CIS, residents of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, the North Caucasus, as well as residents of some of the republics that make up Russia - Tatars, Bashkirs and some of the inhabitants of Siberia, participate in Islam. In Europe, Islam is a relatively small population group (Bosniaks, Albanians, part of Bulgaria, migrants living in Europe - immigrants from countries where they pronounce Islam).

local religions

Confucianism was created in the middle.

1 thousand BC in China as a social and ethical doctrine, presented by the philosopher Confucius. For many centuries it was a kind of state ideology. Other local (national) religions of China - Taoism - are based on a combination of elements of Buddhism and Confucianism.

Hinduism means not just the name of a religion.

In India, where it has become widespread, it is a whole religious form, from the simplest ritual, polytheistic to philosophical and mystical, monotheistic.

Shinto is the indigenous faith of Japan (along with Buddhism). It is a combination of elements of Confucianism (respect for ancestral cultures, patriarchal foundations of the family, respect for elders, etc.) and Taoism.

Judaism spreads exclusively among living people living in different countries of the world (the largest groups are in the USA and Israel).

The total number of Jews in the world is about 14 million people.

Ethnic religions include totemism, shamanism, pagan cultures, and others. Distribute it among African tribes and in some Asian countries (Mongolia, Buryatia, Yakutia, Komi, etc.).

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Hello dear students!

Today we have a rather complicated topic. In elementary school, it is studied as part of the course "Fundamentals of Religious Culture and Secular Ethics" and it is quite possible that the teacher will ask you to prepare a report or message for the class on the topic "Major World Religions".

Today I propose to consider them in more detail and give them a brief description in order to have a little idea of ​​what the believing people breathe. I will try to write in simple words so that everything is clear to everyone. Well, if it is still not clear, then you can always ask a question in the comments.

Lesson plan:

What is religion?

There were many of them, and each saint was responsible for his own sphere.

  • Some gods were called upon to make it rain.
  • To others - to help in the fight against enemies.
  • The third was asked for help in trouble and illness.

This is how religion was born - faith in a supernatural helper called God, and the ability to turn to him through prayers.

Time passed, people's beliefs changed, matured and united into groups. Today there are many religious movements, the supporters of which may be hundreds, and may be billions of people.

Each religious belief includes:

  • norms of morality and ethics;
  • rules of behavior;
  • a set of rituals and ceremonies, with the help of which they turn to shrines, asking for help in pressing matters.

There are three major religions in the world today. All other beliefs are just offshoots from them with their small subtleties. The most important life postulates are preserved in any religion.

The oldest religion is Buddhism

A Buddhist religious movement arose in the 6th century BC in India.

History connects the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Siddhartha Gautama.

According to an ancient legend, at the age of 29, he left his luxurious home when he saw the “truth of life”:

  • old age in the form of a decrepit old man caught in the eye;
  • illness through a seriously ill person;
  • death from a collision with a funeral procession.

In search of truth, he reflected and meditated, realizing the inevitability of putting up with the obligatory moments in life. As a result, he found the meaning of the existence of everything that surrounds us, and as the Buddhists say, he became enlightened, therefore he was called the Buddha.

Found in the depths of his consciousness the truth about the fate of man, the Buddha began to share with others - this is how the sacred book Tipitaka appeared.

It lists all the main religious ideas of Buddhism:

  • suffering in life is inevitable; to get rid of them, you need to renounce earthly desires, striving to achieve nirvana - the highest state of the soul;
  • a person himself determines his future fate by his actions, being reborn in another life into a new living being, who you will be later depends on how you behave in this life;
  • right behavior is kindness and the ability to sympathize with others;
  • the right way of life is honesty;
  • right speech is the absence of falsehood;
  • right action - do not harm anything living, do not steal and do not have bad habits;
  • proper training is the realization that everything can be achieved if you make an effort.

Today, Buddhism is supported in different countries by more than 500 million people.

Buddhists in Asia, the Far East, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Cambodia devote all their free time to meditation in monasteries, trying to reach this highest state and free themselves from the shackles of life.

The Buddhist headquarters is located in Bangkok. Representatives of this religion choose divine statues as shrines, to which they lay flowers.

Cultural scientists believe that without understanding Buddhism, it is impossible to understand the great culture of the eastern peoples of India, China, Tibet and Mongolia. Buddhism is also present in Russia, you can chat with its fans in Kalmykia or Buryatia.

It is interesting! The name of the Buddhist canons "Tipitaka" means "triple basket", which is usually interpreted as "three baskets of the law." Scientists believe that perhaps the sacred texts of the rules, written in ancient times on palm leaves, were kept in wicker baskets.

christian religion

The birthplace of Christianity is Palestine, the former east of the Roman Empire.

A religious movement that appeared in the 1st century turned to all the humiliated who were looking for justice with a proposal to turn to God for help in the hope of getting rid of everything bad. The emergence of the Christian religion is associated with the sermons of Jesus Christ, whose birth was predicted to the Virgin Mary.

When he was 30 years old, the messenger of God went out to people to preach the holy word, conveying to the people the ideas of diligence, peace and brotherhood, condemning wealth and extolling the spiritual over the material. The Hebrew name of Jesus is Yeshua, which translates as “savior”, who was destined to suffer for the sins of all Christians.

The basis of the Christian religion is belief in angels and demons, the afterlife, the Last Judgment and the end of the world.

The holy book of the Christian religion is the Bible, which contains all the main ten rules - the commandments, their observance for every believing Christian is the goal in life.

The most important of these is to love God as yourself. There are also rules not to steal and not to lie, to work and honor parents.

In 1054, the Christian church split into Orthodox (east) and Catholics (west), and later, in the 16th century, Protestants appeared.

Most of the Orthodox live in Russia, Belarus, Greece, Moldova, they are among Canadians and Americans. Catholicism is widespread in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, Germany.

Today there are about 2 billion believers in the Christian religion.

This is the largest religion in the world in terms of the number of followers and geography - in every country there is, even a small, Christian community.

All Christians, both Orthodox and Catholics, attend church churches, undergo baptism and atone for their sins through prayer and fasting.

The youngest religion is Islam

The youngest world religion in terms of age appeared among the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century and is translated as “submission”.

But young does not mean that there are few believers in it - today there are about 1.5 billion people from almost 120 countries of the world among the followers of Islam. The ideas of Islam were brought to the people by Muhammad, born in Mecca, who declared that he was the chosen one of Allah (the god of the Islamists) to put his sermons into practice.

The holy scripture of Muslims - this is the name of those who have chosen Islam as their religion - the Koran, where all the sermons of Muhammad were included.

An Islamic shrine is a mosque where believers come to pray 5 times a day. Many researchers believe that young Islam took its entire foundation from the Christian Bible, adding Arabic traditions: here, too, there is God's terrible judgment and demons, paradise and Satan.

According to the Muslim Quran, a person lives to pass all the trials of life, serving Allah and preparing for the afterlife. The most serious sins in Islam are gambling and drunkenness, as well as usury (this is when they lend and demand to return it in a larger amount, charging interest).

Also, true Muslims never eat pork. Muslims are especially attentive to fasting in the month of Ramadan, when even a crumb of food is not allowed during daylight hours.

Islam has a religious law called Sharia, the court of which sometimes does not fit into the conditions of modern times - for serious sins and violation of the Koran, Muslims are stoned to death, for minor offenses they are beaten with sticks. Such punishments are still preserved in some areas of Islamic states.

What unites the three world religions

No matter how the three religions, which we have characterized today, are named, no matter how they differ in rituals, shrines and faith, all of them, taken together, establish human moral standards and rules of conduct, forbidding pain and harm to all living things, resorting to cheating, behaving disrespectfully towards others.

Any of the world religions teaches tolerance, calls to be merciful and treat people with kindness.

Sharing good, no one becomes a beggar,

Everything will come back a hundredfold.

Who makes our world brighter and cleaner,

He himself will become rich from kindness.

That's all for today. I say goodbye to you with wishes to be kinder to each other.

Success in your studies!

Evgenia Klimkovich.

As well as their classifications. In religious studies, it is customary to distinguish the following types: tribal, national and world religions.

Buddhism

is the oldest religion in the world. It originated in the 6th century. BC e. in India, and is currently distributed in the countries of South, Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East and has about 800 million followers. Tradition links the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His father hid bad things from Gautama, he lived in luxury, married his beloved girl, who bore him a son. The impetus for a spiritual upheaval for the prince, as the legend says, was four meetings. At first he saw a decrepit old man, then a leprous sufferer and a funeral procession. So Gautama learned old age, sickness and death are the fate of all people. Then he saw a peaceful, impoverished wanderer who needed nothing from life. All this shocked the prince, made him think about the fate of people. He secretly left the palace and family, at the age of 29 he became a hermit and tried to find. As a result of deep reflection, at the age of 35 he became a Buddha - enlightened, awakened. For 45 years, the Buddha preached his teaching, which can be briefly reduced to the following main ideas.

Life is suffering, the cause of which are the desires and passions of people. To get rid of suffering, it is necessary to renounce earthly passions and desires. This can be achieved by following the path of salvation indicated by the Buddha.

After death, any living being, including humans, is reborn again, but already in the form of a new living being, whose life is determined not only by its own behavior, but also by the behavior of its "predecessors".

We must strive for nirvana, i.e., dispassion and peace, which are achieved by renunciation of earthly attachments.

Unlike Christianity and Islam Buddhism lacks the idea of ​​God as the creator of the world and its ruler. The essence of the doctrine of Buddhism boils down to a call to every person to embark on the path of seeking inner freedom, complete liberation from all the shackles that life brings.

Christianity

It arose in the 1st century. n. e. in the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Palestine - as addressed to all the humiliated, thirsting for justice. It is based on the idea of ​​messianism - the hope for the Divine deliverer of the world from everything bad that is on Earth. Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of people, whose name in Greek means "Messiah", "Savior". By this name, Jesus is associated with the Old Testament traditions about the coming to the land of Israel of a prophet, the messiah, who will free the people from suffering and establish a righteous life - God's kingdom. Christians believe that the coming of God to Earth will be accompanied by the Last Judgment, when He will judge the living and the dead, direct them to heaven or hell.

Basic Christian ideas:

  • Belief that God is one, but He is a Trinity, i.e. God has three "persons": the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which form the one God who created the Universe.
  • Faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ - the second person of the Trinity, God the Son - this is Jesus Christ. He has two natures simultaneously: Divine and human.
  • Faith in Divine grace - a mysterious power sent by God to free a person from sin.
  • Belief in the afterlife and afterlife.
  • Belief in the existence of good spirits - angels and evil spirits - demons, along with their master Satan.

The holy book of Christians is Bible, which means "book" in Greek. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is the oldest part of the Bible. The New Testament (actually Christian works) includes: four gospels (from Luke, Mark, John and Matthew); the deeds of the holy apostles; Epistles and Revelation of John the Theologian.

In the IV century. n. e. Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity is not one. It split into three streams. In 1054 Christianity split into Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. In the XVI century. The Reformation, an anti-Catholic movement, began in Europe. The result was Protestantism.

And recognize seven christian sacraments: baptism, chrismation, repentance, communion, marriage, priesthood and unction. The source of doctrine is the Bible. The differences are mainly as follows. In Orthodoxy there is no single head, there is no idea of ​​purgatory as a place of temporary accommodation for the souls of the dead, the priesthood does not give a vow of celibacy, as in Catholicism. At the head of the Catholic Church is the pope, elected for life, the center of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican - a state that occupies several quarters in Rome.

It has three main streams: Anglicanism, Calvinism and Lutheranism. Protestants consider the condition of a Christian's salvation not formal observance of rituals, but his sincere personal faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Their teaching proclaims the principle of a universal priesthood, which means that every lay person can preach. Virtually all Protestant denominations have reduced the number of sacraments to a minimum.

Islam

It arose in the 7th century. n. e. among the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the youngest of the world. There are followers of Islam more than 1 billion people.

The founder of Islam is a historical figure. He was born in 570 in the city of Mecca, which at that time was a fairly large city at the crossroads of trade routes. In Mecca, there was a shrine revered by most pagan Arabs - the Kaaba. Muhammad's mother died when he was six years old, his father died before his son was born. Muhammad was brought up in the family of his grandfather, a noble family, but impoverished. At the age of 25, he became the manager of the household of the wealthy widow Khadija and soon married her. At the age of 40, Muhammad acted as a religious preacher. He declared that God (Allah) chose him as his prophet. The ruling elite of Mecca did not like the sermon, and by 622 Muhammad had to move to the city of Yathrib, later renamed Medina. The year 622 is considered the beginning of the Muslim chronology according to the lunar calendar, and Mecca is the center of the Muslim religion.

The Holy Book of Muslims is a processed record of Muhammad's sermons. During the lifetime of Muhammad, his statements were perceived as the direct speech of Allah and were transmitted orally. A few decades after the death of Muhammad, they were written down and will compose the Qur'an.

plays an important role in the beliefs of Muslims Sunnah - collection of instructive stories about the life of Muhammad and Sharia - a set of principles and rules of conduct binding on Muslims. The most serious ipexa.Mii among Muslims are usury, drunkenness, gambling and adultery.

The place of worship for Muslims is called a mosque. Islam forbids depicting a person and living creatures; hollow mosques are decorated only with ornaments. There is no clear division between clergy and laity in Islam. Any Muslim who knows the Qur'an, Muslim laws and rules of worship can become a mullah (priest).

Ritualism is given great importance in Islam. You may not know the intricacies of faith, but you should strictly follow the main rites, the so-called five pillars of Islam:

  • pronouncing the formula of the confession of faith: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”;
  • performing a daily fivefold prayer (prayer);
  • fasting in the month of Ramadan;
  • giving alms to the poor;
  • making a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).