We explain what religion is and the types of religions that exist. Also, its history and the main religions of the world.
What is religion?
Religion is understood as a system of beliefs, behaviors, and cultural, ethical, and social values through which a community connects with the sacred and the transcendent.
Etymologically, two origins of the term religion have been proposed.
- According to one interpretation, religion comes from the Latin religio, derived from the verb religare, which means ‘to bind,’ ‘to tie,’ ‘to bind.’ Religion would thus be a connection or subordination of human beings to divinity.
- Another interpretation holds that religion derives from the Latin religiosus, which means scrupulous (the opposite of negligens, “negligent”). In this case, religion is the scrupulous fulfillment of the duties of worship. You must read about Animals Classification once.
Religion played a central role in the development of early civilizations. Economic, social, and political life was organized around it. Examples of this are:
- Rituals associated with natural cycles in which divinity was invoked.
- The presence of a priestly caste, often with legislative functions, that interpreted the will of the gods.
- The concentration of supreme political and religious authority in the person of the monarch.
There is no known culture that has not had some form of religion. Throughout history, religions have provided humankind with answers to questions such as the creation of the world, the meaning of existence, life after death, and the origin of suffering. These answers are often found in the form of stories, symbols, and teachings, often contained in sacred texts (such as the Bible, the Quran, or the Vedas).
Religions have also given societies a sense of belonging and have become emblems of their identity, embodied in celebrations, images, and temples.
It is estimated that there are around 4,000 religions in the world. Each has its own conception of the divine, its doctrine, communion rites, sacred places, symbols of faith, and mythology.
The vast majority of people profess a religion, and even among those who do not identify with any, there are many who hold some form of religious belief. Currently, it is estimated that only 2% of the world’s population is atheist. Maybe you should definitely read about Animal Kingdom once.
Characteristics of Religion
Religion presents a series of characteristics that, taken together, distinguish it from other belief systems (such as philosophy or politics). These characteristics are:
- The belief in the existence of something sacred. For example, gods or other supernatural beings.
- The distinction between sacred objects and spaces (the image of a deity, a temple) and profane objects and spaces.
- The performance of ritual acts centered on sacred objects and spaces. For example, prayers, ceremonies.
- The existence of a moral code considered to be of sacred or supernatural origin. For example, the Ten Commandments.
- The presence of typical feelings and attitudes associated with contact with sacred spaces and objects and with rituals centered on them or on supernatural beings. For example, awe, worship, guilt, reverential fear.
- The use of various forms of communication with the supernatural. For example, prayers, sacrifices, ritual dances.
- A worldview that includes an explanation of the place that human beings and the rest of nature occupy in the world, the relationship between them, and the overall purpose of existence. For example, the idea of the world as a divine creation and human beings as the center of creation.
- An organization of life based on this worldview. For example, the idea, common to many religions, that the existence of each individual has been determined by a god from eternity.
- The formation of a social group united by and around shared beliefs. For example, the Catholic Church or each of the various Protestant churches.
Types of Religions
According to their conception of the divine, religions can be classified as:
- Monotheistic religions: These are those that believe in the existence of a single God, creator of the universe. For example: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
- Polytheistic religions: Instead of a single God, they believe in a more or less hierarchical pantheon of deities, to whom they attribute dominion over different aspects of human life and nature. For example: the religion of the ancient Greeks and Hinduism.
- Pantheistic religions: These are religions that maintain that everything that exists is part of divinity. For example: Hinduism and Vedanta.
- Non-theistic religions: These do not believe in the existence of creator or absolute gods (although they do believe in the existence of spiritual entities). For example: Zen Buddhism.
Religions are also classified according to their origin and provenance. Taking this criterion into account, the following groups or families of religions are recognized:
- Abrahamic religions: These include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which recognize a common origin in the patriarch Abraham. They are monotheistic religions that emerged in the Near East and share a similar conception of humankind’s ultimate destiny.
- Dharmic religions: This group includes the major Indian religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Sikhism. These religions preach the notion of dharma (religion, teaching, law), the pious path that every being must follow to maintain the balance of the universe.
- Iranian religions: These are religions that originated in Greater Iran, before Islam. They include Zoroastrianism and Yazidism, religions that uphold a dualistic conception, according to which good and evil exist as two opposing and antagonistic principles.
- Traditional religions: This group includes the various indigenous cults of different indigenous peoples and ethnic groups. They are generally polytheistic and totemic (they worship objects that represent the community). Voodoo and shamanism in Africa; the Aztec religion and Candomblé in America; and traditional Chinese religion are part of this group of religions.
- Neopagan religions: These are religions of recent origin, based on the pre-Christian beliefs of some peoples, mainly Europeans. This religious family includes Wicca, traditional witchcraft, Druidism, Neo-Hellenism, and Germanic Neopaganism, among other cults.
History of religion
Religion is as old as humanity itself. The discovery of bodies of Neanderthals and primitive Homo sapiens, apparently buried intentionally, has been considered proof that religious ideas existed as early as 300,000 years ago.
Among the religious evidence preserved before writing, Göbekli Tepe (in present-day Turkey) stands out, the oldest known sanctuary. It is a group of megaliths, built around 9000 BC. The earliest religious texts correspond to the Egyptian pyramid texts, dating between 2400 and 2300 BC.
According to many researchers, the development of religious ideas reached its turning point between 900 and 200 BC, a period called the Axial Age by the philosopher Karl Jaspers. During this era, several of the most influential philosophical and religious traditions in history were founded:
- Monotheism, which emerged in Persia (Zoroastrianism) and Canaan (Judaism).
- Platonism, which originated in Greece.
- Buddhism and Jainism, which developed in India.
- Confucianism and Taoism, born in China.
In the Middle Ages, today’s religions spread throughout Europe and Asia. Christianity expanded throughout the West, Buddhism throughout East Asia (while declining in India), and Islam throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa, and some areas of India and Europe (such as the Iberian Peninsula).
The advancement of religions was not without conflict. For example, Muslims clashed with Zoroastrians in Persia, confronted Hindus and Sikhs in India, and fought with Christians on several occasions (wars between Arabs and Byzantines between the 7th and 11th centuries; the Crusades between the 11th and 13th centuries; and the Spanish Reconquista between the 8th and 15th centuries).
Beginning in the 15th century, as a result of European conquest and colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas, the Philippines, sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania. In Europe, the Protestant Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther in 1517, spread rapidly and led to a series of religious wars between Catholics and Protestants throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
The spread of the rationalist ideas of the Enlightenment in the 18th century marked the beginning of the process of secularization in Europe. This process deepened with the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789. The main consequence was the separation of Church and State in many countries and a decline in religiosity in Europe.
Despite the prevailing secularism in some parts of the world, religion remains a mainstream phenomenon today. While in countries like China the state actively promotes atheism, nations like Iran have the characteristics of theocracies, in which political authority is also religious authority.
Major World Religions
Currently, almost 84% of the world’s population professes a religion. According to the number of followers, the main ones are Christianity (31% of the world’s population), Islam (25%), Hinduism (15%), and Buddhism (6.6%).
Christianity
Emerging in the first century, it is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, contained in the New Testament. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, sent into the world to save humanity from sin. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he forms the Trinity (that is, God Himself existing as three persons). The main branches of Christianity are:
- Catholicism, led by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) and the bishops of the world in communion with him.
- The Orthodox Church, which separated from the Catholic Church in the 11th century and is itself composed of several churches, including the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.
- Protestantism, which separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th century and is divided into numerous denominations, including Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism, Methodism, and Baptistism.
Islam
Founded in the 7th century, it is based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and the revelations God gave him; the latter are contained in the Quran, the holy book of Muslims (as followers of Islam call themselves). Islam recognizes the Jewish prophets and Jesus, also considered a prophet. There are two main Islamic denominations:
- Sunism, with the largest number of followers, who, in addition to the Quran, are followers of the Sunna, a collection of sayings and deeds attributed to Muhammad.
- Shiism, to which about 10% of Muslims belong, emerged after Muhammad’s death among the followers of Ali, his son-in-law.
Hinduism
It is one of the oldest religions in the world and comprises a set of diverse doctrines, based on four groups of texts: the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-gita, and the Agama. Hindus believe in a cosmic principle that sustains the universe (Brahman) and that all creatures go through a cycle of rebirth (samsara). The main denominations of Hinduism are:
- Vishnuism, the group with the largest number of followers, which considers Vishnu, who has been reincarnated numerous times, to be the Supreme Being.
- Shaivism, which considers Shiva to be the Supreme Being, a deity simultaneously creative and destructive, transcendent and immanent in the world.
- Shaktism, which considers the female deity Shakti to be the supreme divinity.
- Smartism, based on a set of traditional Hindu texts influenced by Vedic doctrines (Smrti).
Buddhism
Originating in India in the 5th century BC, it is based on the teachings of the Indian sage Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism maintains that human life is a cycle of suffering and rebirth, which can be escaped by achieving enlightenment or nirvana, when one comes to understand the true nature of things. The main branches of Buddhism are:
- Mahayana (or Great Vehicle), which focuses on bodhisattvas (beings who have achieved enlightenment but return to teach humans) as role models for achieving nirvana. It includes various currents, such as Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, and Nichiren Buddhism.
- Theravada (or Doctrine of the Elders), which emphasizes monastic life and meditation as means to achieving nirvana.
References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, ensuring reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- “Defining the Characteristics of Religion,” in Learn Religion
- “How Many Religions Are There in the World and Which Are the Major Ones?” in The World Order
- “The Changing Global Religious Landscape,” in Pew Research Center
