Christianity

The 4 Major world religions

by Christian Narayane

​CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest religion, with about 2.4 billion followers.^[1] Its adherents, known as Christians, make up a majority of the population in 157 countries and territories,^[2] and believe that Jesus is the Christ, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testament.^[3]

Christianity remains culturally diverse in its Western and Eastern branches, as well as in its doctrines concerning justification and the nature of salvation, ecclesiology, ordination, and Christology.

​ISLAM

​Islam (/ˈɪslɑːm/;^[A] Arabic: اَلْإِسْلَامُ‎, romanized: al-’Islām, [ɪsˈlaːm] (listen) "submission [to God]")^[1] is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that Muhammad is a messenger of God.^[2][3] It is the world's second-largest religion with 1.9 billion followers, or 24.9% of the world's population,^[4][5] known as Muslims.^[6] Muslims make up a majority of the population in 47 countries.^[7][8] Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique,^[9] and has guided humanity through prophets, revealed scriptures, and natural signs.^[3][10] The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, believed to be the verbatim word of God, as well as the teachings and normative examples (called the sunnah, composed of accounts called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570 – 632 CE).^[11]

​HINDUISM

​Hinduism (/ˈhɪnduɪzəm/)^[1] is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life.^{[note 1][note 2]} It is the world's third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus.^{[2][web 1][web 2]} The word Hindu is an exonym,^{[3][4][note 3]} and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,^{[note 4]} many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit. ''the Eternal Dharma''), which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts.^{[5][6][7][8][note 5]} Another, though less fitting,^[9] self-designation is Vaidika dharma,^{[10][11][12][13]} the 'dharma related to the Vedas.'^{[web 3]}

​BUDDHISM

​Buddhism (/ˈbʊdɪzəm/, US: /ˈbuːd-/)^[1][2] is an Indian religion based on a series of original teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha. It originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. It is the world's fourth-largest religion^[3][4] with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists.^[5][6] Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on the Buddha's teachings (born Siddhārtha Gautama in the 5th or 4th century BCE) and resulting interpreted philosophies.