Religion today is a very influential aspect of human lives. And although there are countless religions, each different from the other, they all serve the same purpose. Each of them tries to give answer to the questions, which all humans seem to be asking themselves: Why are we here? What happens when we die? How shall we live our lives? Moreover, religion helps us to transmit our values from one generation to another, and influences the way we think and interact with the natural environment. It teaches us how to see ourselves in light of the universe and it also gives purpose and meaning to our life. Today there are five major religions in the world. They are: Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.

Islam

Followers of Islam known as Muslims, believe that God(or, in Arabic, Allah) revealed his direct word for mankind to Muhammad and other prophets. Muslims assert that the main written record of revelation to humankind is the Qur’an (Koran), which they believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God. Muslims believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books (though originally divine in their nature) have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers and thus, their original message has been corrupted over time. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur’an as a corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures.

Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the messengers sent by God to mankind since Adam, with the Qur'ān (the one definitive text of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation of God. Islamic teaching sees Judaism and Christianity as derivations of the teachings of certain of these prophets - notably Abraham - and therefore acknowledges their Abrahamic roots, whilst the Qur'an calls them People of the Book. Islam has three primary branches of belief, based largely on a historical disagreement over the succession of authority after Muhammad's death; these are known as Sunni, Shi’ite and Kharjite. The basis of Islamic belief is found in the "two testimonies"— "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God." In order to become a Muslim, one needs to recite and believe in these statements. Sunnis further regard this as one of the five pillars of Islam.

Judaism

Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The tenets and history of Judaism are the major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions, including Christianity and Islam

. Over at least the last two thousand years, Judaism has not been monolithic in practice, and has not had any centralized authority or binding dogma. Despite this, Judaism in all its variations has remained tightly bound to a number of religious principles, the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, transcendent God that created the universe, and continues to be involved in its governance. According to Jewish thought, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. Jewish practice is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as they are interpreted according to various ancient and modern authorities.

Judaism does not easily fit into conventional western categories in part because of its 4,000-year history. During this time, Jews have experienced slavery, anarchic self-government, theocratic self-government, conquest, occupation, and exile; they have been in contact with, and influenced by ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenic cultures, as well as modern movements such as the Enlightenment and the rise of nationalism. Thus, Daniel Boyarin has argued that "Jewishness disrupts the very categories of identity, because it is not national, not genealogical, not religious, but all of these, in dialectical tension."

Buddhism

Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha ("Buddha" means "enlightened one"), who lived and taught in northern Inda in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering.

Gautama Buddha taught the four noble truths: that there is suffering, that suffering has a cause, that suffering has an end and that there is a path that leads to the end of suffering. He saw that all phenomena in life are impermanent and that our attachment to the idea of substantial and enduring self is an illusion which is the principle cause of suffering. Freedom from self liberates the heart from greed hatred and delusion and opens the mind to wisdom and the heart to kindness and compassion.

Christianity

The central figure in Christianity is Jesus (or Christ), a Jew who came into this world by Immaculate Conception to a virgin named Mary. This man was not only a man, but also he was the Son of God and he lived his life without sin. 

    During his lifetime, Jesus performed many miracles and spoke to many people about his father in heaven. He was arrested for claiming to be God's son and was hung on the cross by the Romans at age 33. Christians believe that the suffering and death upon the cross, which this sinless man endured, paid for the sins of all mankind, and because of Jesus' actions, salvation can be achieved by anyone who believes in him.

    Following his death, Christians believe that he rose from the grave (celebrated at Easter) and returned to the earth, appearing to his followers and telling them of the kingdom of God to which he was going. He also promised to his disciples that he would return one day to bring all believers with him to that kingdom, to enjoy eternal life in the presence of God.

  The only Christian holy text is the Bible. It consists of the Old Testament (which is also considered sacred to Judaism and Islam) and the New Testament. The Old Testament chronicles the lives of Jews and others who lived before Jesus, who had been promised a saviour by God, and were waiting for him. The New Testament is unique to Christianity, for it centres on the figure of Jesus and his contributions to the world. Christians believe that Jesus is the one that the Old Testament foretold, so instead of looking for a saviour, they await the return of Jesus so that he can take them to his kingdom, or heaven.

Hinduism is based on the concept that human and animal spirits reincarnate, or come back to earth to live many times in different forms. The belief that souls move up and down an infinite hierarchy depending on the behaviours they practiced in their life is visible in many of the Hindu societal policies. For example, it is believed that a if person is born into the highest class it is because they behaved well in a past life, and if a person is born into poverty and shame this is because of misbehaviours in a past life.

    Today, a Hindu can be polytheistic (more than one god), monotheistic (one god), pantheistic (god and the universe are one), agnostic (unsure if god exists), or atheistic (no god) and still claim to be Hindu. This open theology makes it difficult to discuss basic beliefs since there are many ideas about what Hinduism means.

    Some of the central concepts to Hinduism are those of reincarnation, the caste system, merging with brahman (or the ultimate reality), finding morality, and reaching Nirvana (the peaceful escape from the cycle of reincarnation).

    Religious documents of Hinduism include Sruti, (what is heard) and Smriti, (what is remembered). The Sruti include deeply religious things communicated to a seer and recorded. The Vedas, the religious writings, include mantras (hymns of praise), brahmanas (sacrificial rituals) and upanishads (108 sacred teachings). The Smriti include the law (books of laws), puranas (myths, stories, legends) and epics (sets of holy myths including Ramayana and Mahabharata).

    The Hindu paths to salvation include the way of works (rituals), the way of knowledge (realization of reality and self-reflection), and the way of devotion (devotion to the god that you choose to follow). If the practitioner follows the paths of these ways, salvation can be achieved.