The word "religion" comes from the Latin term religio, which means piety, holiness, piety and superstition. The concept itself is one of the forms of social consciousness, due to the belief that supernatural phenomena exist in the world. Such a judgment is the main feature and element of any religion represented by believers.
Rise of religions
Today, the world religions include Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Their main and characteristic features are the places of their distribution, which do not depend on the places of appearance. The ancient inhabitants of the planet, when they created their own types of religions, first of all took care of the presence of ethnic needs and hoped for a certain "compatriotic" help from their gods.
The emergence of world religions dates back to ancient times. Then there were such beliefs that met the dreams and hopes of not only the people, from where the prophet came, announcing the divine will. For suchcreeds, all national boundaries turned out to be narrow. Therefore, they began to own the minds of millions of people who inhabited various countries and continents. Thus, such directions as Christianity, Islam and Buddhism arose. The table of world religions will show their types in more detail.
| Buddhism | Christianity | Islam | |||||
| Great Chariot | Teachings of the Elders | Catholicism | Orthodoxy | Protestantism | Suniism | Shiism | |
How did Buddhism appear and what is this type of religion?
Buddhism appeared in ancient India in the sixth century BC. The person who founded it is Siddhartha Gautama, popularly known as the Buddha. In the future, he began to be considered a certain deity, that is, a certain being who had reached the state of supreme perfection, or enlightenment.
World religions are Buddhism and its various directions. It was based on the so-called doctrine of the Four Noble Truths, consisting of the following sections:
- about suffering;
- about the origin and causes of suffering;
- about the complete cessation of suffering and the disappearance of its sources.
According to spiritual practice, after passing through such paths, a true cessation of torment occurs, and a person finds his highest point in nirvana. Buddhism is most widespread in Tibet, Thailand, Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia,China, Mongolia, Vietnam and Japan. In Russia, this direction was relevant in the Caucasus and Sakhalin. In addition, today it is the main religion of Buryatia and the Kalmyk steppe.
Everyone knows that Buddhism belongs to world religions. It is usually divided into the Great Vehicle and the Teachings of the Elders (Mahayana and Theravada). The first type includes the Tibetan and Chinese directions, as well as several separate schools. His followers divide this religion into the Great and the Lesser Vehicle. The second type, Theravada, is the only surviving Nikaya school. The concept of "metta-bhavana" is very actively used here.
Tibetan Buddhism is characterized by the Vajrayana, which is also called the Diamond Chariot, or Tantric religion. In some cases, it is considered a separate, and sometimes one of the Mahayana schools. This branch is quite common in countries such as Nepal, Tibet, it is also found in Japan and Russia.
The emergence of the first literature of Buddhism
While the Buddhist religion flourished, literature and writing appeared. It is indeed one of the world religions as it has millions of followers. Back in the distant fourth century BC, the famous Panini created the grammar of the Sanskrit language, the rules and vocabulary of which then greatly helped to establish communication and mutual understanding of various nationalities and numerous tribes. It was during this period that such famous poems as"Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", and in addition, and treatises on various branches of knowledge.
World religions - Buddhism, Christianity, Islam - carry certain information in their directions. They are impregnated with various collections of fairy tales, myths and fables. During the same period, the main rules of versification were developed. The worldview in Buddhism is characterized by a craving for parables, metaphors and comparisons. Religious and philosophical works of literature are very remarkable and unique. Most of all, of course, they are connected with the description of the life of the Buddha, as well as with his sermons.
Influence of Buddhism on the design of temples
In Japan, for example, with the advent of Buddhism, not only new architectural forms have developed, but also construction techniques. This was manifested in a special type of planning of temple complexes. Stone foundations have become a very important technical innovation. In ancient Shinto constructions, the weight of the building fell on piles dug into the depths of the earth. This significantly limited the size of structures. In temples, the inner territory of a rectangular shape was surrounded by a corridor, which was covered with a roof. The gates were also located here.
The entire monastery area was surrounded by outer walls of earth with gates on each side. They were named according to the direction they pointed. In addition, a rather important point is that many ancient monuments of Japanese architecture were built of wood.
Indeed, the process of building religious premises has always been and will be very relevant. Even from the very beginning of its development, whenonly the foundations of world religions were born, humanity designated such places. Today, when the main religions have already taken root, numerous temples, monasteries, churches and other sacred places continue to be of great importance and play a huge role in the life of every person.
When and where did Christianity appear?
Such a currently known religion as Christianity appeared in the first century AD in Judea (the eastern province of the Roman Empire). In addition, this direction also belongs to world religions. It is based on the doctrine of the God-man Jesus Christ (the Son of God), who, according to legend, came into the world to people with good deeds and preached to them the laws of right life. It was he who accepted great suffering and painful death on the cross to atone for their sins.
The word "Christianity" comes from the Greek term "Chriotos", which means anointed one, or messiah. Today it is considered a monotheistic religion, which, together with Islam and Judaism, is part of the Abrahamic religions, and together with Islam and Buddhism, is part of the three world religions.
Earlier, many believed that there were 4 world religions. In modern times, Christianity is one of the most widespread beliefs in the world. Today it is practiced by more than a quarter of humanity. This religion ranks first in the world in terms of its geographical distribution, that is, in almost every country there is at least one Christian society. Roots directlyChristian teachings are closely related to Judaism and the Old Testament.
The Legend of Jesus
The gospels and church traditions say that Jesus, or Joshua, was originally brought up as a Jew. He kept the laws of the Torah, attended synagogue classes on Saturdays, and also celebrated holidays. As for the apostles and other early followers of Christ, they were Jews. However, already a few years after the church was founded, Christianity as a religion began to be preached in other nations.
As you know, now there are three world religions. From the very beginning, Christianity spread among the Jews in Palestine and in the Mediterranean diaspora, however, starting from the early years, due to the sermons of the Apostle Paul, even more followers from other nations joined him.
The spread and division of Christianity
Until the fifth century, the spread of this religion was carried out on the territory of the Roman Empire, as well as in the area of its origin. Then - among the Germanic and Slavic peoples, as well as in the B altic and Finnish regions. Such is the specificity of world religions. Christianity has now spread beyond Europe through colonial expansion and the work of missionaries. The main branches of this religion are Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism.
Christianity first split in the eleventh century. At that time, two of the largest churches appeared. This is the western one, which has a center in Rome, and the eastern one, whose center was inConstantinople, in Byzantium. As the table of world religions shows, Christianity also has its own directions.
Catholic Church
The first church began to be called Catholic (translated from Greek - universal, or universal). This name reflected the desire of the Western church for worldwide expansion. The Pope was the head of the Western Catholic Church. This branch of Christianity preaches the doctrine of the "supernatural merit" of various saints before God. Such deeds are a kind of treasury, which the church can dispose of as it pleases, that is, at its discretion.
The main world religions have their adherents in many states. Catholic followers of Europe, as a rule, are present in such countries as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, M alta, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland. In addition, about half of the people in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands are in the Catholic faith, as well as the population of the Balkan Peninsula and part of Western Ukraine and Belarus.
As for the states of Asia, here the Catholic countries are the Philippines, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, India, Indonesia. In Africa, there are Catholics in Gabon, Angola, Congo, Mauritius, the Seychelles and other states. In addition, Catholicism is quite common in America and Canada.
Orthodoxy is the mainstream of Christianity
World religions - Buddhism, Christianity, Islam - are known to all people. What can be said about Orthodoxy? Itis another major branch of Christianity. As a rule, it is widespread in Eastern European countries. If we compare it with Catholicism, then Orthodoxy does not have a single religious center. Each more or less large Orthodox community exists separately, while forming an autocephaly, and it is absolutely not subordinate to any other centers.
Today there are fifteen autocephalous. According to church traditions, which take into account the time of their receipt, the official list of such churches is as follows: Constantinople, Serbian, Alexandria, Antioch, Russian, Jerusalem, Georgian, Romanian, Eliadian, Bulgarian, Cypriot, Albanian, American, Czechoslovak and Polish. However, Orthodoxy has strengthened most of all in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, as well as in some Eastern European countries.
Protestantism is the third branch of Christianity
It's no secret that the world's religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. The third largest branch of Christianity is Protestantism. It represents a certain kind of Christianity and is widespread in the countries of Western Europe, America, and also in Russia. Protestants include Old Catholics, Mennonites, Quakers, Mormons, Moravians, the so-called "Christian Commonwe alth" and so on.
If we talk about the history of occurrence, we can say that Protestantism appeared in the seventeenth century in Germany. This name is givenreceived a direction because it was a kind of protest of the believing states of Western Europe, aimed at the administrative forces of the Vatican and the popes.
Major world religions have spread all over the world. The first founder of such a trend as Protestantism was the German leader Martin Luther. This religion, when compared with Catholicism and Orthodoxy, represents many movements and churches, the most influential of which are Lutheranism, Anglicanism and Calvinism.
Today, Protestantism is very widespread in various Scandinavian countries, America, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and Switzerland. Its world center is the USA. Moreover, modern Protestantism is characterized by a desire for integration, and it found its expression back in 1948 in the World Council of Churches.
Third World Religion: Islam
The fundamentals of world religions say that Islam is one of them. This is the third, most recent world religion in terms of time. It appeared on the territory of the Arabian Peninsula at the beginning of the seventh century. The word "Islam" comes from the Arabic term, which means obedience to God, that is, to Allah, or to his will. In general, Islam is a monotheistic religion. His followers believe that the very first person and messenger is the Prophet Adam. In addition, they are convinced that Islam is the first religion of mankind, and they worship the One and only God. Absolutely all the prophets spread this religion and taught howserve Allah properly.
However, over time, faith was changed by people and lost its authenticity. That is why Allah sent the last prophet Muhammad, through whom religion was transmitted to all people as the true and perfect direction and faith of all the Prophets. Muhammad is the last prophet to spread Islam. Here, like other world religions, there is no unity. This confirms the existence of two main directions - Sunni and Shiite. Sunnis predominate quantitatively, while the latter live mainly in Iran and Iraq.
Two branches of Islam
The culture of world religions is quite diverse. Sunnism is the first branch of Islam. It appeared in the tenth century in the Arab Caliphate and was a dominant religious movement. His split was served by power in the Caliphate. If we compare it with the Shiite direction, then the idea of the nature of Ali and the idea of mediation between the people and Allah were denied here.
As you know, Islam is one of the world's religions. Shiism is its main focus. He appeared in the seventh century in the Arab Caliphate as a group that advocated the protection of the descendants of Ali and his rights from Fatima. When Shiism lost in the struggle for supreme power, it became a separate trend in Islam.
So there are now three world religions. When they are spoken of (Christianity, Buddhism and Islam), they mean a rather complex cumulative concept that includes some mythology, cult events, religiousinstitutions, forms of relations between believers and religious organizations, and much more.
At the same time, for each direction of religion, such moments are characterized by their specific semantic content, their own history of emergence and further existence. And a certain study of all these semantic features in the development of many religions, as well as their historical types, is a special science called religious studies.
