The Biggest Religions in the World

There are numerous religions in the world. Still, it is summed up in two types of religions: Abrahamic religions like Islam, Christianity, Judaism, et cetera, and the second one is Indian religions like Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism et cetera. 

Even though there are so many religions under these two categories, the world’s religions are still so different in their practices yet similar in pursuing a single truth and one supreme being. By population, Christianity is the world’s most popular religion. Most people in the world are followers of Christianity, and the second biggest religion is Islam.

Christianity

As mentioned above, Christianity is the most followed religion in the world. Christianity follows the teachings of Jesus Christ closely, believing that Jesus is the Messiah who will save the world and bring salvation to the world in the end. 

Christianity is one of the core Abrahamic religions out of three major religions. Abrahamic religions believe Abraham to be the first-ever prophet to walk on earth and preach their knowledge and teachings to the world’s people.

The people or the followers of Christianity are known as Christians, and the sacred book they follow in their religion is The Bible. The first-ever Bible brought to the world was written in Hebrew, and it is referred to as the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, it is mentioned that a messiah, Jesus, will be born to herd the people and show them the right and who will die for the people on a cross.

Islam

The second most followed religion is Islam. The direct translation of the Arabic word for this religion means ‘submission to God.’ The foundation of Islam lies in their sacred book called The Holy Quran. Like Christianity, Islam is part of the Abrahamic religion, which believes in Abraham being their first prophet. 

The followers of Islam are called Muslims, and like Christianity, Islam also rose from the Middle East. Many things are in common between Islam and Christianity since both are Abrahamic religions. The Quran also mentions Jesus and his prophecy for the world’s end.

The followers of Islam believe in worshipping one supreme being, Allah, and the religion of Islam teaches through their holy book of the Quran that Allah is the all-powerful being who is unique and merciful to his believers. The main and the last prophet of Islam, Muhammad, was the one to whom the holy book of the Quran was shown. The life of the previous prophet has been documented to be followed by the believers of Islam as the ideal life to be led. 

The religion of Islam believes that Islam is the universal faith that brings purity, and it is upon us humans to choose or reject the guidance of the one true Almighty, Allah. The book Quran mentions everything related to the religion and works as a guide to living life for the believers and non-believers. It says every aspect of life you might run into and a solution.

Hinduism

The third biggest religion in the world, followed by Hindus, is Hinduism. The rise of Hinduism came from the Indian subcontinent; it is part of other religions that arose from the Indian subcontinent, such as Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism etc. the people or followers of Hinduism refer to their religion as ‘Sanatan Dharm’ and believe their religion to be the way of for life; it is also referred to as the Dharma which is related to the Vedas, the ancient texts of ancient India.

The religion of Hinduism is composed of things like the system of the philosophy of life, beliefs and rituals. The ancient texts of Hinduism can be divided into two categories: ‘ Shruti’ and ‘Smriti,’ meaning to be heard and remembered, respectively.

 The earliest followers of Hinduism called their religion Sanatana Dharma rather than the name we use extensively today. The term Hinduism was given by British occupiers of the land of India. Hinduism’s sacred books are the Vedas, Shastras and the Bhagavad Geeta. Their ancient texts and religious scriptures have been written in their ancient and now mostly dead language, Sanskrit. 

Hinduism has a set of core beliefs which set them apart from the other Indian religions; that is also one of the reasons Hinduism is called the way of life.

Secular or Non-Religious or Agnostic or Atheist 

Even though these terms have been grouped as a heading, they are not the same. Every term has a different meaning yet is similar to either following one God or not believing in any God.

Secularism or Secular religion is referred to as the religion that puts humanism above a particular religion’s traditions and restrictive beliefs. The chief purpose or the idea of Secularism is toward materialism.

Non-Religious faith means that the person following this idea rejects the notion of religion and does not relate themselves to any God or religion.

Agnostic or Agonism neither rejects nor accepts the fact that God or any supreme being exists; they believe that humans are incapable of fathoming the existence of such a supreme being; thus, the presence of God or anything supernatural is unknown.

Atheists reject the notion of any God and do not believe in any superior power. For atheists and Atheism, if any religion believes that there is a supernatural being responsible for everything and should be worshipped, which is most religions, then Atheism denies the existence of such a being.

Conclusion

The world’s religions are as diverse and as extensive as the people of the world. Yet the prevailing belief of most religions is in the existence of one deity alone; the deity who created the world. The world’s major religions include Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. These are the world’s five biggest religions, Judaism being the oldest religion. While there is a religion to be followed by people by their choice, Atheism or the denial of God is also followed by people of the world, classifying Atheism as one of the world’s faiths.