Religion

A religion is an apparently-universal human social phenomenon involving beliefs, values, practices, and group identity. Scholars typically characterize religion as concerned with the supernatural; the sacred; or with subjects of ultimate concern (such as birth and death). Elements which are often associated with "religion" include:

• a distinctive worldview or belief-system
• group identity
• social institutions
• rituals
• rules or behavioral expectations
• a focus on the supernatural

Some religions are implicit, and consist of inherited ancestral traditions (a "way of life"). Others are organized, and promote themselves in conscious contrast to alternatives within the wider society. We may also distinguish between personal religious beliefs and experiences, and those which may be socially prescribed.

In the case of religions which are divided into sects or denominations, the word "religion" is generally reserved for the most fundamental level of spiritual identity. For example, Methodists generally do not describe Methodism as a "religion" in its own right, but as a denomination within the religion of Christianity. Sikhs, however, insist that they are a "religion," and not, for example, merely a sect of Hinduism (despite their many similarities).

Major religions of the world

What makes a religion important, or worth studying? Common criteria include

• Size, i.e. number of followers. Major problems include definitional ones (e.g., are we to count "Catholics" according to the number of people baptized as Catholics, the number who say they are Catholics, or the number who attend mass at least occasionally?) as well as practical problems of enumeration. Adherents.com is a well-known site which compiles population estimates for various religions.

• Antiquity, i.e. the age of a religion (with older ones generally being regarded as more venerable). This is not always easily calculated. For example, to many it seems obvious that Judaism is older than Christianity, which in turn is older than Islam; yet all three emerged from (and lay claim to) much the same prophetic tradition. Moreover, the basic features of (rabbinic) Judaism and Christianity as we know them coalesced at about the same time, during the second-to-fourth centuries AD. And should the International Society for Krishna Consciousness be traced back to the 1960's activity of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada; to the career of the fifteenth-century Bengali saint Caitanya; to the composition of the Bhagavadgita some two thousand years ago; or to Krishna himself (if he in fact existed as a historical figure)?

• Influence. While this is difficult to quantify with anything like objectivity, several religions have clearly influenced the world beyond what their numbers would suggest. For example, many of the characteristic features of the Abrahamic religions seem to have originated with Zoroastrianism, whose presence is now much reduced. And Jews have never been very numerous, but an intellectual history of the world could hardly be written without reference to them.

• Intrinsic interest. Often interest in a religion is inspired by some noteworthy event or attribute, whether good or bad.

Religions originating in the Middle East

Zoroastrianism

Source of name: The Greek form of "Zarathustra"

Object(s) of worship:Ahura Mazda ("Wise Lord," essentially God), and other good spirits

Founder(s):Zarathustra (Zoroaster)

Origins: Some nomadic pastorial society which (probably) inhabited the eastern Iranian Plateau circa 1400 to 1000 BC. (Some older works, following the Bundahisn, assume that Zoroaster lived 258 years before Alexander.)

Holy Text: The Avesta

Beliefs in a nutshell: The Two Principles (good and evil) and the Three Times: (1) a past in which good and evil were separate; (2) the present in which they are mixed; and (3) a future when they will be separated again, after a final war.

Major divisions:

Population: Estimates vary by a whole order of magnitude, from several hundred thousand to more than 2 million.

Main geographic areas: Yazd and Kerman (Iran), Bombay, Karachi.

Influenced: The Abrahamic religions in various ways (possibly including monotheism); also the Iranian national consciousness through such things as Noruz (New Years) customs and Firdowsi's Shahnama (Epic of Kings).

Judaism

Source of name: From Judah, one of the Twelves Tribes of Israel

Object(s) of worship:God

Founder(s):It is difficult to name a single figure. Abraham as an ancestral figure, Moses as prophet and lawgiver. (Some historians doubt their existence.)

Origins: Palestine (Canaan or the Land of Israel) during the first millennium BC.

Scriptures: The (Jewish) Bible or "TaNaKh," consisting of the Law (Torah), Prophets (Neviim), and Writings (Khetuvim); also commentarial literature such as the Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmud.

Beliefs in a nutshell: God has entered into a relationship with the "people of Israel" (now represented by the Jewish people), as expressed through the "written and oral Torahs," and which remains constant despite periods of exile and catastrophe

Major divisions: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist.

Population: The ethnic Jewish population is 13-15 million and falling. A fraction of that would consider themselves religious.

Main geographic areas: Israel, New York, Russia, other diaspora locations.

Influenced: World history through the biblical tradition, as well as through later Jewish intellectuals such as Marx, Freud, and Einstein.

Christianity

Source of name: Refers to belief in Jesus as the Messiah (Greek Christos)

Object(s) of worship:God, generally in the form of the Trinity

Founder(s):Jesus Christ (though historians wonder if this was his intention)

Origins: Roman Palestine, early first century AD.

Scriptures: The (Christian) Bible, consisting of Old and New Testaments

Beliefs in a nutshell: Jesus Christ is God incarnate, the Savior.

Major divisions: the "Oriental" churches, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism

Population: 1.5 to 2 billion

Main geographic areas: Europe, the Americas, Oceania, much of Africa, several Asian countries.

Influenced: European civilization (and through it, world history).

Islam

Source of name: From an Arabic word meaning "submission" (i.e., to God)

Object(s) of worship: God (Arabic Allah)

Founder(s): Historically, the Prophet Muhammad. From the point of view of the religion, God has sent a number of prophets or messengers including Abraham, who is called the "first Muslim." Muhammad is the final such prophet.

Origins: Arabia, seventh century AD.

Scriptures: The Qur'an. (Said to have been authored by God, not by Muhammad.)

Beliefs in a nutshell: There is only one God, and Muhammad is his prophet.

Major divisions: Sunni and Shi'a, based on disagreements over who should have succeeded Muhammad in his role as leader of the Muslim community.

Population:One billion, give or take a few hundred million.

Main geographic areas: The "land of Islam" includes Arabic, Persian, Turkish, sub-Saharan African, Indian sub-continental, (Hui) Chinese, and Malay-Indonesian subregions.

Influenced: Medieval science and geography, world politics, the art and literature of all the regions mentioned above.

The Baha'i religion

Source of name: Refers to their founder, Baha'u'llah

Object(s) of worship:God, through his "Manifestations" (roughly, prophets) who are regarded as divine.

Founder(s): Baha'u'llah ("The Glory of God", assumed title of Mirza Hussein Ali Nuri)

Origins: The 19th-century Persian and Ottoman empires

Scriptures: Various writings of Baha'u'llah and his successors, but especially the Kitab-i-Aqdas setting forth Baha'i law.

Beliefs in a nutshell: God has sent a series of prophets to guide humanity to ever-more-advanced levels of civilization. The most recent, Baha'u'llah, will bring about global unity (both spiritual and political).

Major divisions: One main group following the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel; several splinter groups.

Population: estimates range from 1.2 to 7 million

Main geographic areas: Numerous countries as a tiny minority; Iran as a largish minority

Influenced: Modern architecture, pop music, Esperanto, interfaith dialogue

Religions originating in India

Hinduism

Source of name: Chosen by Persian Muslims, to refer to the religion of people living on the "other" side of the Indus River.

Object(s) of worship: A wide variety of deities, of whom the most popular are Vishnu and Shiva. Although most Hindus are polytheistic, some strains within Hinduism are monist, monotheistic, or henotheistic.

Founder(s): Not applicable

Origins: Various. Some elements are probably prehistoric.

Scriptures: Chiefly the Vedas; also the epics, Puranas, various others.

Beliefs in a nutshell: Vary widely. Typical ones include the cycle of reincarnation and karma, together with the goal of escaping it; and the various duties that apply to different people according to gender, social class, ethnic community, and stage of life.

Major divisions: Hinduism is a collective name for a vast array of communities and their cults, whose integration into a common religion / society is often somewhat forced.

Population: 850 million to 1 billion.

Main geographic areas: India, Nepal, Bali, and the Indian diaspora.

Influenced: Indian society and culture, world philosophy and religion, aspects of Southeast Asian culture such as the Ramayana story and concept of kingship.

Buddhism

Source of name: Refers to Buddha, the "Awakened One."

Object(s) of worship: The Three Jewels--Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Founder(s):Historically, Siddhartha Gautama. However, Buddhist tradition recognizes other Buddhas who predated him.

Origins: North India, 5th or 6th century BC

Scriptures: Several collections, divided by language (Pali, Sanskrit/Tibetan, Chinese) and genre (sutra, vinaya, abidharma).

Beliefs in a nutshell: Aims at enlightenment, or release from the cycle of reincarnation.

Major divisions: (1) Southern Buddhism, or Theravada; (2) Northern Buddhism, or Mahayana, which may be subdivided into (2a) Tibetan / Mongolian / Himalayan and (2b) East Asian strains. (NB: "Vajrayana" or "Tantric" Buddhism is a special subcategory of Mahayana.)

Population: 100-150 million exclusively, at least double that if we add Buddhists who also follow other religions.

Main geographic areas: Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, the Himalayas, China, Korea, Japan, parts of Russia.

Influenced: Asian art, literature, philosophy, and (in some cases) society.

Jainism

Source of name: From Jina (spiritual "Conquerer"). Jain means "a follower of the jinas".

Object(s) of worship: The Jinas, also called Tirthankaras ("Forders"), consisting of those who have achieved enlightenment through aesceticism

Founder(s):Historically, Mahavira. However, he is numbered as the twenty-fourth Tirthankara, the first being Rishabha. (In any case, all 24 reappear in every eon.)

Origins: Bihar (India), 5th or 6th century BC

Scriptures: Various.

Beliefs in a nutshell: In order to escape from the cycle of reincarnation, one must abandon violence, lies, theft, sex, and possessions.

Major divisions: Digambar ("sky-clad") and Shvetambar ("white-clad"), based on monastic garb (or lack thereof).

Population: 10 to 12 million.

Main geographic areas: Bombay, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajastan, other parts of India.

Influenced: Indian literature (Jains composed crucial early writings in Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, and Hindi), art, diet (vegetarianism), philosophy (as a "heterodox" school, like Buddhism), and politics (its concept of ahimsa influenced Gandhi).

Sikhism

Source of name: From Punjabi shiksa ("instruction")

Object(s) of worship: God, addressed by various names such as Vahiguru ("Wonderful Teacher"), Ek Onkar ("One Taste"), or Sat Nam ("Name of Truth")

Founder(s):Guru Nanak

Origins: Punjab, the fifteenth century AD.

Scriptures: The Granth Sahib, a collection of hymns and other writings by the ten gurus.

Beliefs in a nutshell: Salvation comes from devotion to God and the recitation / remembrance of his divine name (nam simran). The guru is the voice of God.

Major divisions: Khalsa Sikhs, Namdharis, Udasis. (These disagree as to the number of gurus and/or the requirements of Sikh practice.)

Population: 18 to 20 million.

Main geographic areas: India's Punjab

Influenced: Sant Mat, Hindu-Muslim relations.

Religions originating in East Asia

Note: Chinese traditional religion is a complex of folk traditions such as ancestor-worship; professional religious services operating under the names of "Buddhism" and "Taoism"; a "Confucian" social ethic; and various sectarian movements which partake of this ethos. Should these be counted as one religion (on analogy with Hinduism) or as several, which may be held simultaneously? To further complicate matters, many people in this category describe themselves as irreligious, or else give "Buddhism" as the name of their religion. While most of the world's 1.3 billion Han Chinese would participate in some aspect of the folk religion, such as funeral or New Years' customs, the proportion who view this as their religion is surely much smaller. The government of China insists on sharply distinguishing between "Taoism" and "Buddhism" (which are regulated separately), and "superstition" and popular devotion (which are unprotected).

In Japan, most citizens are associated with Buddhist and Shinto temples according to government registry, without necessarily personally identifying with either as a religion (though they are typically resorted to for life-cycle ceremonies such as weddings and funerals). As in China, Confucianism is regarded as a social ethic rather than a religion, but receives wide support.

Taoism

Source of name: From a Chinese philosophical term (Dao or Tao) meaning "the Way." The term is used in discussions of both cosmology and proper behavior.

Object(s) of worship: Various gods (who are organized into a celestial bureaucracy) such as the Jade Emperor or the Three Pure Ones; ancestral spirits

Founder(s): Traditionally Laozi or the Yellow Emperor. Chang Daoling started the first "Taoist" organized religion.

Origins: Some elements are probably prehistoric. The Laozi was composed during the 6th century BC. Zhang Daoling was active during the second century AD. Taoism can also be dated according to the assembly of later canons.

Scriptures: The Daozang ("Treasury of Tao), a collection of several thousand texts, mostly of a magical or ritualistic nature

Beliefs in a nutshell: That certain rituals are effective in ensuring the health of the soul,

Major divisions: Tienshi ("Celestial Masters") and Chuanzhen ("Complete Perfection") lineages

Population: See note on East Asian religions.

Main geographic areas: China proper and the Chinese diaspora.

Influenced: Art and literature of China, Korea, and Japan.

Confucianism

Source of name: From the Latinized name of its founder, Confucius (Kongfuzi or Kongzi). In Chinese it is called Rujia or Rujiao, an otherwise untranslateable term incorporating a character that originally referred to shamanism.

Object(s) of worship: Ancestral spirits

Founder(s): Confucius, though some elements predate him.

Origins: Shandong, 6th to 5th centuries BC.

Scriptures: The "Five Classics" (The Classic of Poetry, -of Music, -of Rites, -of History, and the Spring and Autumn Annals) and "Four Books" (The Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and Mencius).

Beliefs in a nutshell: Based on the virtues Li ("ritual" or "etiquette"), Yi ("duty"), Ren ("kindness"), Zhong ("loyalty"), Xiao ("filial piety"). This last applies not only to children and parents, but all relationships, including political ones.

Major divisions: The most natural dividing lines would be according to nation, or according to role or function within a society (e.g. education, philosophy, statecraft, etc.)

Population: See note on East Asian religions.

Main geographic areas: China, Korea, and Japan.

Influenced: East Asian society and politics.

Shinto

Source of name: Japanese for "Way of the Gods"

Object(s) of worship: Various gods (Kami)

Founder(s): Not applicable.

Origins: Unknown / prehistoric.

Scriptures: The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (mythological compendia)

Beliefs in a nutshell: Reverence for nature, the gods, purification rites, tradition, and the family

Major divisions: Folk Shinto, shrine Shinto, state Shinto, sectarian Shinto

Population: Most of Japan's population is registered with a Shinto shrine, but few name Shinto as their religion. It is associated mainly with major life-cyle ceremonies.

Main geographic areas: Japan

Influenced:

Tenrikyo

Caodaism

Source of name: Refers to the name of God, Caodai ("High Tower")

Object(s) of worship:God and his servants--the Buddhas, Saints, and Sages

Founder(s): God, through Ngo Van Chieu and others

Origins: Saigon, 1925 (at a seance)

Scriptures: The Compilation of Divine Messages, Phap Tranh Chuyen (Religious Constitution), New Canonical Code

Beliefs in a nutshell: In this Third Amnesty of Salvation, God unites the world by speaking directly (through mediumship) rather than through prophets

Major divisions: 18 subgroups

Population: 1-2 million claimed.

Main geographic areas: Vietnam, the Vietnamese diaspora.

Influenced: Graham Greene (see The Quiet American).

Yiguandao (or I-Kuan Tao)

Source of name: Chinese for "One-Unity Religion"

Object(s) of worship: God, called by a twenty-character name that begins Ming Ming Shangdi, various Buddhas/saints/sages from Chinese lore

Founder(s): Historically, Lu Zhongyi and Zhang Tianran in the late Qing Dynasty. Mythologically, the religion claims a series of "patriarchs" from the primordial Taoist and Buddhist past.

Origins:

Scriptures:

Beliefs in a nutshell:

Major divisions:

Population: One or two million claimed, this is likely inflated.

Main geographic areas: Taiwan

Influenced: Vegetarianism in Taiwan.

Chondogyo A 19th-century Korean movement that arose in opposition to Roman Catholicism. The name means "Teachings of the Way of Heaven." Its earlier name was Donghak ("Eastern Teachings"), in contrast to the Western teachings which it was confronting.

Borderline cases

There is no agreement as to the proper meaning and scope of the term "religion." Following are some debateable examples:

Confucianism. Textbooks on religion often include Confucianism, but its adherents often disagree, pointing to Confucius' reluctance to discuss the supernatural.

Freemasonry. Masonic tradition contains ample references to God (called "the Grand Architect of the Universe") and biblical imagery (such as the Temple of Solomon). Like religions, the Masons perform solemn rituals, cultivate group solidarity, and stress the cultivation of ethical virtues. However, Freemasons deny that their fraternity qualifies as a "religion," on the grounds that it is meant to complement and encourage--not replace--its members' previous religious identities. Men from any religion (but not atheists) are eligible to join.

• If one insists that the Masons are a religion, despite their protests to the contrary, what are we to make of the Boy Scouts, who boast many of the same features? Scounting has rituals (e.g., the flag ceremony), texts (the Boy Scout Handbook), a founder (Lord Baden-Powell), institutions with rank, and in some countries, required beliefs (such as God).

American civil religion. In the United States, various political rituals are practiced which some (such as Jehovah's Witnesses) reject as covertly religious. An example would be the "Pledge of Allegiance," in which Americans customarily stand facing their flag--with the right hand covering the heart--and recite a short oath which refers to the USA as "one nation under God."

Soviet Communism. For all its anti-religious rhetoric, the USSR boasted "sacred" texts, condemned "heretics", revered founders, conducted rituals (such as venerating Lenin's mummified body), and promoted an elaborate eschatological prophecy in the form of the future workers' utopia. Communism often played much the same organizing role in its citizens' lives as religion does elsewhere--for example, in sponsoring "coming of age" ceremonies.

Astrology.

Subud. Subud is an international network of people who practice a spiritual exercise called the Latihan, in which initiates "open" themselves to God or the Great Life-Force. Subud denies having doctrines, yet promotes numerous traditions (often derived from the teachings of its founder, Bapak Subuh) relating to the nature of the universe and the human soul. Subud sources deny that Subud is a religion, using reasoning similar to that of the Masons. (Atheists are however permitted.)

Yoga. "Yoga" is sometimes taught and practiced as a religious activity, but sometimes not. For many, it is merely another form of exercise, though some aspects (e.g., saluting the sun) bespeak its religious origins and are scarcely understandable otherwise.

Meditation. Refers to a wide range of practices aimed at mental activity or quiesscence.

Interest in UFO's. While there do exist a number of religious movements centered around the thesis that UFO's are space aliens, many other enthusiasts focus on UFO's (and even find a worldview, or source of ultimate meaning, in them) without joining any of the "Saucer Cults."

Esperanto. Enthusiasm for this artificial language resembles a religious movement in some ways. The movement has a revered founder (Dr. Zamenhof), martyrs, goals which some regard as of ultimate concern (world peace, Esperanto as a solution to "the language problem), and has even suffered "schisms" with offshoots like Ido.

Traditional worldviews / traditional behavior. Many traditional societies make no clear distinction between "religious" and "nonreligious" aspects of daily life. How are we to decide, for example, whether a particular people's understanding of their place in the cosmos qualifies as a belief to which they adhere? And at what point does "social etiquette" become "religious custom"?

Scientific / secular values. Is the scientific worldview now prevailing within industrial societies, really just another religious option? If religion is banned in schools, does that amount to an endorsement of the "religion" of "secular humanism" or atheism?

Classification of Religions

The following categories are often encountered:

"Dharmic religions". Includes the several Indic religions which conceive of their teachings in terms of dharma (a word variously meaning "religion" or "duty"): Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

"Abrahamic religions". This category includes the three religions which recognize Abraham as a part of their sacred histories: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Baha'i religion also fits this description, but is more frequently overlooked on account of its small size.

"Monotheistic religions". Religious which affirm belief on one God include Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and the Abrahamic religions (listed above). Some strains of Hindu or ancient Egyptian religion arguably qualify. The concept becomes somewhat murky in view of the many theologies in which God or his equivalent boasts a heavenly retinue, or changes form. The concept of "henotheism" (in which any of various deities may be singled out for worship as the Supreme Being) has been proposed to describe Hinduism.

"Eastern religions". Any of the traditional, indigenous religions of India, Tibet, or East Asia--especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Older material often includes Islam in this category; today it is more likely to be grouped with the "Western" (now usually conceived as identical with Abrahamic) religions.

Pagan / Heathen religions. These represent a Christian religious category encompassing all non-Christians except Jews, and perhaps also Muslims. "Pagan" comes from the Latin paganus ("country bumpkin"); "heathen" ("heath-dweller") has much the same set of connotations. The terms recall a time when Christianity was making inroads in European cities, while rustics often continued to follow the old religions. For centuries the terms were assumed to be negative; however, "neo-pagan" groups began reclaiming them in the twentieth century.

"People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab). An Islamic term for other monotheistic religions founded by prophets who revealed holy books. The Qur'an recognizes Judaism, Christianity, and "Sabeanism." (Scholars are unsure as to what a Sabean was.) Muslim theologians debated the status of Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.

"Tribal religions." Include a wide variety of small-scale religions found in pre-modern societies. "Shamanism" describes one common religious-specialist role within many such societies (but neither exhausts the categeory, nor is limited to it).

"New Religious Movements" (NRM's) An umbrella term which encompasses groups which arose (at the very earliest) in the nineteenth century or later. Some scholars prefer World War II as a cutoff date. Not all NRM's claim to be religions per se; some say they are "spirtual movements," while others see themselves as part of another religion such as Christianity.

See Also

• cult
• faith
• spirituality