Religions of different countries of the world and their differences from each other

An adequate religious worldview does not in any way cancel the process of scientific knowledge of the world. If only because an adequate person understands the essence and does not chase the form. Lives according to covenants, and does not concentrate on performing rituals. It's not about the religion itself, but about the people. The very idea of ​​loving your neighbor does not become bad just because terrible crimes were once committed under its cover. So Joinfo.com will try to tell you a little about what the fundamental differences between the main religions of the world are.

Let's clarify right away. We do not believe that some religion is correct and some is not. Each person chooses for himself what to believe in and by what principles to live. Therefore, we will try to describe everything as neutrally as possible. So.

What is this

The basic definition of world religion hides the fulfillment of several conditions at once. It differs from national (regional) ones primarily in that it is professed by several nationalities occupying different territorial locations - that is, it is quite widespread.

Its role must be significant and it must be classified as a mass one in terms of numbers or as a percentage of the number of believers. These are the characteristics that unite all world religions and distinguish them from other types of existing beliefs.

Religious organizations and associations, their role in the life of modern society (grade 8)

An important element of religion are religious organizations that directly embody religious values ​​and attitudes in their activities.
Religious organizations include churches, sects and organizations built around a prominent religious leader. The Church of the Resurrection of Christ is the church of the Simferopol and Crimean diocese of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate above the village of Foros.
The church unites followers of any religious faith who hold divine services together. It is characterized by a clear division of believers into clergy (clergy) and laity (ordinary believers), with the clergy themselves occupying different positions in the church hierarchy. Most churches have official religious leaders, such as the Pope for the Catholic Church, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' for the Russian Orthodox Church. Many churches have a certain territorial structure, for example, in a number of Christian churches there are dioceses headed by archbishops and bishops. Any church develops a system of immutable principles of doctrine ( dogmas ) and rituals. A sect usually arises as a result of the separation of some laity and clergy from the church, opposing themselves to the rest of the believers. The number of participants in the sect, as a rule, is limited, and the division between laity and clergy is eliminated, and the ideas of equality of all members of the organization are proclaimed. An important feature of the sect is the claim to the exclusivity of its religious beliefs, the conviction of the “chosenness of God” and absolute intolerance of dissent. In modern Russia there is a significant number of officially registered religious organizations, as well as religious communities whose activities are prohibited by law. Therefore, citizens choosing their religion need to be very careful.

Signs

The main features are:

• The belief of people that the world and their destinies are controlled by a supernatural force that is both mystical and worthy of worship.
• A special feature is that the worship of higher powers is organized. That is, this is actually an institution of the church, which has its own clear hierarchy, starting from the lowest appointed minister, to the one who manages and regulates all processes within one of them.
• Also a key feature is the idea of ​​creationism. They are also characterized by rationalism and mysticism and recognition of a centric picture of the world.

Categories of morality. The formation of morality in man. Ethics of nonviolence (grade 10)

Basic moral norms were formed many centuries ago and are well known: do not lie, do not steal, do not harm others, honor your elders, respect work, do good... Gradually, moral principles were formed on the basis of these and other norms. The principles of morality are the starting points on the basis of which all morality, all moral behavior of a person is built.
They have been formed, changed and improved throughout human history. Some of them have almost disappeared. However, over the centuries, all peoples came to a single set of moral principles.

• Humanism. This is renunciation of violence, love of humanity, recognition of a person’s all his natural rights and freedoms.
• Moral autonomy of the individual. This means that everyone chooses for themselves which moral principles to follow and is responsible for them.
• Patriotism. This is love for the Motherland, a willingness to work for its good and defend it if necessary.
• Altruism. This is selflessness in helping people, compassion and self-denial, the willingness to sacrifice something for the sake of other people.
• Tolerance. This is recognition of the right of every person to have their own views and beliefs, to be unique and different from others.
• The principle of the “golden mean”. We must avoid extremes and observe moderation in everything.
• The principle of greatest happiness. This means that you need to behave in such a way that as many people around you as possible are happy.

In the system of civil relations, nonviolence is, first of all, a struggle for justice, for human rights, for power, but without the use of force and causing harm, especially physical. At the same time, nonviolence cannot be considered only as a type of struggle that should be chosen for reasons of expediency and effectiveness. Non-violence is not limited to the renunciation of violent actions and the use of force, but in a positive sense includes respect and affirmation of the civil rights of the individual. We can say that non-violence is a fixed threshold of tolerance for the other, for that which is not the Self. Thanks to non-violence, it becomes possible to transfer the ethical norms of love and truth into the sphere of social practice. Thus, the idea of ​​non-violence offers a unique concept of man, where he becomes the highest value.

First world religion

If we talk about the first religious ideas, they arose at the dawn of humanity. It was a unique form of mastering self-awareness in this world. And this was the time of the formation of primitive society. During this period, man was characterized by such manifestations of consciousness and faith in higher powers as animism, fetishism, and totemism.

Religion appeared as a reaction of ancient man to events that he could not explain. And with such formed ideas, it was easier to explain the incomprehensible or choose the right behavior. This is how the very first older religion and beliefs were formed, which later developed into paganism. It was this belief that became the most widespread and important in the ancient world at the dawn of humanity, where many gods occupied a special place. Each of them was responsible for their own sphere and hypostasis, which subsequently led to the development of the idea of ​​faith itself.

Shintoism

Photo: Icon-icons
The main concept is the need to accept your place in the world. Yes, there are tons of gods, spirits, demons and ancestral souls. Yes, there are endless rebirths. But you don't have to do anything about it. Just live in harmony with all this - and you will be happy. There is no hell, no salvation, no torment. There is some karma, but it doesn’t matter. The world, in the understanding of Shintoists, is initially a good thing, and all the problems in it are only because someone desperately does not want to seek harmony.

Basic

Further, considering which religions are the main ones in the world and why they belong to the world, it is worth analyzing the history of the emergence of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religious and philosophical doctrine that was formed in its present form back in the 1st millennium BC. This happened on the territory of ancient India, and the founding father was Gautama Siddhartha, who was called Shakyamuni Buddha by his followers.

The emergence of Buddhism subsequently led to the emergence of 4 noble truths:

• The existence of suffering.
• Thirst for sensual pleasures.
• The need for a person to free himself from suffering.
• The path leading to nirvana.

Man in Buddhism is an active psychosomatic system. And his life is a combination of energy flows. Since its inception, Buddhism has focused on consciousness, psychology and liberation from what prevents a person from developing.

If we consider the number of believers who profess Buddhism, then today their number in figures is about 500 million people worldwide.

The predominant countries professing this faith are India, China, Laos, Myanmar, Japan, Mongolia and some others.

Christianity

If we consider Christianity in the world, it is one of the oldest, which originated 2,000 years ago.

In pointing out how Christianity differs from other religions, it is worth highlighting such characteristic points as:

• It is the largest Abrahamic faith.
• The relevance of her beliefs today clearly resonates with the ideas of philanthropy and caring for one’s neighbor.
• Christianity emerged in the 1st century AD in the territory of East Palestine.
• The essence of belief is that a person accepts God as an absolutely perfect person who controls the destiny of a person, introducing into his life certain events that are actually a test or are sent to test faith.
• Christianity is called so based on the name of its founder - Jesus Christ, who was sent to this world by his father - the Great God in order to atone for the sins of mankind.
• Among the main features one can also highlight the doctrine of the general resurrection of people, the dominance of the spiritual principle and its predominance over the material.

If we list the countries in which Christianity is widespread, it will be an impressive list consisting of all the countries of Europe, Russia, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, as well as other countries.

But, it is not represented by one direction. In Christianity there are such branches as Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism and some others.

Islam

If we talk about when Islam appeared, then it is relatively young, but at the same time it has significant weight and influence on world life.

Why Islam has such an impact on most of the world's population can be expressed by the following characteristics of the faith:

• Islam has all the same characteristics as any other Abrahamic faith.
• The approximate number of adherents in the world is about 24% of all inhabitants of the earth. Despite the widespread spread of Islam, it is not prevalent on any continent. And if we talk about geography, Islamism has become most widespread in Africa from the northern coast to the equator and along the western coast, throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula, on numerous islands of the Indonesian and Malaysian groups and in Western Asia. But in Europe, Russia, the USA, and South America, this faith is represented in a smaller percentage, but still there are its followers here.
• Islamists, like most other world religions, are represented by several movements. The most common are Sunnis, who make up almost 85% of Muslims. Shiites are represented by a group of 14%. But the smallest is the schismatics movement - 1.3%, which is overwhelmingly represented by Muslim sects.
• If we talk about the key ideas, they are expressed in the following statements - monotheism, Allah is omnipresent and believers should regularly worship him, paying their respects. Faith and obedience are the pillars that should be paramount for any Muslim. In Islam there is also the concept of angels who carry out the will of Allah.

Judaism

As for Judaism, this faith is the oldest, as it was founded in the 2nd millennium BC.

Today it belongs to one of the monotheistic. Among its followers are 14.6 million people, which indicates that it is not very widespread. Therefore, there is no need to talk about a large ratio of countries whose residents became followers of Judaism.

Freedom of conscience (8th grade)

The principle of freedom of conscience, implemented by many states, is intended to prevent religious hatred and the imposition of any one religion on people. Freedom of conscience as the right of a person to independently form his own beliefs and express them openly, without harming the freedom of other people and society as a whole. These beliefs can relate to a variety of areas of human life: religion, attitudes towards people, work, creativity, the state. We can say that freedom of conscience is the right of every person to some independence of his spiritual life from society and the state. In many states, the implementation of the principle of freedom of conscience was the result of the centuries-old struggle of citizens for their rights, for example for freedom of religion, i.e. the right to independently choose which religion to profess, or to abandon religion altogether, taking the position of atheism (find the definition of this in the dictionary words). The Constitution of the Russian Federation, in accordance with international law, guarantees the implementation in our country of the principle of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. All religions on the territory of our country are equal in rights; there is no state, official religion. The state guarantees all believers the opportunity to freely practice their worship. Young people who are liable for military service (i.e., subject to conscription for military service) can perform alternative civilian service if military service conflicts with their religious beliefs. In modern Russia, the church is separated from the state, that is, the state does not interfere in the internal life of religious organizations, does not finance their activities and does not promote some of them. Religious organizations, in turn, should not interfere in matters of public administration. Russian legislation provides equal access for representatives of all religions and atheists to receive basic, secondary and vocational education. In addition, the promotion of any religion or atheism in compulsory classes in public educational institutions is prohibited.

List of religions

Analyzing the list of existing world and regional religions, it becomes clear that their list is much larger than the three main ones. It is represented by the following religions:

• Christianity.
• Islam.
• Buddhism.
• Judaism.
• Indian bharmic. These include Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shrauta, Shaktiism, Tantrism, Smartism.
• A number of ethnic - Altai Turkic-Mongolian, such as Tengrism, traditional Mari, Berber Zar. These include Chinese Confucianism and Taoism, as well as Tebeto-Burmanism, Korean shamanism, Japanese Shintoism, and Thai Zhuang. As well as Australian and African national cults and religions.

Religious norms (8th grade)

Religious norms are rules developed by any religion. For believers they are mandatory.

1. The order of religious worship and rituals.
2. Organization of activities of religious associations.
3. The attitude of believers to God, to the church, and to each other.
4. Relationships between believers and non-believers.
5. Order of worship.
6. Performing certain actions (baptism of a newborn).
7. Abstaining from certain activities (for example, eating certain foods).

This group of rules combines features inherent in customs, moral and corporate norms. The combination of these characteristics predetermines the need to separate religious norms into a separate group.