Religion is a belief under which a person lives his life. Religion is the identity, it is the belief, it is the most important aspect of a Person’s life. No religion means no hope for life. Here is the brief description of the oldest religions of the world:
The basis of Hinduism is the belief of Unity in everything, though believed by many as a polytheistic religion. This totality is called Brahman. The purpose of life is to realize that we are part of God and by doing so we can leave this plane of existence and rejoin with God. Hindus follow a strict caste system which is the standing of a person in the society. The caste one is born into is the result of his/her “Karma” in the previous life. This is the most negative aspect of Hindu religion where only Brahmans hold the key positions while rest of castes are ignored in the path of life.
Jews believe in one creator who alone is to be worshiped as an absolute Ruler of the world. He monitors people’s deeds and rewards good deeds and punishes evil. Jews believe in inherent goodness of the world and its inhabitants as creations of God and do not require a savior to save them from original sin. They believe that they are God’s chosen people. They believe that Messiah (A.S.) will arrive in near future, will gather them in Israel and the Jerusalem Temple destroyed in 70 CE will be rebuilt.
Zoroastrianism was founded by Zarathustra in Persia which followed an aboriginal polytheistic religion at that time. Zoroastrians belief in dualism of good and evil as either a cosmic one between Ahura Mazda and evil spirit of violence and death. The Zoroastrians Holy Book is called the Ayesta which includes the teachings of Zarathustra written in a series of five hymans called the Gathas. Zoroastrians worship through special prayers that are conducted in front of a sacred fire which symbolizes their God. They dictate their lives through a three-fold path i.e. “Good thoughts, Good Words, Good deeds”.
Buddhism developed out of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who in 535 BCE, reached enlightenment and assumed the title of Buddha. He promoted the middle way as part to enlightenment rather than extremes of mortification of flesh and hedonism. Buddhism do not believe in life after death. They do not believe in any type of God. Buddhism has a philosophy that every human being is equal in rank and it strictly neglects the caste system present in Hinduism. As such, Buddhism came into existence to end this caste system.
Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion closely tied to nature, which recognizes the existence of various “Kami” nature dieties. The first two dietiesInzanagi and Inzanami gave birth to various Japanese islands and their children became the dieties of various Japanese clans. Followers of Shinto desire peace and believe all Human life is sacred. There are four affirmations in Shinto:
K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucius) was born in 551 BCE in the Lu state of China. He traveled throughout China giving advice to the people and rulers. His teachings and writings dealt with individual morality and ethics, and proper exercise of the Political power. He stressed the following values:
Unlike most religions, Confucianism is primarily an ethical system. The most important periods recognized in the Confucian tradition are birth, reaching maturity, marriage and death.
The founder of Jain community was Vardhamana, the last Jina of the 24 who lived in East india. He attained enlightenment after 13 years of deprivation and committed the act of “Salekhana”, fasting to death, in 420 BCE. Jainism has many similarities to Hinduism and Buddhism. They believe in karma and reincarnation as do Hindus. Jains follow fruititarianism. This is the practice of only eating that which will not harm or kill any plant or animal. They practice ahisma, non-violence, because any act act of violence against a living creature creates negative Karma which will adversely affect one’s next life.
Taoism was founded by Lao-Tse, a contemporary of Confucius in China. Taoism began as a combination of psychology and philosophy which Lao-Tse hoped would help end the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts of of life in his time. Taoism became a religion in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion of China. Taoists believe that people are by nature, good, and that one should be kind to others because such treatment will probably be reciprocated.
Christianity started out as a breakaway sect of Judaism nearly 2000 years ago. Jesus, the son of the Virgin Mary, he was bothered by some of the practices within his native Jewish faith and began preaching a different message of God and religion. During his travels he was joined by twelve disciples who followed him in his journeys and learned from him. He performed many miracles and related many of his teachings in the form of parables. Christianity and Judaism are very similar in many of the core beliefs. They both believe in God The Creator of the Universe, the Life after death, heaven and Hell etc. but there are also two main differences in their beliefs. There are a lot and of forms of Christianity which have developed either because of disagreement on dogma, adaption to different cultures or due to personal differences.
Islam is the oldest religion of the universe and Muslims think that Islam was completed by ALLAH as a faith when He sent Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) to the People of Earth. It is not a new religion. Muslims think that it is the same faith taught by Adam (A.S), Moses (A.S), Ibrahim (A.S) and all the Prophets which were sent by ALLAH Almighty to the people. The role of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) was to formalize and clarify the faith and purify it from the ideas which were added in error. The two sacred texts of Islam are Qur’an which are the words of ALLAH Almighty given to Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) and the Hadith, which is the collection of Hazrat Muhammad (SAW) sayings. The duties of all muslims are known as five Pillars of Islam, which are as follows:
Muslims believe in Life after death, they believe that good deeds will send them to Heaven and evils will send them to Hell. Islam rejects Racism, gambling, alcohol and drugs. Muslims believe in all Prophets which passed before Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
1. HINDUISM – 4000 to 2500 BCE
2. Judaism - 2000 BCE
3. Zoroastrianism – 1000 BCE
4. Buddhism – 560 to 490 BCE
5. Shinto – 500+ BCE
- Tradition and family
- Love of nature
- Physical cleanliness
- Matsuri
6. Confucianism – 500 BCE
K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucius) was born in 551 BCE in the Lu state of China. He traveled throughout China giving advice to the people and rulers. His teachings and writings dealt with individual morality and ethics, and proper exercise of the Political power. He stressed the following values:
- Li: ritual, propriety, etiquette etc.
- Hsiao: love among family members
- Yi: righteousness
- Xin: honesty and trustworthiness
Unlike most religions, Confucianism is primarily an ethical system. The most important periods recognized in the Confucian tradition are birth, reaching maturity, marriage and death.
7. Jainism – 420 BCE
8. Taoism – 440 CE
Taoism was founded by Lao-Tse, a contemporary of Confucius in China. Taoism began as a combination of psychology and philosophy which Lao-Tse hoped would help end the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts of of life in his time. Taoism became a religion in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion of China. Taoists believe that people are by nature, good, and that one should be kind to others because such treatment will probably be reciprocated.
9. Christianity – 30+ CE
10. Islam
- Recite the Kalama Shahadah at least once
- Offer Prayers five times a day
- Donate the Zakat (Charity) to the needy people (2.5% of the annual income)
- Fast during the month of Ramadan
- Make Pilgrimage to Kaabah at least once in the life if physically and economically possible
Muslims believe in Life after death, they believe that good deeds will send them to Heaven and evils will send them to Hell. Islam rejects Racism, gambling, alcohol and drugs. Muslims believe in all Prophets which passed before Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
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