This document provides information on 6 major world religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. It discusses their origins, founders, holy sites, sacred writings, numbers of followers, and core beliefs. Buddhism originated in Nepal, Hinduism in India, Taoism in China, Christianity in Israel, Islam in Mecca, and Judaism in Israel. The religions' founders include Siddhartha Gautama for Buddhism, no single founder for Hinduism, Lao Tzu for Taoism, Jesus Christ for Christianity, Muhammad for Islam, and Abraham for Judaism. Their sacred texts are the Tripitaka, Vedas, Tao Te Ch

1. 6 MAJOR
WORLD RELIGIONS
Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism

2. INDIAN RELIGIONS
 Buddhism (not much in India any more, but has its origins on the
Indian Subcontinent)
 Hinduism

3. EAST ASIAN RELIGION
 Taoism (a major component of what is called “Chinese Traditional
religions). Confucianism is also in this category, but smaller)

4. ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS
 Christianity
 Islam
 Judaism

5. FOUNDERS
 Founding person of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama (about 550
BCE)
 Founding person of Hindu is . . . There is no founder. This is possibly
the world’s oldest religion. We don’t know when it started, or who started
it (2,000 BCE?)
 Founding person of Taoism (Daoism) is Lao Tse (Laozi). It’s not
known whether he is the actual founder, but it is attributed to him (about
580 BCE))

6. FOUNDERS
CONTINUED
 Founding person of Christianity is Jesus Christ (1st century CE)
 Founding person of Islam is Muhammad (580 CE)
 Founding person of Judaism is Abraham (about 1500 BCE)

7. SUPREME BEING
 The Supreme Being of Buddhism is . . . There is no supreme
being. This is all about bettering yourself.
 The Supreme Being of Hinduism is Brahma, who has two avatars:
Vishnu and Shiva (together a trinity)
 The Supreme Being of Taoism is . . . There isn’t one. There are
deities, but one isn’t over another. The important thing here is
nature’s energy rather than a supreme being.

8. SUPREME BEING
CONTINUED
 The Supreme Being in Christianity is God
 The Supreme Being in Islam is God (Allah)
 The Supreme Being in Judaism is God (Elohim)

9. HOLY SITES
 The holiest place in Buddhism is wherever you worship. However
important Buddha history places are also important cities (Buddha's
birthplace, burial place, where he received enlightenment, etc.)
 The holiest site in Hinduism is . . . There are 7 holy cities, 4 holy
sites, 3 holy rivers
 The holiest sites in Taoism are mountains where important
temples are

10. HOLY SITES
 Holy sites in Christianity include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Golgotha,
and the Sea of Galilee (places associated with Jesus Christ)
 Holy sites in Islam include Mecca, Medina, and The Dome of the
Rock (on Temple Mount in Jerusalem)—all places associated with
Mohammed the Prophet
 Holy sites in Judaism include Temple Mount, the Wailing Wall (on
Temple Mount), Mount Sinai, Tomb of the Patriarchs

11. SACRED WRITINGS
 Sacred writings of Buddhists are the Tripitaka. This means “3
Baskets” because it was originally written on long leaves and stored in
baskets.
 Sacred writings of Hinduism are the Vedas. There are 4 of them:
Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda
 Sacred writings of Taoism is the Tao te Ching

12. SACRED WRITINGS
CONTINUED
 Sacred writings of Christianity is the Bible, which includes the Old
Testament and the New Testament
 Sacred writings of Islam is the Quran, also spelled Koran
 Sacred writings of Judaism is the Torah, which includes the first 5
books of the Old Testament; also important is the Talmud, which is
writings about the Torah

13. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Buddhism—Nepal

14. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Hinduism--India

15. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Taoism--China

16. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Christianity--Israel

17. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Islam--Mecca

18. WHERE ORIGINATED?
 Judaism--Israel

19. DIFFUSED WHERE?

20. NUMBERS
 Buddhists—375 million to 1.2 billion
 Hindus—1 billion
 Taoists—(Chinese Traditional) 394 million
 Christians—2.1 billion
 Muslims—1.5 billion
 Jews—14 million

23. M A J O R B E L I E F S - - BU D D H I S M
 4 Noble Truths:
•
•
•
•
Life has a lot of suffering
The cause of suffering is greed and selfishness
There is an end to suffering
The way to end suffering is following the middle way through the 8fold path (right viewpoint, right attitude, right speech, right action,
right work, right effort, right mindfulness, right meditation)

24. MAJOR BELIEFS --HINDUISM
 Karma—the law of cause and effect
 Reincarnation until Moshka (liberation from cycle of rebirth) is
attained
 All life is sacred
 No religion teaches the only way to salvation—all religions are
paths to God’s light and love, and all religions ought to be tolerated
and understood

25. MAJOR BELIEFS--TAOISM
 Live in harmony with the Tao—or the way
 If you do this, you will free your soul and become one of the
immortals
 Don’t lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, or drink alcohol
 Obey your elders, love your parents, be tolerant, love others, be in
good physical and mental shape, practice control of your mind and
body, act selflessly

26. MAJOR BELIEFS--CHRISTIANITY
 Jesus Christ is the Son of God
 Love God
 Love your neighbor as yourself
 Follow the 10 commandments
 Faith and Grace
 Baptism

27. MAJOR BELIEFS--ISLAM
 There is no god but One God (Allah) and Muhammad is his
prophet
 Pray 5 times a day (facing the direction of Mecca)
 Pay an alms tax—2.5% of one’s wealth to the poor and needy
 Fast during daylight hours during the 9th month of the Islamic
lunar calendar (Ramadan)
 Go on a pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime

28. MAJOR BELIEFS --JUDAISM
 The 10 commandments—worship no other God, no graven
images, don’t misuse the name of God, observe the Sabbath day
(Saturday), respect your parents, don’t murder, commit adultery, or
steal, don’t accuse anyone falsely or tell lies, don’t envy others’
possessions.

29. S Y M B O L O F FA I T H - - BU D D H I S M

30. S Y M B O L O F FA I T H - - H I N D U I S M

31. SYMBOL OF FAITH --TAOISM

32. S Y M B O L O F FA I T H - - C H R I S T I A N I T Y

33. SYMBOL OF FAITH --ISLAM

34. S Y M B O L O F FA I T H - - J U DA I S M