It has always permitted and continues to permit men to be married in Mormon temples “for the eternities” to more than one wife. This tension between private belief and public image makes polygamy a sensitive subject for Mormons even today.

Joseph Smith

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in New York State in the USA in 1830. Smith had received a revelation from God, first through an angel, and then through a book inscribed on golden plates.

These key elements of the faith include belief in God the Father, his Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; belief in modern prophets and continuing revelation; belief that through Christ’s atonement all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of Christ’s Gospel; belief in the importance of …

A

Although Mormonism and Islam certainly have many similarities, there are also significant, fundamental differences between the two religions. Mormon–Muslim relations have historically been cordial; recent years have seen increasing dialogue between adherents of the two faiths, and cooperation in charitable endeavors.

There are three levels of heaven—celestial, terrestrial and telestial—in Mormonism. Only those in the celestial kingdom will live in God’s presence.

Mormon doctrine differs from orthodox Christian views with respect to salvation. Protestant Christians believe in “Faith Alone” for salvation and criticise the LDS for a belief in salvation through good works. Mormons, however, feel that they are misunderstood.

By 2050, Christianity is expected to remain the majority religion in the United States (66.4%, down from 78.3% in 2010), and the number of Christians in absolute numbers is expected to grow from 243 million to 262 million.

Islamist Sayyid Qutb wrote that Islam is the religion of peace in the sense of submitting all of mankind to Allah.

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam.

Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, after Christianity. But this could change if the current demographic trends continue, according to research published by the US-based Pew Research Center.

Vishnu. Vaishnavism is the sect within Hinduism that worships Vishnu, the preserver god of the Hindu Trimurti (the Trinity), and his many incarnations. Vaishnavites regard him to be eternal and the strongest and supreme God .

Major religious groups

• Christianity (31.2%)
• Islam (24.1%)
• No religion (16%)
• Hinduism (15.1%)
• Buddhism (6.9%)
• Folk religions (5.7%)
• Sikhism (0.29%)
• Judaism (0.2%)

Hinduism has been spread in Russia primarily due to the work of scholars from the religious organization International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and by itinerant Swamis from India and small communities of Indian immigrants.

For example, the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are currently banned in Russia. According to International Christian Concern, during 2021 “crackdowns on religious freedom have intensified in Russia.”…Religions by ethnic group.

Hinduism is practised by 0.3% of the people in Italy. It is practised by 0.1% of the Italian citizens and 2.9% of the immigrant population. In 2012, there were about 90,000 Hindus in Italy. In 2015, the population increased to 170,000….Hinduism in Italy.

Hinduism is the largest religion in Mauritius, with Hindus representing approximately 48.5% of the population in 2011, according to The World Factbook….Demographics.

Statistics

Owing to labour migration in the 1960s and several waves of political refugees since the 1970s, Islam has become a visible religion in Germany. An estimate published in 2016 for 2015 calculated that there are 4.4 to 4.7 million Muslims in Germany (5.4–5.7% of the population).

Christianity has been estimated to be growing rapidly in South America, Africa, and Asia. In Africa, for instance, in 1900, there were only 8.7 million adherents of Christianity; now there are 390 million, and it is expected that by 2025 there will be 600 million Christians in Africa.

Christianity is the third largest religion in Pakistan. According to the 2017 Census, the proportion of Christians in Pakistan was estimated as about 1.27% of the population. Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant.

The Catholic Church teaches that Christ set up only “one true Church”, and that this Church of Christ is the Catholic Church. From this follows that it regards itself as “the universal sacrament of salvation for the human race” and the only true religion.

16%

Countries/Districts

China

2 The literal definition of “atheist” is “a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods,” according to Merriam-Webster. And the vast majority of U.S. atheists fit this description: 81% say they do not believe in God or a higher power or in a spiritual force of any kind.

The belief that God or gods exist is usually called theism. People who reject belief that God or any deities exist are called atheists. People who believe in God but not in traditional religions are called deists.

Generally atheism is a denial of God or of the gods, and if religion is defined in terms of belief in spiritual beings, then atheism is the rejection of all religious belief.

The Gnostics, in their reading of Scripture, acknowledged no such debt; for they believed that the Hebrew Bible was the written revelation of an inferior creator god (dêmiourgos), filled with lies intended to cloud the minds and judgment of the spiritual human beings (pneumatikoi) whom this Demiurge was intent on …