Religions

The main world religions:

Christianity:

Christians worship Jesus. Most of the first Christians were ethnically Jewish. The Christians

believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. Their sacred book is the Bible (Old and New Testaments) They worship in sacred buildings (churches). The most important Christian

festivals are Lent, Easter and Christians. The cross is the main symbol. Christianity is the

world’s largest religion with over 2.4 billion people who are Christians. Christianity was the

main religion in Egypt. There are at least seven Christian churches in Antarctica! Only 7% to

10% of Arabs are Christians. A church was built in a cave and is the largest church in Middle

East.

Islam:

The Arabic word for God is Allah. The root word of Islam is 'Salam', which means 'peace'. The

word 'Islam' means 'submission' or surrender'. A Muslim is one who surrenders themselves to

God's true will. Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that Allah revealed through all

His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population. Islam is both a religion and

a complete way of life. Did you know that the prophet (Muhammed)is the messenger of god!

The sacred place is called a mosque and the holy place is Mecca. The holy book is called

Qur’an. The most important festivals are Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha and Ramadan. All Muslims

have to believe in all other religions!

Sikhism:

27 million people are followers of Sikhism,that makes it the fifth largest religion in the world.

It is most popular in Asia. Sikhism was started around 1500 by Guru Nanak Dev, the first of

the "Ten Gurus". It took on a distinct identity in 1699, celebrated by Vaisakhi. The holy book

of Sikhism is the Guru Granth Sahib. Granth is a Hindi word, which means "book". It contains

the writings of each of the ten gurus. A Sikh temple is called a Gurdwara (meaning "the house

of Guru"). It is the place of worship in the Sikh religion. Vaisakhi is an important festival celebrated by Sikhs and Hindus. Vaisakhi is also known as Basaki.

Judaism:

Judaism is the oldest religion in the world. Judaism was the first religion. Judaism began in

the middle east but today Jewish people live in countries all around the world. Half of the

world’s Jews live in the USA and a quarter live in Israel. The Jewish holy text is the Torah

which is written in ancient Hebrew. The core Jewish religious belief is that there is one

eternal God who is a spirit and has no human form. The synagogue is a building where Jews

go to worship God. Did you know that the Torah is given to the Jews by Moses? Their holy

day is Sabbath which is from sunset on Friday to sunset on sunset on Saturday.

Our religion obliges us to respect all other cultures, beliefs and people’s opinions regardless

their appearance. Also, everyone is free to believe what they choose.

By Rozjanne