This article provides an overview of the major religions worldwide and their distribution. It covers their Origins, Characteristics, Influence, and Distribution. It also discusses the major conflicts that have shaped and influenced their development. There are many resources available to learn more about world religions.
Origin
The origin of world religions is a complex issue. There are many theories. Some say that religions started as cults. While others believe religions emerged from myths. One of the earliest theories was about fetishism and animism. Some believe religions also arose out of hedonism.
Characteristics
While there are many similarities between the world's religions, there are also some key differences. The early Christians were very different from their pagan counterparts in that they emphasized prosociality. This was due to the prominence of the golden principle in early Christianity, and has served as a distinction between it and paganism.
Influence
Religion is a key indicator of identity and has the potential for influence on many environmentally-relevant behaviors. Understanding this influence is essential to solve transnational environmental challenges. Many aspects of life reflect the influence of religions. This includes how people view climate change as well as how they consume and pay for their health care.
Distribution
The world's religions are scattered geographically. Christianity has the greatest concentration of believers. This is followed by Islam, with nearly one-fifth of the world's population, and Hinduism. The remaining religious groups are more diffusely distributed, and include folk religions such as traditional African faiths and Native American and Australian aboriginal religions. You can also find smaller, unorganized faiths like Jainism and Sikhism. There are an estimated 1.2 Billion nonreligious people in the world.
Moral outlook
In determining religious practices in a society, a society's moral outlook is important. People from different cultures have different moral beliefs, and the outlook of a particular group can differ from that of another. Modern Asia and the West have very different moral perspectives. While we can all express our preferences and justify them based on neutral criteria, we cannot say that one moral outlook is superior to another. Some people believe certain moralities suit certain communities or societies better than others.
Engagement with environmental problems
Religions have historically and currently played a variety of roles in shaping the way people think about and engage with environmental issues. They have a wealth of insight, enduring social networks, and experience to contribute to the debate.