Religion - point of view from a non-religious person perspective (Me)


Religion may be defined as a cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, or spiritual elements.
What would God make of religion?

  • Adherents of religion often make the claim that their religion is the only way to God. Poor God has so many conflicting religions – each claiming to be the only way to salvation. But, which religion did God really create?
  • God did not create the human religions, but, God did give man the opportunity to seek Him in a divine way. Do you agree?

My first idea about religion was:
  • There is a few religions and all similar.... well I was wrong, very wrong.
  • You have been given the free will but you have to follow the ten commandments?
  • Why!? So you are not free to choose are you?
  • How about the spirituality?
  • Religion vs Spirituality - Religion is a path to God. Spirituality is also a path to God. However, they have differences in approach.
The essence of religion:
Fear God and obey God.
The quintessence of spirituality:
Love God and become another God.”

After my research I still don't have my answer but was a very funny journey and I've learn many things.


Many believes that:
-“There is a human religion and a divine religion. The human religion is a baseless self-aggrandisement. The human religion is a lifeless confidence. The divine religion is a constant God-proclamation from the very depth of the seeker’s heart. It is in the inmost recesses of his heart that a seeker proclaims God’s Reality, God’s Divinity, God’s Immortality. ”
The concept of "religion"

This concept was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries, despite the fact that ancient sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written.


Known Ancient sacred texts books:
  • Christianity (2.2 billion followers) - The Holy Bible (Old Testament and New Testament)
  • Islam (1.6 billion followers) - The Quran
  • Hinduism (1 billion followers) - has many holy books, but most popular is Shreemad Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Veda.
  • Buddhism (376 million followers) - Tripitaka (Pali Canon)
  • Sikhism (23 million followers) - Guru Granth Sahib
  • Judaism (14 million followers) - The Hebrew Bible / Torah (Old Testament)
  • Bahá’í (7 million followers) - Kitáb-i-Aqdas
  • Jainism (4.2 million followers) - Agam Sutras
  • Shinto (4 million followers) - Kojiki
  • Zeroastrianism (2.6 million followers) – Avesta
Which religions believe in God?
  • Sikhs believe that members of other religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Christianity all worship the same God, and the names Allah, Rahim, Karim, Hari, Raam and Paarbrahm are frequently mentioned in the Sikh holy scriptures.
Do all religions believe in one God?
  • The concept of ethical monotheism, which holds that morality stems from God alone and that its laws are unchanging, first occurred in Judaism, but is now a core tenet of most modern monotheistic religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahá'í Faith.
Which religion does not believe in God?
  • Jainism believes the universe is eternal and has no need for a creator deity, however Tirthankaras are revered that can transcend space and time and have more power than the god Indra. Secular Buddhism does not advocate belief in gods. Early Buddhism was atheistic as Gautama Buddha's path involved no mention of gods.
Which religions believe in Jesus?
  • Christianity teaches that Jesus is the Messiah (Christ) foretold in the Old Testament and the Son of God Incarnate. Christians believe that through his death and resurrection, humans can be reconciled to God and thereby are offered salvation and the promise of eternal life.
How many gods does Christianity have?
  • The doctrine of the Trinity can be summed up as: "The One God exists in Three Persons and One Substance, as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit." Trinitarians, who form the large majority of Christians, hold it as a core tenet of their faith.
How many different gods are there?
  • Originally Answered: How many gods are there in total? Since Hinduism is a religion with millions of gods and goddesses, the exact number is unknown. The exact approx. is 320,000,000 gods, plus the pantheons of famous mythologies which combined come close to 140, and the God of Abrahamic religions, the same one.
Who do the Jews believe in?
  • The belief that Jesus is God, the Son of God, or a person of the Trinity, is incompatible with Jewish theology. Jews believe Jesus of Nazareth did not fulfill messianic prophecies that establish the criteria for the coming of the messiah.
What are the main beliefs of Islam?
  • Muslims believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Muslims consider the Quran to be the unaltered and final revelation of God.
Origin


The earliest evidence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years to the Middle and Lower Paleolithic periods. Archaeologists refer to apparent intentional burials of early Homo sapiens from as early as 300,000 years ago as evidence of religious ideas.
Other evidence of religious ideas include symbolic artifacts from Middle Stone Age sites in Africa. However, the interpretation of early paleolithic artifacts, with regard to how they relate to religious ideas, remains controversial.
Archeological evidence from more recent periods is less controversial. Scientists (generally interpret a number of artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic (50,000-13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Examples of Upper Paleolithic remains associated with religious beliefs include the Zion man, the Venus figurines, cave paintings from Chauvet Cave and the elaborate ritual burial from Sungir.
In the 19th century researchers proposed various theories regarding the origin of religion, challenging earlier claims of a Christianity-like *urreligion.
*Urreligion is a notion of an "original" or "oldest" form of religious tradition (ur-being a Germanic prefix for "original, primitive, elder, primeval, or proto-"). The term contrasts with organized religion, such as the theocracies of the early urban cultures of the Ancient Near East or current world religions. The term originates in German Romanticism.

What religion was Europe before Christianity?
  • Bronze and Iron Age religion in Europe as elsewhere was predominantly polytheistic (Ancient Greek religion, Ancient Roman religion, Basque mythology, Finnish-paganism, Celtic polytheism, Germanic paganism, etc.). The Roman Empire officially adopted Christianity in AD 380.

What is the oldest religion?
The oldest record of the complete biblical texts (the Codex Sinaiticus) survives in a Greek translation called the Septuagint, dating to the 4th century CE. Theodosius I declared Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.

How many religions are there in the world?
  • There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.
  • The major world religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity.
But Who the hell started religion and which is the true one?

List of known 153 founders of religious traditions:
(there is for all tastes and plus)
Name Religious tradition founded Ethnicity Life of founder
Akhenaten Atenism Egyptian 1353 BC – 1336 BC
Zoroaster Zoroastrianism CentralIranian/Airya 1000 BC
Parshvanatha The penultimate (23rd) Tirthankara in Jainism Indian 877 BC – 777 BC
Nebuchadnezzar II built the Etemenanki, established Marduk as the patron deity of Babylon Amorite 634 BC – 562 BC
Ajita Kesakambali Charvaka Indian 6th century BC
Mahavira The final (24th) tirthankara in Jainism Indian 599 BC – 527 BC
Siddhartha Gautama Buddhism Indian 563 BC – 483 BC
Confucius Confucianism Chinese 551 BC – 479 BC
Pythagoras Pythagoreanism Samian fl. 520 BC
Mozi Mohism Chinese 470 BC – 390 BC
Makkhali Gosala Ājīvika Indian 5th century BC
Ezra Second Temple Judaism Levite Judean, Kohen 459 BC
Epicurus Epicureanism Samian 307 BC
Zeno of Citium Stoicism Possibly Phoenician,
albeit a Greek national
333 BC – 264 BC
Pharnavaz I of Iberia Armazi Georgian 326 BC – 234 BC
Patanjali Rāja yoga Indian 2nd century BC
Jesus and the Twelve Apostles Christianity Galilean/Judean 4 BC – 30/33 AD
Paul the Apostle Pauline Christianity Judean, albeit a Roman citizen 33 AD
James the Just Jewish Christianity Judean 33 AD
Lakulisha Pashupata Shaivism Indian 1st century AD
Judah the Prince Rabbinic Judaism Judean, Davidic line 2nd century AD
Montanus Montanism Phrygian 2nd century AD
Marcion of Sinope Marcionism Pontic Greek 110–160
Nagarjuna Madhyamaka Telugu Dravidian 150–250
Plotinus Neoplatonism may have been of Roman,
Greek or Hellenized Egyptian ancestry; Roman citizen
205–270
Mani Manichaeism Persian Western Iranian/Airya 216–274
Arius Arianism Possibly Berber,
born in Libya; hellenophone
250–336
Pelagius Pelagianism British, or Irish 354–430
Nestorius Nestorianism Romaniote (Byzantine hellenophone) 386–451
Eutyches Monophysitism born in Constantinople 380–456

Medieval to Early Modern (500–1800 AD)

Name Religious tradition founded Ethnicity Life of founder
Mazdak Mazdakism Central Iranian/Airya died c. 526
Bodhidharma Zen Indian 504s - 560s
Muhammad Islam Arabian 570 - 632
Songtsen Gampo Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan 7th century
En no Gyōja Shugendō Japanese late 7th century
Huineng East Asian Zen Buddhism Chinese (Tang dynasty) 638–713
Padmasambhava Nyingma Indian 8th century
Han Yu Neo-Confucianism Chinese 8th or 9th century
Saichō Tendai (descended from Tiantai) Japanese 767–822
Kūkai Shingon Buddhism Japanese 774–835
Adi Shankara Advaita Vedanta Indian 788-820
Ibn Nusayr Nusayrism Persian late 9th century
Ramanuja Vishishtadvaita Indian 1017-1137
Hamza ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad Druze Persian 11th century
Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir Yazidism Yazidi 12th century
Basava Lingayatism Indian 12th century
Hōnen Jōdo-shū (descended from Pure Land Buddhism) Japanese 1131–1212
Eisai Rinzai Zen (descended from the Linji school) Japanese 1141–1215
Shinran Jōdo Shinshū (descended from Jōdo-shū) Japanese 1173–1263
Dōgen Sōtō Zen (descended from the Caodong school) Japanese 1200–1253
Haji Bektash Veli Bektashi Order of Sufism Turkish (Ottoman) or Persian 1209–1271
Nichiren Nichiren Buddhism Japanese 1222–1282
Madhvacharya Dvaita Tuluva (Indian) 1238–1317
Sant Mat Bhakti movement Numerous Hindi groups 13th to 15th centuries
John Wycliffe Lollardy British (English) 1320s–1384
Nāimī - Fażlu l-Lāh Astar-Ābādī Hurufism Iranian 14th century
Mahmoud Pasikhani Nuqṭawism Iranian (Persian) late 14th century
Jan Hus Hussitism Frankish (Czech) 1372–1415
Tlacaelel Cult of Huitzilopochtli Aztec 1397–1487
Ramananda Vaishnavism Indian 15th century
Pachacuti Cult of Inti Incan 1418–1472
Sankardev Ekasarana Dharma Assamese (Indian) 1449–1568
Guru Nanak Sikhism Punjabi (Pakistani) 1469–1539
Sri Chand Udasi Punjabi (Pakistani) 1494–1629
Vallabha Acharya Shuddhadvaita Indian 1479–1531
Martin Luther Lutheranism and Protestantism Frankish (Saxon) 1483–1546
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Achintya Bheda Abheda Bengali (Indian) 1486–1534
Thomas Cranmer Anglicanism (Church of England) British (English) 1489–1556
Menno Simons Mennonite Dutch 1496–1561
Conrad Grebel Swiss Brethren, Anabaptists Swiss 1498–1526
Jacob Hutter Hutterite Tyrolean (Bavarian) 1500–1536
Sultan Sahak Yarsanism Kurdish early 15th century
John Calvin Calvinism French 1509–1564
Michael Servetus Unitarianism Aragonese 1511?–1553
John Knox Presbyterianism Scottish 1510–1572
Akbar Din-i Ilahi Indian (Mughal) 1542–1605
Jacobus Arminius Arminianism Dutch 1560–1609
John Smyth Baptists English 1570–1612
Avvakum Old Believers of Russian Orthodox Church Russian 1620–1682
George Fox Quakers English 1624–1691
Philipp Spener Pietism Alsatian (German) 1635–1705
Jakob Ammann Amish Swiss 1656–1730
Emanuel Swedenborg The New Church Swedish 1688-1772
Yisroel ben Eliezer "Baal Shem Tov" Hasidic Judaism Polish (Ukrainian) 1698–1760
John Wesley,Charles Wesley, George Whitefield Methodism English 1703–1791
Ann Lee Shakers English 1736–1784

New religious movements (post-1800)

Name Religious tradition founded Ethnicity Life of founder
Ram Mohan Roy Brahmo Samaj Indian 1772–1833
Swaminarayan Swaminarayan Sampraday Indian 1781–1830
Auguste Comte Religion of Humanity French 1798–1857
Nakayama Miki Tenrikyo Japanese 1798–1887
Ignaz von Döllinger Old Catholic Church German 1799–1890
Phineas Quimby New Thought American 1802–1866
Allan Kardec Spiritism French 1804–1869
Joseph Smith Mormonism, also known as the Latter Day Saint movement American 1805–1844
John Thomas Christadelphians British 1805–1871
Abraham Geiger Reform Judaism German 1810-1874
Jamgon Kongtrul Rimé movement Tibetan 1813–1899
Hong Xiuquan Taiping Christianity Hakka 1814–1864
Bahá'u'lláh Bahá'í Faith Persian (Ottoman Turk) 1817–1892
Báb Bábism, precursor of the Bahá'í Faith Persian (Ottoman Turk) 1819–1850
James Springer White Seventh-day Adventist Church American 1821–1881
Wang Jueyi Yiguandao Chinese (Qing dynasty) 1821–1884
Mary Baker Eddy Christian Science American 1821–1910
Ramalinga Swamigal Samarasa Sutha Sanmarga Sangam Tamil (Indian) 1823–1874
Dayananda Saraswati Arya Samaj Gujarati (Indian) 1824–1883
Ellen G. White Seventh-day Adventist Church American 1827–1915
John Ballou Newbrough Faithism American 1828–1891
Subh-i-Azal Azali Bábism Persian 1831–1912
Helena Blavatsky Theosophy Russian (Ukrainian) 1831–1891
Ayya Vaikundar Ayyavazhi Indian 1833–1851
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Ahmadiyya Indian (Mughal) 1835–1908
Guido von List Armanism (Germanic mysticism) Austrian 1848–1919
Charles Taze Russell Bible Student movement/ Jehovah's Witnesses American 1852–1916
Wovoka Ghost Dance Paiute (Native American) 1856–1932
Rudolf Steiner Anthroposophy Austrian 1861–1925
Swami Vivekananda Ramakrishna Mission Indian 1863–1902
William Irvine Two by Twos and Cooneyites Scottish 1863–1947
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi Soka Gakkai Japanese 1871-1944
Sri Aurobindo Integral yoga Indian 1872–1950
Mason Remey Orthodox Bahá'í Faith American 1874–1974
Aleister Crowley Thelema English 1875–1947
Charles Fox Parham Pentecostalism American 1873–1929
"Father Divine" International Peace Mission movement American 1876–1965
Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment American 1877-1945
Ngô Văn Chiêu Caodaism Viet 1878–1926
Guy Ballard "I AM" Activity American 1878–1939
Frank Buchman Oxford Group/Moral Re-Armament American 1878–1961
Alfred G. Moses Jewish Science American 1878-1956
Mordecai Kaplan Reconstructionist Judaism Russian (Lithuanian) 1881–1983
Gerald Gardner Wicca British 1884–1964
Felix Manalo Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) Filipino 1886–1963
Frank B. Robinson Psychiana American 1886–1948
Noble Drew Ali Moorish Science Temple of America American, possibly Cherokee or Moroccan 1886–1929
Marcus Garvey Rastafari Jamaican 1887–1940
Ernest Holmes Religious Science American 1887–1960
Sadafaldeo Vihangamyoga Indian 1888–1902
Aimee Semple McPherson Foursquare Church Canadian 1890–1944
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes Umbanda Brazilian 1891–1975
Ida B. Robinson Mount Sinai Holy Church of America American 1891–1946
B. R. Ambedkar Navayana Buddhism Indian 1891 – 1956
Wallace Fard Muhammad (absentia) Nation of Islam American 1891 – 1934
Paramahansa Yogananda Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, Self-Realization Fellowship Indian 1893–1952
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada International Society for Krishna Consciousness Indian 1896–1977
Ruth Norman Unarius American 1900–1993
Swami Muktananda Siddha Yoga Indian 1908–1982
Paul Twitchell Eckankar American 1908–1971
Ikurō Teshima Makuya Japanese 1910–1973
L. Ron Hubbard Dianetics and later Scientology American 1911–1986
Kim Il-sung Juche (North) Korean 1912–1994
Chinmayananda Saraswati Chinmaya Mission Indian 1916–1993
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Transcendental Meditation Indian 1917–2008
Samael Aun Weor Universal Christian Gnostic Movement Colombian 1917–1977
Mark L. Prophet The Summit Lighthouse American 1918–1973
Ben Klassen Creativity Ukrainian 1918–1993
Ahn Sahng-hong World Mission Society Church of God Korean 1918-1985
Huỳnh Phú Sổ Hòa Hảo Viet 1919–1947
Yong (Sun) Myung Moon Unification Church Korean 1920–2012
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar Ananda Marga Indian 1921–1990
Clarence 13X Five-Percent Nation American 1922–1969
Mestre Gabriel União do Vegetal Brazilian 1922–1971
Nirmala Srivastava Sahaja Yoga Indian 1923–2011
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Ásatrú Icelander 1924–1993
Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Organization Indian 1926–2011
Anton LaVey Church of Satan (LaVeyan Satanism) American 1930–1997
Rajneesh Rajneesh movement Indian 1931–1990
Prophets Mark L.;
Elizabeth Clare
Church Universal and Triumphant American 1918–1973;
1939–2009
Adi Da Adidam American 1939–2008
Claude Vorilhon Raëlism French 1946–
Marshall Vian Summers New Message from God American 1949–
Li Hongzhi Falun Gong Chinese 1951–
Ravi Shankar Art of Living foundation Indian 1956–
Ryuho Okawa Happy Science Japanese 1956-
Vissarion Church of the Last Testament Russian 1961–
Chris Korda Church of Euthanasia American 1962-
Tamara Siuda Kemetic Orthodoxy American 1969–
Olumba Olumba Obu Brotherhood of the Cross and Star Nigerian 1918–
Isak Gerson Missionary Church of Kopimism Swedish 1993-
Erdoğan Çınar Ishikism Turkish 21st century

Legendary/semi-historical

Traditional founder Religious tradition founded Historical founder(s) Ethnicity Life of historical founder
Saptarishi Hinduism Vedic Rishis Indian/Aryas 16th to 11th century BC
Abraham Judaism Yahwists[n 8] Levantine 13th to 8th century BC
Laozi Taoism Zhuang Zhou Chinese 369 BC – 286 BC
John the Baptist Mandaeism Sabians Arabic 1st to 3rd century AD
Queen of Sheba Haymanot Ezana of Axum Ethiopian 320 AD – 360 AD

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