CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGION

The basis for this classification is "what groups are a subset of what other groups." Answering this question results in a branching hierarchy. There are other types of classification, based on such criteria as the size of a group, level of social acceptability, level of political power, theology, number and nature of deity, history, etc. Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion, arranged by historical origin and mutual influence. Abrahamic religions originate in the Middle East, Indian religions in India and Far Eastern religions in East Asia. Another group with supra-regional influence are African diasporic religions, which have their origins in Central and West Africa.

The main Religions of the World, mapped without denominations.
. In summary, religious adherence of the world's population is as follows: "Abrahamic": 53.5%, "Indian": 19.7%, irreligious: 14.3%, "Far Eastern": 6.5%,tribal religions: 4.0%, new religious movements: 2.0%.

• Abrahamic religions is the largest group by far, and it consist primarily of Christianity, Islam and Judaism and Baha’I faith is also included They are named for the patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of monotheism. 3.4 billion people today are followers of Abrahamic religions and are spread widely around the world..

• Indian religions originated in Greater India and they share a number of key concepts like dharma and karma. They influenced people across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, South East Asia, as well as many parts in Russia. Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism are the main religions. These religions mutually influenced each other. Sikhism was also influenced by the Abrahamic tradition of Sufism.

• Far Eastern religions consist of several East Asian religions which make use of the concept of Tao (in Chinese) or Do (in Japanese or Korean). They include Taoism, Shinto, Chondogyo, Caodaism, and Yiguandao. Far Eastern Buddhism and Confucianism (which by some categorizations is not a religion) are also included.

• Iranic religions originated in Iran and include Zoroastrianism, Yazdanism and historical traditions of Gnosticism (Mandaeanism, Manichaeism). It has significant overlaps with Abrahamic traditions, e.g. in Sufism and in recent movements such as Bábísm and the Bahá'í Faith.

• African diasporic religions practiced in the Americas, imported as a result of the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 18th centuries, building of traditional religion of Central and West Africa.

• Indigenous tribal religions, formerly found on every continent, now marginalized by the major organized faiths, but persisting as undercurrents of folk religion. Includes African traditional religions, Asian Shamanism, Native American religions, Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal traditions and arguably Chinese folk religion (overlaps with Far Eastern religions). Under more traditional listings, this has been referred to as "Paganism" along with historical polytheism.

• New religious movements, a heterogeneous group of religious faiths emerging since the 19th century, often syncretizing, re-interpreting or reviving aspects of older traditions (Bahá'í, Hindu revivalism, Ayyavazhi, Pentecostalism, polytheistic reconstructionism), some inspired by science-fiction (UFO religions).

IMPORTANT DATES IN THE HISTORY OF RELIGON

BEFORE CHRIST B.C:
2000: Founder of Judaism, ABRAHAM was alive.

19th CENTURY: Hebrew Lawgiver, Moses was alive.

1100-500: The Sacred Text of the Hindus, THE VEDA, was compiled.

604: Birth of Lao-tzu, Taoism Leader.

563-483: Founder of Buddhism, BUDDHA, was alive.

551-479: Founder of Confucianism, CONFUCIUS, was alive.

540-468: Jains Founder, MAHAVIRA, was alive.

6 or 4: JESUS of Nazareth, founder of Christianity, was alive.

AFTER DEATH A.D:
33: Departure and Crucifixion of JESUS CHRIST.

70-100: The New Testaments, First Four Books were written, namely MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, and JOHN.

570 - 632 Prophet MUHAMMAD - whose teachings, recorded in the Koran, form the basis of Islam.

622 Muhammad flees persecution in Mecca and settles in Yathrib then later in Medina, the first day of the lunar year in which this event, known as the Hegira.

1054 The split between Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church was condemned by Catholic Pope Leo IX.

1224 - 74 Italian philosopher and Roman Catholic theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas was alive.

1483 - 1546 Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and author of "95 Theses" (1517) is alive.

1509 - 64 -- John Calvin, leader of the Protestant Reformation in France, is alive.

1549 The first Christian mission in Japan is established.

1582 Jesuit Matteo Ricci is the first missionary to be sent to China.

1620 Plymouth Colony in North America is founded in December by 102 English Puritan separatists, known as Pilgrims.

1642 - 91 George Fox, English founder of the Protestant Society of Friends (the Quakers) is alive.

1703 - 91 John Wesley, English founder of the Protestant movement that later became the Methodist Church, is alive.

1859 The English Naturalist CHARLES DARWIN elucidates his theory of organic evolution.

1869 - 70 The first Roman Catholic Vatican Council, at which the dogma of papal infallibility is promulgated, is convened by Pope Pius IX.

1869 - 1948 Mohandas K. Gandhi, Indian spiritual and political leader who helped his country achieve independence from Britain and sought rapprochement between Hindus and Muslims, is alive.

1933 - 45 The systematic persecution and attempted extermination of European Jews, known as the Holocaust, by Adolf Hitler's Nazi party takes place.

1948 Israel was Declared as an independent Jewish State.

1962 - 65 The second Roman Catholic Vatican Council, at which changes were made in the liturgy and greater participation in services by lay church members was encouraged, is convened by Pope John XXIII and concluded by Pope Paul VI.

HISTORY OF RELIGION

History of religion:
Religion is more than just a belief in a deity. Religion is philosophy and a way of life. It can define who you are, how you view the world around you and how you interact within it. There are as many different types of religion as there are different types of people.
The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious experiences and ideas. This period of religious history typically begins with the invention of writing about 5,000 years ago(3,000 BCE) in the Near East. The prehistory of religion relates to the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records.

Here is a Video on history of religion..

DEFINITION OF RELIGION

The definition of religion is not easy to find. There are many interpretations of what defines a religion but not one that can be said to be the most accurate. Some of the definitions are stated below.
· A notion of the transcendent or numinous, often, but not always, in the form of theism
· A cultural or behavioural aspect of ritual, liturgy and organized worship, often involving a priesthood, and societal norms of morality (ethos) and virtue (arete)
· A set of myths or sacred truths held in reverence or believed by adherents.
· A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny.
· An institution to express belief in a divine power.
· A belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief.
· The sum total of answers given to explain humankind’s relationship with the universe.
· Religion originates in an attempt to represent and order beliefs, feelings, imaginings and actions that arise in response to direct experience of the sacred and the spiritual.

Etymology of the word "RELIGION"

The English word Religion has been in use since the 13th century, loaned from Anglo-French religiun (11th century), ultimately from the Latin religio, "reverence for God or the gods, careful pondering of divine things, piety, the res divinae.
Dictionary traces the word back to an old Latin word religio meaning "taboo, restraint." A deeper study discovers the word comes from the two words re and ligare. Re is a prefix meaning "return," and ligare means "to bind;" in other words, "return to bondage.
A historical interpretation due to Cicero on the other hand connects lego "read", i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully". It may also be from Latin religiō, religiōn-, perhaps from religāre, to tie fast.

RELIGION

Religion is a of way of life based on tenets (or a belief system) about the ultimate power. It is expressed through conducts such as prayers, rituals, or other practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality (the cosmos, and human nature) which may yield a set of religious laws. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience.The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction. In the frame of western religious thought, religions present a common quality, the "hallmark of patriarchal religious thought": the division of the world in two comprehensive domains, one sacred, the other profane.. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life" or a life stance.

Symbols of Religion clockwise from top left.. Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Shintoist, Jain, Baha'i, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist.