By Anthony Corbisieri 5/6D

31/10/2013

Judaism is a religion in which they only believe in one God. This type of religion is called a monotheistic. Judaism is believed to date back to approximately 2000BC. The Jews believe that God expressed what he expects of people in the Ten Commandments. An important time each week in Jewish religion is the Sabbath. This period of time is when the Jews rest from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. The main symbol of Judaism is the Star of David, which is also known as the Shield of David.

Islam is one of the worlds major religions and has about 1.3 billion followers. These followers are mostly found in North Africa, the Middle East and southern and Central Asia. The Islam people believe in one God who they call Allah and they believe that He created the universe and that humans must submit to his will. Muslims also believe in Angels. Other things that Muslims believe in include all the prophets sent by God, life after death and that the key reward for performing good deeds is getting closer to God. The Islamic people pray five times daily.

Hinduism is the oldest of all religions with traditions that date back more than 3000 years. The religion of Hinduism has approximately 1 billion practisers, who mostly live in India which is where the religion originated. The Hindus believe in one God but they think there are hundreds of ways of thinking about God. They believe that God can take form of other gods and goddesses in helping people find the universal path. Hindus also believe in reincarnation which means when somebody dies, the soul is reborn in another life form such as a human, animal or even a plant.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in northeast India in about 550BC. Buddhism describes a difficult and complicated system of beliefs developed around the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddhists believe Indian prince Siddhartha led an easy going life as a young man until a journey in which he saw an elderly man, a sick man, a poor man and a corpse. One day he felt close to reaching the truth, and sat under a tree, quietly for 49 days. Buddha devoted the rest of his life wandering India teaching the path to freedom from suffering and establishing a community of monks.

Sikhism is a religion founded in the 15th century by a man named Guru Nanak. Sikhs believe that Nanak saw a vision of God, who ordered him to begin preaching. Sikhs also believe in a ultimate God who rules with justice and grace and that every human being no matter their background or gender can become one with God. In the early 21st century there were nearly 25 million Sikhs worldwide, most living in the Punjab.

By Anthony Corbisieri 5/6D

31/10/2013

Christianity has more than 2 billion followers worldwide and it is the worlds most widespread religion. Its main locations are Europe, North America and South America. This religion is based upon the life, death and teachings of Jesus. Christians also base their religion on the bible is comprised of two books, the Old Testament and the New Testament. They also believe in the Holy trinity which consists of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They believe that God is the lover, Jesus is the beloved and the Holy Spirit is the love that flows not just between them but between everyone.