Religion is a collection of belief system ,cultural systems, and world views that
relate humanity to spirituality and sometimes
to moral values.
Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions
and sacred histories that are intended to
give meaning to life or to explain the origin
of life or the universe.
They tend to derive morality,
ethics, religious laws
or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas
about the cosmos and human nature.
According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions in the world.

1) Atheism
Atheists are people who believe that god or gods are man-made constructs.
2) Baha'i
One of the youngest of the world's major religions.
3) Buddhism
A way of living based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.
4) Christianity
The world's biggest faith, based on the teaching of Jesus Christ.
5) Hinduism
A group of faiths rooted in the religious ideas of India.
6) Islam
Revealed in its final form by the Prophet Muhammad.

7) Jainism
An ancient philosophy and ethical teaching that originated in India.
8) Judaism
Based around the Jewish people's covenant relationship with God.
9) Sikhism
The religion founded by Guru Nanak in India in the 15th Century CE.
10) Spiritualism
Spiritualists believe in communication with the spirits of people who
have died.
11) Taoism
An ancient tradition of philosophy and belief rooted in Chinese
worldview.
12) Unitarianism
An open-minded and individualistic approach to religion.
13) Zoroastrianism
One of the oldest monotheistic faiths, founded by the Prophet
Zoroaster.

% of world
Five largest religions Adherents in 2000 Demographics
population
Christianity 2.0 billion 33% Christianity by country
Islam 1.2 billion 19.6% Islam by country
Hinduism 811 million 13.4% Hinduism by country
Chinese folk religion 385 million 6.4% Chinese folk religion
Buddhism 360 million 5.9% Buddhism by country

A practical definition of Hinduism:
Performing the duty (dharma) of one's stage in life and social status (caste).
The essence of the Hindu vision of reality lies in the tension
between dharma and moksha.
Both these perspectives,
the world-supporting and the world-denying are necessary
to fulfill human destiny.
Other important terms :
karma = moral law of cause and effect (deeds of past lives determine present)
samsara = rebirth according to the nature of a person's karma;
what we are now is the sum of all we have done in the past.

People in India are very religious
and how their religion affects
hem depends on their Guru or
the particular school that they follow.
It affects what they eat
(vegetarian, non-vegetarian),
what they drink (alcohol, non-drinker),
to whom
they pray (a particular deity/god
is the norm).

They may also perform and follow certain rituals such as:
when they can wash their hair or when they are allowed to do their washing.
They will probably celebrate certain festivals throughout the year
depending on where they live and what sect they come from.
In addition, on certain holidays/religious days they may make
a pilgrimage to a holy place.
In addition, certain individuals may wish to fast on a particular
day of the week or for a particular reason (for example,
a mother may fast during her daughter studies,
to encourage her to do well in something particular).

Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion.
It consists of "thousands of different religious groups.
Because of the wide variety of Hindu traditions,
freedom of belief and practice are notable features of Hinduism.
Hinduism has grown to become the world's third largest religion,
after Christianity and Islam.
It claims about 950 million followers
-- about 14% of the world's population.