This is not accurate just to show you how inaccurate the internet is……Samuel Lasco (2013)
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10 Largest Religions in the World 2013
Top 10 Largest
Religions In The World 2013. There are over 21 formal world religions and
belief systems. Some have been around for only a few years while others have
existed for thousands. Religions vary in beliefs with some believing in only
one god, others many and some none. The one thing all followers of religion are
governed by a set of beliefs apart from them that govern the way they live
their lives.
Top 10 Largest
Religions in the World 2013
10. Shintoism - 4 million
Shintoism is a religion
indigenous to Japan circa 1000 B.C. and focuses worship on the kami, a
host of supernatural beings dwelling in natural elements. There is no formal
dogma, writ or founder, which has allowed for influence from other religions,
such as Confucianism and Buddhism. Due to Shintoism’s compatibility with
Buddhism, many of its followers practice both. Shintoism is devoted to life in
the world and celebrates man’s essential goodness. The religion is focused on
ritual rather than belief and is considered more of an essential Japanese way
of life rather than a religion for its followers, contributing to its lack of
practice outside Japan.
9. Jainism – 4.2 million
Jainism rose alongside
Buddhism in India and provides an alternate religion to Hinduism’s strict
religious rituals. It teaches the escape from the process of rebirth and karma
by reaching nirvana via leading a life of abstinence from the world’s earthly
pleasures. Jainism focuses on the wellbeing of the universe by living lives of
harmlessness and renunciation from life’s evils. All living things, humans,
animals and plants alike, contain souls with no soul being greater than any
other. It’s followers believe there is no god but rather generate their morals
based on self-help.
8. Baha’ism - 7 million
In sense of most world
religions, Baha’ism is strikingly new, only coming into existence in 1863 out
of Persia. It focuses on the unification of all mankind drawing upon teachings
from Islam and Christianity. Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, known as Baha ‘Allah,
founded Baha’ism on the belief that his forerunner Bab and himself are
manifestations of God. Bahais believe all founders of major religions were
manifested upon the earth as agents of God implemented to teach the world spiritual
lessons. Baha Ullah’s personal mission is to then unite and mankind despite
religion, race or class, and focused most of his teachings on social ethics
7. Judaism - 14 million
Judaism is the oldest
of all monotheistic religions and blazed the trail for many other world
religions including Christianity and Islam. Judaism follows the teachings of
God, Yahweh, and focuses on Jews as the chosen people of God descending from
the line of Abraham. Jews are called to be an example for others in holiness and
ethical behavior. Moses founded the religion after leading his people from
Egyptian slavery and receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai.
The Jewish religious text is known as the Torah and recounts the stories and
teachings of it’s founders.
6. Juche -19 million
Juche is the religion
of North Korea and also known mockingly as “Kimilsungism.” It’s a religion
founded on state dominance, veneration of leadership, political and economic
independence, and communal production. The ideologies were first inducted by
Karl Marx under the religion now known as Marxism.
5. Sikhism - 23 million
Sikhism emerged from
India circa the 15th century under the guidance of guru Nanak. The religion
combines beliefs from Hinduism and Islam characterizing the belief that God
comprises one reality alone while drawing upon meditative emphasis. At 29,
Nanak declared, “there is no Hindu; there is no Muslim.” He rejected polytheism
for monotheism and believes life is a circle of birth, death and rebirth only
released by moksha into eventual unity with God. Sinkhism focuses on
the importance of doing good rather than on religious rituals.
4. Buddhism -376 million
Buddhism follows the
teachings of Siddhartha, the son of a warrior prince born into an extremely
wealthy background. The suffering of humanity led Siddhartha to leave his
pampered life at 29 and travel in search of enlightenment and solutions to
human suffering. While meditating beneath the bodi tree (tree of perfect
knowledge) he received the enlightenment he sought and devoted the rest of his
life teaching his followers of his new understandings. Buddhists focus on
personal spiritual development and don’t worship gods or deities.
3. Hinduism - 900 million
Hinduism is considered
the oldest religion in the world with a legacy leading to prehistoric times. It
is also the most diverse religion with followers from all races and walks of
life, perhaps because there is no single doctrine, no founder or script binding
believers together. Hinduism incorporates a number of influences in its beliefs
and allows for complete freedom in doctrine. Instead, Hinduism’s history is
written by a number of key figures, teachers and philosophers teaching
practices and writings known as the Veda. As far as belief goes, Muslims draw
upon a couple common values known as dharma. The term ‘Hindu’ was derived from
the Sindhu River and doesn’t go back further than the 15th century. Followers
began to call themselves Hindu in order to differentiate themselves from other
religious followers, namely Muslims.
2. Islam – 1.5 billion
Islam is one of the
fastest growing religions in the world and follows the practices of Muhammad, a
member of the Quraysh tribe born 570 A.D. At 25 he led a meditative life in the
desert and received a vision from the angel Gabriel telling him to be a
prophet. His wife Khadija encouraged him in this pursuit and he devoted his
life to societal and religious reform. He was shunned from Mecca and fled after
only gaining a few followers. Fleeing to Medina, Muhammad’s teachings were well
received and marks as the beginning of the Muslim era. In 630 A.D., he marched
on Mecca and conquered it before passing away two years later.
1. Christianity -
2.1 billion
Stemming from Judaism,
Christianity is the largest religion in the world with 31.5% of the world’s
population in practice. Christianity is characterized by its follower’s
practice of monotheism and follow practices preached by Jesus of Nazareth, a
Jew who claimed to be both fully man and fully God. Born in Bethlehem around 7
A.D., Jesus didn’t become public in his teaching until his 30th year and spent
3 years performing miracles and teachings until roughly 30 A.D. when he was
brutally crucified for being a threat to the Roman Empire.
Unaffiliated - 1.1
billion
It’s debatable whether
those who practice no religion count in the list of world religions, but it’s
undeniable they hold a set of beliefs on religion even if those beliefs are to choose
not to believe. If that is the case, then unaffiliated would come in at number
3 on our list. 16.3% of the world’s population professes to either one of the
forms of disbelief, atheism/agnosticism, or with spiritual beliefs unlinked to
any established faith. Of the 1.1 billion people professing no faith, over 62%
of them live in China alone and make up more than half of its population. Japan
is the most unaffiliated country with 57% of its population with no link to any
established faith. America closes out the top 3 with 16.4% of its population in
disbelief. Atheists and the unaffiliated believe god is a man-made construct,
is unknowable or that its concepts are not meaningful to the human condition.
Jainism rose alongside Buddhism in India and provides an alternate religion to Hinduism’s strict religious rituals. It teaches the escape from the process of rebirth and karma by reaching nirvana via leading a life of abstinence from the world’s earthly pleasures. Jainism focuses on the wellbeing of the universe by living lives of harmlessness and renunciation from life’s evils. All
living things, humans, animals and plants alike, contain souls with no soul being greater than any other. It’s followers believe there is no god but rather generate their morals based on self-help.
8. Baha’ism - 7 million
In sense of most world religions, Baha’ism is strikingly new, only coming into existence in 1863 out of Persia. It focuses on the unification of all mankind drawing upon teachings from Islam and Christianity. Mirza Hoseyn ‘Ali Nuri, known as Baha ‘Allah, founded Baha’ism on the belief that his
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