Hinduism When: 2000 bce Main religious figure:Brahma Text: Vedas and Upanishads; "acquiring knowledge" Number of followers:500 million Teachings:Freedom from ignorance; Simply complex (6,000,000 and 1); Reincarnation; Yoga; Meditation; Dharma, karma and moksha

Judaism When: 1800 bce Main religious figure:Yahweh, Abraham and Moses Text: Torah (1st five books of the Old Testament) Number of followers:15 million Teachings:Ethical monotheism - 1 God – morality; 10 Commandments (no other God's, no idols, lord's name in vain, Sabbath, honor mother/father, no murder, no commit adultery, no steal, no false witness, no covet); Covenant - agreement with God; Persecutions

Buddhism When: 533 bce Main religious figure: Siddhartha Guatama (known as Buddha, "the Enlightened One") Text: Dhammapada Number of followers: 300 million Teachings:Gentleness and peacefulness; Achieve enlightenment; "Know thyself“; Rejected strict Hinduism; Avoid illusions, which are the weaknesses in life; Follow the 4 Noble Truths (life is full of suffering, suffering has origin, suffering can cease and path to end suffering); 8-fold Path (right...view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration)

Christianity When: "0" (2012 years ago) Main religious figure: God, Jesus Text: Bible Number of followers:1.5 billion Teachings:Jewish origins; Covenant - relationship with God; Inner commitment; Messiah; Old and New Testament; Persecutions

Islam When: 622 ce Main religious figure: Allah, Mohammed Text: Koran (Quran) Number of followers:840 million Teachings: Based on the teachings of Abraham; Means "to submit to God's will“; Religious and political; Believes Jews and Christians strayed from and distorted God's teachings; Follows the "Five Pillars of Islam" (one God - Allah/one messenger - Muhammed, daily prayers, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca)