World Religions

Definition Religion: A set of beliefs regarding the creation and purpose of the universe. This usually involves rituals and traditions and often contains a moral code Holidays Prayer God(s) Scripture Art Public Service

Religions of the World Christianity Judaism Islam Buddhism Hinduism It is estimated that there are over 4,000 religions in the world There are 5 major religions Christianity Judaism Islam Buddhism Hinduism

World Religions Map

Buddhism The world’s 4th largest religion with over 500 million followers (about 7% of the world’s population) Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) Located in Southeast Asia

Hinduism The world’s 3rd largest religion with about 1 billion followers (about 15% of the world’s population) The world’s oldest “living” religion Polytheistic- Over 300 million gods Practiced mostly in South Asia: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh

Islam The 2nd largest religion in the world with about 1.5 billion followers (about 22% of the world’s population Based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and The Koran Mostly located in the Middle East and North Africa

Judaism The smallest of the 5 major world religions with about 20 million followers Monotheistic Based on the teachings of The Torah Mostly located in the Middle East Israel is a Jewish country

Christianity The world’s largest religion with over 2 billion followers (almost 30% of all people) A religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ Monotheistic 3 Major Groups: 1) Roman Catholic 2) Eastern Orthodox 3) Protestant (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran)

Illustrate! Write a paragraph… How does your religion or belief system impact your life? How do you decide what is good and bad? How and where do you worship? What principles guide your life? What things do you celebrate and how? Illustrate!