What are the world religions: signs and characteristics

It is interesting that some states advanced additional distinctive features of world religions. For example, in the USSR there were additional criteria according to which the world religion should have a clear philosophical school, exert a great influence on historical events and the development of culture, should not be closely linked with national identity.

According to the main features of world religions, proposed by UNESCO, there are three such:

• Buddhism;
• Christianity;
• Islam.

It is believed that they have reached the highest level of development of religious consciousness, acquiring features that do not depend on nationality and place of residence.

Buddhism

Buddhism - the oldest of the world's religions. It received its name from the name of its founder, the Buddha, who lived in the 5-4 century BC. E. Buddhism originated in the north-eastern part of India - at that time the most developed of its region.

A distinctive feature of Buddhism lies in its ethical and practical orientation. He opposes giving excessive importance to external manifestations of religious life - to institutions, rituals, spiritual hierarchy, and focuses his attention on the problem of human being.

In Buddhism, unlike Christianity and Islam, there is no institution of the church. Religious life is formed around monasteries and temples, where the community of believers is consolidated, and everyone can receive support and instruction.

This is a very flexible religion. During its existence, it absorbed many traditional representations of those peoples who professed it, speaking with them in the language of their culture. Initially, Buddhism was widespread among the peoples of Asia: mainly the South, Central and Eastern, in Russia - among the Tuvinians, Kalmyks and Buryats. Currently, it continues to spread, and its followers can be found in Europe, America, Africa, Australia, as well as in those parts of Russia where it was not previously available.

Christianity

Christianity began to spread during the late Roman Empire, around the middle of the 1st century BC. E. It strengthened its position against the backdrop of strong social instability in the empire, attracting people with ideas about a strong advocate, universal equality and salvation.

Christianity successfully succeeded in supplanting the pagan religion of ancient Rome also because many of its ideas and rituals were already known to people from Judaism. The common features of Judaism and Christianity are faith in the coming of the Messiah, the immortality of the soul and the existence of the afterlife.

From the scattered sects formed by those who accepted Christ as the Messiah, Christianity was gradually being formed into a powerful social force. Eventually, after a period of persecution, the church became the first and most powerful ally of the Roman state around the beginning of the 3rd century.

And although Christianity still had to go a long way to develop and develop dogmas, the prerequisites for its triumphal march on the planet were formed even then. Even the subsequent divisions of the church did not weaken his popularity.

Islam

Islam is the youngest religion of the three. It arose in the beginning of the 7th century AD. E. On the Arabian Peninsula. At that time, the Arab world experienced the collapse of the tribal system, it was very fragmented, which made it weak. The specifics of that time required the unification of tribes and the creation of a single Arab statehood. This task was largely accomplished through the emergence and spread of Islam.

The founder of Islam is considered to be the prophet Muhammad. A characteristic feature of this religion is that Islam is not just a religion, but a certain way of life. Initially, it does not assume a gap between secular and religious, secular and sacral.

Despite its youth, Islam quickly acquired signs of world religion. Today it is the second largest religion in the world. According to approximate calculations, the total number of Muslims on the whole planet is more than one billion people. Most of them live in Asia and Africa.

Alternative opinions

Despite the terminology established in religious studies, the modern world religions and their signs are a matter in many respects open. Although traditionally there are only three such, there are other views on this score.

For example, Max Weber and his followers include in their number and others, highlighting several distinct signs of world religions. So, according to the Weberian tradition, they can be attributed to Judaism, because it had a huge impact on Christianity and Islam, as well as Hinduism and Confucianism, because they are the religions of the vast cultural regions in which different nationalities live.

World religions or religions of mankind?

There is also a considerable number of scientists who consider this term obsolete, and the accepted signs of the world religion are insolvent in the conditions of the present.

The existence of any criteria that make it possible to consider a particular religion world-wide or not, suggests that it is static. However, this is not the case. The world is changing, and the geography of the spread of religions is becoming increasingly bizarre. For example, in different countries around the world the number of Hindus is growing, which are also part of the Hindu community. Also, many representatives of non-members of the world's religions have repeatedly challenged the selection criteria, offering their own and desiring a worthy recognition of their faith by the world community.

There were attempts to abolish the term "world religions", as well as proposals to introduce alternative, for example, "living religions" or "religions of mankind" with more thoughtful and versatile criteria. However, there is no agreement on this in the scientific world, and there is still a long way to review this problem.