Interesting and Unbelievable Facts

Buddhism is the world’s 4 th largest religion, with around 500 million followers. More  than  98% of Buddhists  live in the Asia-Pacific region. China  has the world’s largest Buddhist population (around 244 million), while the highest percentage of Buddhist population (97%) is in  Cambodia . In Japan , at least 17 Buddhist monks mummified themselves between 1081 and 1903. This  self-mummification  process resulted after eating specific food for years before death. This food only contained tree nuts, buds, and roots. It removes muscle, fat, and moisture from the body and only retains necessary nutrients.  The condition for acceptance of the mummification process was if the corpse did not show signs of decay for 1,000 days after death. ( Source ) The MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of a 41-year-old Buddhist monk shows that meditation kept his brain eight years younger. ( Source ) Around half of the Buddhist population follows Maha...

Hinduism is the world’s 3 rd largest religion  after Christianity and Islam. It has more than one billion followers. Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest surviving religions . It developed between 500 BC and 300 BC. India, Nepal, and Mauritius are the only three countries in the world with a  majority Hindu population . Yoga is known as a physical and mental exercise in the West. In reality, it is a religious practice in Hinduism. ( Source ) There is no prohibition on eating meat in Hinduism. However, many Hindus prefer vegetarianism due to their disliking of the killing of animals for food. People are divided into  four classes ( varnas ) in Hinduism. These include Brahmins (religious scholars), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), and Shudras (laborers). They are believed to be originated from the head, arms, thighs, and feet of Brahma (god of creation). Apart from these castes, there are Dalits (untouchables) in the system as sweeper...

Judaism is the oldest among the three Abrahamic religions and one of the oldest in the world. It dates back to over 3000 years. Judaism is primarily composed of the people of Israel. Conversion from other faiths of non-Israeli people is usually not encouraged. Israeli Jews are divided into four main groups according to their religious and cultural affiliation. Around 50% are secular Jews (Hilonim) who give less importance to religion and more to culture. The smallest (9%) and the most religiously devoted group is Haredim. They reject military service and oppose Zionism. ( Source ) Jews can also be divided into ethical and geographical basis. These are Mizrahi (Middle Eastern) Jews, Ethiopian Jews, Ashkenazim (German and Northern French) Jews, and Sephardim (Iberian) Jews. ( Source ) There are three main branches of Judaism. These include Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism. The Jewish calendar is the oldest still in use. Its general usage started in the 9 th  Century...

Christianity is the largest religion in the world, with more than 2.4 billion adherents (over 33% world population). All the European countries have a Christian majority population except Kosovo, Albania , Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, and Estonia. All the countries in the Americas (North America and South America ) have a Christian majority population. The  USA , Brazil, and Mexico have the  largest Christian populations in the world. Nearly half of all Christians live in the 10 countries in various continents. ( Source ) Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the highest population of Roman Catholic Christians worldwide. The Catholic Church established the office of the  Inquisition  to stop and punish heresy in Europe and South America. This practice started in the 12 th  Century and continued for centuries. These inquisitions resulted in the execution of numerous non-Catholic Christians, Jews, and Muslims. ( ...

Islam is a pure  monotheistic religion  that teaches Allah (God) is the sole creator, the lord, all-powerful, merciful, eternal, and unique. With around 1.5 billion followers, Islam is the 2 nd largest religion in the world after Christianity. ( Source ) Islam is the  fastest-growing religion in the world. It can surpass Christianity as the largest religion in the second half of the 21 st Century if this trend continues. ( Source ) Holy Quran is the principal religious book of Islam. However, Islam accepts the original and unaltered Torah and Bible as texts from Allah . The Holy Quran is one of the most read religious books in the world. Millions of Muslims read it regularly. Apart from the Arabic text, translations in numerous languages are also available for Muslims and people of other faiths to read and understand the Quran. Islam recognizes all the prophets of Judaism and Christianity. But it emphasizes that all these prophets taught Islam. Contra...