Australia Brazil China Denmark Finland France Ghana India Japan Mexico South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States Religion Information

 Population: over 21 million  Language: English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%  Religion: Catholic 25.8%, Anglican 18.7%, other Christian 7.9%, Buddhist 2.1%, Muslim 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 11.3%, none 18.7%

 Population: Over 190 Million  Religion:  Language: Portuguese (official); Spanish, English, French  Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spiritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4%

 Population: over 1.3 million  Language: Standard Chinese or Mandarin and other dialects  Religion: Daoist, Buddhist, Christian 3- 4%, Muslim 1-2%; officially an atheist country

 Population: over 5.5 million  Language: Danish, Faroese, English (predominant second language)  Religion: Evangelical Lutheran 95%, Muslim 2%

 Population: over 5 million  Languages: Finnish (official), Swedish (official)  Religion: Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, none 15.1%

 Population: over 64 million  Language: French (official)  Religion: Roman catholic 88%, Muslim 5- 10%, Protestant: 2%

 Population: over 23 million  Languages: English (official), Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%,  Religion: Christian 68.8%, Muslim 15.9%

 Population: Over 1.2 million  Language: Hindi 41%, %  Religion: Hindu 80.5%, Muslim 13.4%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other 1.8%

 Population: over 127 million  Language: Japanese (official)  Religion: Shinto and Buddhism

 Population: Over 111 Million  language: Spanish  Religion: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Protestant 6%, other 0.3%, unspecified 13.8%, none 3.1%.

 Population: over 49 million  Language: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9  Religion: Zion Christian 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic 8.2%, Catholic 7.1%, Methodist 6.8%, Anglican 3.8%, Muslim 1.5%, other Christian 36%

 Population: over 48 million  Lanuage: Korean (official)  Religion: Buddhism 27.3%, Christianity 25.3%

 Population: over 40 million  Language: Castilian Spanish (official)  Religion: Roman Catholic 94%

 Population: over 9 million  Language: Swedish  Religion: lutheran 87%

 Population: over 59 million  Languages: English, Welsh, Irish, Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic  Religion: Christianity, and others

 Population: over 300 Million People  language: English (unoffical)  Religion: Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4%

 Many countries have different religious observance that are critical for you to know in order to relate and build a relationship with that student.  Muslim Muslim  Buddhism Buddhism  Hindu Hindu

 There are five Pillars which are followed  A) Shahadah - declaration of faith in the oneness of God and that Muhammad is the last prophet of God.  B) Formal prayer five times a day.  C) Fasting during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan.  D) Poor-due "tax" - 2.5% of one's savings given to the needy at the end of each year.  E) Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once, if physically and financially able.  Holidays:  Ramadan- month long, begins Oct. 16, 2004  Eid al-Fitr- Festival of Breaking the Fast  Hijra- week long; begins 1 Muharram  Eid al-Adha- Festival of Sacrifice  Foods: Do not eat Pork

 Beliefs:  Ultimate reality: None. Nothing is permanent.  Human nature: There is no self or soul. Human existence is nothing more than a combination of five impermanent components.  Purpose of life: Theravada - Become an arhat, escape the cycle of rebirth, and attain nirvana. Mahayana - Become a boddhisatva then help others attain enlightenment.  Afterlife: Rebirth or nirvana. Nirvana is seen simply as the cessation of suffering by some and as a heavenly paradise by others  Holidays: Vary by region, but often include Buddha's birthday, Buddha's enlightenment, lunar quarters  Foods: most prefer vegetarian foods, but they will eat anything that they are given, so remember respect and make sure you have vegetarian food for them.

 Beliefs:  ultimate reality: Brahman human nature in bondage to ignorance and illusion, but able to escape  purpose of life: to attain liberation (moksa) from the cycle of reincarnation how to live order life according to the dharma  Afterlife: if karma unresolved, soul is born into a new body; if karma resolved, attain moksa (liberation)  Holidays:  Mahashivarati- (mid-February)  Holi- (Spring)  Ramnavami (late March)  Dusserah (early November)  Diwali (mid-November)  Foods: Their religion states that they are not to kill or eat any living creature.