World’s Religions

1. World’s Religions And some Interesting & Fun Facts

2. No religion teaches hatred, every religion tells about love & affection towards others

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4. Buddhism- 4TH Largest Religion • Buddhism was founded in India during the 6th century BC. Although there are many schools of Buddhism. • Buddhism is a religion which has variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha. • Two major branches of Buddhism are: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle). The foundations of Buddhist religion are the 3 Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma (the teachings), and the Sangha (the community)

5. Buddhism –Interesting Facts • Buddhism word is derived from Hindi word Budhi , which means WISDOM. In that sense Buddha means wise man. • In initial days, a Buddist monk was not supposed to cook food, he could only ask for food in alms.Purpose was to spend all the time in spreading awareness about Buddhism • This religion is unlike any other religion. They do not believe in gods. They believe in kindness and life after death. If you live a good life, you will have a better life in the next life and it will build up good Karma. If you live a bad life, you will have bad Karma the next life. • Buddhists go to temple, not at a special time or day, but when they can. • Nuns - women can hold a position as a nun. • Nuns are not allowed to criticize monks but monks are allowed to criticize nuns.  • Although Buddhism originated in India, but now there are almost no followers .It is more widely spread in Thailand,Japan,China . • More than 50% of Buddhism Teachings are part of Hinduism, the most popular religion in India. • The "Smiling Buddha" in Chinese restaurants is not a statue of the Buddha, rather it is Hotei a Budai from Chinese folklore • Buddha was not a fat man - his lifestyle of moderation in eating and walking about teaching would have made him fit not fat • A Buddhist should eat whatever food is given to him, but should never ask for an animal to be slaughtered for his meal 

6. Hinduism- 3rd Largest Religion • Hinduism is the major religion of South Asia. Other name for it is Sanātana Dharma. Demographically, Hinduism is the world's 3rd largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Major books are the Upanishads, Purāṇas , Mahābhārata and Ramayana. The word Hindu is derived from word Sindhu, the local name of a river called Indus which has disappeared now. Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion.

7. Hinduism –Interesting Facts • Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world • There are 8.4 million different gods & goddesses in Hindu religion, so one can ick & choose the god or goddess of his/her own liking • In a family, every member can follow his or her own god or goddess, there is no restriction for choosing one god only • In most of Hindu marriages, the bride & bridegroom have to take 7 circles around holy fire ,by taking 7 different oaths to help & commit to each other • There is no restriction on eating meat , >40% of Hindus eat meat.In earlier days, animals were slaughtered to please deities & gods • Most of Hindus believe in re-birth. The belief is that if one person does good deeds in this life, his next life would be better. And if he does very good deeds ,then he can merge in God & does not need to come back on earth by re-birth • Ganges ,a river in India,is considered to be very holy by many of the Hindus & they believe that a holy dip in Ganges would purify their bodies & all of their sins would be forgiven .This is similar to confession tradition in Christians

8. Islam –2nd Largest Religion • Islam : The word Islam means 'submission to God. A follower of Islam is called a Muslim. Major book is Quran, which is considered to be the word of God. Most Muslims belong to one of the two groups; with 80-90% being Sunni and 10-20% being Shia. Islam is the second-largest religion and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.

9. Islam –Interesting Facts • The Majority of Muslims do not live in the middle East. The most populous Muslim country is Indonesia, the 4th largest country in the world with 184 million Muslims. • There are more Muslims in India than the combined population of Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine and the whole of the Arabian Peninsula. • "Allah" is an Arabic word that means "God". Muslims also believe that "Allah" is the personal name of God. • Muslims neither worship Muhammad ;the prophet & founder of Islam; nor pray through him. Muslims solely worship the unseen and Omniscient Creator, Allah. • Muslims pray five times daily, usually while kneeling on a mat, facing toward Ka'ba shrine, located in Mecca • The word "jihad", though it means holy war, has two meanings, the first is the struggle against non-believers, the second is an internal struggle to remain pious in their faith and submit to the will of Allah (God) • During  Ramadan,(a special period in the year for Muslims), Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for an entire month.

10. Christianity –Largest Religion • Christianity: It is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Followers of the Christian religion are known as Christians. Moderns Christianity teaches Jesus as the Son of God and the savior of humanity. The three largest groups in the world of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches & the various churches of Protestantism. Christianity has around 2.2 billion followers. Christianity is world's largest religion

11. Christianity –Interesting Facts • There are Seven things ,which are considered as deadly Sins in Christianity. These are: 1. Pride 2. Greed 3. Lust 4. Envy 5. Gluttony 6. Anger7. Sloth • Number of Bibles distributed in the U.S. every day: 170,00. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute • Because the Bible is the world's number one bestseller, it is also the most shoplifted book in the world • The most mentioned crop in the Bible is ‘corn’ •  In Christianity, if you confess all your bad deeds to Father (priest of the Church) , then you’re considered to be forgiven by God .(Father is not supposed to see your face ) • Christians' two most observed holidays are Easter (celebrating the resurrection of Christ) and Christmas (celebrating the birth of Christ). • In the Bible , there are around one hundred different names used for God. • The Bible has been translated into 1,200 different languages, including Klingon, for the Star Trek enthusiasts. • Most of the Christians undergo a ritual called being Baptized , a TRADITION that involves application of water to the head, or full body submersion. This symbolically represents the washing away of sins, and a rite of acceptance into the Christian faith. • Christians believe in one God, but that God exists in three forms, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

12. By Navisha Teacher at Scottish New World School Gurgaon, India