RELIGION

Religion can be defined as a set of organized beliefs, practices, and cultural systems that deal with ultimate questions about life, death, and our place in the universe. Religions mostly involve belief in a higher power or a spiritual dimension. As discussed earlier, both philosophers and religious leaders have formally provided or tried to provide answers to philosophical questions on topics like the existence and attributes of God. The topic of philosophy has already been discussed earlier. Here in this section, I have discussed the topic of religion collectively as a group. Later in this website, I have done a more focused discussion on the prophetic religions of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.   

Major world religions

Estimating the exact number of religions is not easy, as numerous religions are practiced throughout the world. According to some estimates, there are over 4,000 religions, faith groups, and denominations that exist today in the world. However, researchers and academics generally categorize the religions into the following five major groups: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. 

Figure 1 shows the categorization of major world religions as described by Dr. Zakir Naik, a leading Islamic scholar and an expert in the field of comparative religion. 

Dr. Zakir Naik explains, “Religions of the world can be broadly categorized into Semitic religions and non-Semitic religions. Non-Semitic religions can be divided into Aryan religions and non-Aryan religions. Semitic religions are religions that originated among the Semites. According to the Bible, Prophet Noah (pbuh) had a son called Shem. The descendants of Shem are known as Semites. Therefore, Semitic religions are the religions that originated among the Jews, Arabs, Assyrians, Phoenicians, etc. Major Semitic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All these religions are Prophetic religions that believe in Divine Guidance sent through prophets of God.” 

“The non-Semitic religions are further subdivided into Aryan and non-Aryan religions. Aryan religions are the religions that originated among the Aryans, a powerful group of Indo-European speaking people that spread through Iran and Northern India in the first half of the second millennium BC (2000 to 1500 BC). The Aryan Religions are further subdivided into Vedic and non-Vedic religions. The Vedic Religion is given the misnomer of Hinduism or Brahminism. The non-Vedic Religions are Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc. Almost all Aryan religions are non-prophetic religions. Zoroastrianism is an Aryan, non-Vedic religion, which is not associated with Hinduism. It claims to be a prophetic religion. The non-Aryan religions have diverse origins. Confucianism and Taoism are of Chinese origin while Shintoism is of Japanese origin. Many of these non-Aryan religions do not have a concept of God. They are better referred to as ethical systems rather than as religions.” 

Religions and God

Religions are directly related to the topic of God. However, there is a large variation in the concept of God among various religions. Table 1 gives an idea about the concept of God in some famous world religions. 

The religion of Islam strictly adheres to monotheism. Muslims worship Allah as the sole, All-Powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Judaism believes in a single, transcendent God, Yahweh, Who is Omnipotent, and Omnipresent. The name of God mostly used in Jewish sacred books is Elohim or Tetragrammaton. The word Yahweh for God is derived from the word Tetragrammaton. Jews take some other names for God as well, like Adonai, and HaShem. According to the Judaist belief, Yahweh established a covenant with the Jewish people and actively participated in their historical events. Monotheism in Christianity is somewhat different from monotheism in Islam and Judaism. Christians believe in the Trinity – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – as one God. Monotheism in Christianity is also sometimes referred to as trinitarian monotheism.

Buddhism generally does not believe in a god in the traditional sense as Buddhism focuses on achieving enlightenment through personal effort rather than worshipping a deity. The core teaching of Buddhism revolves around understanding and overcoming suffering (dukkha) through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. However, some forms of Buddhism acknowledge supernatural figures like devas (celestial beings). However, these are not creators or all-powerful and are themselves caught in the cycle of rebirth. Buddhists have statues and images of the Buddha, but they are not considered idols in the traditional sense. The primary purpose of Buddha statues is to serve as a focal point for meditation and reflection. Offering bows or making offerings in front of a Buddha statue by many Buddhists is a way to show respect and gratitude for the Buddha's teachings.

Hinduism is commonly perceived as a polytheistic religion and most Hindus would attest to this by professing belief in multiple gods. While some Hindus believe in the existence of three gods, others believe in thousands of gods, and some even in 330 million Gods. Common Hindus believe in the philosophy of Pantheism. However, learned Hindus insist that a Hindu should believe in and worship only one God. So, there is no single answer to how many gods there are in Hinduism. The number of gods depends on the interpretation and perspective within Hinduism. 

Here, I have only very briefly mentioned the concept of God in five prominent religions. We can see the diversity in the concept of God even among these five major religions. Considering other religions as well will further increase this diversity. However, covering all the religions is not possible here, as we know that there are more than 4,000 religions and belief systems in the world. 

Thus, as in the case of philosophy, religions collectively do not provide a single undisputed concept of God. This implies that we cannot blindly follow any religion out of more than 4,000 religions and belief systems in the world in the hope of reaching the truth. So, blindly following a religion may not lead you toward the truth; rather, it may completely misguide you. 

Now, how can we know which religion provides the true concept of God? Or are they all wrong? Answering these questions correctly will require further investigation rather than blindly following any religion. This further investigation is included later in this website page.