Asian religions differ from western

Asia is the largest and most populous continent and the birthplace of many religions including Buddhism , Christianity , Confucianism , Hinduism , Islam , Jainism , Judaism , Shinto , Sikhism , Taoism , and Zoroastrianism. All major religious traditions are practiced in the region and new forms are constantly emerging. Asia is noted for its diversity of culture. Islam is the largest religion in Asia with approx. Dharmic religions are the oldest religions of Asia. All Indian religions originated in the Indian subcontinent.

The distinction between Eastern and Western religions is not the location of its followers, but the beliefs that they follow. While Eastern religions range from polytheistic to atheistic, Western religions usually revolve around one God. For instance, Christianity considers God as a savior and Islam considers Muhammad theirs. The number of deities in Eastern religions vary more than Western religions. Followers of Hinduism worship many deities and avatars while followers of Shinto worship deities, called Kami, that can be animals, objects, or nature.

The story of South Asian religious life begins with the river Indus and its tributaries. The Indus was the center of the earliest complex urban culture of which we have evidence in the region, the Indus Valley or Harappan culture ca. Some scholars postulate continuities between elements of the culture, such as possible goddess or fertility worship, and later religious developments in South Asia, such as the growth of the cult of the goddess in Hinduism.

These web pages began as an assignment in my seventh grade social studies class. We studied the three main western religions and visited a synagogue, a church, and a mosque. We learned that it is important to understand the main religions in the world today in order to understand different cultures and why people act the way they do. I hope that students from all three religions will find these pages useful in understanding their neighbors.