Five Religions Paragraph

   The biggest of the five religions that we have been studying is Christianity, with a number of adherents being somewhere around 2.2 billion. These 2.2 billion people are called Christians and majority are located in Europe, Americas, and Southern Africa. The founder of this religion is Jesus Christ and the holy book is is called the Bible. They believe that Jesus is both man and divine-Son of God, and lead a virtuous life before he was crucified, died, buried, and resurrected;he ascended into heaven where he reigns with God the father. In this religion the Pope is the head of the church being the bishop of the Roman Catholic Church and priests are his local authorities and leaders of the church.
   The second biggest religion is the religion of Islam, with a estimated 1.5 billion adherents called Muslims. They are mainly located in Indonesia, Middle East, and North Africa. Unlike Christianity they have only two denominations the Shiites and the Sunnis. There founder was Muhammad and the holy book is called the Qur'an. They believe the Abrahamic five pillars (testimony, prayer, alms giving, fasting, pilgrimage) Muslims see their life purpose as serving and submitting to Allah and observing Islamic law.
   The third largest religion in the world is Hinduism with 1.1 billion adherents called Hindus. They are mainly located in India and Nepal. Their holy book the vedas is eternal truths revealed to ancient sages; composed in verse form(to be sung and easily remembered). They unlike the other two have no distinct founder, and its more a philosophical view than a set of strict beliefs.
   The next religion is Buddhism with anywhere from 500 million to 1.5 billion adherents called Buddhists. The are located in Southeast Asia, China, Nepal, and Japan( with around 1.2 million in the United States). Their founder was siddhartha Guatama and from this there are only three denominations the tibetan, Zen, Theravada, and Amidist. They believe in the four noble truths and following the eightfold path.
   The next religion is not the fifth biggest but it is an important religion, the religion of Judaism. Called Jews, they mainly live around Israel and the United States. Their founder was Abraham, and there holy book is the Torah, or the five books from the old testament. They believe that God is one, and concerned with the actions of human kind, they also believe in the ten commandments and the 13 principals of faith.