World Religion

Religion is a hard word to define. Some might define religion as believing in a high power, deities, or a single God. Others define it as a belief system that has more to do with culture and traditions being past down from generation to generation than anything. According to Ask.com (n.d.), religion is define as the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. No one knows what the first religion was or when it was founded, but today there are countless religions that people are associate with. The top five religions of the world today are Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hindu. Over 33% of the world population consider themselves Christians, 21% Islam, Hindu is 14%, Buddhism 6% and Judaism 0.22% (Adherents.com, 2007). The word Islam means “peace and to be in submission to God”. Islam is a religion that I have always had interested in, but have never done thorough research on until now. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, and the second largest religion behind Christianity. Of the five major religions that are practiced today, Islam is the youngest one and did not come into existence until 622 CE. The founder of was a man name Muhammad who was born in Mecca which is located in Saudi Arabia. His name means the “The Praised One” (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2007). Mohammad’s father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. At the age of 25 he married a name Khadijah who was 15 years older then him. At the age of 40 years old, he claimed and tells a story of how he received a revelation from Allah (God). He says that Gabriel an Angel of Allah appeared to him one day while he was in a cave meditating and praying. The reason that Allah revealed this message to him was because Allah wanted him to re-establish the current religion that man had distorted by making changes to it (Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 2007). I had a privilege to

References: Adherents.com. (2007, April 19). Major religion of the world. Retrieved July 26, 2007, from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html Ask.com. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2007, from http://www.ask.com/reference/dictionary/ahdict/20645/religi on Muhammad. (2007). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 27, 2007, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-251790/Muhammad