World Religions

World Ethnic Groups map

How many ethnic groups do humans identify themselves as? Note the similarity between ethnic groups and religious groups. In other words, almost everyone is born to a religion.

World Religions

Christianity Islam Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist Hinduism Chinese traditional religion Buddhism primal-indigenous African Traditional & Diasporic Judaism Shinto

2.1 Billion 1.5 B 1.1 B 900 Million 394 M 376 M 300 M 100 M 14 M ?

Atheist, agnostic, nonreligious, irreligious, religiousness populations
by country or area for 2006
as percentage of total population

Abrahamic Religions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, aka "People of the Book"

Judaism - the problem is exile; the solution is return to God
Christianity - the problem is sin; the solution is salvation
Islam - the problem is pride; the solution is submission

These three religions have common roots and common beliefs. There are only two sources for Abraham -- the Bible of Jews and Christians and the Koran of Muslims. They all believe in the same God, Abraham's in the Bible. Not surprisingly, four thousand years later, there are differences between God and Allah, which in Arabic means "the God", a linguistic cognate to the Hebrew word for God in the Bible, Elohim.

Christians claim that their trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) is actually monotheistic, one god with three personalities. The Jews and Muslims believe that their religion is monotheistic and that Christianity is polytheistic. Christians, in turn, believe that because Jews and Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet but not a divinity, they don't worship the same God.

There is no question that the two Gods are different. But they have the same historical origin. In all three religions, God:

has the same personal relationship to humans

rules and intervenes (miracles) in history

reveals His will to humans via prophets, angels, and inspired Scriptures (Jewish Torah, Christian Testaments, Islamic Koran)

will stop time (history) on the day of judgment to send all humans to their eternal destinies (heaven or hell)

In all three faiths, Jerusalem is a central, sacred place. For example, at first, Muslims faced Jerusalem when they prayed, not Mecca.

Judaism, coming first chronologically, says that God's revelations stopped after Abraham. Christianity, coming next, added the New Testament, saying that God's revelations stopped with the last-written book of the New Testament, probably one of Peter's letters. Islam says that God revealed the Koran to Muhammad some six hundred years later.

Christianity and Islam both believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, his miracles and healings, and his bodily ascension to heaven.

Islam, being more strictly monotheistic, does not accept the divinity of Jesus. Muslims and Jews do not worship or pray to Muhammad, Jesus, or any other prophets, only to the God in the Jewish Torah, which is the first five books of the Christian Bible. God is beyond human comprehension and does not resemble humans in form or spirit. Thus, Muslims are not expected to visualize God and in fact, none of their religious art has any human or divine images. It's all patterns. In their view, Christians are praying to human icons, not God.

Bahai

The Baha'i Faith is a monotheistic religion that began in the 1800's in Persia (Iran) among followers of Bahá'u'lláh, a teacher who grew up as a Shi'a Muslim. Today, five or six million people identify themselves as followers of the Faith, spread over almost every country on earth. The image above left is their Universal House of Justice, in Haifa, Israel. Here's a summary of their principles:

What's not to like about any of that? Plenty, as it turn out.  Followers of the Baha'i Faith are among the most persecuted religious minorities.

Islam

Islam is the religion. Muslims are the people. Muslims practice Islam. Some Muslims are Arabs (orange countries on map on the left). Almost all Arabs are Muslim.

The Muslim World map

Which four countries have the most Muslims? Answer at bottom of page.

None is in orange on the map on the left. That is, none of the top-four Muslim countries is Arab. See Wikipedia's List of Muslim majority countries.

Islam has two major strains: Sunni 85%, Shia 15%

Shia Muslims can be found in Iran, whose Islamic republic is all Shia. In addition there are large minority communities in Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, and Lebanon. Everyone else who practices Islam is Sunni.

Sharia

To Muslims, Sharia is God's law, but different countries and cultures have varying interpretations.

In additional to morality, Sharia addresses personal behavior like sex, hygiene, diet, prayer, and fasting. Where it enjoys official status, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sharia addresses civic behavior like crime, politics and economics, and is administered by Islamic judges, or qadis. In some Western countries, Sharia becomes a problem when it contradicts the law of the country but the Muslims insist of the primacy of Sharia.

Some of its judgements can seem extreme. Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (left) is 43-year-old an Iranian Azeri who pled guilty to the crime of "illicit relationship" with two men and was sentenced to be executed by stoning according to Iran's Sharia law. She sits today on Iran's death row. Update - January 2012

Proselytism

attempting to convert people to another religion

The vast majority of humans do not choose a religion. They are born to one and they don't change to another. That doesn't stop some from trying to convert non-believers, however.

Although Judaism doesn't emphasize trying to convert non-believers, both Christianity and Islam do, which has been the justification (though rarely the cause) of millions of deaths in the last two thousand years.Of the world's religions, only Christianity and Islam proselytize.

For the other major religions, there's no such thing as a missionary, let alone an army. Hinduism has no concept of conversion. Hindus are free to choose any religion and worship any god in any manner. Or not. Buddhists think that ethnocentrism of any sort, religious or otherwise, is abusive. However, communities of praticing Buddhists do accept (give "Refuge" to) people who want to join in their practice. For the Taoic religions, there's nothing to convert to or from. In fact, there's not even a clear definition of who is and who isn't a Confucian or Taoist to begin with.

Dharmic religions

Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, plus Japan's Shinto.

the problem is suffering; the solution is awakening

Dharma is an elusive concept for Westernized Christians to understand. For our purposes, dharma is the worldview that is the context for the religions that developed in India 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. Hinduism traces is roots even further, to texts called Vedas from India's pre-historic Iron Age and even into its Bronze Age 5,000 years ago.

Around the time of Confucius in China and Socrates in Greece, Siddhārtha Gautama, a spiritual teacher, founded Buddhism. While he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (the enlightened or awakened one), he is not a god in the sense the the Abrahamic religions mean God or Allah. He lived in what is now northeastern India about four or five hundred years before Jesus. Gautama's followers became monks, forming Sangha, which, still existing today, is one of the oldest continuous human organizations.

As you can see from the map below left, almost all Buddhists are in countries near India, but not India itself, which is over 80% Hindu. Conversely, almost all Hindus are in India and some are in Nepal and in Guyana and Surinam on the northeast coast of South America.

Rather than "faith religions", these are "empirical religions". There's nothing to believe in, in the sense that Christians and Muslims mean "belief" as a convergent consensus with carefully-worded creeds and confessions. For those who practice Dharmic religions, their experience and personal practice of meditation lead to ethical behavior and, finally, to wisdom.

Similarities: Buddhism and Hinduism share the Dharmic worldview, which involves practices -- meditation and yoga -- that proceed from some beliefs:

there is an ultimate spiritual reality beyond the illusions of the physical world

suffering is in the physical world is an illusion caused by excessive attachment to things and people

all living spirits will eventually achieve enlightenment and liberation from that suffering, even if it takes many re-incarnations and many different paths

The biggest difference between them: Hindus believe in one supreme being, formless and impersonal. This supreme being is viewed as the god of all other religions and equal to all existence or the ultimate reality. Everything contains the divine energy of god. Thus, Hindus are tolerant of all other religions and gods or goddesses as forms or manifestations of this one single deity or supreme being. For Buddhists, on the other hand, there is no god and thus no need for priests (intermediaries between humans and god) or rituals (to address god). Nirvana is available for everyone.

Unlike the zero-sum Abrahamic faith religions, dharmic empirical religions do not require professing faith to be a believer or a practitioner. Thus, a Hindu or Buddhist doesn't convert to Christianity, because there is nothing to convert from. A Buddhist can profess Christianity and still be a Buddhist. Conversely, Christians can't convert to Buddhism, because there's is nothing to convert to. They will always be Christians or former Christians practicing Buddhism or Hinduism, which is not a problem to the Buddhists and Hindus.

As I noted above, Buddhists in particular believe that prostelyzing is a particularly abusive form of ethnocentrism, and when it comes to prostelyzing, Hindus don't see the point. Your way is just fine to them. It is thus not surprising that the prostelyzing religions are the most popular world-wide.

Shinto

Shinto (神道 Shintō?) or kami-no-michi, the way of purification, is "a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past." The practices are carried out at shrines (left) with the specific purpose of memoralizing or commemorating almost any ancestor, event, and even natural phenomena like thunder and objects: mountains, rivers, water, rocks, and trees, aka, animism. At the shrines, the people dress in a style from a thousand years ago (check out those shoes in the photo above) and engage in never-changing rituals dating back 2,500 years.

Since Shinto is more a "way" than a "religion", the vast majority who take part in Shinto rituals also practice Buddhism.

Taoic religions

pronounced dow'-ic, dow'-izm

Taoism and Confucianism - Chinese folk religions

the problem is chaos; the solution is social order

If Dharmic religions can be difficult for a Westernized Christian to understand, Taoic religions are even more so.

A Taoic religion focuses on the East Asian concept of Tao ("The Way").

Tao is the flow of the universe, the force behind the natural order. Call it energy, being, essence, Tao, Brahman, God -- these terms are just linguistic and cultural variations of humans' desire for self-knowledge and an experience of unity with all life. The Tao inspires us morally, socially, and culturally.

To that end, Confucianism is more of a complex, law-ridden ethical system, and Tao is a way of behaving. Neither of them are religions in the sense of the Abrahamic religions' "faith in God" or the Dharmic religions' view of liberation from the sufferings of the physical world.

The founders, Lao Tzu and Confucius, lived at the same time, perhaps as master and student, though Lao Tzu may be a composite or mythic individual. Taoism and Confucianism arose during the Hundred Schools of Thought period of Chinese history. Both philosophies encourage seeking order and harmony in life and in your relationship with society and the universe.

While they have ancient figures of veneration that seem to function as deities, these deities are not gods in the sense of masters of the universe who demand worship. The trio above left are the Three Pure Ones. According to Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching:

The tao produced the one: Tai Chi
The one produced two: yin and yang
The two produced the three: The Three Pure Ones
The three produced all the myriad beings: all of existence

In most other ways, they are very different. Confucianism is an authoritative focus on human social responsibilities. Humans have a natural capability for goodness that will lead to social harmony. A "superior person" does what society expects of him or her. They improve through orderly adherence with codes of behavior and respect for elders. The reward is achieved in this life.

Lao Tzu was much more laid back. A romantic, he promotes spontaneity and naturalness, transencendance beyond the human. 

I Ching (left)     |     Yin Yang (right)

Taoism places much more focus on the relationship of the individual with himself, on achieving an inner harmony. Taoism is much less earthly in nature and places importance on "coming into harmony" with the Tao - the ultimate reality that formed the universe and everything around us.

The individual improves himself through contemplation of himself and universal energy, and the reward (while also in this life) is mainly in the next life (i.e., through reincarnation). However, in both philosophies, the end result of this self-improvement is an improved social order that benefits all.

Taoist propriety and ethics place an emphasis on the unity of the universe, the unity of the material world, and the spiritual world, the unity of the past, present and future; Three Jewels of the Tao; love, moderation, humility.

Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought governing duties and etiquette in relationships. Confucian ethics focus on familial duty, loyalty and humaneness. Confucianism recognizes the existence of animistic spirits, ghosts and deities. It advocates paying them proper respect, but paradoxically also encourages avoiding them.

Case Study: The Burqa

The burqa has three parts:

loose body-covering: jilbāb

head-covering: ḥijāb

face-veil: niqāb

What's the difference between a burqa and an abaya? See the Wikipedia's List of types of sartorial hijab.

Two videos (part 1 and part 2) by a Dutch journalist; Dutch is the language of the subtitles.

Saudi Wife Shows us into her Home

Life Of A Muslim Wife In Saudi Arabia

Hijabtrendz.com - The Original Fashion, Beauty, and Entertainment Blog for Muslim Women

Basic how to wear hijab styles tutorial

Niqab tutorial

Bikini or headscarf -- which offers more freedom?
by Krista Bremer
O, The Oprah Magazine, June 9, 2010

I watched [my daughter] kneel at the entryway to her school and pull a neatly folded cloth from the front of her pack, where other kids stash bubble gum or lip gloss. Then she slipped it over her head, and her shoulders disappeared beneath it like the cape her younger brother wears when he pretends to be a superhero.

As I pulled away from the curb, I imagined that headscarf having magical powers to protect her boundless imagination, her keen perception, and her unself-conscious goodness. I imagined it shielding her as she journeys through that house of mirrors where so many young women get trapped in adolescence, buffering her from the dissatisfaction that clings in spite of the growing number of choices at our fingertips, providing safe cover as she takes flight into a future I can only imagine.

Veiled Threats?
by Martha Nussbaum
NY Times, July 11, 2010

A third argument, very prominent today, is that the burqa is a symbol of male domination that symbolizes the objectification of women (that they are being seen as mere objects). A Catalonian legislator recently called the burqa a “degrading prison.”

The first thing we should say about this argument is that the people who make it typically don’t know much about Islam and would have a hard time saying what symbolizes what in that religion.

But the more glaring flaw in the argument is that society is suffused with symbols of male supremacy that treat women as objects. Sex magazines, nude photos, tight jeans — all of these products, arguably, treat women as objects, as do so many aspects of our media culture. And what about the “degrading prison” of plastic surgery? Every time I undress in the locker room of my gym, I see women bearing the scars of liposuction, tummy tucks, breast implants. Isn’t much of this done in order to conform to a male norm of female beauty that casts women as sex objects?

Why I'm proud to wear the burqa
CNN.com, February 4, 2010

Oumkheyr is a French Muslim woman in her 40s. Of Algerian origin, she is divorced and has a daughter. She tells CNN why she's proud to wear the burqa, also known as the niqab or full veil, and what she thinks of the law proposed by the French government to ban the burqa. A French parliament report has called for a ban on the burqa in schools, hospitals, government offices and public transport.

Oumkheyr says:

I wear the burqa for the simple reason that I am a Muslim and the Koran says that I must wear the full veil in order to be modest. I am proud of my Muslim faith and my modesty. I am proud to follow God's law. ...

For those of us who are believers, we just want to do God's will and live by the sacred text, so what any man says has nothing to do with that.

I'm no Koran scholar, but from what I have read, the Koran supports Oumkheyr in only two passages:

Tell the faithful women that they must keep their gaze focused below/on the ground and cover their sexual organs. They must not put their beauty and their jewellery on display. They must hide their breasts behind a purdah. They must not exhibit their beauty to anybody except their husbands, brothers, nephews, womenfolk, servants, eunuch employees and children. They must not move their legs briskly while walking because then much of their bodies can get exposed.

Surah Al Noor 24:31

Oh nabi, please tell your wives and daughters and faithful women to wear a covering dress on their bodies. That would be good. Then nobody can recognise them and harrass them. Allah is merciful and kind.

Surah Al Hijaab 33:5

Answer: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria are the countries with the most Muslims. None of these countries is Arab.