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THE GREAT RELIGIONS
In numbers:
Population 1900 2000 2002 2025
World Cup 1.619.886.000 6.010.779.000 6.235.580.000 8.039.130.000
Christians 558,056,300 1.990.018.000 2.015.743.000 2.710.800.000
Muslims 200.102.200 1.189.359.000 1.215.693.000 1.894.436.000
Without religion 2,923,300 767,865,000 774,693,000 878,669,000
Hindus 203.033.300 774,080,000 786,532,000 1,020,666,000
Buddhists 127.159.000 358,527,000 362,245,000 423,046,000
Atheists 225.600 150,979,000 151,430,000 160.193.000
Religions 106,339,600 252.207.000 255,950,000 324,068,000
traditional
Sikks 2,960,600 22,714,000 23,102,000 31,381,000
Jews 12,269,800 14,214,000 14,307,000 15,864,000
Others 406.817.100 490,816,000 635,885,000 580,007,000
Source: www.pime.org.br

Hinduism
Origins: Hinduism is considered the oldest of religions.
vivas. Born five thousand years ago, no founder of it is known. Its
history blends with the very history of ancient India. Peoples that originated
from different points, little by little, mixing their tribal myths with the
Local animism gave rise to a set of doctrines and practices that
today compose the fabric of Hinduism, which can be considered, in its
fundamental structure, like a varied set of philosophical elements
and religious people who express a deep feeling of divinity. The name
Hindu initially had the geographic meaning, that is, inhabitant of the valley.
of the Indu river. Today it is applied to one who is born in the Hindu country and not
publicly repudiates his religion.
Holy Book: the Vedas (which means knowledge) is the book
sacred of the Hindus. Considered the oldest book of humanity, already
fixed from the 6th century, but whose content has more ancient origins,
having been passed down orally, it is divided into 2 large blocks, namely:
1) Sruti (knowledge) refers to texts considered revealed, A
this category belongs to the Rigveda (hymns of praise), Yajurveda
(formulas of sacrifice), Sama-veda (melodies) and Atharva-veda
(magic formulas);
2) Smriti (work) is that which man discovered through
by their own effort. In this category we have: the Puranas, texts
reminders that expose ancient legends about the creation of the world,
the gods and the lives of the saints; Mahabharata, a long poem that
relates to the battles between the tribes that inhabited the ancient regions of
Ganges;Marayana, the story of the hero Rama, regarded by Hindus
as an exemplary son, brother, and husband. The Vedas were later
supplemented by other writings, including the Brahmins
(they specify rites and sacrifices) and the Upanishads (commentaries on
most obscure parts of the Vedas.
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Stages: the stages of Hinduism are closely linked
to the sacred books. They are:
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1) pre-Vedic stage: the Hindus worshiped deities linked to
elements of nature (animists);
2) Vedic stage: based on the Vedas, polytheistic, considered the phase
Ariana of Hinduism; performing sacrifices to appease wrath
two gods and obtain their favors. They believed in the survival of the
dead
3) Brahmanism: priestly period of Hinduism. The Brahmins
they considered themselves the only ones qualified for the sacrifices to the
gods, who were considered subordinate to these rituals,
introduces reincarnation and the caste system;
4) Philosophical Stage: it was a reaction against the brahmins
(priests), by philosophers who, due to persecution, had
to withdraw into the forests. The result of his meditations
they are the Upanishads, also called Vedanta. The Vedantic
they replaced the Brahmanic belief in sacrifices with liberation
through knowledge. According to them, the definitive liberation
(moksha) is in knowing that Brahman is Atman. Brahman is
the most intimate reality of the universe and the Atman
deep within the individual or the Self.

In the early centuries of the Christian era, Hinduism was

practically defined: recognized the caste system and the leadership of the
Brahmins revered the cow as a deity, accepted the law of
Karma is the transmigration of souls. The typical idea of Hinduism is Bhakti:
the loving devotion to a personal God, which can be practiced by
everyone, regardless of gender or caste.
Gods: believing in God is not essential to be Hindu.
But the vast majority have a supreme being. Among these are
polytheists, pantheists, monists, and henotheists. It can be said that the greatest
part is henotheistic. They believe in many lesser gods (33 million). To the
few, however, the Vedic pantheon is organized around three gods:
Brahma: the creator. He is the cause, the origin, and the very essence of
universe, because without it nothing exists;

Vishnu: is the force that preserves existing things. Its function is

to save and redeem the world. Vaishnavism is the most popular sect and
Its followers are numerous. Its sacred book is the Bhagavad Gita.
The Hare Krishna movement is a subsect of Vaishnavism.
Shiva: contradictory, he is both creator and destroyer. Other
Hindu sects are: Shaivism (God Shiva) and Shaktism (Shakti)
consort of Shiva.
Human: emerges from Brahma. Enters the cycle of successive
reincarnations (samsara). Born into a caste system.
(varnadharma), obeying the law of Karma (action), which divides society
in four classes, namely: priest, warrior, farmer-merchant and
slave-worker. There is a fifth group, the so-called untouchables.
World: called Maya (illusion), for the Hindu it is sacred, it must be
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respected and adored. It is in a cyclical process of appearance.
and disappearance. Its origin has several theories: emanation of the absolute,
result of the aggregation of atoms, creation of a personal God. Some
they respond that creation is a small game of God.
Important elements: Ganges River, Sacred Animals, Worship (in
temple, home, and of the saints.

Buddhism
Origin: Buddhism was born in India around the 6th century B.C.
as a reaction to the dominant religion, Hinduism (Brahmanism). It is today a
the major religions of the world with more than 300 million followers.
Founder: the word 'Buddha' means, in the Pali language, 'the Enlightened'. It is
the name attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, also known as 'Sakyamuni'
(the wise man of Sakia). He must have lived between 566 and 486 BC. His mother, Maiadevi,
passed away shortly after his birth; his father Sudodana kept the son away
of the sufferings and miseries of life. He married Yasodara at the age of 19.
with whom he had a son Rahula, leading a happy and prosperous married life
for 10 years. One day, stimulated by the encounter with an old man, a sick man and
a funeral procession left the family and the palace in search of truth and
peace. The example of a mendicant religious led the prince to research the
causes of suffering, old age, death, and rebirth. After some
experiences with the wise of the time, decided to follow his own path
And, at 35 years old, through effort and intuition, he achieved enlightenment.
For 45 years he taught his doctrine, dying at the age of 80.
Doctrine:
1) man is affected by multiple sufferings;
The cause of all suffering is desire;
3) the human being can free himself from pain;

The path that frees man from pain is the path of eight
stages, whose culminating point is Nirvana. The eight stages are:
knowledge of the truth, intention to resist evil, not to offend
others, respect life, perform work that does not harm the
others, fight to free the mind from evil, control the feelings
and thoughts and practice the appropriate forms of concentrations.
Buddhism accepts from Hinduism the theory of reincarnation.
oh anatta, that is, the self is a cluster of elements that
They disintegrate with death. But the karma that survives brings them together.
in a new me.
Dharma means law. Buddha left nothing written, his
teachings were oral. Shortly after his death, his disciples gathered
the various existing traditions and compiled a book called Tripitaka,
or three baskets. Unlike other religions that have a single canon
Accepted by all, Buddhism has several canons: Pali Canon, Sino-Japanese
The Tibetan. But they all obey the same structure: law, sermons of Buddha.
the comments.
Forms of Buddhism:
1) Mahayana (Great Vehicle), widely spread in northern India,
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values philosophical and mystical reflection;

2) Hinayana (Small Vehicle) uses ancient traditions,

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excluding rites or devotions. It is present in Sri Lanka, Burma,
Laos, Cambodia and Thailand;
3) Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle), is the least widespread tradition,
present in Mongolia and Tibet (Lamaism), insists on ritualism.
Note: Buddha gathered his disciples in groups called Sangha.
Although one has not generally cared about a Supreme Being,
many of his disciples transformed him into a God. Compassion was the
most striking characteristic of his teachings.
JUDAISM
Origins: as an ethnocultural and historical community, the Jews have their
name derived from Judah, the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob. His religion (Judaism)
Judaism originated in ancient Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, about
3900 years ago, when Abram emigrated from the prosperous city of Ur of the Chaldeans.
to the land of Canaan. In general, the Jewish people descend from an ancient
branch of the Semitic race, the Hebrews (Abram, the Hebrew - Gn 14:13). The Bible
tell that Abram had his name changed to Abraham, being called
to be the founder of a new people in a new land and bearer of the
belief in the one God. The Jews trace a line of descendants that
it begins with your son Isaac and your grandson Jacob. When famine struck the land
from Canaan, Jacob, his twelve sons and their respective families settled in
Goshen, to the east of the Nile delta, in Egypt. Later, their descendants
were reduced to slavery and subjected to forced labor.
After 400 years of slavery, the Israelites were led
to freedom by Moses who, according to the biblical narrative, was chosen
for God to bring his people back to the promised land. During the 40 years
as they wandered in the desert of Sinai, the Israelites received the law of Moses,
including the Ten Commandments and became a nation. The exodus from Egypt
left a deep mark on the national memory of the Jewish people and made
a symbol of freedom and independence. In the two subsequent centuries
(tribal period), the Israelites conquered most of the territory and
they renounced their nomadic life to settle down as farmers and artisans;
a phase of social and economic development followed. Periods of
relative peace was punctuated by times of war. The people gathered in
return of leaders known by judges. Subsequently, the inherent weakness
this tribal organization in the face of invasion threats, generated the yearning for
a chief who united the tribes, which gave rise to the monarchical period
(1020-930 BC). The first king was Saul and his successor, David. The son of David,
Solomon strengthened the empire, expanded trade, and created new cities.
In Jerusalem, he built the royal palace and the Temple, the center of religious life and
national of the people.

The end of Solomon's kingdom was marked by discontent among the

poorer layers, who had to pay heavy taxes for the plans
ambitious of the monarch. With the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into
two. The Kingdom of Israel, to the north, territory of ten tribes with its capital
in Samaria, it lasted more than 200 years, until 722 BC, when it was dominated.
by the Assyrians. The kingdom of Judah, to the south, with its capital in Jerusalem, lasted
approximately 350 years, being subdued by Babylon in 586 B.C.
The Temple was destroyed and a large number of Jews were deported. Afterwards,
the period of foreign domination follows: Persians, Hellenistic, Romans,
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Arabs.
The Prophets were religious thinkers and personalities.
charismatic, regarded as endowed with the divine gift of revelation.
They preached from the monarchy period until a century later.
destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), both as advisors to the kings for
issues related to religion, ethics, and politics, as well as their critics under the
primacy of the relationship between the people and God. The prophets were guided
by the firm conviction of the need for justice and issued powerful
comments on the morality of Jewish national life. Your messages
are recorded in books of inspired prose and poetry, many of which
were incorporated into the Bible.

Texts: they are numerous and were written over more than a thousand
years, in various languages, predominantly Hebrew and Aramaic. The book
the main one is the Bible, organized in its current form in the 10th century (includes
the Torah, Prophets, Mishnah, Talmud, Gemara, Kabbalah.
Ritos: Páscoa (Pessach), Pentecostes (Shavout), Tabernáculos
(Sukkot), New Year (Rosh Hashanah), Forgiveness (Yom Kippur), Birth,
Circumcision, Admission.
Calendar: the Jewish year is counted from September to September,
The current year (2007) is the 57670th of the Jewish calendar.

Jewish Creed:
1) God created and governs all beings;
God is one and indivisible;
3) It has no body;
It is eternal;
He must be the only one to be worshipped;

6) All the words of the prophets are true;

Moses is the greatest of the prophets;

8) The entire Torah is what was given to Moses;

This law cannot be altered or replaced;

God knows all the thoughts of men;
God rewards those who observe his commandments and punishes
those who transgress them;

God will bring forth the Messiah;

13) God will make the dead rise again. Sin, in the Jewish concept, is
a degradation of human nature through infidelity to God and
your alliance. The three essential elements of this faith are:

There is only one God;

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There is only one people;

There is only one covenant between God and His people.

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Currently, there are more than 13 million Jews spread across
World. Of these, more than 5 million live in Israel.
CHRISTIANITY
Religion/Culture/Faith: Christianity is the religion of those who believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, dead and resurrected, who came to announce to
man knows the way of salvation. It is based on words, on teaching, in the
gestures and in the life of a God-man, 'recognized as the way, truth
and life”. It differs from other religions because Christianity is the “religion of
a person, not a book.” More than a doctrine or a philosophy, it is
a follow-up in faith and surrender to Christ. Word of the Father to men.
Multiple aspects are distinguished in Christianity: doctrine, dogma, system
sacramental and liturgical practice, spiritually, institutions, organization
etc.
It is worth noting, however, that it is not just a religion,
even being the most numerous in the world, with approximately 2
billions of Christians. By tradition, it is more than just a simple belief system
religious. Over 20 centuries, it created a culture, a system of ideas
and forms of life, of practices, of events, of art, transmitted
from generation to generation, coming from the figure of Jesus. Christianity has the
support of a living tradition of faith and culture that cannot be ignored.
Thus, Christianity has become a universal phenomenon. Its
influence spread far beyond its own limits, shaping character
of individuals and nations. But this fact does not prevent there from being various forms
historical to understand it and live it in a fundamental identity.
Christianity, as an experience of a community of believers
who follow and imitate Christ, takes place in history within the Church:
community of people who form the body of believers in Christ. The Church
it is therefore Christianity made life and history.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion, just like Judaism.
and Islam. It receives, like the two, the name and qualification of 'Religion'
of the Book." This means that it is a historical and revealed religion. The difference
the others is that your revelation does not come directly from a book, legislator or
prophet, but of Jesus, Son of God, word made flesh and presence of the Father
among men. The Jewish origin of Christianity is no longer recognized,
it presents itself as a surpassing or perfection of Judaism, while
call and proposal to all men. Hence, his missionary vocation
universal.
Particular mention should be made of ethics or morality, which is
essentially religious in the sense that the moral conduct of man is
conceives as a response to a divine vocation.
Jesus Christ: Jesus is the translation of Hebrew: God Saves. It refers to
to a man born in Bethlehem (Judea, in Palestine). Also known
like Jesus of Nazareth, where he lived (Nazareth, in Galilee). He was killed in
Jerusalem, around the year 30 of our era.
The sources that testify to the existence of Jesus can be
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found in ancient historians, such as Flavius Josephus, a Jew, and
the Roman Tacitus and Suetonius, who testified that, during the reign of
Tiberius, there was a Jew named Jesus, known as the 'Messiah' who
he taught the people and was sentenced, being Procurator Pontius Pilate.

Traditionally, the life of Jesus - born in Bethlehem 6 or 5 years

before our era - is divided into four periods: hidden life, public life,
painful life and glorious life.
He/she lived hidden since birth, going through childhood and youth.
in Nazaré, until the baptism, performed by John the Baptist on the banks
of the Jordan River, in the winter of 28. All of this is narrated in the gospel
from childhood (Mt 1-3).

The public life was very short (from the spring of 28 to the spring of
30). It is the time of the first visits to Jerusalem, of preaching and of
miracles in Galilee, in Phoenicia and in the Decapolis.

The painful life, lasting a week. After the entrance

triumphal in Jerusalem (March of the 30s), Jesus is betrayed, arrested and
successively judged by the high priests and by the procurator
Roman, being sentenced to death for proclaiming himself the Son of
God is to pretend to be the king of the Jews. Crucified and buried, not
is found in the tomb when the women went there after the
Saturday. And neither did the disciples find him.

It then begins a brief glorious life: the appearance of Jesus to

disciples in Emmaus, in the Cenacle, in Galilee and, finally, on the Mountain
the Oliveiras, where it rises to the heavens and disappears from your sight.
Then begins the glorious life of Jesus with the Father as Messiah
Savior triumphant over death: Christ Jesus.
Doctrine: in Jesus, Christians recognize the presence of God,
sufacevoltadaparanós, comooFilhodeDeusemsentidopróprio. Esta“boa
"the newness" of God's fatherhood that sends His Son to mankind constitutes
the center of Jesus' message. Jesus is the one who comes, the sent one from
God to heal the sick and save sinners, is the 'Messiah' announced
in the Bible, expected to free Israel from its sins and restore the
justice. And the sign of this salvation is the resurrection of Jesus, the foundation of
Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

The doctrine of Jesus is gathered in the Gospels: the words, the

teaching, the gestures and the life of the God-Man, presenting himself as the "son"
do Homem”, como o Messias enviado por Deus. A libertação que oferece
it is not politics, but of sin and death. Jesus opens and initiates the Kingdom of
God. This Kingdom, simultaneously inner and collective, which has already arrived but
it is not yet complete, it manifests itself in Jesus Christ and is summarized in the
reign of love. It reaches all points where the poor are treated as
a man, where enemies reconcile, where justice is promoted,
where truth and good are established. The Kingdom of God occupies the place
preferential in the doctrine of Jesus, whose central core is resolved in the law of
love: "Love one another as I have loved you." This is the first and
principal commandment.
This reinvests values of the 'beatitudes'.
It is not imposed by force, but by the power of love. It is precisely there
what is the heart and core of the evangelical message. The revolution of
Gospel. The Magna Carta of the Kingdom.
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But Jesus did not come to destroy or suppress the law, but to fulfill it and
improve it. It is not enough to not kill, to not do harm. It is necessary to love the enemy.
Jesus laid down a higher moral code, in which love for God and love for ...
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next constitute the two poles of conduct. It is about an ethics that
has deep implications in life.
Finally, Jesus taught and gave a new dimension to life.
Salvation is eternal life with God. 'We will always be with the
Lord" (1Thess 4:17). But, for this, there is a prior requirement: "Convert
you believe in the Gospel. It's necessary to change ideas, change the heart and
believe in Jesus.

Islamism
Origin/founder: according to Islamic tradition, following a
revelation, Abraham took one of his sons, Ishmael, out of his group, in the
desert, where the young man would come to live. He married Jedáe and had 12 children,
that originated the Arab people. An Arab, Muhammad (578-632 AD), born
orphaned by his father, who died during his mother's pregnancy, was raised by his grandfather.
He lost his grandfather at eight years old, but before that, he had already lost his mother.
his first marriage was with Khadijah, a widow from the high nobility. Besides Khadijah,
Muhammad had eleven wives. Knowledgeable about Judaism and Christianity,
felt called to be the prophet of the one and true God for his
people, who lived in polytheism and primitive customs. It proposed to establish
a universal community of all those who have devoted themselves to God, Allah.
This surrender, this total abandonment to God is the meaning of the term Islam.
Islam.
Two phases are distinguished in the actions of Muhammad. The first is situated
if in Mecca, where Muhammad preached, as a national prophet, monotheism and
patient trust in God. Mecca is, to this day, the holy city of Islam;
Muslims venerate Ali, the tomb of Muhammad, and the 'black stone'.
second phase, expelled from Mecca, Muhammad made Medina the center of his
action and advocated for an aggressive expansion of Islam, which would also attack the
non-Arab peoples. The goal was: to worship the one God in a united community.
The peoples who do not have a superior religion (characterized by sacred books)
should be submissive to Islam. The others (Jews and Christians) must pay-
the tax, when living among Muslims (Islam does not distinguish,
practically, between civil and religious society).
Doctrine: the theology of Islam is characterized by a strong emphasis on
monotheism and the absolute sovereignty of God over the world, life and the
history. God intervenes directly in everything. This sovereign God is also
merciful. The faithful must surrender to his will: this is to be
muslim, Muslim. The commandments that Muslims must observe
there are five: the confession of the one God, Allah; the observance of prayers, 5 times
per day; fasting; tax payment for the poor; pilgrimage,
at least once in life, Mecca. The legislation of polygamy, at the time
from Muhammad -- up to four women -- is an attempt to humanize this
situation and to guarantee the woman a 'status' of wife, including the
material and emotional responsibility of the husband for all of them. The
polygamy has been abolished by certain modern Muslim states.
The sacred text of Islam is the Quran (= recitation). Its text
It would never have been altered (unlike the long history of the composition
from the Bible). Recognizes the Bible partially as a source of revelation. Abraham,
Moses and Jesus are prophets, forerunners of the prophet of God par excellence.
Muhammad. The Quran would therefore be the culmination of the revelation.
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Note: the fanaticism of Islam is sometimes denounced, which brings enormous
barriers to dialogue with other religions. This fanaticism can be explained,
probably, by the doctrine of predestination -- God predestines everything
beforehand, creation and history, heaven and hell -- that does not leave man the
the right to 'weigh', and by the strong interference of religion in society
civil.
SPIRITISM
In the prologue of the book "What is Spiritism", Allan Kardec defined the
spiritism as being "the experimental science and philosophical doctrine".
SYSTEMATIZER: he was born on 10/03/1804 and received the
named Denizard Hipolyte Léon Rivail. From the observation of phenomena such as
the 'turning tables', started to write, with his first work, 'The Book
"of the Spirits" from 04/18/1957, when he then adopted the pseudonym Allan
Kardec.
DOCTRINE OF REINCARNATION: three essential things, tell-
in man: the soul or spirit, the intelligible principle in which reside the
thought, will, and moral sense; the body, material envelope that
puts the spirit in relation to the outside world; the perispirit, light envelope,
imponderable, which serves as an intermediate link between the spirit and the body. The
spirits have the same origin and the same destiny. They were created by God,
all equal morally and intellectually. The difference between them is not of
species, but of different degrees of advancement. They have a fluidic body
that, in a normal state, do not appear. They have the same perceptions as the
humans do not know everything and do not possess total perfection. The union
the spirit with the body occurs from conception. With birth, the
the spirit becomes disturbed, losing the sense of itself. Death occurs
when the outer wrapper succumbs because it is worn out, it can no longer perform
but your functions.
There are different worlds that move in space and are populated.
like the earth. The relationships between the visible and invisible world can be hidden.
you manifest.
Spiritism proclaims a unique, sovereign, just, and good God and the
man is responsible for his actions, being rewarded or punished
according to the good or evil that has been practiced. Evil does not come from God, but
is the result of free will. Evil exists because Earth is an inferior world.
NEW ERA
The New Era (NE) does not consider itself a new religion, but rather a
movement that transcends all religions.
Origin/founders: originated in California (USA) in 1948 with the
book 'The Return of Christ' by Alice Bailey. She did nothing more than rework and the
ideas of the Russian Helena Petrovna Blavatsky who founded in 1875, in New
York, the Theosophical Society.
Ideas: believes in the establishment of a new world order (government,
religion and economy) and cosmic, in which man and woman will reach
perfection integrating mind, body, and spirit. Supported by studies
Astrologically, the followers claim that the world has already experienced three ages, namely: 1)
Era of Taurus (time of Mesopotamian empires and religions); 2) Era of Aries
(Jewish religion) and 3) Age of Pisces (the last two thousand years, of influence
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Christian). According to NE, we would be entering a new era, that of Aquarius.
His followers await the manifestation of a Messiah they call
Maitreya will unify the planet. Its predominant religious form is the
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pantheist, accepting the doctrine of reincarnation. They believe that man
will be elevated to a condition of god and masters or cosmic spirits
They will help inaugurate the NE. Its main symbol is the butterfly.
representing the metamorphosis of humanity, which goes from the old to the
new.
They do not have a sacred book, nor a code of laws or
norms, which is why it is understood in different ways in various cultures,
with a strong syncretism. His ideas are disseminated through films,
books, newspapers, articles, commercial and executive organizations, courses, etc.

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