What All Religions Have In Common
Rev. Margaret Minnicks is an ordained Bible teacher. She writes many articles that are Bible lessons.
Can you identify the symbols of the 12 major religions?
I have taught Major World Religions in high school and in college. The one thing that students took away from the course is that all religions have some of the same things in common.
The average person might not know about all 12 of the major religions. However, people might know something about a few religions other than the one they belong to.
Religion: Definition
Religion can be defined as an organized system of beliefs by followers, ceremonies, practices, and worship that are centered around one supreme God, or deity.
Religion can also be described as man’s attempt to gain the highest possible good for himself by living his life the best way he can according to some spiritual guidance.
| What All Religions Include |
|---|
A system of beliefs |
Practices |
Ceremonies |
Worship of one supreme being or deity |
Attempt to achieve highest possible good |
Recognizable symbols |
12 Major World Religions
There are thousands of religions in the world but only twelve major ones. Those twelve are the ones that are often included in world religion surveys and studied in world religions classes.
The twelve major religions are listed in alphabetical order in the chart below along with what each religion has in common.
Most religions have the following things in common:
- A supreme being to worship
- Sacred texts for instructions
- A golden rule to follow for instruction on how people should relate to others
- A pilgrimage that may or may not be required by some religions
Symbols of the 12 Major Religions
What Religions Have in Common
| Religion | Deity or Supreme Being | Sacred Writings | Golden Rule | Pilgrimage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Baha'i (5-7 million) | Monotheistic God | Writings of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh | Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself. | Holy places in Iraq and Iran |
Buddhism (520 million) | No supreme being, the path of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama is followed to reach nirvana | Tripitaka and The Sutras | Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. | Bodh Gaya in India |
Christianity (2,420 million) | God | The Bible | Do unto other as you would have them do unto you | The Holy Land |
Confucism (6 million) | No supreme being but Confucius is honored. | Four Books | What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. | Mount Tai, a holy mountain in China |
Hinduism (1,150 million) | Shiva | The Vedas | Treat others as you treat yourself | Sacred sites in India |
Islam (1,800 million) | Allah | The Quran | That which you want for yourself, seek for mankind | Mecca |
Jainism (4 million) | Arihant and Siddha | The Agamas | Treat all creatures the way you want to be treated. | Shatrunjaya in Gujarat |
Judaism (17 million) | Monotheistic God | Tanach or the Jewish Bible | Love your neighbor as yourself: | Jerusalem |
Shinto (100 million) | Kami | The Kojiki and the Nihon-gi | The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form. | Three Grand Shrines in Japan |
Sikhism (30 million) | Waheguru | Guru Granth Sahib | Treat others like precious jewels and do do hurt them. | Amritsar and Harmandir Saheb (the Golden Temple) |
Taoism (Daoism) - (12-173 million) | No God like other religions | The Tao Te Ching and Lao-tzu | Regard your neighbor's gain and losses as your own. | Sacred mountains in China |
Zoroastrianism (124-190 thousand) | Ahura and Mazda | Gathas and Yasna | Do not do unto others whatever is injurious to yourself. | The Iranshah Atash Behram |
As you can see from the chart above, every religion has a golden rule that says basically the same thing even though it is not worded exactly alike. The Golden Rule in all religions encourages people to treat others as they would like to be treated. It is stated in a way that people should be treated in a fair and just manner.
Informal and Unorganized Religions
If you are wondering why there are only 12 major religions while there are hundreds of religions in the world, the answer is quite simple. A religion is considered major not because it is viewed as being more special than another. Instead, it is based on the number of current adherents in that particular religion.
The number of followers is based on census reports and population surveys that do change over the years. Because of the way questions are phrased on the surveys, it is difficult to get an accurate number of adherents, especially on informal and unorganized religions.
