ALL NATIONS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

MATIGARA, SILIGURI

An assignment on:

“11 Major Religions of world”

Submitted to:

Dr. Bal Krishna Sharma

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the course

“Major Religions of the World”

Expected words: 3000 Actual words: 3153

Expected date of submission: 17/12/2021 Actual date of Submission: 17/12/2021

I declare that this assignment is my own unaided works; I have not copied it from any person,
article, book, website or other form of storage. Every idea or phrase that is not my own has been
duly acknowledged.

Submitted by:

Mr. Alen Thapa

Master of Divinity III

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INTRODUCTION

Religion is part of human beings. There are so many religions in the world. Without religion man
would not be bound together. So, this assignments deals with the major 11 religions of the world.
It deals briefly its origin, founder and its belief and practice and its teaching.

1. HINDUISM

Historically Hinduism is known as Sanatan Dharma which means the eternal religion. Defining
Hinduism is challenging as Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no
commonly agreed to set of teachings. Hinduism has an extensive history with many key figures
teaching different philosophies and writing numerous holy books. For these reasons, Hinduism is
often described as being a way of life or a family of religions rather than a single religion.

The name Hindu is derived from the name of the river Sindhu (Indus). Thus the name India also
comes into existence from the English name Indus in connection with the Greek form of Hindu.
The inhabitants were called Hindus and their religion was thus called Hinduism. Common
features of the many sects in Hinduism are –

 Brahman or Ultimate reality is both personal and impersonal and appears in many forms.
 It is accessible through a variety of Paths (margas) – knowledge (jnana marga), devotion
(bhakti marga) and action (karma marga).
 It is realized by those sages who have attained union or communion with the reality.
 Creation and the phenomena of worldly life are temporal and partial; they conceal the
total truth and its realization.
 Hindus hold the doctrine of karma, which says that each thought, word and action brings
appropriate reward, thereby upholding the moral government and ultimate justice of the
world.
 The doctrine of reincarnation, understood as a round of continued suffering or a
continuous series of births and rebirths explained as the working out karma and not as the
result of some discrimination by God.
 Hindu also endorse the authority of the four Vedas: the Rig veda, Sama veda, Yajur veda
and Atharva veda.

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  The traditions of family and social life with its four stages of student, householder,
spiritual seeker and ascetic who renounces all for the sake of spiritual progress and the
welfare of all.
 The four goals of life: righteousness (dharma), economic weath (artha), pleasure and
spiritual freedom (moksha)
 The validity and viability of the ideal social order and its attendant duties which have
degenerated into four castes known as caste system.

2. JAINISM

Jainism is an ancient Indian religion and a philosophical tradition that blazed new trials. The
founder of Jainism is Vardhamana Mahavira in the 6 th century B.C. Jainism is based on Sramanic
tradition of religions which postulates total renunciation or asceticism. Jainism does not believe
in God but Jains do not consider it as atheistic religions because they believe and revere many
individuals who have attained liberation known as Tirthankaras.

Jainism teaches a strict doctrine of Karma which binds a person to suffer rebirth and retribution
for all evil actions. A person must liberate himself or herself from the shackles of karma by
taking a vow of asceticism and avoiding all violence in deed, in word and in thought.

Jains believe in twenty four Tirthankaras and that Mahavira was the last one. The Jina is a
spiritual victor who has conquered the worldly passions like desire, hatred, anger, greed and
pride by one’s own personal efforts. Jina is human being and not a supernatural being or an
incarnation of God. All human beings have the potential to become a jina.

The 11th century AD is considered to be the golden period in Jaina history when many kings and
common people were converted to Jainism. Jains spread all over India mainly because of the
pressures and persecutions leveled against them.

3. BUDDHISM

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Buddhism is a cross cultural religion founded in India by a man named Siddhartha Gautama (563
– 483BCE). For more than 2500 years Buddhism has been a major influence on world
Civilization. Its teaching about belief and conduct is designed to meet human need and to solve
man’s spiritual problems without reliance on the supernatural. In this Buddhism differs from
other religions: it has no place for God, nor for a savior; it puts salvation completely within
man’s control. It is sometimes called a Do it religion. Buddhism has two main divisions and
many sects. The two main divisions are: Theravada (hinayana) and Mahayana Buddhism. Both
these schools of thought owe their basic teaching to a man named Siddhartha Gautama.

According to Buddhist tradition Siddhartha woke up to the true nature of reality and so became
Buddha. The state of attaining such an awakening is known as nirvana or sometimes
enlightenment and refers to state of being beyond the cycle of life and death. The most basic
Buddhist insight is the Four Noble Truths.These truths are: Existence is suffering, suffering is
caused by desire, suffering can be overcome and the way to overcome suffering is by following
the Eightfold Path. Those eight fold path are right understanding, right intention, right speech,
right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Suffering
and the enduring of suffering sums up the whole philosophy and religion of Buddhism and the
aim of every Buddhist is to be free from suffering.

4. SIKHISM

Sikhism is one of the latest religions founded in the 15 th century AD by Guru Nanak Dev.
Sikhism literally means discipleship. The word Sikh comes from the Sanskrit word Shisya
meaning a learner or a disciple. Guru Nanak did not begin a new religion but movement of
devotion and commitment to God. He gave utterance to words of divine wisdom, bringing light
and driving away darkness.

The Sikh concept of God is monotheistic. The universe is a manifestation of divine power. God
is both transcendent and immanent. Every human being is born with a purpose. Human beings do
not exist apart from God. The world is unstable and impermanent but God himself is eternal. One
of the purpose of this world is that the creator wants human beings to live in it and practice
righteousness. Submitting to God’s will, hukam is better than seeking merit by doing good
deeds. The law of migration is known as the law of transmigration. Salvation according to the

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Granth, is primarily salvation from the endless cycle of transmigration based on the cycle of
rebirth. Ethics present rules of conduct recognized in certain limited department of human life.
The good action that leads the soul to salvation is the remembrance of the name of the Lord in
other words, the whole hearted devotion to the Lord. Symbols have played and continue to play
an important part in Sikh community.

5. JUDAISM

Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. Hebrews believe that God they
were chosen by God to be his people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical standard
to the world. The story and early development of Judaism over the centuries is given in the Old
Testament, the first part of the Bible. Since the God of the Jews is a moral being, Judaism is pre
eminently an ethical religion emphasizing moral rules of conduct, a way of life, justice, mercy,
humility, modesty and integrity. They are also required to obey the Law (torah) especially the
Ten Commandments. Festivals are important and integral parts of Jewish life.

The most essential belief is in one God who created the universe and continues to preserve and
rule it. Everyone and everything center on the authority of God. The oneness of God has been
understood since medieval times to disallow the possibility that God could be a Trinity or that
God could become human. Jewish believe that every person has been created Elohim means in
the image of God. For this reason every person is important and has the potential to do well in
the world. A sense of sin and guilt express the need for God’s forgiveness. Israel’s hope is in
God rather than in man.

6. ZOROASTRIANISM

Zoroastrianism is the religious doctrine attributed to Zoroaster, which gradually became the
prevalent religion of Iran and notably was the state religion under the Sasanian dynasty. Kai
Vishtaspa was the first king of Iran who adapted and established the Zoroastrian religion in his
kingdom. It has often been called the good religion because of its emphasis on goodness and on
religious thought and behavior. Zoroastrians share with Jews the concept of religion as being
revealed to a chosen people and transmitted from generation to generation down through ages.
The Zoroastrian religion recognizes Ahura Mazda as the omniscient lord, the Lord of Wisdom,
the one Mighty God, the sole creator of the universe.

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According to teachings of Zoroastrianism human personality is made up of earthly elements,
ethereal elements and spiritual elements. Among the spiritual elements of human beings, the soul
is the most important. It is the one who chooses and decides the path of life. They teach that the
bliss of the souls in heaven and their torments in hell are not the final state of mankind. The
righteous will go to heaven and the wicked will be cast into hell. Some souls remain in a sort of
limbo called Hamistagan, a dwelling place of shadows where there is neither joy nor torment.
The Holy books and scriptures may be divided in five parts as The Yasna, The Visparat, The
Vanidad, The Yashts and the Khorde Avesta.

7. CHRISTIANITY

Among the world’s religions, Christianity has been the most severely contested, abused and
persecuted because of its claims. It has the fewest rituals but demands much faith and gives
promise and a blessed assurance of perfect life of glory and bliss in eternity. At the centre of
Christianity is Jesus Christ. Christ was born in the year which according to present day calendars
is counted as 4 B.C. He was the origin and will be the fulfillment of its Hopes. The uniqueness
of Christianity is the Person, Jesus Christ and the distinctiveness of Christ is the fact that He is
the God Man. The Crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the historic and unique events
as narrated in the Gospels. The Christian conception of Salvation is by grace through faith in
Christ Jesus. It requires two things Repentance and Faith. Faith is the central of the whole
Christian experience.

The apostles believed that people must receive the gifts of Jesus Christ by faith. As a result of
their labors the Church has grown so that today there are Christian communities in most parts of
the world. At the heart of the teaching of Christianity was the principle of following the way in
which church had lived, be imitators of God as beloved Children.

In general, Christians worship Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as one with God the Father. They
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world to rescue them from power
of evil and to make them God’s Children. They join services of Holy Communion and believe
that through the bread and the wine they come into close touch with Jesus. They believe that
Spirit of God helps and guides people. They accept the leaders of their church as people who

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have authority to teach them and they rely on their counsel and help in times of difficulty. They
also follow popular practices which have become part of the life of their own local church.

8. ISLAM

Islam is the religion which Muhammad preached in Arabia. Those who practice Islam are called
Muslims. All Muslims honor Muhammad whom they call the apostle of God. They accept his
book, the Quran as the scripture which God has given to them. They look back to his life to find
guidance for their own behavior. Muslims believes that the whole Quran is an Arabic copy of the
Heavenly Book which was written in Heaven before the creation of the world. The Quran
teaches absolute monotheism. Allah is one and does not share his divinity with any other being;
to believe that he does so is shirk, the greatest sin in Islam.There is however no inherited sin
nature in Islam; people are responsible for their own sins. On Judgement day if one’s good deeds
outweigh the bad one will enter al janma (the garden) but if one fails to submit to the laws of
Allah and lives as Muslim will enter Alnar (the fire).

The primary rituals of Islam are called the Five pillars – Shahada (Testimony), Salat (Prayer),
Seeyam (Fasting), Hajj (Pilgrimage) and Zakat (Giving). The Muslims creed begins with the
words, “There is no god except Allah”. The Holy war Jihad is a religious duty. There are three
groups within Muslims – Sunni Muslims and Shi’a and the sufis.

9. TAOISM

Taoism is a mystical Chinese religion founded by the Lao Tzu. According to the tradition he was
a keeper of the royal archives until he decided to abandon society and travel west. Lao Tzu wrote
a book of two poems in two parts of about five thousand words. The subject of this book which
came to be known as the Book of Tao-Te Ching was an explanation of the creative principle and
of Human virtue.1 It remains to this day as the basic text for all Taoist thought. Tao is not
nothings; it is the ground of all being and it is the way in which nature and the universe exist.
The great virtue of Tao is that it does everything but desires nothing; it is emptiness, which does
not compete with other forces but is content with it. Taoism in its original form taught that men

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should avoid aggressiveness and competition. It is a monistic philosophy which asserts that all
things are an expression of the Tao. The only ultimate in philosophical Taoism is the Tao itself.
There is no personal creator God. The Chinese turned Taoism into a folk religion and used it to
control the good and evil spirits. It became a religion of magic, superstition, witchcraft and
occultism involving the worship of many gods, the fear of evil spirits and demonic possession.

10. CONFUCIANISM

Confucianism was founded by Confucius. The reputation of his personality and wisdom spread
rapidly and he attracted many followers. It is clear from Confucius’ teachings that he was much
more concerned about earth than he was about heaven. Confucianism became the state religion
of China during the Han dynasty and remained so for long over 2000 years until the republic was
established in 1912. During this time the Analects was the most important book in the Chinese
schools and Confucius’ teachings dramatically shaped Chinese thought and civilization. He
ultimately affected every aspect of Chinese life, especially the high respect for age, family
relationships, social sensitivity, poetry and the arts.

There are two collections which constitute the scriptures of Confucianism . They are the five
classics and the four books. The five classics are the book of changes, the book of history, the
book of songs, the book of rites, the annals of springs and autumn. The four books are the
analects, the Mencius, The doctrine of the mean and the great learning. The central idea of the
Confucian ethic is expressed in a sentence from the great learning.

Confucianism teaches that there are five virtues: Benevolence, Righteousness, propriety, wisdom
and Trustworthiness. Confucianism teaches there are five basic human relationships – ruler and
subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger, and friend and friend. Confucius
put strong emphasis on the importance of human relationships but he based his teaching on the
ancient belief in Heaven. Confucius never considered himself the founder of a new religion. In
due time however, people gave such reverence and devotion to the memory of Confucius that it
gradually became like religion.

11. SHINTOISM

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Shintoism was a part of the indigenous religion of the Japanese people. Shinto is a term made up
of two Chinese characters. The first “Shin” means god or gods, the second “to” means way. Its
basis was a worship of the kami in order to assure prosperity. Shintoism became a national
religion and centre on the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami. There are four main types of
modern Shinto in Japan – Shrine Shinto, Shinto of the Imperal house, sect Shinto and state
Shinto. Shinto worship centers around the kami or spirits. They believe that man is a child of
kami because his life has come from the gods. Shinto has no ethical system and offers no moral
code. It emphasis on quietly living out one’s prosper way of life. To live a natural and
harmonious life is itself goodness, blessedness and beauty. The cause of evil is believed to lie
outside the sphere of human activity, in the actions of evil spirits. Thus the cure of sin is not
thought to be personal repentance, but participation in the ceremony of purification which is an
act of cleansing. Accordingly, in Shinto there is no idea of final judgment. Shintoism places great
emphasis on the proper performance of rites and ceremonies at the shrines. There are three main
sorts of ceremonies at the shrines – purification rites, offerings and prayers. The most important
books in Shintoism are two ancient books which tell stories about the Kami of ancient times.
These books are the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.

CONCLUSION

Every religion has its own origin and own way towards salvation. Everyone believes and
considers own religion as the right one. However, there are difference and similarities in every
religion. Today some religions like Christianity, Islam and Hinduism is most popular and some
are just there where it was. Religion has created both unity and diversity. The fact is world
without religion would be different than what is today.

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Bibliography

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Brown, David A. A guide to religions, Delhi :ISPCK 2002

C. Muck, Terry , Harold A. Netland and Gerald D. McDermott. Handbook of Religion: A

James, Emmanuel E. A study of religions. Bangalore: Theological Book Trust, 2006.

Lalrinawma, V.S. Major Faith traditions of India. Delhi :ISPCK, 2007

Somay, Ganga. World Religions, Calcutta: somay Charity Trust,1992.

Tirkey, Christopher Augustus Bixel. Major Religions of India. Delhi : ISPCK, 2003

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