why are there so many religions on earth?
477731
The word religion literally means:\n"personal relationship with god/deity"\nTherefore, according to this definition there are as many religions as there are people who actually think that there is something that can be categorized as a "god" or deity (even if they do not care for this deity or deities).\nNow your question, I believe, refers to the diversity in public (or secret) groups, organizations or denominations that claim to be of a religious type or to have a religious purpose.\nThe reason to the apparent high number of these organizations is simply found in the history of each of them.\nYou will find that the moment in which all of them surged or were founded coincides with a cultural necessity in the community (either political, economical or social).\nThis is not to deny the actual existence of a god or its influence over the actions of people and their consequences, but the existence of so many sets of rules to pay homage to the same deity (at least in most modern monotheist denominations) has a social explanation rather than a divine one.\nPersonally I am a devout christian and I believe that my church is not perfect, but instead of leaving it to make a better one I believe it is better to stay and try to make it better little by little.  If my suggestions are good they will eventually be accepted, if they are not I will eventually learn.\nAll of you must always remember that churches and other such groups are NOT divine institutions, they are human: made by humans, for humans, and therefore never perfect, never completly right and their truths always incomplete.\nThe purpose of a church is not to give truth or perfection, not even actual salvation (as many, including mine, claim).\nThe purpose of the church is to give support to individuals who are looking for purpose in their actual lives, and looking for something beyond this world/universe; to give these individuals the opportunity to share their experiences, impressions and discoveries; and to allow them to learn from others' experiences, impressions and discoveries, always with a critical mind and willing to hear what others have to say about your sharings.
1065836
Good question, nearly all of them are for love, peace and respect, but somehow whats written in the books gets lost when religion is applied on a daily basis in the real world.
810110
Yes, it is true.  You have to remember that not all religions are the true religion. According to the bible there is only one true religion.  Jesus and the apostles were only one religion.  The bible says that there is "one faith, one baptisim and one God.  Since  there are so many false religions, you have to really do a lot ot research to find the correct one.  Sincere prayer and a humble heart will help.  God allows people who really want to know the truth to be able to understand it.   You have already  eliminated most religions by asking your question.  If they teach false conceptions, then they are not from God. go to www.watchtower.org
370004
This is completely unknowable.\nI believe that Norse Gods numbered about a dozen, Egyption were more than a dozen, Greek were considerably more than a dozen.  Hindu has over a thousand documented Gods.  Depending on the sect, Buddhism has one, several, or no Gods.\n\nThe Hebrew, Christian, Mormon, and Muslim Gods can be reliably counted as one since all these religions sprouted from eachother.\n\nI would have to say a rough estimate of 1500 to 2000, but an actual number is completely unknowable when you consider the number of either long dead or alive but undocumented religions.
451583
Most religions center around a god or numerous gods, except for atheism, which is not really a religion. It is just a lack thereof. Therefore your question about evolution being a religion - no, not really. Evolution is more like a theory. People either accept it, or don't. But it's not their way of life. I hope you see what I mean.\n\nTo clarify - most religions are made up of religious texts/chants/hymns. Religion is a very strong belief in something that guides peoples lives to do righteous things.
1162396
There were many religions before Christianity. Judaism is one, just the Old Testament. Other religions have multiple Gods and Goddesses. Some have none. Christianity is not the only and not the first and maybe not even the right religion.
102307
I hate to tell you this, but, Earth is worshipped in quite a few religions. I.E., Paganism.
127633
Sometimes you will hear of "8 Great World Religions" and those are:  Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto.  But these are certainly not the only religions.  They are called "great" because of sheer numbers, or their influence on a culture or people.\n\nOther religions less known include:\nZoroastrianism  (the Parsees of India)\nJainism\nSikhism\nBon (a native Tibetan religion)\nCao Dai\nBahai\nAnimism\nWicca/Neo-Paganism\nVoodoo\nSanteria\nChinese Folk Religion\nShamanism/tribal religions\nEckankar\n\nOk, the list goes on and on and on.\n\nThe answer is in the thousands, but usually we can group the religions into a few categories.  I have heard of the number 4000 religions, but I'm not sure if that includes denominations, etc.  Remember, aside from religions, each of the religions usually has several denominations or sects.
516601
There isn't just one god -- humans in various cultures and at various times have created the god they wanted to believe in, which is why there are so many different beliefs and so many religions.  If there really was a real, single god would there be so much chaos as to "his" truth, and so many bad things being done is "his" name?\n\nAll religions claim they have the full truth, and anyone who doesn't accept that truth is wrong (or sinful, or going to hell, or infidels, or whatever).  With so many contradictions between the various religions, they can't all be right...and I don't believe *any* of them are right.
201772
Because religion has something to do with the after life, heaven and hell and things of that sort!!! So you better be right about your believes or else there might be some serious eternal problems ,lol\nThere can't be different right faiths!! Only in this matter it is either right or wrong!!\nAnd if you are right others must be wrong!!!!!!!!!!!  or else it is you who will be wrong!!!and no one wants to be wrong .... cuz this will determine their final destination!! \nWe can't jeopardize  this matter!!\nWhat if your God is not the true God who owns the judgment day?!!! Who will judge you?? Some one you didn't believe in I guess!!!!! Here is where the problems come from ,lol\nbut this is only regarding the afterlife, but in our present life we must all co-exist in peace and respect the freedom of belief, believe me it is optional, if God wanted us all to follow one religion i bet he would have done it!!
1134585
I find it hard to believe God made so many different people and only one way to worship  Him.  Faith is great, religion sucks.  Faith can move mountains, religion kills people.  Hell is on earth.\nReligion is for those who believe in hell,  Spirituality is for those who have already been there.
5732
I believe there are differences in religions because otherwise we wouldnt have so many problems affeecting mankind today....religion is about serving the grand creator....worship that is pure and is based on the principles from the bible and not mans thinking....religions today do not live by bible principles
1158391
Religion is a profound and deep thing - that is why there is so much interest in this category.  Each religion  has it's devotees who have been so moved by the depth and beauty of the religion that they feel compelled to spread the word - and thus the religion was born or made more popular.  So, yes, each and every religion is as deep and meaningful as Christianity.\n\nImagine this.  God has this awesome story to tell to help all his children on the planet, but they are scattered around a widely varying planet.  So he kind of sets up a travelling show where he goes around from area to area and picks out local folks for characters and tailors the events and rules to the specific area.  He is telling the same story, but in different languages, as it were.  They are all the same essence, the same base, the same wonder and awe.  None is more true, none is false - all Religions are just versions of the same Universal Truth.
192386
there are and have been thousands \n,if you count all the primitive religions as well.\neach one is totally real to its followers\n\nthe primitive religions were probably more real ,because they happened ,with out the intervention of scheming political bookwriting priests.\nthey came from peoples inner fears and wonder
66893
Despite all the religions of the world and their constant advocating of peace and justice, things are pretty violent on the third planet. Religion itself must share some of the blame. All religions tend to cultivate a sense of absolutism: the idea that one is right, and others are wrong, and that's just how it is. This sort of thinking leads to the next step: if others are wrong and evil, why do the good people have to tolerate them? From that thought, the bullets begin to fly, and the mass graves are filled up quickly. A famous general once said that a criminal may kill one, ten, or even a hundred people, but only someone who absolutely believes that what they are doing is right, moral, and just will kill millions.
695677
no, there are many paths to God, just as there are many types of peoples,,,, cant see why you included Eskimos in that list,,, that is not a religion
230883
Estimates vary.  One reason for this is that there is really a methodological debate about the lines between "religions."  For example, does one count all of Christianity as one religion, or are the different major traditions (Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian, Nestorian, Mormon, Coptic, Anabaptist, etc.) each separate religions, or are the individual denominations within those traditions (e.g., within Protestantism, the literally thousands of individual sects) "religions"?  Is Islam one religion, or are Sunni and Shi'a separate religions?  Is Buddhism one religion, or are Mahayana and Theravada traditions separate, or are the different Mahayana sects all different religions?--you see my point.\n\nSound complicated?  It only gets worse.  Because there is no one universal definition of what is and what is not a religion.  Are only "organized" religions included (official, self-declared sects)?  Or what about spiritual systems that are not organized in that way?  What about belief systems that are para-religious, like "agnosticism" or "secular humanism" or state-sponsored cults like the Juche belief system of North Korea, or the "cult of the Republic" of the United States whose religious holidays you might be observing without even noticing it on Memorial Day?\n\nHere's a safe rule of thumb:  by even conservative estimates, there are probably over 1,000 religions in the world today.  That doesn't count the vast numbers of religions that have largely disappeared from the past.  And by other estimates, the totals are closer to 20,000.  Now remember, many of those faiths might have relatively few adherents, compared to enormous sects like, say, Roman Catholicism within Christianity or Shi'a in Islam, but that's still quite a total--and even that doesn't include the enormous number of people who have essentially personal, idiosyncratic spiritual belief systems.\n\nGood luck working this question out.  But the important thing to know is this:  anyone telling you there's only One True Faith is not going to help you answer this question, because your question is about information-seeking, and that answer is about bigotry and proselytizing.  That may be mandatory in some faiths, but it's not very educationally helpful in understanding the family of world religions.  I would encourage you to check out the sites below to learn more about other faiths.