Religion

Friday 5 November 2010

Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe.
Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are intended to give meaning to life. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.

Judaism is the oldest Abraham religion, originating in the people of ancient Israel and Judea. Judaism is based primarily on the Torah, a text which Jews believe was handed down to the people of Israel through the prophet Moses in 1,400 BCE. Judaism today is practised by about 13 million people, with about 40 per cent living in Israel and 40 per cent in the United States.

Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New Testament. The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and as Savior and Lord. Almost all Christians believe in the Trinity, which teaches the unity of Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead.

 Catholic Church, headed by the Pope in Rome.

 Protestantism, separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th-century Reformation and split in many denominations.

 Eastern Christianity which include Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and the Church of the East.

Islam refers to the religion taught by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a major political and religious figure of the 7th century CE. As with Christianity, there is no single orthodoxy in Islam but a multitude of traditions which are generally categorized as Sunni and Shia, although there are other minor groups as well.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gotama in the 6th century BCE. Buddhists generally agree that Gotama aimed to help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth, that is, achieving Nirvana.                   

I hope you all enjoy...

Hugo Queiros