Top Three (3) Religions in the World
Following is the list of most practiced religions in the globe, probably Top Three (3) Religions in the World
Top 1. Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the world's largest religion, with approximately 2.2 billion adherents, known as Christians. Most Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God, fully divine and fully human, and the savior of humanity prophesied in the Old Testament. Consequentially, Christians refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.
The foundations of Christian theology are expressed in ecumenical creeds that are accepted by followers of the Christian faith. These professions state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead in order to grant eternal life to those who believe in him and trust in him for the remission of their sins. The creeds further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven, where he reigns with God the Father. Most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and to grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life. His ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning "Good News" (a loan translation of the Greek: εὐαγγέλιον euangélion). The term gospel also refers to written accounts of Jesus's life and teaching, four of which -- the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John -- are considered canonical and are included in the Christian Bible.
Christianity began as a Jewish sect in the mid-1st century. Originating in the Levant region of the Middle East, it quickly spread to Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt. It grew in size and influence over a few centuries, and by the end of the 4th century had become the official state church of the Roman Empire, replacing other forms of religion practiced under Roman rule. During the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a sometimes large religious minority in the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia and parts of India. Following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization.
Worldwide, the three largest groups of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the various denominations of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox patriarchates split from one another in the schism of the 11th century, and Protestantism came into existence during the Reformation of the 16th century, splitting from the Roman Catholic Church. (Sources)
2.Islam
Muslims believe that Allah is one and incomparable and the purpose of existence is to love and serve God Muslims also believe that Islam is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed at many times and places before, including through Abraham, Moses and Jesus, whom they consider prophets. They maintain that the previous messages and revelations have been partially misinterpreted or altered over time but consider the Arabic Qur'an to be both the unaltered and the final revelation of Allah Religious concepts and practices include the five pillars of Islam, which are basic concepts and obligatory acts of worship, and following Islamic law, which touches on virtually every aspect of life and society, providing guidance on multifarious topics from banking and welfare, to warfare and the environment.
Most Muslims are of two denominations, Sunni (75–90%) or Shia (10–20%). About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country, 25% in South Asia 20% in the Middle East, and 15% in Sub-saharan Africa. Sizable minorities are also found in Europe,China, Russia, and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world (see Islam by country). With about 1.57 billion followers or 23% of earth's population, Islam is the second-largest religion and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. (Sources)
3.Hinduism
Hinduism is the dominant religion of the Indian subcontinent, particularly of India and Nepal. Hinduism includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shrauta among numerous other traditions. Among other practices and philosophies, Hinduism includes a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of "daily morality" based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a categorisation of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, common set of beliefs.
Hinduism consists of many diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its direct roots are the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India and the ancient Dravidian culture of Iron Age India. As such, Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major religion" in the world. Since Vedic times, a process of Sanskritization has been taking place, in which "people from many strata of society throughout the subcontinent tended to adapt their religious and social life to Brahmanic norms".
One orthodox classification of Hindu texts is to divide them into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti ("remembered") texts. These texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna and agamic rituals and temple building among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Manusmriti, Bhagavad Gita and Agamas.
Hinduism, with about one billion followers (950 million estimated in India), is the world's third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.(Sources)
