Religions of the world

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Main essays & sections on this web site:

Overview:

As of late-2018, this web site is approaching its 24nd anniversary. When the site first went online, the Internet was in its infancy. Our original intent was to write perhaps 80 essays on different world religions. Now, the site contains about 8,000 essays and menus. During 2016, it received on the order of 12 million visitors a year, mainly from the U.S., UK, Canada and India. We continue to add a new essay, or rewrite an existing essay, once a day.

We recommend the following essays and sections on our web site as being among the most important. Many deal with topics that are not covered in schools, churches, the media or religious education courses. Many are covered elsewhere in the Internet, but are mixed in with heaps of misinformation and disinformation.

This web site is one of the few locations on the Internet where you can see all viewpoints on each topic. Most religious web sites only promote the belief system of the webmaster(s) or the site sponsor. We are a multi-faith group thus try to describe all beliefs fairly and accurately.

	Key essays: About this Web site Absolute morality Absolute truth Which is the "true" religion? Where religions came from The importance of religious doubt
	Bad stuff: Introduction, and a possible cause of, religious hatred, conflict, etc. Religiously motivated hatred, animosity and intolerance Religiously motivated conflict, oppression, discrimination, etc. Violence, murder, mass murder & genocide -- often religiously motivated * Wars, mass murders, genocides, etc. at least partly motivated by religion 9/11 terrorism
	Change: How religions established, changed, and continue to change their teachings on slavery, the role of women, sexual orientation, etc.   The long, slow death of religion, as "the Secular Age is snowballing." An essay donated by James A. Haught.
	Tolerance: Religious tolerance: what it isn't and what it is

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	World religions: World religions  Asatru to Zorastrianism including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Wicca, etc. Other belief systems, spiritual paths, ethical systems, etc. including Agnosticism, Atheism, Humanism, etc. Religions in the U.S. Range of religious beliefs Some conclusions: which is the "true" denomination or religion; where did we come from; where are we going after death, and other really fundamental questions
	About God: Gods, Goddesses & other deities, as perceived by various religions Why has God / The All / The Source/ left us uninformed about what life is all about? * A series of essays on Theodicy: The presence of evil & a perfect God. Extremism: the problem, and how to respond to it * A solution to the problem of Theodicy * A solution (Cont'd). The fallacy of perfection: the perfect "Catch 22" *
	Christianity: Which is the "true" Christian denomination? Comparing criteria for salvation: which faith group is right? Cardinal beliefs -- the ones that denominations consider most important A key foundational principle: transfer of sin from the guilty to the innocent Definition of the term "Christian" Differences among Protestant faith groups Differences between Roman Catholicism & conservative Protestantism How Christians interpret the Bible Initial Suppositions, Uncomfortable Truths and the Bible * What did Jesus say about salvation? Doomsday, destructive Christian cults The Gospel of Q: the earliest gospel Do part of the gospels come from Pagan mythology? Miracles

	Discrimination/hatred/human rights issues: Ordination of women Same-sex marriage Christian persecution of Jews Separation of church and state Is opposing same-sex marriage not hate? * Religious hatred against Wiccans, Gays and Lesbians on the Internet The beliefs and practices of various faith groups regarding homosexuality
	"Hot" religious topics: Abortion access: The core question: when does human personhood begin? Capital punishment Cloning humans Corporal punishment (a.k.a. spanking children) Does absolute truth exist? Evolution and creation science Homosexuality and bisexuality Six different understandings about the nature of homosexuality Gender Identity: Transgender individuals and transsexuals The Occult Physician assisted suicide
	Urban folk tales, non-existent panics, and questionable therapies Pins in Halloween apples Satanic ritual abuse Multiple personality disorder Therapeutic touch Facilitated communication for persons with autism.
	Other topics: An essay donated by Alton Thompson: "Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" Movies with a religious or spiritual theme How public opinion polls lie, either intentionally or by accident: Part 1 Part 2 Social networking with a religious tolerance theme on facebook; our facebook group Do we still need religion? About the functions performed by religions. (2 parts) * Nothing comes from Nothing: A broad-ranging discussion of God, Logos, Deism, Gnosticism, Evil, Physics, Energy, and the Golden Rule: (4 parts) *

Note: The essays marked with an askerisk * were donated by our Contributing Editor Susan Humphreys. They are sometimes written from a single point of view and do not necessarily include the full range of beliefs that exist about the topic.

Last update: 2018-DEC-01

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