Archive for February, 2010

What Are Pentecostal Beliefs? Pentecostal Christianity is one of the least understood Christian denomination. Most of what people know about “Pentecostals” (as they are called) is surface — the women wear very modest clothing, never cut their hair, etc. Pentecostals get a bad wrap probably because the faith started (and flourishes in) low income parts of the country. Besides

What Are Confucianism Beliefs? Unlike the other religions in our Beliefs series, Confucianism cannot be defined properly as a “religion”. Confucianism is more of an ethical system of philosophy originating in China. Though Confucianism is practiced as a religion these days (in countries like  Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and even the US) it wasn’t meant to be a religion when it

What Are Muslim Beliefs? The religion of Islam is still a mystery to much of the Western world. Though there are nearly 2 billion Muslims and Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, it is mostly misunderstood by Americans as the religion that terrorists belong to. Much like Judaism, there is no set of laws which a person  must strictly adhere to in order to be a good Muslim. A

What Are Jewish Beliefs? Judaism is one of the most important religions in world history. Why? Christianity, the world’s largest religion, sprung directly out of Judaism. That means that you can credit Christianity’s 2 billion members to the existence of Judaism. In fact, Christianity and Judaism are so closely related it would be impossible to think of them distinctly. Jewish

What Are Christian Beliefs? Christianity is the world’s largest religion, claiming between 1 and 2.2 billion believers depending on what count you believe. Anywhere from a quarter to a third of the world’s population identifies as Christian. Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (real name — Yeshua Ben Yosef or Joshua of Joseph) as

What Are Catholic Beliefs? Catholicism is relatively simple to understand due to a large number of recited prayers, statements of belief, and a centralized structure built around the infallibility of their church leader, the Pope. Whereas other spiritual traditions like Buddhism reject the kind of patriarchal order found in most Christian sects, Catholicism is a well-ordered system with very

What Are Hinduism Beliefs? Hinduism is the oldest known spiritual tradition. Thousands of years before anyone was talking about Christ or Buddha, people in India were worshipping a set of Hindu gods and practicing their spiritualism. Many historians and followers of the religion claim that some form of Hinduism has been practiced on Earth since before recorded history. We know for sure that as

What Are Buddhism Beliefs? It is just as difficult to describe the “beliefs” of all Buddhists as it is to describe the same for all Christians. Religions often have different sects, belief systems, even different core philosophies while still sharing the same name. Think of a Baptist church in Mississippi compared to a Catholic mass in upstate New York just for one example. Still