By Megan

1. Christianity, about 1,900,174,000 followers. 2. Islam, about 1,033,453,000 followers. 3. Hinduism, about 830,000,000 followers. 4. Buddhism, about 338,621,000 followers. -Statistics from DK Eyewitness books- Religion

Christians believe in Jesus. Jesus was killed on the cross when he was thirty-three years old. After having been dead for three days was Jesus was able to come back to life.

 He stayed alive for 40 days but then went back to Heaven, where God, his father was.  Christians also believe that Jesus had 13 disciples.  Christmas was the day that Jesus was born and Easter was the day that Jesus came back to life after he died.  Christians believe in Heaven and Hell.

Christian Church. Priests sitting at a table with a picture of Jesus rising up to Heaven above them.

A statue of Jesus being killed on the cross. Christmas

Their followers are called Muslims. Muslims are in a religion of surrender. Islam actually means submission or surrender. Muslims have one god, Allah They believe in Heaven and Hell. They pray 5 times a day.

Their holiest place is called Ka’bah. When Muslims pray they face toward the Ka’bah which is a mosque in Saudi Arabia. The religion began with Muhammad, the prophet. When Muhammad was 40 he found out he was going to be a prophet. When he got to be a prophet he found out about what Muslims believe is the one true god.

Muslim Mosque Minaret

Inside a Mosque, where there is a school that these boys are studying in.

 Hindu’s have one god, Brahman, who appears in an unlimited number of forms.  Brahman has 4 heads but when he first came to Earth he only had one.  Brahman then created the woman and loved her but the woman hid from him.  Brahman then grew 3 more heads so he could always see her.  Hindu’s often use the color orange to show that something is religious.  That is because the color is like the color of a flame, and flame is thought to be cleansing.

Shiva is the destroyer and re-creator. Durga (or Parvati or Kali) is a warrior who fights demons. Ganesha is the son of Durga and Shiva. Shiva went into his backyard one day. He thought he saw a stranger. He cut off their head. He then found out he had accidently cut off Ganesha’s head. He put an elephants head on Ganesha’s instead.

The “Holy Cow”Lord Shiva

Burning Sacrifices that have been offered to Lord Shiva. Close-up of Lord Shiva.

Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of the Buddhist religion. He was going to be a king when he grew up. His father protected him from seeing all the danger and sadness outside of their palace. When Siddhartha Gautama was still young he managed escape the palace.

When outside of the palace he encountered the “Four Sights”. 1. An old man. 2. A sick person. 3. A dead person being carried to a graveyard. 4. A religious beggar. He asked himself “What does all this mean?” He left his home and family to find out.

He tried and failed, for 6 years, to find the meaning of it. Then he went and meditated under a bodhi(or bo) tree. He stayed under the tree for 40 days. He then found out the answer to his question. After he found out the answer, he became the “Great Enlightenment”. His name was changed to Buddha. Buddha means “Enlightened One”.

Sanchi, a Buddhist Building. A statue of Buddha in Sanchi. Some people from a different religion cut his head off.

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WikiAnswers Religion, DK Eyewitness books, Myrtle Langley World History, Ancient Civilizations, McDouag Littell Churches and temples in India