Major World Religions

The five major world religions are, in order of their historical appearance, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. To put the emergence and spread of these religions in a historical and geographic context, click the video below.

Hinduism

The origins of Hinduism date back some 4000 years. Hinduism is polytheistic with no single founder; it comprises various philosophies and beliefs, some of which date back some 4000 years. As a life pathway, it is based on four goals (Puruṣārthas): Dharma, the right way to live; "Artha: the pursuit of material prosperity through constructive work"; "Kama: the pursuit of pleasure and happiness through the exercise of desire and passion…regarded as one facet of a well-rounded spiritual life"; and Mosha, the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment (Das, 2017, para. 3).

Judaism

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion. "Tradition teaches that the origins of Judaism are found in the covenant (divine agreement) between Abraham and God, dated to 2000 B.C.E." The covenant was a three-part promise consisting of the promised land (i.e., that the land, Canaan, would be divinely granted to Abraham's descendants); the promise that Abraham would have many descendants and found a nation; and the promise that Abraham and his descendants would be blessed. Much of Judaism centers on its holy writings, which include the Hebrew bible, known as the Tanakh, and the first five books of the Tanakh, the Torah, which records the laws given to Moses, including the Ten Commandments (World religions, 2011, pp. 5-6).

Buddhism

The founder of Buddhism was an Indian prince, Siddhartha Gautama, 563-483 BCE, who left his palace home to follow a six-year regimen of ascetic and meditation practices, in pursuit of enlightenment. Upon achieving his goal, he became known as the Buddha, the awakened one, and spent the next 45 years teaching disciples and lay people. Buddhism evolved into two schools, one stressing personal liberation (the Hinayana) and one focused on attaining enlightenment in order to help others (the Mahayana).

Christianity

Christianity's central figure is Jesus Christ. "For Christians, Jesus is…the Son of God and Messiah as prophesized in the Hebrew scriptures [and] the savior of humanity[, and] is considered both fully human and fully divine. Christianity also teaches that Jesus' death and resurrection paved the way for humans to overcome sin and be reconciled with God." Adherents of Christianity number approximately 2 billion, making Christianity the most widely practiced religion in the world (World religions, 2011, p. 1).

Islam

Of the five major world religions, Islam is the most recent. Its founder, Muhammed, was born in Mecca (located in present-day Saudi Arabia) around 570 C.E. Around the age of 40, he experienced revelations, or visions, that led to the founding of Islam; Islam's holy book, the Koran, collects the messages Muhammed received from this experience. Written in Arabic, the Koran emphasizes the Five Pillars of faith. These include believing that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammed is his prophet; praying to Allah five times daily; giving alms; fasting; and making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.

The link below provides further information about the five major world religions as well as others (such as Shinto and Bahá'í).

http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/World%20Religions%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Ideology

The dictionary definition of 'ideology' is "a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy." As such, democracy, communism, capitalism, and conservatism could be considered ideologies. Other major modern ideologies include socialism, nationalism, and feminism. The link below briefly explores the meaning of 'ideology,' both what it is and what it is not.

https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideology