Intro to World Religions

Definitions

• Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that give life purpose and clarity.
• Religion attempts to answer where we came from, what we’re supposed to do, and where we’re going.

Scriptural Take – Romans 1:18-23

• Our sinful tendency is to suppress the truth (1:18).
• We have only considered God because He has revealed Himself to us (1:19).
• God has made Himself intentionally observable within nature (1:20).
• An unwillingness to glorify God leads to worthless thinking (1:21).
• If people don’t accept God as He is, we attempt to create images and systems lesser than Him (1:22-23).

Major World Religions

• Much of the world’s conflicts originate from sincere spiritual adherents obeying religious mandates.
• In 2024, Population Education identified 85% of the world as having a religion.
• More specifically ¾ of the global population is within the following:
  • Christianity: 31%
  • Islam: 24%
  • Hinduism: 15%
  • Buddhism: 7%

• 16% of people worldwide, predominantly in China, Japan, and the United States, identify as the “nones.”
• The “nones” can be agnostics, atheists, or those who don’t identify with a particular religion.

Two Major Theories  

• Evolution of Religions  
  • Some believe in the hierarchical structure of the development of religion, ranging from belief in spiritual forces to belief in one God.
• Original Monotheism
• • • Others believe that all religion began with a belief in one God and has changed over time.

Foundations of Major Religions

• Monotheism
  • The belief in one God alone.
  • Imagine a painter outside the painting.
  • Christianity, Judaism, Islam
• Henotheism
  • The belief in several different gods in which one reigns supreme.
  • Hinduism

• Polytheism
  • The belief in many gods as divine.
  • Buddhism, Hinduism
• Animism  
  • Believing that all things possess a spiritual element.
  • For example, things in the environment have a soul and can form social relationships.
• Mana
  • The belief is that the universe contains a spiritual force.
  • Prevalent in Pacific Asian Islander cultures

Misled Hope

• It is offensive and incorrect to say that all religions are attempting to answer life’s questions the same way.
• One or none of the religions can be correct, but they all cannot be.