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 are based on the faith of man in supernatural powers, as well as the relationship of believers with their deity(s). 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, Holy Bible and a number of cults and traditions to be observed by believers. 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, but 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 secular states Central Asia on the same street can be a Christian temple and a mosque.
The founders of world religions are known to every person: the founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ, Islam - the prophet Mohammed, Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama, 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 achieved enlightenment through contemplation and meditation 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 walks his own path 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, given 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 faith in the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in angels and demons and in afterlife. The difference between the three main areas 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 holy books the Sunnahs that tell about the Prophet Mohammed, and the Shiites believe that only his direct blood descendants can be the successors of the Prophet. 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. Islam is very great attention allotted to the observance of traditions and religious rites - every Muslim must perform salah (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 standards that believers must comply with.
10 Biblical Commandments that Christians are required to follow, the laws prescribed in the Quran, 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.
Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Have you ever wondered why religion has existed for many centuries? Why does it not lose its significance in our time?
Well, with the ancient man it is clear. Unusual phenomena of nature, cataclysms had to be somehow explained, “justified” for oneself. The first step, and only then on its soil, paganism arose - faith in many gods. People worshiped the wind, the sky because of the banal fear of the unknown.
The age of technological progress revealed the secrets of nature, sorted out the answers to riddles, explained the essence of phenomena. But it continues to be a part of modern life. Why?
Maybe the answer lies in the concept itself? Let's try to figure out together what religion is, what mysterious threads it uses to control people.
Religion - what is it
The word "religion" is borrowed from the Latin language. The Latin religare means "to bind them, to connect", and religio - "shrine, piety."
Thus, religion is a set of people's views (it's not me saying this, but a definition, bear with it - you can't do without it), based on a common belief in the supernatural. It is built on a whole set of rules, restrictions, norms of behavior, includes a system of cult actions, rituals.
There are other definitions of religion, but the essence boils down to one thing:
this is a collective worship of divine forces, a special relationship of man to the world, to himself, a certain vision of the meaning of life.
Every religion has three parts:
- religious consciousness;
- cult (who, how to worship);
- organization, that is, a clear division into ordinary believers and leaders.
Religious consciousness is closely connected with faith, these words are often used as synonyms.
Faith is unconditional, without the search for evidence and unnecessary reasoning.
Yes, that's right - you either have faith or you don't. There is simply no intermediate state.
Signs of religion This:
- Irrationality (belief in absolute truth)
- (no proof required)
- Rituality (prayers and other sacraments)
- Belief in the supernatural
- groundlessness
Functions of Religion
Everyone (well, almost) subconsciously wants to be protected. So that someone kind, wise, fair comes to the rescue in difficult times, saves from troubles and misfortunes.
After all, it often happens that people come to faith after something terrible, irreparable happened in life - loss loved one or an incurable disease, for example.
From this follow the main functions of religion, that is, how it affects society:
- worldview function - the formation of a certain picture of the world among their followers.
- value-semantic- answering questions about the meaning of life and developing basic value orientations.
- Psychological(compensatory function) - consolation in difficult times (relieves suffering) through prayer, meditation or turning to God.
- Communicative function - unites people, makes it possible to communicate and not feel lonely.
- cultural broadcasting the transmission of cultural heritage from generation to generation.
- Educational function - instills rules, behavior skills.
- Regulatory- streamlines the aspirations and activities of a person.
- Integrating- uniting a group of believers and opposing it to other religions.
Science says that the beginnings of religious beliefs arose as much as 40,000 years ago. The fact is confirmed by the found burials of primitive people, drawings in caves. Imagine, a person’s strength has not decreased at all with time, we are also sometimes defenseless in the face of insurmountable circumstances.
Types of World Religions
Don't think that in ancient world everyone believed the same. Already then there were different types religions that differed from each other in objects or subjects of worship (that is, they were inanimate objects or living people).
See what beliefs were prevalent. The terms, of course, were invented much later, so our ancient ancestors themselves did not know that their faith was called that:
- totemism- some objects, animals or plants were considered sacred, a totem (amulet) was endowed with magical protective power.
- - supernatural abilities were attributed to an inanimate object, for example, a stone or an animal skull. He was asked for help and protection.
- shamanism- the whole tribe worshiped a shaman who knew how to talk with spirits, consult with them, and then convey their demands to people.
- Animism- believed that not only a person has a soul, but also all surrounding objects and natural phenomena, and after death it continues to exist.
In the modern world, oddly enough, the number of religions has not decreased, but, on the contrary, has grown. They did not arise at the same time, they have a different number of followers. Some ancient forms in a slightly modified form still continue to exist. In total there are not less than a hundred religious denominations (directions).
Of course, world religions have the most followers (that's why they are "worldwide", right?). This means that they are professed by the peoples of the most different countries.
To world religions relate:
- Christianity
- Islam
The first two of them are monotheistic, based on the worship of one god.
Christianity is the world's largest religion
It has approximately 1.5 billion believers. The emergence is associated with the birth of Jesus Christ - the son of God and the simple girl Mary. It happened in Palestine, in the east of the Roman Empire. From the birth of Jesus, the whole of mankind now counts the chronology, so we can safely say that Christianity arose in the 1st century AD.
Jesus Christ had 12 disciples - apostles, one of whom turned out to be a traitor. At the age of 33, Jesus was crucified on the cross, after which he resurrected on the third day and ascended into heaven.
The basis Christian religion- this is faith in the unity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the salvation of the soul through fasting and prayer. The main book is the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, the symbol is the cross.
In Christianity three directions:
- orthodoxy
- Catholicism
- Protestantism
The division occurred in 1054 due to disagreements between
the Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople. Orthodoxy is practiced by Russia and Eastern Europe, Catholicism is practiced by Western Europe, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Protestantism is widespread in the USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain.
Islam is the youngest world religion
Approximately 1.3 billion believers. The founder is the prophet Mohammed. People who practice Islam are called Muslims and they worship Allah. This is the youngest of the world religions, which arose in the 7th century in Mecca.
The dogmas of the Qur'an (these are the rules that dictate the norms of behavior) are strictly followed by Muslims: they commit daily prayers- prayer, fasting, do not drink alcohol.
This is called "living according to Sharia law." Just like Christianity, Islam teaches about the immortality of the soul and the possibility of saving it after death.
The main, largest branches of Islam - Sunnism and Shiism, but there are others. Sunnism is widespread in Central and South Asia, Africa, Shiism - in Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq.
Buddhism (approximately 300 million followers)
It originated in the VI century BC. The founder was the son of the Raja (ruler) of India, Gautama. From childhood, the boy was surrounded by luxury, he did not know that there was suffering in the world. It was predicted to the Raja that his son would become a king or teacher.
Gautam in every possible way and injustice. Only at the age of 30 did he for the first time accidentally meet a leper and a funeral procession, saw suffering people. They made a great impression on Gautama, he began to think and meditate a lot.
As a result (of bliss, complete peace), he became the first enlightened person - the Buddha.
It is believed that Buddhism cannot be fully attributed to religions, since its adherents do not worship anyone. Their main goal is to overcome suffering, get rid of earthly desires, and achieve nirvana.
National religions
Not all religions of the world are widespread (please do not confuse with world religions). There are also those that have developed within the framework of one state, people or settlement.
These are national religions, here is a list of them:
- Judaism (Israel);
- Hinduism, Jainism (India);
- Taoism, Confucianism (China);
- Shinto (Japan).
Some tribes of Africa, Asia, Oceania still retained the beliefs of their ancient ancestors - fetishism, totemism, anemism.
Religion is a form of culture
We found out that religion sets the norms of behavior, regulates people's relations, even fills life with meaning (lucky those who did not have it). In the process of development, religious customs were closely intertwined with cultural traditions. different peoples. So close that they can no longer be separated.
For example, the Christian custom of baking pancakes and burning a straw doll for Shrovetide is rooted in paganism, the worship of the sun god Yarilo. There are an infinite number of such examples. Therefore, scientists consider religion as a form of culture, the result of human activity.
Let's sum up. It turns out that religion today has not lost its value at all. It is also needed by people, as many centuries ago. The percentage of believers is approximately the same in highly developed and developing countries.
To believe or not is a personal matter for each person, we just stated the facts.
Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site
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From ancient times to the present day, religion has played an invaluable role in human life. Not surprisingly, various currents appear regularly. Some of them take root and spread, some die for lack of adherents. Education modern religions and directions - a phenomenon that is unlikely to ever disappear from life, which is why it is easy to get confused in the huge variety of sects and confessions. Only three religions, called world ones, do not lose their importance.
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Features of Christianity
Christianity is rightly considered the most powerful, most multinational and widespread of all types of religions. It is ahead of young Islam and more ancient Buddhism. Supporters of Christianity can be found in various parts of our planet, it is official religion eleven countries.
The essence of Christianity is the worship of Jesus, the Son of God, who descended to our earth in order to atone for all the sins of mankind and open the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven for souls. Adherents of this religion believe that Jesus Christ is the only true God and Messiah who will come to our earth again to save the human race.
Origins
Christianity takes its roots from the first century AD. The first mention of it was recorded in Palestine. In the earliest years of its existence, this trend already boasted a huge number of supporters. Historians consider the plight of the inhabitants at that time to be the impetus for its emergence. It is not surprising that the people tried to find support and solace in this way. The world learned about Christianity after the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles. The following regions were the first to learn about religion:
- Jerusalem;
- Roman;
- Constantinople;
- Alexandrian;
- Antioch.
A little later, the above territories began to be called Churches. Among them, the main one is not distinguished, and each is considered equal to the others.
The Jews were the first to adopt Christianity. They also endured terrible persecution and numerous troubles that befell them after the fall of Jerusalem. The Romans worshiped pagan gods, their beliefs had nothing to do with the Christian worldview. If Christianity called to be merciful, humble and believe in one God, then paganism denied all virtues and had countless idols. Until 312, the followers of Christ suffered humiliation, were subjected to numerous tortures, and only during the reign of Emperor Constantine were all prohibitions on preaching this religion lifted, moreover, he made it the state religion.
Christian rules and customs that are familiar to believers at the present time have been questioned and discussed more than once in the past. To resolve especially important issues, Councils were established, membership in which went to bishops and other significant and famous clergymen. For example, at the first Council in history, the “Symbol of Faith” prayer was adopted, which is currently a kind of alphabet for every believer.
It is not surprising that now this religion occupies an honorable first place in terms of prevalence, because it began to strive for its superiority a very long time ago. The Roman Empire, which professed Christianity, became one of the superpowers of that time. Currents supported in it, are widely used throughout the world.
Catholicism and Orthodoxy
1054 is a special year in the history of Christianity, since the current was divided into two parts: the Catholic Church and the Orthodox. Although both churches have the same source, they have a number of differences that have acquired certain traditions and innovations as a result of the change.
The list of main differences is as follows:
Despite multiple differences and some misunderstandings, Catholics and Orthodox profess the same faith, so the main number of dogmas and rules they have is the same.
History of Buddhism
Buddhism is the oldest and ancient religion, which originated in the first millennium BC. This means that Buddhism is even older than Christianity. The first mentions appeared in India, to be more precise, in its northern part. Buddhism is an integral part of Indian philosophy.
The researchers believe that Buddhism owes its origin certain changes that have taken place in the life of the people. In the middle of the sixth century BC, the people of India were shocked by many changes in traditional attitudes, suffered a decline in both culture and economy, and also experienced the emergence of more categorical relations between classes. These events led to the emergence of a huge number of people who decided to lead an ascetic lifestyle. They began to move closer to nature or completely abandoned everything they had and began to travel around India with one bag on their shoulders. At this time, Buddhism arose, which received instant gratitude from the people.
Most scholars agree that the person who gave rise to the new religion was Siddhartha Gautama, better known as Shakyamuni Buddha. He was brought up in a very wealthy family. Parents and relatives protected him from the dangers and disappointments of this world in every possible way. Already quite an adult, the boy did not know about such phenomena as ailments, aging and death.
However, he did not remain in such ignorance for long. One day, leaving the walls of his palace, he became an accidental witness to the funeral procession. Of course, this came as a shock to the young man, and, unable to continue living in luxury and wealth, he went on a journey with a small group of hermits. Siddhartha hopes to find the meaning of life, thinks a lot about the causes of all disasters, as well as how to overcome them.
For six whole years he spent in wanderings, during which he realized that it was impossible to achieve peace with the help of any technique. All that remains for us is meditation and prayer. One day, while meditating once again in the bosom of nature, he suddenly felt an amazing insight and realized that enlightenment had finally come. It was from this moment that Siddhartha began to be called the Buddha. Having achieved enlightenment himself, the Buddha began to preach it to people.
Fundamentals of Religion
If not the main, then the main idea of this trend is to achieve nirvana, that is, such a state of mind when, after self-denial and rejection of things that bring comfort to our lives, a person feels not deprived, but full and can contemplate everything around with calmness. This requires a special method of mind control, mastered for the first time by the Buddha.
The main flaws of people, the teacher called the incredible attachment of people to everything worldly, material goods and dependency on what others say. He rightly believed that such behavior not only does not allow us to live peacefully and happily, but also pushes us onto the path of degradation and decay. And just reaching nirvana we can get rid of these bad attachments.
Like any other religion Buddhism is based on four truths:
Interesting and very important is the fact that the Buddha's teaching does not preach an ascetic way of life. It calls on people to find that golden mean between the material and the spiritual, so as not to be dependent on worldly goods and thereby destroy themselves.
Origin of Islam
The roots of this religion, whose name is translated as "submitting to Allah", originate among the endless deserts of the east. Despite the fact that Islam is much younger than both Christianity and Buddhism, it was able to become a world trend. “There is no deity but Allah, and Muhammad is the prophet of Allah” is the main truth for every Muslim.
Adherents of the current believe that Allah passed on his teaching, called the Koran, to the prophet Muhammad. Interesting, that there are certain similarities between the Quran and the Bible, however, Muslims have a rather controversial attitude towards the writings of Christians, since there is no mention of Allah in it. They do not deny the existence of certain similarities, but they believe that the Bible is a distorted version of the Koran.
Today, Islam is divided into two branches:
- Sunnis, which is the majority of believers, follow the set of hadiths adopted by them in antiquity. Sunnis have a special guideline explaining how to lead a Muslim in a given situation. This religious practice is called Sunnah.
- The Shiites do not completely reject the Sunnahs, but they introduce their own rulings into them. Adherents of this variety of Islam believe that power in the party they represent should be in the hands of the descendants of Muhammad, that is, his daughter and cousin.
Pillars of religion
There are only five provisions that must be impeccably carried out by the followers of religion:
One of the main features of Islam from Christianity is the attitude of people towards God. Christians believe that Jesus is love, he is merciful to people, forgives their sins and tries with all his might to grant salvation. Allah, according to Muslims, is not an all-forgiving Lord, but a strict judge who will reward everyone according to their merits. Allah is not merciful to sinners, which is mentioned in the scriptures of Muslims more than 20 times.
Knowledge of the religious affiliation of the population helps to better understand the features of the economic and social geography of different countries of the world. The role of religion in society today continues to be very significant.
It is customary to single out tribal, local (national) and world religions.
Even in primitive society, the simplest forms of religious beliefs arose - totemism, magic, fetishism, animism and the cult of ancestors. (Some elementary religions have survived to our time. So, totemism was widespread among the Melanesians, American Indians).
Later, complex forms of religions appeared. They arose most often among any one people, or among a group of peoples united in a state (this is how local religions arose - Judaism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Confucianism, Taoism, etc.).
Some of the religions have spread among the peoples of different countries and continents. These are world religions - Islam and Christianity.
Buddhism is the oldest world religion exists mainly in its two main varieties - Hinayana and Mahayana, to which Lamaism should also be added.
Buddhism originated in India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. The founder of the doctrine is Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, known to the world under the name of Buddha (i.e. "awakened, enlightened").
There are many Buddhist centers, temples and monasteries in India, but still in India itself Buddhism did not become widespread and turned into a world religion outside of it - in China, Korea, and in a number of other countries. He did not fit into the social structure and culture of society, as he rejected caste, the authority of the Brahmins, religious ritualism (Hinduism was most widespread in India).
In the II century. Buddhism penetrated China and became widespread, having existed there for about two thousand years, having a great influence on Chinese culture. But he didn't get here dominant religion which was Confucianism in China.
Buddhism as a world religion reached its most complete form in Tibet in Lamaism (during the late Middle Ages - in the 7th-15th centuries). In Russia, Lamaism is practiced by residents of Buryatia, Tuva, and Kalmykia.
Currently, there are about 300 million adherents of this religious teaching.
Christianity is considered to be one of the world religions, meaning both its influence on the course of world history and the extent of its spread. The number of adherents of Christianity is approaching 2 billion people.
Christianity arose in the 1st century. n. e. in the east of the Roman Empire (on the territory modern state Israel), which in that period absorbed the whole, when civilization based on slavery was already declining. By the 60s. 1st century n. e. there were already several Christian communities in addition to the very first, Jerusalem, which consisted of disciples gathered around Jesus.
Christianity today - a collective term that includes three main areas: Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism, within which there are many different faiths and religious associations that arose at different times throughout the two thousand-year history of Christianity (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox Church, etc.).
Catholicism(Catholicism) - the most significant branch of Christianity. It exists as a strictly centralized church headed by the Pope (who is also the head of state).
Protestantism- arose in the era of the Reformation (XVI century) as an anti-Catholic movement. The largest areas of Protestantism are Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Methodism, and Baptism.
In 395, the Roman Empire split into western and eastern parts. This contributed to the isolation of the Western Church, headed by the Bishop of Rome (Pope) and a number of Eastern churches, headed by patriarchs - Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria. Between the western and eastern branches of Christianity (Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches) a struggle for influence unfolded, which ended in their formal break in 1054.
By that time, Christianity had already turned from a persecuted faith into a state religion. This happened under the emperor Constantine (in the 4th century). Orthodoxy of Byzantine origin established itself in the east and southeast of Europe. Kievan Rus adopted Christianity in 988 under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. This step had important consequences for the history of Russia.
Islam- the second world religion after Christianity in terms of the number of followers (1.1 billion people). It was founded by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. on Arab tribal religions (in Arabia, in Hijaz).
Islam served as a powerful impetus for the development in a short historical period of such a phenomenon, which is denoted by the concept of the "Muslim world". In those countries where Islam is widespread, it plays an important role as a religious doctrine, a form of social organization, and a cultural tradition.
Out of many religious systems modern world Islam remains one of the most significant forces.
Confucianism emerged in Ser. 1st millennium BC in China as a socio-ethical doctrine expounded by the philosopher Confucius. For many centuries it was a kind of state ideology. The second local (national) religion - Taoism - is based on a combination of elements of Buddhism and Confucianism. To date, it has survived only in certain areas.
Hinduism means more than just the name of a religion. In India, where it has become widespread, it is a whole set of religious forms, from the simplest ritual, polytheistic to philosophical-mystical, monotheistic. Moreover, it is a designation of the Indian way of life with a caste division, including the sum of life principles, norms of behavior, social and ethical values, beliefs, cults, rituals.
The foundations of Hinduism are laid in the Vedic religion, which was brought by the Aryan tribes who invaded the Ser. II millennium BC. e. The second period in the history of Indian religion is the Brahmin period (I millennium BC). Gradually, the ancient religion of sacrifice and knowledge turned into Hinduism. Its development was influenced by those that arose in the VI-V centuries BC. e. Buddhism and Jainism (teachings that denied the caste system).
Shintoism- the local religion of Japan (along with Buddhism). It is a combination of elements of Confucianism (observance of the cult of ancestors, patriarchal foundations of the family, respect for elders, etc.) and Taoism.
Judaism was formed in the 1st millennium BC. among the people of Palestine. (In the 13th century BC, when the Israelite tribes came to Palestine, their religion consisted of many primitive cults common to nomads. Only gradually did the religion of Judaism, in the form in which it is presented in old testament). It is distributed exclusively among Jews living in different countries of the world (the largest groups are in and). The total number of Jews in the world is about 14 million people.
At present, most of the people living in different countries and different social conditions consider themselves believers - Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. - or do not belong to any of the existing churches, but simply recognize the existence of some higher power- world mind.
At the same time, it is a fact that today a significant part of people are not religious, that is, they are people who do not profess any of the existing religions, consider themselves atheists or agnostics, secular humanists or freethinkers.
The spread of world religions in the 90s. 20th century
Christianity spread among the peoples of Europe and in other parts of the world, settled by immigrants from this part of the world.
Catholicism is the dominant religion in Latin America and the Philippines; there are significant groups of Catholics in the USA and Canada (French Canadians), as well as in some (former colonies).
In many countries of the African continent, as a rule, both Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism, since in the recent past these states were colonies) and traditional local beliefs are represented.
There is also Christianity of the Monophysite persuasion in and partly in Egypt.
Orthodoxy has spread in the east and southeast of Europe among, and the southern Slavs (,). Russians profess it
(7%) and supporters traditional beliefs.
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Followers of religions in 2010
The table below shows data on the number of followers of the main religions. The data is given for 2010 and taken from three sources - the Encyclopedia "Religions of the World" by J. Melton, the Encyclopedia "Britannica" and the report of the American research center Pew Research Center (English) Russian(PRC).
| № | Religion | "Religions of the World" | Britannica | PRC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christians | 2 292 454 000 | 33,2 % | 2 280 616 000 | 33,0 % | 2 173 180 000 | 31,5 % |
| 2 | Muslims | 1 549 444 000 | 22,4 % | 1 553 189 000 | 22,5 % | 1 598 510 000 | 23,2 % |
| 3 | Hindus | 948 507 000 | 13,7 % | 942 871 000 | 13,6 % | 1 033 080 000 | 15,0 % |
| 4 | Agnostics | 639 852 000 | 9,3 % | 659 781 000 | 9,6 % | 1 126 500 000 | 16,3 % |
| 5 | Buddhists | 468 736 000 | 6,8 % | 462 625 000 | 6,7 % | 487 540 000 | 7,1 % |
| 6 | Chinese religion | 458 316 000 | 6,6 % | 454 404 000 | 6,6 % | 405 120 000 | 5,9 % |
| 7 | traditional beliefs | 261 429 000 | 3,8 % | 269 723 000 | 3,9 % | ||
| 8 | Atheists | 138 532 000 | 2,0 % | 137 564 000 | 2,0 % | see "unbelievers" | |
| 9 | New religions | 64 443 000 | 0,9 % | 63 684 000 | 0,9 % | see "others" | |
| 10 | Sikhs | 24 591 000 | 0,4 % | 23 738 000 | 0,3 % | see "others" | |
| 11 | Jews | 14 641 000 | 0,2 % | 14 824 000 | 0,2 % | 13 850 000 | 0,2 % |
| 12 | spiritists | 13 978 000 | 0,2 % | 13 732 000 | 0,2 % | see "others" | |
| 13 | Taoists | 9 017 000 | 0,1 % | 8 429 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 14 | Baha'i | 7 447 000 | 0,1 % | 7 337 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 15 | Confucians | 6 461 000 | 0,1 % | 6 516 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 16 | Jains | 5 749 000 | 0,1 % | 5 276 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 17 | Shinto | 2 782 000 | 0,0 % | 2 772 000 | 0,0 % | see "others" | |
| 18 | Zoroastrians | 181 000 | 0,0 % | 178 580 | 0,0 % | see "others" | |
| 19 | other | - | - | 1 427 000 | 0,0 % | 58 110 000 | 0,8 % |
| - | world, total | 6 906 560 000 | 100 % | 6 908 689 000 | 100 % | 6 895 890 000 | 100 % |
Major religions
Christianity
The followers of the world's largest religion have not maintained unity and are splitting into tens of thousands of denominations. Conventionally, all Christians can be divided into 4 main areas:
Islam
There are no generally accepted classifications of currents in Islam. Reports released by the Pew Research Center divide Muslims into Sunnis (87-90% of all Muslims in 2009) and Shiites (10-13%). At the same time, the authors of the studies admit that there are other groups in Islam, as well as the general Islamic trend of Sufism. The World Christian Encyclopedia (WCE) divides Islam into the following 3 streams:
- Sunnis(84.4% of all Muslims). According to the source, over half of the Sunnis (53%) adhere to the Hanafi right school; supporters of the Shafi'i and Maliki madhhabs account for 24% and 22%, respectively. The smallest madhhab, the Hanbalis, has 2.3 million followers. Among the Sunnis, the source singles out representatives of sectarian Sunnism - the Wahhabis (7 million).
Hinduism
Modern Hinduism is divided into 5 main areas:
- Shaktism in 2000 united 3% of Hindus around the world.
The majority of Hindus (814 million) live in Asia, where they make up 22.6% of the population. In Oceania, Hindus (439 thousand) make up 1.5% of the population. The share of Hindus in the population of other parts of the world does not exceed 1%. There are 2.5 million Hindus in Africa, 1.8 million in North America, 871,000 in Europe, and 747,000 in Latin America.
Buddhism
Buddhism is not a single religion and falls into hundreds of schools. It is customary to distinguish 3 main directions in Buddhism:
- Mahayana is largest destination Buddhism according to the number of believers. In 2000, 56% of the world's Buddhists were adherents of the Great Vehicle.
- Theravada is the oldest branch of Buddhism. In 2000, 38% of the world's Buddhists belonged to one of the Theravada schools.
- Tibetan Buddhism 6% of Buddhists profess.
The majority of Buddhists (87% or 408 million) live in Asia. Outside this part of the world, significant numbers of Buddhists can be found in North America (3.7 million) and Europe (1.7 million). In other parts of the world, the number of Buddhists is small: there are 672,000 in Latin America, 448,000 in Oceania, and 247,000 in Africa.
Judaism
- Ashkenazim- 11 million
- Mizrahim- 2.4 million
- Sephardim- 1 million
- Karaites- 24 thousand
- Samaritans- 0.5 thousand
Most believing Jews live in two countries of the world - Israel (5.3 million) and the United States (5.22 million). Accordingly, in terms of the number of Jews among the parts of the world, Asia (5.97 million) and North America (5.67 million) are in the lead. There are many Jews in Europe - 1.9 million. In Latin America, Judaism is practiced by 907 thousand inhabitants; in Africa - 125 thousand, in Oceania - 101 thousand.
Other religions
Throughout the 20th century, the proportion of followers traditional religions and beliefs fell steadily. However, at the end of the 20th century, traditional beliefs attracted attention with the revival of European paganism (neopaganism). Obviously, this group includes thousands of different religious traditions, very loosely connected with each other. However, believers of traditional religions are sometimes divided into two main groups: animists (95%) and shamanists (5%).
Most of the followers of ethnic religions live in Asia (133.7 million) and Africa (92 million); while in Africa they make up more than 10% of the population of the continent. There are 3.3 million followers in Latin America, 1.6 million in North America, 1.2 million in Europe, and 293,000 in Oceania.
Among traditional beliefs, adherents stand out separately. Chinese folk religion. Most believers of this religion live in China (435 million). In other Asian countries, the number of believers of the Chinese religion is 32 million. With the spread of the Chinese diaspora around the world, the number of adherents of the Chinese religion is growing on other continents; in North America there are 762 thousand, in Europe - 345 thousand, in Latin America - 167 thousand, in Oceania - 85 thousand and in Africa - 61 thousand.
It should be distinguished from traditional folk beliefs new religious movements(NSD) and syncretic sects, despite the fact that most of them have an ethnic basis (for example, they distinguish between American, European, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese NRMs, syncretic cults of Indians and blacks of America, etc.). The classification of new religions, as well as the question of their boundaries, remain highly debatable. Asia is the continent where the majority (58 million) adherents of new religions live. There are many of them in both Americas; in the North - 1.69 million, in Latin - 1.46 million. On the other continents, their number is small: 353 thousand in Europe, 107 thousand in Africa and 85 thousand in Oceania.
Despite their small number, Baha'i are one of the most dispersed religions in the world. The Asian Baha'i community has 3 million followers, the African community has 1.7 million. On the other continents, the number of Baha'is is insignificant: North America - 786 thousand, Latin America - 527 thousand, Europe - 134 thousand, Oceania - 87 thousand.
Spread of religions
Modern religions vary in degree of distribution. The only religion represented in all countries of the world is Christianity. It is considered not religious people(agnostics) can be found in almost all countries of the world, with the exception of the theocratic state of Vatican City. In more than 100 countries around the world, one can meet Baha'is, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, adherents of traditional beliefs, the Chinese religion and new religious movements.
The table below shows the religions by the number of countries of presence. Data for 2000 are taken from the World Christian Encyclopedia, data for 2004 from Robert Ellwood's Encyclopedia of World Religions, data for 2010 from Encyclopedia Britannica.
| № | Religion | 2000 | 2004 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | World, total countries | 238 | 232 | |
| 1 | Christians | 238 | 238 | 232 |
| 2 | non-believers | 236 | 237 | 231 |
| 3 | Baha'i | 218 | 218 | 221 |
| 4 | Atheists | 161 | 219 | 220 |
| 5 | Muslims | 204 | 206 | 209 |
| 6 | Buddhists | 126 | 130 | 150 |
| 7 | traditional beliefs | 142 | 144 | 145 |
| 8 | Jews | 134 | 134 | 139 |
| 9 | Hindus | 114 | 116 | 125 |
| 10 | Chinese religion | 89 | 94 | 119 |
| 11 | New religions | 60 | 107 | 119 |
| 12 | spiritists | 55 | 56 | 57 |
| 13 | Sikhs | 34 | 34 | 55 |
| 14 | Zoroastrians | 24 | 23 | 27 |
| 15 | Jains | 10 | 11 | 19 |
| 16 | Confucians | 15 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | Shinto | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 18 | Taoists | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| - | other | 76 | 78 | 79 |
Population dynamics in the 20th century
Of particular interest is the dynamics of the number of modern religions over the past century. Christianity remained the fastest growing religion in the 20th century (in absolute terms). However, the increase in the number of Christians in the 20th century was equal to the average world population growth, so the total share of Christians in the world's population remained practically unchanged.
Throughout the 20th century, the growth of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs exceeded the world average; the share of adherents of these religions in the world population has steadily increased. On the contrary, the proportion of Buddhists, Jews, supporters of traditional beliefs and the Chinese religion has decreased in the 20th century.
The dynamics of the number of unbelievers and atheists has undergone significant changes throughout the 20th century. B O For most of the century, the proportion of non-religious people grew rapidly, reaching a peak by 1970. However, by the end of the 20th century, the proportion of non-religious people on the planet had noticeably decreased.
The table below shows the dynamics of the number of major religions in the 20th century. Data for 1900 are taken from the World Christian Encyclopedia; data for 1970 and 2000 are taken from the Encyclopedia "Religions of the World" by J. Melton and Martin Bauman (German) Russian(first and second edition).
| № | Religion | 1900 | 1970 | 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christians | 558 132 000 | 34,5 % | 1 234 969 000 | 33,4 % | 1 999 564 000 | 33,0 % |
| 2 | Muslims | 199 941 000 | 12,3 % | 579 875 000 | 15,7 % | 1 188 243 000 | 19,6 % |
| 3 | Hindus | 203 003 000 | 12,5 % | 458 845 000 | 12,4 % | 811 336 000 | 13,4 % |
| 4 | non-believers | 3 024 000 | 0,2 % | 542 318 000 | 14,7 % | 768 159 000 | 12,7 % |
| 5 | Buddhists | 127 077 000 | 7,8 % | 234 028 000 | 6,3 % | 359 982 000 | 5,9 % |
| 6 | Chinese religion | 380 006 000 | 23,5 % | 231 814 000 | 6,3 % | 384 807 000 | 6,4 % |
| 7 | traditional beliefs | 117 558 000 | 7,3 % | 165 687 000 | 4,5 % | 228 367 000 | 3,8 % |
| 8 | Atheists | 226 000 | 0,0 % | 165 301 000 | 4,5 % | 150 090 000 | 2,5 % |
| 9 | New religions | 5 910 000 | 0,4 % | 39 332 000 | 1,1 % | 102 356 000 | 1,7 % |
| 10 | Sikhs | 2 962 000 | 0,2 % | 10 677 000 | 0,3 % | 23 258 000 | 0,4 % |
| 11 | Jews | 12 292 000 | 0,8 % | 15 100 000 | 0,4 % | 14 434 000 | 0,2 % |
| 12 | spiritists | 269 000 | 0,0 % | 4 657 000 | 0,1 % | 12 334 000 | 0,2 % |
| 13 | Taoists | 375 000 | 0,0 % | 1 734 000 | 0,1 % | 2 655 000 | 0,0 % |
| 14 | Baha'i | 10 000 | 0,0 % | 2 657 000 | 0,1 % | 7 106 000 | 0,1 % |
| 15 | Confucians | 640 000 | 0,0 % | 4 759 000 | 0,1 % | 6 299 000 | 0,1 % |
| 16 | Jains | 1 323 000 | 0,1 % | 2 629 000 | 0,1 % | 4 218 000 | 0,1 % |
| 17 | Shinto | 6 720 000 | 0,4 % | 4 175 000 | 0,1 % | 2 762 000 | 0,0 % |
| 18 | Zoroastrians | 108 000 | 0,0 % | 125 000 | 0,0 % | - | 0,0 % |
| 19 | other | 49 000 | 0,0 % | - | 0,0 % | 1 067 000 | 0,0 % |
| - | world, total | 1 619 626 000 | 100 % | 3 698 683 000 | 100 % | 6 055 049 000 | 100 % |
Forecasts
Various studies are trying to predict the number of adherents of major religions in the future. Such projections take into account demographic trends and missionary efforts. The table below provides projections for 2050 from three sources:
| № | Religion in 2050 | "Religions of the World" | WCE | PRC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christians | 3 220 348 000 | 35,0 % | 3 051 564 000 | 34,3 % | 2 918 070 000 | 31,4 % |
| 2 | Muslims | 2 494 229 000 | 27,1 % | 2 229 282 000 | 25,0 % | 2 761 480 000 | 29,7 % |
| 3 | Hindus | 1 241 133 000 | 13,5 % | 1 175 298 000 | 13,2 % | 1 384 360 000 | 14,9 % |
| 4 | non-believers | 556 416 000 | 6,1 % | 887 995 000 | 10,0 % | 1 230 340 000 | 13,2 % |
| 5 | Buddhists | 570 283 000 | 6,2 % | 424 607 000 | 4,8 % | 486 270 000 | 5,2 % |
| 6 | Chinese religion | 525 183 000 | 5,7 % | 454 333 000 | 5,1 % | 449 140 000 | 4,8 % |
| 7 | traditional beliefs | 272 450 000 | 3,0 % | 303 599 000 | 3,4 % | ||
| 8 | Atheists | 132 671 000 | 1,4 % | 169 150 000 | 1,9 % | see "unbelievers" | |
| 9 | New religions | 63 657 000 | 0,7 % | 118 845 000 | 1,3 % | see "others" | |
| 10 | Sikhs | 34 258 000 | 0,4 % | 37 059 000 | 0,4 % | see "others" | |
| 11 | Jews | 16 973 000 | 0,2 % | 16 695 000 | 0,2 % | 16 090 000 | 0,2 % |
| 12 | spiritists | 17 080 000 | 0,2 % | 20 709 000 | 0,2 % | see "others" | |
| 13 | Taoists | 15 018 000 | 0,2 % | 3 272 000 | 0,0 % | see "others" | |
| 14 | Baha'i | 15 113 000 | 0,2 % | 18 000 000 | 0,2 % | see "others" | |
| 15 | Confucians | 6 014 000 | 0,1 % | 6 953 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 16 | Jains | 7 943 000 | 0,1 % | 6 733 000 | 0,1 % | see "others" | |
| 17 | Shinto | 2 355 000 | 0,0 % | 1 655 000 | 0,0 % | see "others" | |
| 18 | Zoroastrians | 170 000 | 0,0 % | - | - | see "others" | |
| 19 | other | - | - | - | - | 61 450 000 | 0,7 % |
| - | world, total | 9 191 294 000 | 100 % | 8 909 095 000 | 100 % | 9 307 190 000 | 100 % |
Competition between Christianity and Islam
Of increased interest is the dynamics of the number of Christians and Muslims in the future. Given that at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the growth of Muslims in percentage terms outpaced the growth of Christians, various futurologists made statements about the future numerical superiority of Muslims over Christians and the transformation of Islam into the world's largest religion.
Thus, the world famous sociologist Samuel Huntington in his work The Clash of Civilizations (1993) predicted that Islam would become the world's largest religion in the first decade of the 21st century; according to this source, by 2025 the share of Muslims in the total population of the planet should reach 30%, and the share of Christians should fall to 25%. The first part of this forecast can already be considered refuted; Huntington's forecast for 2025 is also refuted by most well-known studies. It is believed that Christianity will remain the dominant religion in 2050.
Regarding longer-term forecasts, opinions differ. According to the PRC report, the number of Muslims and Christians will equal by 2070, while the share of each of the religions will be 32% of the world's population. According to the source, by 2100 Islam will become the world's largest religion in terms of the number of followers (35% of the population), while Christianity will move to second place (34%). In their study, PRC analysts focused on demographic data.
However, there are also opposite opinions. As early as 1995, the Encyclopedia of the Future indicated that Christianity would remain the dominant religion well into the year 2200. At the same time, the authors considered three possible scenarios (the general scenario, the scenario of "Islamic revival" and the scenario of "growth of irreligion"), however, in all cases, by 2200, Christianity was ahead of Islam by more than 1.5 billion believers. The dominance of Christianity until the year 2200 is also mentioned in the World Christian Encyclopedia. David Barrett and Todd Johnson, exploring four possible scenarios, also conclude that Christianity is dominant in both 2100 and 2200 in their World Christian Trends.
Counting methodology
When determining the number of believers of a particular denomination, five main methods are combined:
- Reports of religious organizations. When using such sources, it is taken into account that a number of organizations deliberately overestimate (rarely underestimate) the number of their supporters. Also, it is taken into account that different religious groups define membership in them differently: in order to become a member of some confessions, it is necessary to go through a long process of initiation (sometimes available only at a conscious age).
- Population censuses. Often the question of religious preferences is included in the census columns. This source is recognized as a reliable way to determine religious self-identification. However, a significant number of countries do not conduct censuses or do not include a question on religion; moreover, censuses are conducted infrequently and their data can become significantly out of date. Some governments have been accused of falsifying census data, including data on religious self-identification.
- Polls. The accuracy of such a source of obtaining information largely depends on the quality of the study, primarily on representativeness. Survey data is rarely able to reveal the exact number of believers in small religious groups. In some countries, representatives of religious minorities in surveys may evade or give incorrect answers.
- Ratings based on indirect data. Adherents of some tribal religions are sometimes counted by counting the members of the tribe; it is understood that all members of the tribe adhere to the same religion. Some Orthodox churches use a similar method. Such estimates can be highly unreliable.
- Field studies often used to determine the size of small religious groups. Often this is the only way to determine the size of small organizations, especially semi-closed sects.
see also
- Demographics of atheism
Notes
- , p. lix.
- Darrell J. Turner. . Worldwide Adherents of All Religions(English) . Encyclopedia Britannica (2011) . Retrieved 2 July 2015.
