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World national religions and the area of their distribution. Buddhism in the modern world

Those who lived thousands of years ago had their own beliefs, deities and religion. With development human civilization Religion also developed, new beliefs and movements appeared, and it is impossible to clearly conclude whether religion depended on the level of development of civilization or, on the contrary, it was people’s beliefs that were one of the keys to progress. IN modern world There are thousands of beliefs and religions, some of which have millions of adherents, while others have only a few thousand or even hundreds of believers.

Religion is one of the forms of awareness of the world, which is based on faith in a higher power. As a rule, each religion includes a number of moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, religious rituals and ceremonies, and also unites a group of believers into an organization. All religions rely on human belief in supernatural forces, as well as on the relationship of believers with their deity(s). Despite the apparent difference between religions, many postulates and dogmas of various beliefs are very similar, and this is especially noticeable in the comparison of the world's major religions.

Major world religions

Modern researchers of religions identify three main religions of the world, the adherents of which are the vast majority of all believers on the planet. These religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as numerous movements, branches and based on these beliefs. Each of the world's religions has more than a thousand years of history, sacred scripture and a number of cults and traditions that believers should observe. As for the geography of the spread of these beliefs, if less than 100 years ago it was possible to draw more or less clear boundaries and recognize Europe, America, south africa and Australia - “Christian” parts of the world, northern Africa and the Middle East - Muslim, and states located in the south-eastern part of Eurasia - Buddhist, now every year this division becomes more and more arbitrary, since on the streets of European cities more and more you can meet Buddhists and Muslims, and in secular states Central Asia on the same street there may be christian temple and a mosque.

The founders of world religions are known to every person: the founder of Christianity is considered to be Jesus Christ, Islam - the prophet Magomed, Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened). However, it should be noted that Christianity and Islam have common roots in Judaism, since Islam also has the prophet Isa ibn Mariyam (Jesus) and other apostles and prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Bible, but Islamists believe that the fundamental teachings are still the teachings of the prophet Magomed, who was sent to earth after Jesus.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the oldest of the world's major religions, its history goes back more than two and a half thousand years. This religion originated in the southeast of India, its founder is considered to be Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who through contemplation and meditation achieved enlightenment and began to share the truth revealed to him with other people. Based on the teachings of the Buddha, his followers wrote the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), which is considered a sacred book by followers of most movements of Buddhism. The main currents of Buddhism today are Hinayama (Theravada Buddhism - "Narrow Path to Liberation"), Mahayana ("Broad Path to Liberation") and Vajrayana ("Diamond Path").

Despite some differences between the orthodox and new movements of Buddhism, the basis of this religion is the belief in reincarnation, karma and the search for the path of enlightenment, through which one can be freed from the endless chain of rebirths and achieve enlightenment (nirvana). The difference between Buddhism and other major religions of the world is the Buddhist belief that a person’s karma depends on his actions, and everyone goes through their own path of enlightenment and is responsible for their own salvation, and the gods, whose existence Buddhism recognizes, do not play key role in the fate of a person, since they are also subject to the laws of karma.

Christianity

The birth of Christianity is considered to be the first century AD; The first Christians appeared in Palestine. However, taking into account the fact that the Old Testament of the Bible, the holy book of Christians, was written much earlier than the birth of Jesus Christ, it is safe to say that the roots of this religion are in Judaism, which arose almost a millennium before Christianity. Today there are three main directions of Christianity - Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy, branches of these directions, as well as those who also consider themselves Christians.

The basis of Christian beliefs is faith in the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in angels and demons and in afterlife. The difference between the three main directions of Christianity is that Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics and Protestants, do not believe in the existence of purgatory, and Protestants consider inner faith to be the key to the salvation of the soul, and not the observance of many sacraments and rituals, therefore the churches of Protestant Christians are more more modest than the churches of Catholics and Orthodox, as well as the number church sacraments Protestants have less than Christians who adhere to other movements of this religion.

Islam

Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, originating in the 7th century in Arabia. The holy book of Muslims is the Koran, which records the teachings and instructions of the prophet Muhammad. On at the moment There are three main sects of Islam - Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The main difference between the first and other branches of Islam is that the Sunnis consider the first four caliphs to be the legal successors of Magomed, and also, in addition to the Koran, recognize the Sunnas telling about the Prophet Magomed as sacred books, and the Shiites believe that only his direct blood relatives can be the successors of the Prophet descendants. The Kharijites are the most radical branch of Islam; the beliefs of the supporters of this movement are similar to the beliefs of the Sunnis, however, the Kharijites recognize only the first two caliphs as the successors of the Prophet.

Muslims believe in one God, Allah and his prophet Magomed, in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife. In Islam, great attention is paid to the observance of traditions and religious rituals - every Muslim must perform salat (daily five times prayer), fast in Ramadan and make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life.

Common features of the three major world religions

Despite the differences in rituals, beliefs and certain dogmas of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, all these beliefs have some inherent common features, and the similarity between Islam and Christianity is especially noticeable. Belief in one God, in the existence of the soul, in the afterlife, in fate and in the possibility of help higher powers- these are the dogmas that are inherent in both Islam and Christianity. The beliefs of Buddhists differ significantly from the religions of Christians and Muslims, but the similarities between all world religions are clearly visible in the moral and behavioral norms that believers must observe.

The 10 biblical Commandments that Christians are required to observe, the laws prescribed in the Koran, and the Noble Eightfold Path contain moral standards and rules of conduct prescribed for believers. And these rules are the same everywhere - all the major religions of the world prohibit believers from committing atrocities, harming other living beings, lying, behaving loosely, rudely or disrespectfully towards other people and encourage them to treat other people with respect, care and development in character positive qualities.

Despite the achievements of scientific and technological progress, the development of culture and education, the role of religions in society and in everyday life today continues to be very large. This also applies to the economics of the West, where the church, especially the Catholic one, acts as a major banker, landowner, influences politics, education of youth, school education, many other areas of life. The influence of religions is no less, if not more, great in Russia, where the general cultural and educational level is usually lower. That is why acquaintance with the population is necessary for understanding many processes and phenomena of our time.

It is difficult to establish the total number of believers among the world's population due to the lack of relevant statistics. Some authors believe that approximately half of the total population of the Earth adheres to certain beliefs (confessions), others call higher figures.

All religions are divided into three groups:

national and regional;
tribal and cults.

As the very name of these religions shows, they are particularly widespread and embrace representatives of many ethnic groups. They are usually characterized by active missionary activity. It is customary to classify only three religions as world ones: Christianity, Islam (Islam), .

Christianity is the largest in terms of followers world religion. Originating in Palestine in the 1st century. AD, this religion then spread widely throughout the world. At its core is faith in Jesus Christ as the God-man, Savior and God the Son. Main source Christian doctrine - Scripture(Bible). There are three main directions in Christianity - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism.

Islam (Muslim) is the youngest religion in terms of its origin. It was founded in the 7th century. in Arabia by Muhammad (Magamet) and after the Arab conquests of this and subsequent centuries, it spread widely in the countries of the Near and Middle East. Islam is a monotheistic religion, its most important dogma is the belief in one god Allah, the creator of the world. Holy book Muslims - the Koran, which includes 114 chapters (surahs).

The way of life of Muslims is determined by five main duties (“pillars of Islam”):

believe that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger;
pray five times a day;
pay an annual tax in favor of poor fellow believers;
during the month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar), abstain from food and drink during daylight hours;
make a pilgrimage (Hajj) to the holy city for Muslims at least once in a lifetime -.

Buddhism is the third world religion, inferior to the first two in terms of the number of adherents, but the oldest in terms of its origin. Buddhism originated in ancient times in the 6th-5th centuries. BC Its founder is considered to be Sidharaktha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha, i.e. “enlightened one.” Its basis is the teaching of the four noble truths: suffering as the essence of life, its causes, its essence and the ways of liberation from it - up to the acquisition of complete liberation (nirvana).

National and regional religions include Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, and Judaism.

Despite historical changes, modern religions It is quite stable. Most widespread received Christianity. First of all, this applies to Catholicism. Catholics constitute the majority of believers in many countries, and in a number of other countries they form more or less significant groups. In Asia they form the main body of believers in . The Catholic faith survived, mainly in the former Portuguese and. Catholics make up 1/3 of believers. But most of them are in countries. This is a consequence of the Spanish and. Catholics are quite widely represented in.

A significant distribution area is also characteristic of Protestantism, which determines the confessional composition of the population of many countries of the North, Central and Eastern Europe. Protestants form the main group of believers in some countries of the South and West Africa, formerly English and Dutch colonies. They are widely represented in Australia and make up half of all believers in and 1/3 in

WORLD RELIGIONS

The most widespread of the world's religions is Christianity (it includes three branches - Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox), which is practiced by approximately 2.4 billion people, mainly in Europe, America and Australia. The second place in the number of believers (1.3 billion) is occupied by Islam (Muslim), which is declared the state religion in many countries of the world, located mainly in Asia and Africa. Nowadays the Muslim world includes more than 50 countries, and there are Muslim communities in 120 countries. In Russia, almost 20 million people profess Islam. The third place among world religions in terms of the number of adherents belongs to Buddhism (500 million), widespread in Central, Southeast and East Asia.

IN lately The Islamic factor began to have a very large influence on the entire world development. Today the Muslim world includes more than 50 countries, and there are Muslim communities in 120 countries.

Geography of world religions.

THREE WORLD RELIGIONS
CHRISTIANITY			ISLAM	BUDDHISM AND LAMAISM

Catholicism America Europe Philippines	Protestantism countries of Europe, North America Australia N. Zealand Africa (South Africa and former British colonies	Orthodoxy East Europe (Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, etc.)	European countries (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia), Asian countries (mostly Sunni and only in Iran, partly Iraq and Yemen - Shiite), North Africa.	China, Mongolia, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia (Buryatia, Tuva).

The largest Islamic states in terms of population are Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria (from 100 to 200 million believers), Iran, Turkey, Egypt (from 50 to 70). In Russia, almost 20 million people profess Islam; This is the second most important and popular religion in the country after Christianity.

The Arabic word "Islam" literally means "submission". However, many acute political and religious conflicts are associated with this religion. Behind him stands Islamic extremism, which seeks to replace civil society with an Islamic one organized according to Sharia law. On the other side, moderate Islam can easily get along with civil society.

Tasks and tests on the topic "World Religions"

Races, peoples, languages and religions of the world - Population of the Earth 7th grade
Lessons: 4 Assignments: 12 Tests: 1
World ocean - General characteristics Nature of the Earth 7th grade
Lessons: 5 Assignments: 9 Tests: 1
Relief of the ocean floor - Lithosphere - stone shell Earth class 5
Lessons: 5 Assignments: 8 Tests: 1
Population of Africa - Africa 7th grade
Population of Eurasia - Eurasia 7th grade
Lessons: 3 Assignments: 9 Tests: 1

Leading ideas: The population represents the basis of the material life of society, an active element of our planet. People of all races, nations and nationalities are equally capable of participating in material production and in spiritual life.

Basic concepts: demography, growth rates and population growth rates, population reproduction, fertility (birth rate), mortality (mortality rate), natural increase (natural increase rate), traditional, transitional, modern type reproduction, population explosion, demographic crisis, demographic policy, migration (emigration, immigration), demographic situation, age and sex structure of the population, age and sex pyramid, EAN, labor resources, employment structure; resettlement and placement of the population; urbanization, agglomeration, megalopolis, race, ethnicity, discrimination, apartheid, world and national religions.

Skills and abilities: be able to calculate and apply indicators of reproduction, labor supply (EAN), urbanization, etc. for individual countries and groups of countries, as well as analyze and draw conclusions (compare, generalize, determine trends and consequences of these trends), read, compare and analyze age-sex indicators pyramids of various countries and groups of countries; Using atlas maps and other sources, characterize changes in basic indicators across the world, characterize the population of the country (region) according to the plan using atlas maps.

H Human thought has long sought to understand the phenomenon of religion, its nature, meaning, and essence. The word "religion" often found in everyday speech, in scientific texts, in journalism, fiction. IN different periods history, humanity has sought to express its attitude towards religion and religious beliefs.

Religion - This is a set of views on the world, which are most often based on belief in God. Today it is important to recognize that religion occupies an important place in the history of the peoples of the world. Religion permeates the lives of peoples of all continents.Each religion is unique in its own way. A person is born and dies with religious rituals. Ethics, morality, morality in most countries were of a religious nature. Many achievements of culture and art are associated with religion.Religion is also politics. Under her standards, people carried out their campaigns of conquest. And the struggle between various religious groups has more than once led to bloody wars.

The role of religion in society and in everyday life today different nations stay very big. This also applies to the economically developed countries of the West, where the church, especially the Catholic one, acts as a major banker and influences politics, upbringing, education, and many other areas of life. Familiarity with the religious composition of the population is necessary for understanding many processes and phenomena of our time. Knowledge religious affiliation population helps to better understand the features of the economic and social geography of individual regions of the world. Thus, in Muslim countries there are practically no such industries agriculture, like pig farming and winemaking (due to religious prohibitions on eating pork and wine). The influence of religion even affects the nature of clothing and the colors of fabrics. Religious traditions find their manifestation in the mode of population reproduction, the level of employment of women, etc. The geography of religions reflects complex processes exploration of the planet, the development of world civilization as a whole, as well as the spiritual culture of individual countries and peoples.

There are three world religions. These are Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.

Anatomy of religions:

The Encyclopedia Britannica for 1998 provides the following data on the religious composition of the population of various countries:

Religion	Number believers (million people)	Main areas and countries of distribution
Christianity, including Catholicism	2000 1040	Countries of Europe, North and Latin America, Asia (Philippines)
Protestantism	360	Countries of Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, Africa (South Africa and former Colonies UK)
Orthodoxy	190	Countries of Eastern Europe (Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Belarus, etc.)
Islam	900	European countries (Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia), Asian countries, North Africa
Buddhism and Lamaism	350	China, Mongolia, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia (Buryatia, Tuva)
Hinduism	740	India, Nepal, Sri Lanka
Confucianism	200	China
Shintoism		Japan
Local traditional religions		Countries of Africa, South America, Oceania, China, Indonesia

1. From the table data it follows that in overseas Europe Christianity is widespread almost exclusively in all three of its forms. Catholicism is most widely represented in the southern, partly western and eastern parts, Protestantism - in the northern, central and western parts, Orthodoxy - in the east and southeast. In the CIS countries, Christianity (Orthodoxy and Catholicism) and Islam are most widespread.

All world and major national religions are widespread in foreign Asia. This Islam is predominantly Sunni and only in Iran (partly in Iraq and Yemen) is Shiite. One of the largest Muslim countries (in terms of the number of believers - about 150 million) is Indonesia. In foreign Asia, the following are widespread: Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Judaism, as well as Christianity, which became widespread only in the Philippines, Lebanon (along with Islam) and Cyprus.

IN North Africa, in some countries south of the Sahara, in Somalia and parts of Ethiopia, Sunni Islam predominates. In South Africa, among the white population, Protestantism predominates, in Ethiopia - Christianity. In all other countries, both Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism) and traditional local beliefs are represented.

IN North America Christianity dominates in its two forms. For example, in the USA, out of 140 million believers, 72 million are Protestants and 52 million are Catholics. There are more Catholics than Protestants in Canada. IN Latin America Catholicism predominates, so America accounts for more than half of all Catholics in the world.

In Australia, Protestants predominate among believers, who are approximately twice as numerous as Catholics.

Recently, in international relations, politics, economics, ideology, culture, everything big role The countries of the Muslim world are starting to play.

2. About half of all Christians are concentrated in Europe (including Russia), a quarter in North America, over 1/6 in South America. There are significantly fewer adherents of Christianity in Africa, Australia and Oceania.

The main branches of Christianity are Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism.

The largest of them isRoman Catholic Church . It is headed by the Pope, revered by believers as the vicar of Christ on Earth, and the residence of the Pope is in the sovereign state of the Vatican, located on the territory of Rome. Adherents of Catholicism in Europe predominate in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, France, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Malta, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Catholic faith also adheres to approximately half the population of Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, part of the population Balkan Peninsula, Western Ukrainians (Uniate Church), etc. In Asia, a predominantly Catholic country is the Philippines, but Catholicism is practiced by many citizens of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, India, and Indonesia. In Africa, many residents of Gabon, Angola, Congo, and the island states of Mauritius and Cape Verde are Catholics. Seychelles, etc. Catholicism is also widespread in the USA, Canada, and Latin American countries.

Orthodoxy traditionally strengthened mainly in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and some countries of Eastern Europe. Until recently, there were 16 autocephalous (independent, not subordinate to a single center) Orthodox churches in the world.

Protestantism in contrast to Catholicism and Orthodoxy, it is a combination of many movements and churches, the most influential of which is Lutheranism (mainly countries Northern Europe), Calvinism (in some countries Western Europe and North America) and Anglicanism, half of whose adherents are English.

3. Cradle Islam(VII century) are considered the cities of Saudi Arabia - Mecca and Medina. The conquests of the Arabs and the state they created - the Arab Caliphate - played a huge role in its spread. The geography of Islam in comparison with Christianity is more compact (mainly the Near and Middle East). However, Islam also penetrated into those countries where there were never Arab conquerors, for example, Indonesia, where it is professed by 90% of the population, Malaysia (60%), the countries of Black Africa, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and other countries and regions.

In Islam, as in other world religions, there is no unity. This is confirmed by the existence in ittwo main directions - Sunni and Shiite . Sunnis predominate numerically, Shiites live mainly in two countries - Iran and Iraq.

In many Islamic countries, Sharia plays a huge role, i.e. Islamic law, a set of legal and religious norms based on the Koran. It regulates public relations, economic activity, family and marriage relations, according to its laws the court is administered. The constitutions of many countries declared Islam state religion.

4. Another world religion is consideredBuddhism, formed before Christianity and Islam (VI-V centuries BC) in northern India. There aretwo main schools of Buddhism: Mahayana and Hinayana . Hinayan Buddhism is widespread mainly in South Asia (Southern Buddhism): in Sri Lanka, certain states of India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia. Mahayana adherents are found further north (northern Buddhism): in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. One of the varieties of Mahayana - Lamaism - dominates in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, as well as some regions of Russia - Buryatia, Tuva, Kalmykia.

5. The most common ofnational religions - Hinduism , which is practiced by many millions of people, mainly in India. It could be classified as a world religion, but given that 95% of all Hindus live in India, and Pakistan and Bangladesh (the areas of concentration of the majority of Hindus from the remaining 5%) were once part of a united India, Hinduism is traditionally considered a national religion.

They have become widespread in China since ancient times.Confucianism And Taoism , in Japan - Shintoism , in Israel - Judaism , professed by the Jewish population in other countries, etc. It is important to remember that many religions are also philosophical and ethical teachings.

In addition to the main religious beliefs, on Earth you can find numeroustribal religions , especially in Africa, partly in Asia and Oceania.

6. Historically,Jerusalembecame the center of three widespread religions in the world - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This means that the interests of believers around the world intersect here.

The city has many historical and religious shrines that serve as objects of mass pilgrimage. Among them, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is one of the most revered shrines of all Christians, built by the crusaders at the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and located on Golgotha Hill; Way of the Cross (or Via Dolorosa) - the path of Christ to the place of crucifixion; The Garden of Gethsemane is the place where Christ was betrayed; located there wife of the Church of Mary Magdalene and All Nations (Basilica ag onii), as well as the tomb of the Virgin Mary: the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) - the most revered shrine of the Jews; the European Quarter is the most ancient and newly restored part of the old city, where there are numerous synagogues; Tower and Citadel of David - one of the three towers of the wall ancient city(built by King Herod); Al-Aqsa Mosque is the largest mosque in the city, as well as the Omar Mosque (Beit al-Suhur) - the third most important shrine of Islam after Mecca and Medina, etc.

Jerusalem is home to many other sites associated with the Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions. Representative offices of almost all of them are located here. Christian churches- Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Armenian-Gregorian, Coptic, Ethiopian, etc. The Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem was created back in 1847.

The problem of the “eternal city” is also one of the most sensitive in Arab-Israeli relations, having, in addition to religious and psychological, international legal, territorial, legal, political, and property aspects. In 1980, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) passed a law declaring all of Jerusalem the “eternal and indivisible capital” of Israel. In response, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has repeatedly stated its intention to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state. The Saudi royal dynasties take a special position on the issue of Jerusalem ( Saudi Arabia) and the Hashemites (Jordan), claiming a special role in protecting the Islamic shrines of the “eternal city”.

All this indicates that the problem of Jerusalem is one of the most subtle and delicate in world politics. Its decision should be based on the need to ensure the rights of all faiths while maintaining the historically established status between them, so that pilgrims have access to the holy places of all three religions.

As well as their classifications. In religious studies, it is common to distinguish the following types: tribal, national and world religions.

Buddhism

- the most ancient world religion. It originated in the 6th century. BC e. in India, and is currently widespread in the countries of South, Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East and has about 800 million followers. Tradition connects the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Prince Siddhartha Gautama. The father hid the bad things from Gautama, he lived in luxury, married his beloved girl, who bore him a son. The impetus for the spiritual upheaval for the prince, as legend says, was four meetings. First he saw a decrepit old man, then suffering from leprosy and funeral procession. So Gautama learned that old age, illness and death are the lot of all people. Then he saw a peaceful beggar wanderer who needed nothing from life. All this shocked the prince and made him think about the fate of people. He secretly left the palace and family, at the age of 29 he became a hermit and tried to find the meaning of life. As a result of deep reflection, at the age of 35 he became Buddha - enlightened, awakened. For 45 years, Buddha preached his teaching, which can be briefly summarized in the following basic ideas.

Life is suffering, the cause of which is the desires and passions of people. To get rid of suffering, you need to renounce earthly passions and desires. This can be achieved by following the path of salvation indicated by the Buddha.

After death any living creature, including man, is reborn again, but already in the form of a new living being, whose life is determined not only by its own behavior, but also by the behavior of his “predecessors”.

We must strive for nirvana, i.e. dispassion and peace, which are achieved by renouncing earthly attachments.

Unlike Christianity and Islam Buddhism lacks the idea of God as the creator of the world and its ruler. The essence of the teachings of Buddhism comes down to a call for every person to take the path of seeking inner freedom, complete liberation from all the shackles that life brings.

Christianity

Originated in the 1st century. n. e. in the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Palestine - as addressed to all the humiliated, thirsting for justice. It is based on the idea of messianism - hope in the Divine deliverer of the world from everything bad that exists on Earth. Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of people, whose name in Greek means “Messiah”, “Savior”. By this name, Jesus is associated with the Old Testament legends about the coming to the land of Israel of a prophet, a messiah, who would free the people from suffering and establish a righteous life - the kingdom of God. Christians believe that the coming of God to Earth will be accompanied by Last Judgment, when He judges the living and the dead, directing them to heaven or hell.

Basic Christian ideas:

The belief that God is one, but He is a Trinity, i.e. God has three “persons”: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which form one God who created the Universe.
Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, God the Son is Jesus Christ. He has two natures at the same time: Divine and human.
Belief in Divine grace is a mysterious power sent by God to free a person from sin.
Belief in posthumous reward and afterlife.
Belief in the existence of good spirits - angels and evil spirits - demons, along with their ruler Satan.

The holy book of Christians is Bible, which means “book” in Greek. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Old Testament- This is the oldest part of the Bible. New Testament(proper Christian works) includes: four gospels (Luke, Mark, John and Matthew); the acts of the holy apostles; Epistles and Revelation of John the Theologian.

In the 4th century. n. e. Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity is not united. It split into three currents. In 1054 Christianity split into Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church. In the 16th century The Reformation, an anti-Catholic movement, began in Europe. The result was Protestantism.

And they admit seven Christian sacraments : baptism, confirmation, repentance, communion, marriage, priesthood and consecration of oil. The source of doctrine is the Bible. The differences are mainly as follows. In Orthodoxy there is no single head, there is no idea of purgatory as a place of temporary placement of the souls of the dead, the priesthood does not take a vow of celibacy, as in Catholicism. Led by catholic church there is a pope elected for life, the center of the Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican - a state that occupies several blocks in Rome.

It has three main currents: Anglicanism, Calvinism And Lutheranism. Protestants consider the condition for the salvation of a Christian not the formal observance of rituals, but his sincere personal faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Their teaching proclaims the principle of universal priesthood, which means that every layman can preach. Almost all Protestant denominations have reduced the number of sacraments to a minimum.

Islam

Originated in the 7th century. n. e. among the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the youngest of the world. There are followers of Islam more than 1 billion people.

Founder of Islam - historical figure. He was born in 570 in the city of Mecca, which was quite big city at the intersection of trade routes. In Mecca there was a shrine revered by the majority of pagan Arabs - the Kaaba. Muhammad's mother died when he was six years old, and his father died before his son was born. Muhammad was brought up in his grandfather's family, a noble but impoverished family. At the age of 25, he became the manager of the household of the wealthy widow Khadija and soon married her. At the age of 40, Muhammad acted as a religious preacher. He declared that God (Allah) had chosen him as his prophet. The ruling elite of Mecca did not like the sermon, and by 622 Muhammad had to move to the city of Yathrib, later renamed Medina. The year 622 is considered the beginning of the Muslim calendar according to lunar calendar, and Mecca is the center of the Muslim religion.

The Muslim Holy Book is a processed record of Muhammad's sermons. During the life of Muhammad, his statements were perceived as direct speech from Allah and were transmitted orally. A few decades after the death of Muhammad, they were written down and compiled into the Koran.

Plays an important role in the religion of Muslims Sunnah - a collection of edifying stories about the life of Muhammad and Sharia - a set of principles and rules of conduct obligatory for Muslims. The most serious ipexa.Mii among Muslims are usury, drunkenness, gambling and adultery.

The place of worship of Muslims is called a mosque. Islam prohibits the depiction of humans and animals; hollow mosques are decorated only with ornaments. In Islam there is no clear division between clergy and laity. Any Muslim who knows the Koran, Muslim laws and rules of worship can become a mullah (priest).

Great importance is attached to ritual in Islam. You may not know the intricacies of faith, but you should strictly perform the main rituals, the so-called five pillars of Islam:

pronouncing the formula of confession of faith: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”;
performing daily five times prayer (namaz);
fasting during the month of Ramadan;
giving alms to the poor;
making a pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj).