Major Religions of the World:

In all societies throughout history people have felt the need for religion. A religion is a set of beliefs that relies on spiritual faith in its followers. Most religions have a god or gods and provide answers to questions such as how the world was created and what happens after death. Religions often have special rituals that act as ways of communicating with the gods or marking major events in a person’s life. Finally, religions usually involve an ethical code, a set of rules that believers try to live by.

There are six major organized world religions – Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Sikhism – and many smaller religions. For many people, religion provides moral guidance, a sense that life has a meaning, and a feeling of shared values and community. Yet in some places, religious conflict has led to war.