Population of the middle east

In our world today we have many people (7.4 billion and counting) from all different nationalities and different countries. We do not look alike, sound alike, or even think alike. Coming from different backgrounds means we were raised differently and have different beliefs. Religion can be based on the country we live in, but just because you are from a certain place does not mean you practice that religion. There are many religions all different from each other let me explain a few.

Hinduism originated in India and is a major world religion and is estimated to be practiced by 760 million people. The word Hindu is taken from the word Sindhu meaning “river”, Persians called the Hindus by that name is the 5th century, identifying them as the land of the Indus. Hindus believe that the universe is a great enclosed sphere within which are numerous heavens, hells, oceans, and continent with India at the center. They acknowledge and worship several gods and demigods primarily to a single god or goddess for example Shiva, Vishnu, and most popular the Goddess.

Get quality help now

Sweet V

Verified writer

Proficient in: Asia

4.9 (984)

“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The main beliefs of Hinduism is essentially what people do rather than what they think. Hinduism can be divided into two groups, those who seek the sacred and profane of this world examples may include health, children, and wealth. The other group are those who seek release from the world. Hindus most important ceremonies are the ones that involve rites of passage. Rights of passage may be the first time a child eats solid food, the haircut of a young boy, purification of first menstruation; marriage, blessings upon pregnancy to produce a male child and to ensure the child’s survival of the six dangerous days after birth.

Hindus prohibit the eating of meat especially beef. There are no doctrinal or ecclesiastical hierarchy that exists in Hinduism.

The people of Israel, also known as Palestine in the middle east, practice Judaism which is one of the worlds oldest continuing religion. The Jewish people believe in radical monotheism that a single God created the Universe and continues providently to govern it. God’s will for humankind is expressed in commandments by which individuals are to regulate their lives in interacting with one another and with God. By following God’s laws and submitting to the divine will humanity will become a harmonious part of the cosmos. Another major part of Judaism is covenant, or rebirth, contractual agreement between God and the Jewish people. Jewish people would acknowledge God as their sole ultimate king and legislator agreeing and obeying to his laws and in return God would acknowledge Israel as his people and be especially mindful to them. Messianism is a Jewish belief that God will send his messiah, one anointed with oil as king, a scion of the royal house of David, to redeem Jews and restore them to sovereignty in their land. Traditionally Jewish people pray three times a day in the morning, afternoon, and evening. These times are deemed to correspond to the times when sacrifices were offered in the Jerusalem temple. Dietary needs are important in the Jewish religion. Jewish people are not to eat certain animals such as those that are considered unclean for example pigs and fish without fins or scales. Also, meat and milk products are not to be eaten together. The Jewish people have some festivals and certain days that they celebrate; such as the Sabbath which is every seventh day no work is performed. Five major festivals Passover, Sukkoth, Shabuoth, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and two minor ones Hanukkah, and Purim. They also celebrate Bar Mitzvah, which is the celebration of legal maturing of a thirteen-year-old male. In America Judaism has descended largely from central European Jews. Multiple forms of Judaism are in America today such as Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox which have resulted from the adaptation of these Jewish immigrant groups to American life and their accommodations to one another.

Also, in India some practice a religion known as Buddhism. Buddhism has been around since about 500 B.C by a teacher called the Buddha. It has about 350 million followers most of which live in Tibet, other regions of China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Sri Lanka, and mainland South East Asia. Buddhism takes refuge meaning they seek comfort, guidance, and security in (1) Buddha, and (2) his teachings called the Dharma, (3) religious community he founded called the Sangha. These three elements of Buddhism are known as the three refugees or three jewels. Buddha is given to a person believed to have achieved Nirvana and has been transcended the cycle of rebirth known as Samsara. The first Buddha and founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama who was born around 400 or 500 B.C. in Nepal. He preached that each person’s position and well-being in life was determined by his or her behavior in previous lives. Meditation is a crucial part to Buddhism. Zen is the best-known type of meditation. Some people believe that Zen is comes in a sudden flash of insight while others believe that it must be achieved gradually though a long process of self-discipline, meditation, and instruction. The monostatic community has played an important role in preserving and spreading Buddhism. There are three Buddhist schools in which Buddhism is practiced their called the Theravada, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana. All these aspects make up Buddhism.

Another religion that I am most familiar with is Christianity. There is a lot to learn about Christianity, but I will just say some major things. The total membership may exceed 1.7 billion people. Christianity is said to be a community, a way of life, a system of belief; a liturgical observance, a tradition, and it also has a centrality of a person called Jesus Christ. His life and example should be followed and that his teachings about love and fellowship should be the basis of human relations. All this is known of Jesus historically is told in the Gospels of the New Testament, the Bible. Christians call Jesus as the “son of God”, and that all that Christ was and did his followers might share that in the life of the father in heaven and might themselves become children of God. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are known as what reconciled humanity to God. The cross is a focus of the Christian faith and its devotion the principal symbol of saving love of God of Father. Christians teach that God is almighty and in domain over all that is heaven and on Earth, righteous in judgement over good and evil, but above all “God is love”. Christians have Baptism in which they professed their faith and lives to God, “in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, or, “in the name of Christ”. It is common with adults but mainly infants. Christians worship God in a place of community call a church. This religion is the most common is America but is practiced almost all over the world.

Now let me inform you about the Islam religion. Islam was founded in Arabia based on the teachings of Muhammed, who is called the prophet. The Arabian word “Islam” literally means “submission”, but as a religious term in the Koran it means, “submission to the will or law of God.” One who practices Islam is a Muslim, also Islam is believed to freely accept God’s commandments. About one billion people practice Islam and it has rapidly been growing in the U.S, North Africa and the Middle East, Senegal to Somalia; Turkey and Central Asia, Pakistan, India; Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia; the Philippines, and a small percentage in China. Islam is the second largest religion in Europe. The two fundamental sources of the Islamic doctrine is the practice of the Koran and the Sunna, or the extremely conduct of the prophet of Muhammed. The Koran is the speech of God to Muhammed mediated by Gabriel, the angel of revelation, they believe that God himself not Muhammed is the author therefore the Koran in infallible. Both Islamic and non-Islamic scholars agree in the integrity of the text of the Koran throughout its history. The Sunna is the example of the prophet known through Hadith. It is a body of traditions based on what the prophet said or did regarding various issues. The Sunna dates to the ninth century and unlike the Koran it is considered infallible. Islam also believe in monotheism which is the belief of only one God unitary and omnipotent. It is also believed that God has four fundamental functions with respect to the universe and to the humanity. The four functions are creation, sustenance, guidance, and judgement. Another thing is that the Islam religion has five duties known as the “pillars on the Islam”. These five duties are regarded as cardinal in Islam and the central to the life of the Islamic community. Provision on faith is the first one, then five daily prayers, to pay zakat which a tax primarily to help the poor; fasting in the month of Ramadan is the fourth, and finally pilgrimage to Kaaba at Mecca. There is also Islamic law which is called Sharia, this spells out the goals of the community. The Islamic law includes both legal and moral imperatives. Much of this depends on the conscience alone though.

Finally, the last religion I am going to mention is Baha’i Faith. Baha’i Faith is a religion founded by Baha Ullah and promoted by his eldest son, Abdul Baha. There are about five million people who currently practice the Baha’i religion and it is mainly in Iran and India. Although it is also known in Africa and the U.S. The Baha’i Faith believes that God can be made known to humankind through manifestations that have come at various styles of human progress. Also, in the unity of all religions, universal education, world peace, and equality of men and women.

Something that I found interesting about all these different religions were the dietary restrictions. How in the Judaism religion they cannot eat pigs or certain kinds of fish and how they can not eat milk products with meat. That would be a challenge for me to do. In conclusion, we all come from different backgrounds and practice different interesting religions.