How do you know which of all religions is the right one?

Did you have an imaginary friend as a child with whom you talked in your thoughts when you were alone? Freud said that God is an imaginary friend. The philosopher argued that faith in God and religion satisfies the emotional and social needs of a person. But which religion is better to choose and who to believe in, given that in the modern world there are about 5,000 religions?

A person often asks this question, which, in its essence, is rhetorical. Throughout the history of mankind, people have tended to believe in someone or something. Thus, among ancient tribes and peoples, the worship of material objects, which were attributed with special supernatural powers, was especially popular. For example, in Christianity, these were the nails with which Christ was nailed, or the spear of fate with which he was killed; in Buddhism - Buddha's tooth, fig tree; in Islam - the graves of saints, the stone from which the prophet ascended, holy books; in Judaism - veneration of holy books, the Western Wall, and so on. Religious fetishism has survived to this day - the veneration of sacred relics, icons and relics, and amulets (Crosses, Ohms, Crescents, etc.) are proof of this.

What is the best religion in the world? Today, we can distinguish several of the most popular religions based on the number of their followers. The TOP ranking of religions includes Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity. Let's try to figure it out together: which religion is better?

Islam

The Arabic word "Islam" means "submission, devotion to God" and indicates the monotheism of the religion. The first mentions date back to the 7th century AD. The great representative of the Muslim religion is Muhammad, the last prophet sent by God Allah to the world. According to history, Muhammad had prophetic dreams for 23 years in which the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him to convey a message from Allah Almighty. The revelations received were recorded by like-minded people who gradually began to accept Islam.

These revelations are contained in the holy book of Muslims - the Koran, which translated means “sermon”. The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters of completely different lengths, which in turn are divided into verses. The true Islamic religion is peace, mercy, forgiveness and knowledge.

Developed in the Arabian Peninsula, Islam spread over the centuries to Asia, Africa and Europe. For 1.9 billion people, Islam is both a religion and a way of life. The largest Muslim community in the world is located in Indonesia, and the territories of the Asian continent and most of Africa are inhabited by populations of the Islamic religion. Significant minorities live in Europe, China, Russia and America.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of converting to Islam? Advantages:

• Belief in one God;
• Respect for the Holy Scriptures;
• Fasting;
• Prohibition of tobacco, alcohol and pork consumption;
• Spiritual laws of mercy, compassion, justice, honesty, love;
• Eternal life in Paradise after death.

Flaws:

• Attitude towards women;
• Complete omnipotence of men;
• Polygamy;
• Pedophilia;
• Contradictions in the Qur'an;
• Extremism.

Despite the criticism and shortcomings, there are several reasons why they choose Islam: the love of the Almighty, forgiveness, protection from an evil spirit, reward for every righteous deed, stay in the Garden of Eden after the Day of Judgment.

How to convert to Islam? This procedure consists of just one action: reciting the Shahada. Meaningful, confident and sincere. The ritual can be performed either alone or in a more solemn atmosphere.
The only condition for acceptance is faith and reverence for one God - Allah.

Hinduism

Hindu temple, Sri Lanka

Hinduism is the main religion of India and Nepal, one of the best religions in the world. It is difficult to give a correct and precise definition of Hinduism as it is a vast set of religious movements, philosophical concepts and social practices that have been transformed and strengthened over the course of 4000 years.

Hinduism takes its inspiration from Vedism, the primitive religion of India that gave it its origin. Hinduism has no founder, one God and one sacred text. The believers and followers themselves interpret Hinduism as “Sanatana Dharma,” that is, an eternal and universal religion that has always existed and will always exist. Why? Because it is in the heart of every living being. You don’t need to study it, you just need to awaken it within yourself.

Hinduism is the third most widespread religion in the world, with approximately 1 billion adherents. Distributed in India and throughout the Indian subcontinent: Nepal 81.3%, India 79.8%, Mauritius 48.5%, Fiji 30-33%, Guyana 28-33%, Bhutan 25%, Trinidad 22.5%, Suriname 20-27%.

What are the strengths of Hinduism as a religion:

• Complete freedom of thoughts;
• Harmony with yourself and others;
• Refusal of violence and the use of force;
• Vegetarianism

The disadvantages of religion include:

• There is no one Holy Scripture and founder to which all are faithful;;
• The absence of dogmas and commandments that are followed in order to achieve salvation;
• A huge number of Gods and rituals distract from spirituality as such;
• The caste system has developed a sense of superiority/inferiority in people's minds, which has led to discrimination in society.

Hindus believe that souls are reborn into new bodies. For rebirth to be successful, you need to monitor your karma. Karma is the good or evil that a person does in his life. What happened in the past has consequences for the future.

Unlike Islam, converting to Hinduism is quite difficult. Although there is no official definition of ethnic origin, most indigenous believers believe that one can only be born a Hindu. In this regard, a Hindu of a different origin may face criticism and disagreement from native Indians. Religion itself allows conversion in the following ways:

• Contact organizations like Arya Samaj or Vishwa Hindu Parishad and convert to Hinduism officially;
• Study Hindu scriptures/books and live like a Hindu;
• Marry a Hindu and automatically become a Hindu.

God values ​​human freedom... How to understand this?

When creating man, God created him in His image and likeness. And this presupposes that a person also has free will.

To abolish a person’s freedom, to “program” him, say, to act solely according to his conscience, would mean making him no longer a person, but some other creature. In essence, turn into a zombie. In horror films, zombies are usually scary and extremely aggressive.

But with a certain amount of imagination, nothing prevents you from imagining an exceptionally cute and cute zombie. The kind of cutie who smiles at everyone, gives up his seat on the subway, and is generally impeccable socially. But if such behavior is the result of “programming,” then we have a biorobot, not a person. Man is fundamentally, by his very nature, free.

And the many religions professed by different people in different parts of the world is also one of the consequences of human freedom.

More precisely, freedom multiplied by sin.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BC. based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived between 565 and 486 BC. Being of princely origin, Siddhartha lived for a long time behind the high walls of his father's palace, into which only young and happy people were admitted. The young prince did not even suspect the existence of suffering, illness and old age. But one day Siddhartha left the palace and saw the real world, in which he witnessed a ruthless attitude towards people and their lives. Deeply troubled, the young man fled his home, leaving behind his wife Maya and small child, to devote himself to finding a way out of his suffering.

At first he devoted himself to yoga and ascetic practices. Later he chose the “middle path” between a comfortable life and absolute death. Then he moved on to the last stage of his journey - the final “enlightenment”, which he received during a night spent in meditation under a fig tree in the village of Bodh Gaya. From then on, Siddhartha, having finally become the Buddha (“enlightened one”), participated in his traveling preaching work, gathering more and more disciples from all over the world.

The last decade has seen an increase in interest in Buddhism. The number of believers is about 350 million people (6% of the world's population), making Buddhism the fourth most common religion in the world. Various schools of Buddhism are practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Tibet, China, Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia and Japan.

Religion: good or bad? Buddhism has its positive and negative factors. Here are some of the positives:

• Develops ethics, mindfulness, calm and understanding, meditation and wisdom;
• Supports widespread research through knowledge, discourse, ancient texts;
• Buddhists adhere to the concepts of karma (the law of cause and effect) and reincarnation (the continuous cycle of rebirth);
• Buddha taught to doubt everything and check it on your own experience and personal feelings;
• Religious dogmas have been replaced only by recommendations on how to behave in different areas of life.

Some of the negative ones:

• Buddhism is a religion without clear prohibitions.
• Accepting or ignoring oppressive political/military regimes that rule the country due to the principles of non-violence and submission recommended by the Buddha.

Every Buddhist strives to achieve Nirvana, the highest goal of Buddhism. Nirvana is a term used to describe the end of suffering. This is a state of complete bliss, liberation from the limitations and desires of the physical world, the end of the cycle of rebirth and suffering.

It will not be difficult to join the teachings of the Buddha. To do this, you need to go through an initiation ritual: take an oath in front of three monks or, if there are none nearby, yourself in front of a Buddha statue.

Couldn't God tell lost people where the truth is?

This is exactly what He did, and with the greatest tact and love. He did not artificially put the only true knowledge about Himself into human heads (although He proclaimed the truth many times through the prophets - and whoever had ears to hear heard). I did not block all sources of false information. He acted towards us, people, much more nobly and respectfully - He Himself became a man and revealed the truth in His Face.

The Lord did not want to make us victims of His omnipotence. He chose to become a Victim Himself and personally show us a way out of the dead end into which we had wandered. For this, He went to martyrdom and was resurrected, and then commanded the disciples: Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 ). That’s right: all peoples - both those who knew the One God and those who fell into idolatry - had to hear the sermon about Christ the Savior. And after that, they can freely decide whether to be baptized into Christ or remain in their faith.

At the same time, both Christ and His disciples, the apostles, emphasized: they did not come to teach something completely new, not to violate a long-known law, but to fulfill it (cf. Matthew 5:17 ). That is, to fill it with meaning, clarify it, indicate the ultimate goal for which this law was given. Open the eyes of the blind.

Judaism

Which religion is the best? Consider the next faith: Judaism. This term refers to the culture and religion of the Jewish people. Judaism is the oldest monotheistic faith on whose soil Christianity and Islam were born. Originated from the ancient Israelite religions around 500 BC. Jews are an ethno-religious group that includes native-born Jews as well as converts to Judaism.

At its core, the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) is an account of the Israelites' relationship with God from their earliest history until the construction of the Second Temple (circa 535 BCE). Abraham is called the first Jew and the father of the Jewish people. Jews gather in synagogues, and their spiritual leaders are called rabbis. The six-pointed Star of David is a symbol of Judaism.

As of 2021, the Jewish population was estimated at 14.6 million , or approximately 0.2% of the world's total population. About 46.7% of all believers live in Israel, 38.8% in the United States, 3.1% in France, 2.7% in Canada, 2% in England.

Among the advantages of this faith are noted:

• Communities around the world and community support;
• Education;
• Philosophical progress;

There are also some disadvantages, such as:

• Difficulty in converting to religion;
• Observing Shabbat (you cannot travel, work, turn on electricity, etc.)
• A large number of restrictions on holidays;
• Mandatory observance of 613 commandments;
• You can only marry Jews;
• Difficulties with divorce.
• Jews consider themselves the “chosen people” and some religious Jews treat all other nationalities with disdain.

Followers of Judaism believe in one God, who revealed himself through the ancient prophets. God rewards good deeds and punishes evil.

It is difficult for a non-Jew to convert to Judaism. This action has its own definition - conversion, which includes many changes in lifestyle and long training. Becoming Jewish is not just a religious change. The convert accepts the Jewish faith, becomes a member of the Jewish people, and embraces Jewish culture and history. The stages of conversion consist of: application to the rabbinical court, acceptance of all 613 commandments, a year-long course of training in traditions followed by an examination, circumcision (for men), immersion in the Jewish ritual bath (mikveh), with appropriate prayers.

Christianity

Last Supper, Leonardo

Christianity is a monotheistic religion that arose from Judaism in the 1st century AD in Palestine. The religion is based on the preaching of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom believers consider the son of God. According to history, Jesus was crucified on the cross, but he was resurrected to save humanity from sins and death. Jesus is the bearer of the message of salvation for all people, even the wicked, who can repent and gain eternal life after death.

As a state religion, Christianity was founded in Byzantium at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, where the final separation from Judaism was accepted . Christianity became the state religion to control the masses, manipulate consciousness and, most importantly, unity in religion. During the Council, it was decided to make Sunday, not Saturday, a day off (in order to differ from Judaism), the main holidays and prohibitions were proclaimed.

The most popular religion in the world has more than 2.4 billion believers. About a quarter of the Christian population lives in Europe (26%), a quarter in Latin America and the Caribbean (25%) and a quarter in sub-Saharan Africa (24%). Significant numbers of Christians also live in the Asia-Pacific region (13%) and North America (12%). Less than 1% live in the Middle East and North Africa region, where Christianity began.

Overall, Christianity contains many constructs that are synergistic and promote healthy relationships. For example:

• The church allows people to gather together regularly;
• Prayer helps people focus their thoughts on the results they want so they never lose sight of their goals or what they want most;
• A sense of camaraderie, community and sincerity;
• The Bible is a source of support in many people's lives.

The most popular religion in the world is constantly facing serious criticism from all sides, as there are many inconsistencies and inconsistencies in it. Let's consider the main ones:

• Greek names for the apostles. Jesus had 12 disciples, some had Greek names (Andrew, Paul, Peter, etc.), despite the fact that Jews and Romans lived in ancient Judea at that time;
• Criticism of the Bible . All the Gospels were transmitted orally, and remained anonymous for a long time. Authorship was not attributed until 200-300 AD, when the Gospels were written down. This gives rise to a serious question about their reliability;
• The Found Gospel of Judas and Mary Magdalene . The Apocrypha of Judas, discovered in 1978, was purchased and not recognized by the Vatican. And this is not surprising, because according to the ancient manuscript found, Judas was not a traitor to Jesus. Moreover, it tells that Jesus came from the immortal kingdom of Barbelo, and that he personally asked Judas to hand him over to the Romans;
• Religion of slaves. The Old and New Testaments recognize the institution of slavery in society, and also encourages spiritual slavery - a jealous and punishing Creator and ruler, for whom believers are only slaves. It is curious that when Christianity replaced paganism, people became “slaves of God”, and not “children”, as was previously the case;
• Fake relics. During the Crusades, a real business flourished in Europe - attracting believers with the help of relics brought from the Holy Land. The found objects (a nail, Christ's sandals, part of clothing, etc.) were placed in a church for safekeeping, which over time became a place of pilgrimage for believers. Accordingly, taverns, souvenir shops, etc. flourished. Moreover, in the Middle Ages there were entire factories producing counterfeit relics. This is written about in the novel “Baudolino” by Umberto Eco;
• Moral principles . Conflicts within the community, scandals related to clergy (homosexuality and pedophilia within the church) contradict the basic moral principles of the Bible and call the entire religion into question;
• Avoidance of responsibility. Christianity involuntarily encourages the believer to shift responsibility onto the clergy and God, which is why the Christian himself becomes weak, insecure and controlled;
• There are no answers to basic questions. For example, why certain sufferings are sent to a person, what is the meaning of life and where exactly and for what purpose the world arose.
• “In the name of Christ” they acted: the Inquisition, the Bloody Crusades and Missionaries around the world. All this led to massacres, torture and other physical and spiritual cruelty.

Christianity promises its followers salvation from eternal suffering, sins and condemnations that result from wrong actions, as well as forgiveness and heaven after death. Rituals and sacred holidays (holy water, communion, some miracles, etc.) bring the believer a feeling of joy, tranquility and peace.

Accepting Christianity will not take much effort and time. First you need to familiarize yourself with the Bible and other Christian religious texts. Then, contact your local church and take part in the baptism process.

What does sin have to do with it?

Primordial people, Adam and Eve, lived in the closest unity with their Creator. First, they could see Him directly, face to face. Secondly, with whom they could talk freely. But this unity was destroyed by the actions of the first people:

• after Eve entered into a conversation with Satan, who appeared in the form of a serpent;
• she believed the slander against God and tasted the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil;
• having thus violated the commandment given by God, she immediately made Adam an accomplice in her crime;
• offered the forbidden fruit to him, and Adam was also seduced by the easy opportunity to become like the gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3 :5), which was promised by the ancient tempter.

Sin is a discord with the Creator

This knowledge of good and evil turned out to be not abstract, existing only at the level of the mind, but experienced. Having tasted the fruit of knowledge, the first people understood from personal experience what evil is. Firstly, it is a severance of connection with God, the Source of life. Secondly, exile into a world subject to the laws of matter and the biological struggle for existence. Thirdly, this world consists of mutual hostility, hard work, debilitating diseases. And, as a result, into a world where everyone eventually faces inevitable death. They realized what the good was that they had just lost. This is eternal life in unity with God.

Sin is a discord with the Creator, a loss of trusting relationships and contact with God. And as a consequence - the loss of all reference points.

People expelled from paradise gradually forgot God

This is exactly what happened to the people expelled from paradise. Having become separated from God and having lost the opportunity to constantly see Him before them, they began to little by little forget what He was like. The image of God in their minds began to transform over the years. People began to imagine God in different ways. Firstly, as a formidable force extremely far from them. Secondly, as a human-like, albeit very powerful, being. It can not only love and help, but can be angry and even take revenge on creatures that disobey it.

Someone decided that there are many gods in general and they can live in stones, trees, rivers and lakes, in the bodies of animals and even in statues created by human hands. As the first people who knew God personally and their immediate descendants who heard the stories of their fathers died, the memory of God became increasingly thinner, destroyed and increasingly replaced by fantasies that could take the most bizarre forms.

This is how, from the point of view of Christians, a variety of religions appeared, that is, ways to restore contact with the spiritual world. After all, the word “religion” itself is most often traced back to the Latin religare, which precisely means “to reunite, restore connection.”

People's search for God has reached a dead end

The search for God in a fallen world was like blind people trying to figure out what an elephant is. They felt it from different angles and came up with different versions of what this animal looked like. Those who touched its trunk said that the elephant looked like a huge boa constrictor. Others, grasping the elephant's leg, claimed that it was like a tree trunk. Still others, having felt the folds on the elephant’s belly, claimed that it was soft and tender. Some were unlucky: they were crushed by the elephant’s heavy tread and, dying, shouted that the elephant was a terrible monster and dangerous to humans.

None of them could describe what an elephant really was like.

It was all the more difficult for fallen man to figure out what God was like. After all, God is spirit (John 4:24 ), and spiritually blind people, of course, could not help but make mistakes in their attempts to “grope” Him.

What is the best religion in the world?

Religion is thought to influence subjective well-being in a variety of ways: religious community provides people with a sense of belonging and is an important source of social support; religion gives people meaning and purpose; and finally, religion motivates people to lead healthier lifestyles.

It should be noted that every religion is unique and unrepeatable, but there is one element that is present in every faith and that is a sense of community. This feeling unites the five major world religions and provides group cohesion and identity, as well as the ability to pass on rituals and traditions from generation to generation.

Having familiarized yourself with the most popular religions, is it possible to answer the question: which is the best of all religions? Or claim, for example, that Buddhism is the best religion? Or is Islam the best religion? Of course not. Even the most popular religion is not the best or most correct. Obviously, a person himself chooses which commandments to adhere to and which religion to accept. And for him personally, the chosen faith will be the best.

Nowadays, it is not Faith in the form of various religions that is gaining increasing popularity, but spiritual practices aimed at self-development and the intuitive search for knowledge within each person. Faith can be considered as a crutch for spirituality; when it has already fulfilled its function, then you can discard it and move on, doubting, testing everything from your own experience and, most importantly, listening to your heart, which has more answers than in any holy book.