According to the Bible, there are many different religions and belief systems in the world, but the most prominent and impactful throughout history have been Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Judaism
Judaism is the oldest of the world’s four biggest monotheistic religions (religions with only one god). Judaism was founded over 3500 years ago in the Middle East. Jews believe in one God who revealed himself through ancient prophets. The most important Jewish holy book is called the Torah or the Hebrew Bible, which includes the first five books of the Old Testament. Some of the most well known Jewish figures in the Bible are Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon. The Jewish people trace their heritage back to the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 15 and 17 (ESV).
Jews believe that there is only one God who created and rules the world. He made a covenant with Abraham to make him the father of a chosen people who would worship God according to his law. The most important teaching and tradition in Judaism is that there is only one God, and his name is Yahweh. Yahweh revealed his name to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 (ESV). God promised to lead his chosen people, the Israelites, to the Promised Land in exchange for their faithfulness and obedience. The history of the Israelites is recorded in detail throughout the Old Testament books of Genesis through Malachi.
The main beliefs of Judaism include the existence of one all-powerful God, the coming of a Messiah who will be sent by God, life after death, and the ideas that human beings are responsible for their actions and that adherents must obey the Ten Commandments revealed by God to Moses on Mount Sinai as described in Exodus 20 (ESV). The most holy Jewish site is the Western Wall in Jerusalem, which is a remaining wall that once surrounded the Second Temple. There are about 15 million Jewish people worldwide today, making Judaism the fourth largest Abrahamic religion.
Christianity
Christianity is today the world’s largest religion, making up almost a third of the world’s population. It is also the predominant religion in Western civilization. Christianity is based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament of the Bible. Although Jesus Christ lived and died as a Jew, it was the apostle Paul who would spread the teachings of Jesus to non-Jews and establish Christianity as a religion separate from Judaism.
Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah or Christ promised by the prophets in the Old Testament. In Christianity, Jesus is considered the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Christians believe that Jesus was divine and at the same time completely human. According to John 1:14 (ESV), “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Jesus was sent to atone for human sin through his crucifixion and resurrection so that humanity could be reconciled with God through faith in Christ. His teachings are recorded in the four gospels of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Some of the main common beliefs among various Christian denominations include faith in one eternal triune God, belief in Jesus as the Son of God and savior of humanity, the death and resurrection of Christ, and the Second Coming of Jesus. The Bible is considered the sacred scripture of Christianity, with the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments combined considered the Christian canon. Baptism and Communion or the Eucharist are considered sacraments in most churches. There are about 2.5 billion Christians in the world today, with Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy being the largest branches.
Islam
Islam is today the world’s second largest religion after Christianity, with over 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide. Islam originated in the early 7th century CE in Mecca, located in present-day Saudi Arabia. The prophet Muhammad, born around 570 CE, is believed to be the final prophet of God in Islam. Muhammad is said to have received revelations from God through the angel Gabriel which were compiled into the Islamic holy book called the Quran.
Muslims believe there is one true God, known in Arabic as Allah. The first of Islam’s five main pillars or duties is the shahadah, the profession of Islamic faith: “There is no god but God (Allah), and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” as stated in Surah 37:35 of the Quran. They also believe in angels like Gabriel, judgment after death in the hereafter, and predestination or divine decree. Followers of Islam aim to live a life of complete submission to Allah and his will. They adhere to the five pillars of Islam which are declaration of faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Major Islamic holy sites include the Kaaba shrine in Mecca and the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina.
Some core beliefs in Islam include belief in Allah as the only god with Muhammad as his prophet, belief in angels, belief in revealed holy books like the Torah, Psalms, Gospel, and Quran, belief in all prophets from Adam to Muhammad, belief in a day of resurrection and judgment, and belief in predestination. The Quran and the traditions of Muhammad are primary sources of knowledge about Islam. There are two main denominations in Islam – Sunni and Shia. Most Muslims belong to the Sunni denomination.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the world’s oldest major religion and the third largest with over 1.2 billion followers, of whom about 966 million live in India. Hinduism originated in India thousands of years ago. It has no single founder or prophet. Rather, it is a fusion of religious beliefs and practices that developed over thousands of years in India. The main texts of Hinduism include the Vedas and their supplements (books of hymns), the Upanishads (mystical treatises), and the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. Four of the most important practices in the Hindu religion are image worship, pilgrimages, offering of food, and puja.
Hindus worship one Supreme Being called Brahman though by different names. Hinduism believes that divine beings exist in many forms and pervade the whole world. Three main Hindu gods – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – form the triad of deities responsible for the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe. But there are also many other gods and goddesses like Ganesha, Krishna, Saraswati, etc. that are worshipped. The law of karma, dharma, moksha and reincarnation play central roles in Hinduism. The ideal life objective in Hinduism is to achieve liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Some major beliefs of Hinduism include the authority of the Vedas scriptures, the existence of an enduring soul that transfers from one body to another at death (reincarnation), the law of karma that governs birth and rebirth, the aim of liberation from the cycle of birth and death, the divine beings worshipped as murtis, symbols or icons, the practice of meditation techniques like yoga and Ayurvedic medicine, and the importance of spiritual guides or gurus. Hindu rituals strive to purify and perfect the body so the soul can be closer to the divine. The majority of Hindus live in India.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a nontheistic religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who was born in the 5th or 6th century BCE in Nepal. Instead of God, Buddhists believe in the concept of Nirvana – a state of being in perfect harmony and freedom from desire and suffering. Buddha’s teachings were oral lessons later codified into scriptures. The key concepts in Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths are that suffering exists, it arises from craving, it can end, and it ends with the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path consists of right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness and concentration.
Buddhists seek inner peace and enlightenment through meditation and ethical living. They try to cultivate wisdom, kindness and compassion. They believe in reincarnation and that the cycle of rebirth ends only when a person achieves Nirvana or spiritual enlightenment. Buddhists do not believe in deity or creator god but rather in Buddha nature – the potential for enlightenment that exists within all beings. The Buddha was not a god but rather a human who achieved Nirvana and set an example that Buddhists aim to follow.
Some key beliefs include belief in karma, rebirth and saṃsāra or the repeating cycle of birth, life and death, the principle of dependent origination, acceptance of impermanence or anicca, pursuit of liberation from saṃsāra through practices like the Noble Eightfold Path, veneration of Buddhas and bodhisattvas who have achieved enlightenment, and belief in meditation techniques as paths to spiritual liberation like Buddhist calm abiding meditation. Major branches of Buddhism include Theravada and Mahayana Buddhisms. About 500 million people worldwide are Buddhists.
These five religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism – are considered the biggest and most influential religions in history and in today’s world when it comes to adherents and impact. There are certainly many other belief systems, religious traditions and faiths people follow around the world from Sikhism to Shintoism to Taoism and more, but these five have stood out in their scope, scale and influence throughout millennia of human civilization.