Those who lived millennia ago had their own beliefs, deities and religion. With the development of human civilization, religion also developed, new beliefs and currents appeared, and it is impossible to unequivocally conclude whether religion depended on the level of development of civilization or vice versa, it was people's beliefs that were one of the guarantees of progress. IN modern world there are thousands of beliefs and religions, some of which have millions of adherents, while others have only a few thousand or even hundreds of believers.

Religion is one of the forms of understanding the world, which is based on faith in higher powers. As a rule, each religion includes a number of moral and ethical norms and rules of conduct, religious rituals and rituals, and also unites a group of believers into an organization. All religions rely on a person's belief in supernatural forces, as well as on the relationship of believers with their deity (deities). Despite the apparent difference in religions, many postulates and dogmas different beliefs very similar, and this is especially noticeable in the comparison of the major world religions.

Major world religions

Modern researchers of religions distinguish three main religions of the world, the adherents of which are the vast majority of all believers on the planet. These religions are Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as numerous currents, offshoots and based on these beliefs. Each of the world's religions has more than a thousand years of history, scriptures and a number of cults and traditions that believers should observe. As for the geography of distribution of these beliefs, then if even less than 100 years ago it was possible to draw more or less clear boundaries and recognize Europe, America, South Africa and Australia - "Christian" parts of the world, North Africa and the Middle East - Muslim, and the states located in the southeastern part of Eurasia - Buddhist, now every year this division is becoming more and more conditional, since on the streets of European cities more and more you can meet Buddhists and Muslims, and in secular states Central Asia a Christian temple and a mosque can be located on the same street.

The founders of world religions are known to every person: the founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ, Islam - the prophet Mohammed, Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name Buddha (enlightened). However, it should be noted that Christianity and Islam have common roots in Judaism, since the beliefs of Islam also include the prophet Isa ibn Maryam (Jesus) and other apostles and prophets whose teachings are recorded in the Bible, but Islamists are sure that the fundamental teachings are still the teachings of the prophet Mohammed, who was sent to earth later than Jesus.

Buddhism

Buddhism is the oldest of the world's major religions, with a history of more than two and a half thousand years. This religion originated in the southeast of India, its founder is considered to be Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who achieved enlightenment through contemplation and meditation and began to share the truth that had been revealed to him with other people. Based on the teachings of the Buddha, his followers wrote the Pali Canon (Tripitaka), which is considered a sacred book by the followers of most of the currents of Buddhism. The main currents of Buddhism today are Hinayama (Theravada Buddhism - "Narrow Path to Liberation"), Mahayana ("Wide Path to Liberation") and Vajrayana ("Diamond Path").

Despite some differences between the orthodox and new currents of Buddhism, this religion is based on the belief in reincarnation, karma and the search for the path of enlightenment, after which you can free yourself from the endless chain of rebirths and achieve enlightenment (nirvana). The difference between Buddhism and other major religions of the world is the belief of Buddhists that a person’s karma depends on his actions, and everyone goes his own way of enlightenment and is responsible for his own salvation, and the gods, whose existence Buddhism recognizes, do not play key role in the fate of man, since they are also subject to the laws of karma.

Christianity

The birth of Christianity is considered to be the first century of our era; The first Christians appeared in Palestine. However, given that the Old Testament of the Bible, the holy book of Christians, was written much before birth Jesus Christ, it is safe to say that the roots of this religion are in Judaism, which arose for almost a millennium before Christianity. Today, there are three main areas of Christianity - Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy, branches of these areas, as well as those who also consider themselves Christians.

At the heart of the beliefs of Christians is the belief in the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in angels and demons and in the afterlife. The difference between the three main areas of Christianity is that Orthodox Christians, unlike Catholics and Protestants, do not believe in the existence of purgatory, and Protestants consider inner faith to be the key to the salvation of the soul, and not the observance of many sacraments and rites, so the churches of Protestant Christians are more modest than the churches of Catholics and Orthodox, as well as the number of church sacraments among Protestants is less than among Christians who adhere to other currents of this religion.

Islam

Islam is the youngest of the world's major religions, it originated in the 7th century in Arabia. The holy book of Muslims is the Quran, which contains the teachings and instructions of the prophet Mohammed. On this moment There are three main branches of Islam - Sunnis, Shiites and Kharijites. The main difference between the first and other branches of Islam is that the Sunnis consider the first four caliphs to be the legal successors of Magomed, and, in addition to the Koran, they recognize the sunnahs telling about the prophet Magomed as sacred books, and the Shiites believe that only his direct blood can be the successors of the Prophet descendants. Kharijites are the most radical offshoot of Islam, the beliefs of the supporters of this trend are similar to those of the Sunnis, however, the Kharijites recognize only the first two caliphs as successors of the Prophet.

Muslims believe in the one God of Allah and his prophet Mohammed, in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife. Islam is very great attention allotted to the observance of traditions and religious rites - every Muslim must perform salah (daily five times prayer), fast in Ramadan and at least once in his life make a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Common in the three major world religions

Despite the difference in rituals, beliefs and certain dogmas of Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, all these beliefs have some common features, and the similarity of Islam and Christianity is especially noticeable. Belief in one God, in the existence of the soul, in the afterlife, in fate and in the possibility of the help of higher powers - these are the dogmas that are inherent in both Islam and Christianity. The beliefs of Buddhists differ significantly from the religions of Christians and Muslims, but the similarity between all world religions is clearly visible in the moral and behavioral standards that believers must comply with.

The 10 Biblical Commandments that Christians are required to observe, the laws prescribed in the Koran, and the Noble Eightfold Path contain moral norms and rules of conduct prescribed for believers. And these rules are the same everywhere - all the major religions of the world forbid believers from doing atrocities, harming other living beings, lying, behaving loosely, rudely or disrespectfully towards other people and urge to treat other people with respect, care and and develop in character positive traits.

Faith in God surrounds a person from infancy. In childhood, this still unconscious choice is associated with family traditions that exist in every home. But later a person can consciously change his confession. How are they similar and how do they differ from one another?

The concept of religion and the prerequisites for its appearance

The word "religion" comes from the Latin religio (piety, shrine). This is a worldview, behavior, actions based on faith in something that surpasses human understanding and supernatural, that is, sacred. The beginning and meaning of any religion is faith in God, regardless of whether he is personified or impersonal.

There are several prerequisites for the emergence of religion. First, from time immemorial, man has been trying to go beyond the boundaries of this world. He seeks to find salvation and consolation outside of it, sincerely needs faith.

Secondly, the person wants to give objective assessment the world. And then, when he cannot explain the origin of earthly life only by natural laws, he makes the assumption that a supernatural force is applied to all this.

Thirdly, a person believes that various events and occurrences of a religious nature confirm the existence of God. The list of religions for people of faith already serves real proof the existence of God. They explain it very simply. If there were no God, there would be no religion.

The oldest types, forms of religion

The birth of religion took place 40 thousand years ago. It was then that the emergence of the simplest forms of religious beliefs was noted. It was possible to learn about them thanks to the discovered burials, as well as rock and cave art.

In accordance with this, the following types of ancient religions are distinguished:

  • Totemism. A totem is a plant, animal or object that was considered sacred by a particular group of people, tribe, clan. At the heart of this ancient religion there was a belief in the supernatural power of the amulet (totem).
  • Magic. This form of religion, based on belief in magical abilities person. The magician with the help of symbolic actions is able to influence the behavior of other people, natural phenomena and objects from a positive and negative side.
  • Fetishism. From among any objects (the skull of an animal or a person, a stone or a piece of wood, for example), one was chosen to which supernatural properties were attributed. He was supposed to bring good luck and protect from danger.
  • Animism. All natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. She is immortal and continues to live outside the body even after his death. All modern views religions are based on the belief in the existence of the soul and spirits.
  • Shamanism. It was believed that the head of the tribe or the clergyman had supernatural powers. He entered into conversation with the spirits, listened to their advice and fulfilled the requirements. Belief in the power of the shaman is at the heart of this form of religion.

List of religions

There are more than a hundred different religious denominations in the world, including ancient forms and modern trends. They have their own time of occurrence and differ in the number of followers. But at the core of this big list lie the three most numerous world religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Each of them has different directions.

World religions in the form of a list can be represented as follows:

1. Christianity (almost 1.5 billion people):

  • Orthodoxy (Russia, Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia);
  • Catholicism (states Western Europe, Poland Czech Republic, Lithuania and others);
  • Protestantism (USA, Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, Australia).

2. Islam (about 1.3 billion people):

  • Sunnism (Africa, Central and South Asia);
  • Shiism (Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan).

3. Buddhism (300 million people):

  • Hinayana (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand);
  • Mahayana (Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam).

National religions

In addition, in every corner of the world there are national and traditional religions, also with their own directions. They originated or gained special distribution in certain countries. On this basis, the following types of religions are distinguished:

  • Hinduism (India);
  • Confucianism (China);
  • Taoism (China);
  • Judaism (Israel);
  • Sikhism (Punjab state in India);
  • Shinto (Japan);
  • paganism (Indian tribes, peoples of the North and Oceania).

Christianity

This religion originated in Palestine in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Its appearance is associated with faith in the birth of Jesus Christ. At the age of 33, he was martyred on the cross to atone for the sins of the people, after which he resurrected and ascended to heaven. Thus, the son of God, who embodied supernatural and human nature, became the founder of Christianity.

The documentary basis of doctrine is the Bible (or Holy Bible), consisting of two independent collections of the Old and New Testaments. The writing of the first of them is closely connected with Judaism, from which Christianity originates. New Testament was written after the birth of religion.

The symbols of Christianity are the Orthodox and Catholic crosses. The main provisions of faith are defined in dogmas, which are based on faith in God, who created the world and man himself. The objects of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Islam

Islam, or Moslemism, originated among the Arab tribes of Western Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century in Mecca. The founder of the religion was the prophet Muhammad. This man from childhood was prone to loneliness and often indulged in pious reflections. According to the teachings of Islam, at the age of 40, on Mount Hira, the heavenly messenger Jabrail (Archangel Gabriel) appeared to him, who left an inscription in his heart. Like many other world religions, Islam is based on the belief in one God, but in Islam it is called Allah.

Holy Scripture - Koran. The symbols of Islam are the star and the crescent. The main provisions of the Muslim faith are contained in dogmas. They must be recognized and unquestioningly fulfilled by all believers.

The main types of religion are Sunnism and Shiism. Their appearance is connected with political disagreements between believers. Thus, the Shiites to this day believe that only the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad carry the truth, while the Sunnis think that it should be an elected member of the Muslim community.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC. Homeland - India, after which the teaching spread to the countries of the South-East, South, Central Asia and on Far East. Considering how many other most numerous types of religions exist, we can safely say that Buddhism is the most ancient of them.

The founder of the spiritual tradition is Buddha Gautama. It was a common person, whose parents were honored with a vision that their son would grow up to be a Great Teacher. The Buddha was also lonely and contemplative, and turned to religion very quickly.

There is no object of worship in this religion. The goal of all believers is to reach nirvana, the blissful state of insight, to be freed from their own fetters. Buddha for them is a kind of ideal, which should be equal.

Buddhism is based on the doctrine of the four Noble Truths: on suffering, on the origin and causes of suffering, on the true cessation of suffering and the elimination of its sources, on true path to the end of suffering. This path consists of several stages and is divided into three stages: wisdom, morality and concentration.

New religious currents

In addition to those religions that originated a very long time ago, new creeds still continue to appear in the modern world. They are still based on faith in God.

The following types of modern religions can be noted:

  • scientology;
  • neo-shamanism;
  • neopaganism;
  • Burkhanism;
  • neo-Hinduism;
  • raelites;
  • oomoto;
  • and other currents.

This list is constantly being modified and supplemented. Some types of religions are especially popular among show business stars. For example, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta are seriously passionate about Scientology.

This religion originated in 1950 thanks to science fiction writer L. R. Hubbard. Scientologists believe that any person is inherently good, his success and peace of mind depend on him. According to the fundamental principles of this religion, humans are immortal beings. Their experience is longer than one human life and the possibilities are unlimited.

But everything is not so clear in this religion. In many countries, it is believed that Scientology is a sect, a pseudo-religion with a lot of capital. Despite this trend is very popular, especially in Hollywood.

Have a good day everyone! The concept of religions is found quite often in exams in the humanities. Therefore, I would recommend looking at these religions of the world, their list, in order to better navigate them.

A little about the concept of "World Religions". Often, it refers to the three main religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. This understanding is not complete to say the least. Since these religious systems have different currents. In addition, there are a number of religions that also unite many people. Before publishing the list, I also recommend that you read the article about .

List of world religions

Abrahamic religions- these are religions that go back to one of the first religious patriarchs - Abraham.

Christianity- briefly about this religion you can. It is presented today in several directions. The key ones are Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the New Testament). It unites about 2.3 billion people today

Islam- how religion took shape in the 7th century new era and absorbed the revelations of Allah to its own prophet Muhammad. It was from him that the prophet learned that one should pray a hundred times a day. However, Muhammad asked Allah to reduce the number of prayers, and as a result, Allah allowed to pray five times a day. By the way, the concepts of heaven and hell in Islam and Christianity are somewhat different. Paradise here is the quintessence of earthly goods. Holy book Quran. Unites today about 1.5 billion people.

Judaism- the religion of the predominantly Jewish people, unites 14 million adherents. Most of all I was struck by the divine service: in its time one can behave quite naturally. The Holy Book of the Bible (mainly the Old Testament).

Other religions

Hinduism- unites about 900 million followers and includes faith in the eternal soul (atman) and in the universal God. This religion and others like it are also called dharmic - from the Sanskrit word "dharma" - things, the nature of things. Religious priests here are called Brahmins. Key idea- in the rebirth of souls. Who cares, except for jokes, look at Vysotsky: a song about the transmigration of souls.

Buddhism- unites over 350 million adherents. It comes from the fact that the soul is bound by the wheel of samsara - the wheel of reincarnations, and only work on oneself can allow it to break out of this circle into nirvana - eternal bliss. There are different branches of Buddhism: Zen Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. The sacred texts are called Tripitaka.

Zoroastrianism(“Good Faith”) is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, incorporates faith in the single god Ahura Mazda and his prophet Zarathushtra, unites about 7 million people. Religion embodies belief in good and evil thoughts. The latter are the enemies of God and must be eradicated. Light is the physical embodiment of God and is worthy of reverence, which is why this religion is also called fire worship. Thus, in my opinion, this is the most honest religion, since it is thoughts that determine a person, and not his actions. If you agree with this - put like at the end of the post!

Jainism- unites approximately 4 million adherents and proceeds from the fact that all living beings are eternally living in the spiritual world, calls for self-improvement through the cultivation of wisdom and other virtues.

Sikhism- unites about 23 million adherents and includes the understanding of God as the Absolute and as a part of every person. Worship happens through meditation.

Juche is a North Korean political ideology that many refer to as a religion. It was formed on the basis of the transformation of the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and synthesis with traditional Chinese philosophy.

Confucianism- in the strict sense of the word, it is a more ethical and philosophical doctrine than religion and combines ideas about proper behavior, ritual and tradition, which, according to Confucius, must be represented. The main treatise is Lun-yu. Consolidates about 7 million people.

Shintoism- this religion is prevalent mainly in Japan, so read about it.

Khao Dai- a fairly new religious system that appeared in 1926 and combines many provisions of Buddhism, Lamaism, etc. Calls for equality between the sexes, pacifism, etc. It originated in Vietnam. In essence, religion embodies everything that has been lacking in this region of the planet for a long time.

I hope you got an idea about the religions of the world! Like, subscribe for new articles.

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov

We all know that the planet Earth is multinational and, of course, each country has its own religion, and some even have several. Some people have chosen a path without faith and call themselves atheists. In this article, we will try to list the various religions and show their main differences from each other. So the religions different countries peace.

Religions around the world

  • Christianity is the largest in terms of the number of believers world religion. This religion is based on the teachings Jesus Christ. In addition, since 1054, the Christian Church split into the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, and even later (in the 16th century) another piece broke away from the Catholic Church (as a result of the reformation movement) and the new movement began to be called Protestantism. Thus Christianity includes three religions -Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism. Protestantism includes several other branches, such as Baptism, Anabaptism, Calvinism, Lutheranism, Mormons, and of course Jehovah's Witnesses.

The main book of Christianity is the Bible. Christians believe in one God who exists in three forms - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. chief sacred symbol is the cross. Each religion has its own place where you can communicate with the Almighty. In Christianity, all prayers and services take place in the Houses of God, i.e. Churches, Cathedrals, Temples, Chapels.

  • Islam is the second largest religion. The adherents of this religion are called Muslims who believe in a single creator - Allah(Allah is translated as "He who is worshiped"). This religion appeared in the 7th century in Arabia. The founder of this religion is prophet Muhammad, and the main holy book is the Quran. The Muslim Church is called the Mosque.

  • Buddhism is one of the world's oldest religions, which arose in the VI century BC. The prince founded this religion Siddhartha Gautama, who later received a new name - Buddha, which means "Enlightened". The main teaching is Karma, i.e. all your deeds will be credited to you in next life when you are reborn, so a Buddhist should be at rest and do no harm to anyone. When a Buddhist reaches complete rest, i.e. Nirvana, then he merges with Buddha. The main difference between Buddhism and other religions is that they don't have a god.

  • Judaism is considered primarily a Jewish religion. They believe in one God and in the immortality of the soul. The main holy book of the Jews is considered Talmud and their church is called the Synagogue.

OM is a sacred, "eternal syllable" used in Hinduism and Buddhism during religious ceremonies, when reading prayers, at the beginning of texts of religious content. OM is a symbol of the highest holiness, Brahman - the Absolute of Indian philosophy and the God of the Hindu religion.

  • Hinduism is a purely Indian religion, which in fact is not integral, but simply includes many small Indian religious movements, so this religion does not have any unified teachings and some kind of system. There is a common key concept - Dharma, which means "Eternal order and integrity of the world."

Symbol of Confucianism

  • Confucianism is not just a religion, but a philosophical religion. Appeared in China in the VI century BC, and it was created by a wandering teacher Confucius. Religion is common only in China. The main principle is “Do not wish for others what you do not wish for yourself”, and the main concept of this religion is ideal relationships in the family and society.
  • Atheism - Completes our list of religions anti-religion. Atheism is translated as "Godlessness", i.e. atheists are people who deny the existence of God, or another higher power. They adhere to the worldview that nothing supernatural can be.

Since ancient times, people have believed in supernatural forces and beings that control the phenomena and processes occurring in nature. One or another form of religious belief has been preserved to this day in almost every corner. the globe. At present, there are more than five thousand different forms and types of religions in the world. So far, no one has been able to classify and generalize them, since all religions can be divided according to ethnic characteristics, and according to the time of their occurrence, and according to the level of organization, and according to state status.

  • Types of religions by time of development
  • Major Religions of the World
  • Types of religions of Eastern civilization
  • Types of early religions
    • Magic
    • Fetishism
    • totemism
    • Animism
  • Types of pagan religions

Types of religions by time of development

So, if we divide them according to the level of development, then we can identify the following types of typology of religion:

  • Early religions - beliefs that originated in the primitive era (magic, animism, totemism, fetishism).
  • Polytheistic - these include all types of national religious beliefs (except Sikhism and Judaism).
  • Monotheistic - Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism.
  • Syncretic - beliefs that arose as a result of mixing several types of religions.
  • New religious beliefs - religions that are distinguished by their non-traditional forms. These include the churches of the Antichrist, Satan, Krishna, Muna, as well as yogism, Shinto with the cults of karate and judo. This also includes the White Brotherhood, and various esoteric associations.

Major Religions of the World

The most common are:

  • Christianity.
  • Buddhism.
  • Islam.
  • Hinduism.

Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Currently, every country in the world has at least one Christian community, and the total number of adherents of this faith is 2.3 billion people. Christianity first appeared in the 1st century in Palestine and existed as a single form of religious belief until in 1054 Christian church not divided into Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Churches. Later, in the 17th century, another trend appeared catholic church- Protestantism.

In addition to major religions, there are different kinds tribal religions - various forms of worship of certain deities inherent in a particular ethnic group, tribe or people.

Video about the main religions of the world:

Types of religions of Eastern civilization

What types of religions are inherent in Eastern civilization? The religions of the East are:

  • Hinduism (Nepal, India).
  • Buddhism (Sri Lanka, Laos).
  • Islam (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, etc.).
  • Lamaism (Mongolia).
  • Confucianism (Malaysia, Brunei).
  • Shinto (Japan).
  • Sunnism (Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan).

Types of early religions

Based early forms religions developed the beliefs that exist today. Primitive human society in the course of its development gradually formed various types of worship of natural phenomena: wind, thunder, rain. Due to a lack of knowledge about the processes that take place in the world around us, people believed that all phenomena are controlled by supernatural forces, each of which controls the weather, crops, etc. Early religions did not have a single deity - people believed in symbols, invisible spirits, fetishes and various powers.

The formation of the first religious beliefs depended on the structure of society, a certain established hierarchy of groups - a tribe, a state, a city, a village, or an individual family.

Early religious forms are characterized by the fact that they always distinguished the main gods and the deities who obeyed them. People endowed the main gods with one or another personal qualities, likened them to the fathers of families, leaders or kings. The main god almost always had his own life story: birth, marriage, birth of heirs, who, as a rule, subsequently served as their assistants. In addition, the deities could be at enmity with each other, or, on the contrary, be friends, help people in agriculture, art, love, and, accordingly, a certain god was responsible for every phenomenon, be it war or love.

There are the following types of early religions:

  • Magic.
  • Fetishism.
  • Totemism.
  • Animism.

Magic

Magical beliefs are manifested in the belief in supernatural forces, in the fact that a person is able to influence any natural phenomenon by performing certain symbolic actions - conspiracies, spells, etc.

This type of religion arose in ancient times and continues to exist to this day. The initial ideas about magic were rather abstract, but over time this direction of religion differentiated and today they distinguish great amount its types and directions. So, depending on the methods of influence or social orientation, there are the following types of magic:

  • Magic is harmful (corruption).
  • Therapeutic.
  • Military (to attract good luck in military affairs).
  • Love (lapels, love spells).
  • Meteorological (for weather changes).
  • Contact (magic effect by contact with the object).
  • Imitative (impact on the simulated likeness of the subject).
  • Partial (magical rites with the help of cut hair, nails or food debris).

Fetishism

In ancient times, people revered various objects that they believed brought good luck and protected from danger. This form of religious belief is called fetishism. Almost all types of primitive religion, including fetishism, exist in modern life many peoples. Today, people who use all kinds of talismans and amulets to attract various benefits - material or spiritual, are usually called fetishists.

Any thing or object that comes into the field of view of a person can become a fetish: it can also be stones unusual shape, and animal skulls, and wooden, metal or clay products. These items are chosen by trial and error. For example, when a person noticed that any object brings him good luck, this object became his fetish, otherwise the fetishes were thrown away, destroyed and replaced by others, more successful.

totemism

Primitive people believed that between certain groups of people (tribe, family) and any species of animals or plants there is a kindred relationship. So, a tribe that considered itself related to some animal, rendered it a special cult and worshiped this animal. Wind, rain, sun, iron, water, etc. were often used as totems. Such beliefs were most common in Africa, North America, Australia. Totemism has been preserved to this day in some tribes of these countries.

Animism

Animism is also a type of early religious form. This religion is characterized by belief in spirits and souls. Ancient people believed that nature and the objects around them possess supernatural powers and have a soul. Spirits were divided into evil and good. In order to appease any spirit, sacrifices were often practiced.

Animism is currently present in many modern religions. Today, spirits and evil spirits are modifications of the animistic ideas of primitive people. Modern society although he considers them everyday superstitions and prejudices, almost all religious beliefs are associated with their existence.

Types of pagan religions

The term "paganism" comes from the word "language", which in Church Slavonic means "people". In the era Old Testament Jews called pagans all those who were not Jews. This word contained a negative assessment both in relation to the peoples themselves and to their customs, religious beliefs, moral and cultural property. In Christian vocabulary, the term "paganism" appeared thanks to the Jews, but Christians do not mean by this word any connection with a race or nation. There are the following types of pagan religions:

  • Shamanism.
  • Magic.
  • Satanism.
  • Materialism.
  • All kinds of polytheistic religions.

The characteristic features that unite most of the listed religions are idolatry, magicism, naturalism and mysticism.

What religion do you profess, and what religion would you like to know more about? Tell us in the comments about your attitude towards other religions.