The Five Major Religions Explained
(If you need help studying for AP Human Geography, click this).
The Major Religions and Important Vocab
(If you’re not here to study for AP Human Geography, skip ahead to “Quick Information About the Five Major Religions”).
If you’re reading this for AP Human Geography, the first thing you need to know is that while you should become familiar with the top five major religions, the AP exam multiple choice section is not going to be heavily focused on religion, other than a few questions. However, you might have a FRQ (free response question) that requires you to talk in depth about religion, so it’s important to at least know basic information about the topic.
The five major religions (those with the most followers) are:
1. Christianity (Over Two Billion)
2. Islam (1.2 Billion)
3. Hinduism (1.1 Billion Followers)
4. Buddhism (535 Million)
5. Judaism (14.6 Million )
Note: On the test, Hinduism is the third most popular religion, but if you include those who practice no religion, such as the agnostic or atheists, they take the third spot.
Universalizing Religions Verses Ethnic Religions
Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism are all universalizing religions, or those who seek converts and, as Albert.io says, “…look for new members and welcomes anyone and everyone who wish to adopt their belief system.”
Hinduism and Judaism are ethnic religions, which are religions that carry beliefs and practices that are specifically designed to appeal to one ethnicity. The religion has been “handed down” through generations, and a person who practices one of these religions is normally born into it. They also do not actively seek converts.
Ethnocentrism Verses Cultural Relativism
Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism are two concepts that describe the mindset of people witnessing culture other than their own, and the two different reactions that they can have. As an example, let’s use Buddhist meditation.
- Ethnocentrism is when a person views a culture through the eyes of their own culture. By doing this, a person might feel that their culture is superior to another without trying to understand the other culture. Taking the example of Buddhist meditation, an American who is Christian might see this as self indulgent, lazy, or boring because it appears to be a practice of just sitting for hours.
- Cultural Relativism is when a person understands another culture through that culture’s eyes. This results in an understanding between two cultures and often has positive effects. Using the Buddhist meditation example again, say this same Christian American sees a person meditate. They might look at that person and think that what they’re doing looks a little funny, but they might read more about it later and learn that there are positive effects to meditating. Even if they still do not choose to meditate, they do not feel superiority over that person and accepts their ideology without necessarily indulging in it.
If you are still confused, or I confused you more, Khan Academy gives a good example in this video.
Quick Information About the Five Major Religions
1. Christianity
The Facts
Founder: Jesus, who was a Jewish teacher and son of God.
Date of Founding: Christianity was founded in the 1st century CE as a Jewish Christian sect of Second Temple Judaism.
Holy City/Cultural Heart: Jerusalem, Israel
Monotheistic or Polytheistic: Monotheistic
Universalizing or Ethnic: Universalizing
Holy Writing: The Holy BibleNote: The cultural heart of a religion, or where a cultural practice such as religion began, is going to be where the followers of the religion are most fundamental.
Main Ideas:
- Belief in the Trinity: God (the Father), Jesus Christ (Son of God), and the Holy Spirit (God’s presence in the world).
- Death results in either the descent into hell or ascent into heaven.
- Repent and ask for forgiveness for your sins.
- Christians believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that he died for our sins.
- There are seven deadly sins (capital vices or cardinal sins): Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.
2. Islam
The Facts
Founder: Prophet Muhammad
Date of Founding: 7th century CE
Holy City/Cultural Heart: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Monotheistic or Polytheistic: Monotheistic
Universalizing or Ethnic: Universalizing
Holy Writing: QuranNote: The two most accepted religions are universalizing religions, which means that they actively seek converts. Think about how people have converted people in the past: through conquest and colonization. In modern days, the internet makes it easier for different groups of people to learn about different religions.
Main Ideas:
- Belief in one god, Allah. Allah means God in Arabic.
- The Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. The Quran is the unalterable word of Allah.
- Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam, mandatory practices of worship. Click here to see the Five Pillars.
- Muslims believe in divine decree. “Everything good or bad, all moments of happiness or sorrow, pleasure or pain, come from God. First, God’s foreknowledge is infallible. God is not indifferent to this world or its people.” (IslamReligion)
- Islamic law (sharia), which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, from banking and welfare to women and the environment.
- The six articles of faith: Belief in one god, belief in prophets, belief in holy books, belief in angles, belief in Day of Judgment, belief in destiny.
Extra Credit:
Watch this forty-five second video about the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
3. Hinduism
The Facts
Founder: There is no distinguished founder. The beliefs of the religion are a blend of Indo-Aryan culture and that of the natives of the Indus River Valley.
Date of Founding: 1500 B.C.
Holy City/Cultural Heart: The pilgrimage is called Kumbh Mela and it is to the River Ganges. The cultural hearth is the Indus River.
Universalizing or Ethnic: Ethnic
Holy Writing: Vedas
Monotheistic or Polytheistic: Polytheistic.Note: On the AP Geography test, the correct answer is polytheistic, although it is debated whether the religion is monotheistic or polytheistic.
Main Ideas:
- Truth is eternal.
- Brahman is Truth and Reality. The Brahman is the one true God who encompasses everything.
- The Vedas are the ultimate authority. “They are considered among the oldest, if not the oldest, religious works in the world.” (Ancient.eu)
- Everyone should strive to achieve dharma, meaning, should adhere to moral law.
- Individual souls are immortal.
- The goal of the individual soul is moksha. “Moksha is liberation: the soul’s release from the cycle of death and rebirth.” (Dummies)
Extra Credit:
Learn about the three main Hindu deities and understand how Hinduism can be both mono and polytheistic.
4. Buddhism
The Facts
Founder: Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha.
Date of Founding: 5th century BCE
Holy City/Cultural Heart: Nepal
Monotheistic or Polytheistic: Neither
Universalizing or Ethnic: Universalizing
Holy Writing: Tripitaka
Main Ideas:
The Three Universal Truths:
1. Everything is impermanent and changing
2. All life involves suffering (the Truth of Suffering)
3. Suffering is caused by desire and attachment (the Origin of Suffering)The Four Noble Truths:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)The Noble Eightfold Path:
1. Right understanding (Samma ditthi)
2. Right thought (Samma sankappa)
3. Right speech (Samma vaca)
4. Right action (Samma kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (Samma ajiva)
6. Right effort (Samma vayama)
7. Right mindfulness (Samma sati)
8. Right concentration (Samma samadhi)
Extra Credit:
Watch this documentary about the Buddha. (It’s my favorite documentary).
5. Judaism
The Facts
Founder: Abraham
Date of Founding: 4,000 years ago
Holy City/Cultural Heart: Jerusalem, Israel
Monotheistic or Polytheistic: Monotheistic
Universalizing or Ethnic: Ethnic
Holy Writing: Torah
Main Ideas:
The Ten Commandments
1. You shall have no other Gods but me.
2. You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
4. You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Respect your father and mother.
6. You must not commit murder.
7. You must not commit adultery.
8. You must not steal.
9. You must not give false evidence against your neighbor.
10. You must not be envious of your neighbor’s goods. You shall not be envious of his house nor his wife, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Resources
Check out the AMSCO Textbook chapter that I used as my primary resource for this article.
