Overview of World's Three Largest Religions

There are nineteen major religions around the world. These religions are subdivided into large religious groups and these established groups in turn are further broken down into specific faith structures or sects. In the following descriptions all dates mentioned will be given in terms of BCE (before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) rather than BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini). I have done this in an attempt to treat all religions and belief systems as equal. The Common Era and Anno Domini both refer to the time period known as the "year of our Lord."

With over 2.1 billion followers Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It was founded in 33 CE in Palestine with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christianity is divided into over thirty thousand sects with Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant being the most widespread. The beliefs of Christians are based on the sacred texts found in the Holy Bible. The most important ideology of this faith is that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died to redeem humankind because although humans were created as righteous beings they are born sinful. The purpose of life according to Christians is to know, serve, and love God.

The second largest religion in the world is Islam. It has over 1.5 billion followers and was founded in the 7^th century in Saudi Arabia by a man name Mohammed. Members of Islam believe that there is only one God, Allah, therefore making the Muslim religion a monotheistic one. One major requirement of Muslims is that they believe in and recite the Shahada: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is His Prophet." The Islamic creed consists of the "Six Articles of Faith" and one must adhere to these articles to be a Muslim. It is believed that humans are the greatest creatures created and that the purpose of life is to live in a way that will be pleasing to Allah in order to reach Paradise.

In between Islam and the third largest religion, Hinduism, which will be discussed in the following paragraph, is a group of people who describe themselves to be secular, nonreligious, agnostic, or atheist. I have chosen to include this group here because a significant portion, over 1.1 billion people, of the world's population fit into this category. Atheists are included as a small portion of this group but this category is not the same as atheism. People who claim to be atheist actually only make up about one-half of one percent of the population in most countries. When asked an open-ended question about their religious preference only a small fraction of one percent will answer "atheism" and only a slightly larger number will answer "yes" when directly asked if they are atheist or "no" when they are asked if they believe in a God, deities, or some form of a Higher Power. The larger numbers are those who claim no religious preference at all or are described as being "nonreligious."

The third largest religion in the world subsequent to Islam and Christianity is Hinduism. Consisting of approximately 900 million followers worldwide, Hinduism has no real date of origin or a founder. According to the potential age of the Rig Veda, the most ancient of the sacred Vedic texts, it is possible that Hinduism dates back to anywhere from 4000 to 2500 BCE. It is thought of as the oldest spiritual tradition in the world and there is plenty of scriptural evidence to suggest that this religion flourished long before pre-historic times. Hindus like to propose that their religion is the "eternal religion." They believe in reincarnation, meaning that our ever-lasting souls transmigrate from one body to another and that the Law of Karma determines one's destiny not only in this life but in every life that is yet to come. The purpose of this lifetime is to attain dharma, or the fulfillment of duties, according to the stage of life one currently lives in and to liberate themselves from the cycle of rebirth. This means to Hindus reaching the Supreme Being, or Ultimate Reality, or to unite with God.

Although following the rules of one religion might guide us in living a moral life pursuing one organized religion may also take away from the open-mindedness that is needed in order to seek and find the truth. One religion might scorn the beliefs and practices of another causing confusion to those who find hope and peace in their faith. Even though the difference of our religious beliefs varies, I do trust that one major factor that is agreed upon is that there is a God, whether it be one God or many.