It is impossible to predict the future, but an analysis of what we know about religion-including the reasons for its very emergence and why some people come to faith and some leave it-can help us predict how people's attitudes toward religion will evolve in the decades and centuries ahead.
One of the world’s religions, originated in the early 7th century A.D. on the Arabian Peninsula. The God of Islam (Allah) is the God of retribution for deeds, the God of judgment.
A religion that emerged in the fifth to sixth centuries B.C., in India. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to achieve nirvana, i.e. a state of eternal peace and bliss, by renouncing desires, getting rid of suffering, and moral perfection.
One of the oldest national religions that emerged in the first millennium BC among the Jewish tribes of Palestine, the state religion of Israel. Characteristic features of Judaism: belief in one God Yahweh and Messiah (savior) and the dogma about the Jews being chosen by God.
A religion formed in the first century A.D. in India. Hinduism is not like the religions familiar to Westerners – Christianity, Judaism, or Islam – primarily because, unlike them, it does not represent an integral doctrine.
The Indian religion formed within the framework of Hinduism by synthesizing a number of Hindu and Muslim traits. It represents an attempt to overcome the opposition of Hindu and Islamic traditions, to rise above their differences.
Scholars are still trying to isolate the factors that push a person or people toward atheism, but some commonalities are emerging. Part of the appeal of religion is that it provides a sense of security in our unpredictable world. It is not surprising, therefore, that the greatest percentage of nonbelievers is found in countries where there is a high level of economic, political, and domestic stability.
