As you already may know, there are many different religions in the world today. Therefore, I decided to give some information on the history of some of the major religions of the world today. First, I have included a link for you to watch a video on how the major religions of the world grew. http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf It's only ninety seconds and it shows how religions have spread throughout the world over time. With some research I have found that the five major religions of the world today are Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Hiduism is said to be the belief and the way of life for Indian people. The religion has no founder and someone who practices the religion can worship one god, many gods, or no god at all. The main goal of a Hindu is to become united with Brahman, the universal spirit. In Brahman there is only pure being, no individuality, and constant bliss. To become united with Brahman, a man can't merely lead a good life, he has to change how he sees the world and how he thinks. This overall change and acheivement of this goal is determined by Karma. Hindus believe that you cannot acheive Brahman in only one lifetime, therefore you are reincarnated if you are not fully ready to be united with Brahman. If your Karma is not in a pure state, you are reborn and brought back into life to improve your Karma. The overall goal is to leave the pattern of deaths and re-births, and to be united with Brahman.

Buddhism has been questioned as to whether it is a religion because the Fathers of the church reject all ideas of a Supreme being, therefore it has been termed a discipline. Buddhism was founded by Guatama Buddha in reaction to some Hinduism practices. Buddha believed that the cycle of births and re-births could be broken with the correct knowledge, but this was a difficult task. The desires for pleasure, long life, and wealth were what caused re-birth, therefore the correct knowledge and dicipline must be obtained to rid the person of those desires. The overall goal is to reach nirvana, a place at the end of desire where there is inward peace, joy, no births, and no deaths.

Judaism started as a religion of very few people, then it grew to a religion that reaches all ends of the earth. Judaism belief in God is the root of the God of Christianity and the God of Islam. The word "Judaism" is Hebrew means "the praised", or Judah which was the name of the founder of the tribe that began to practice the religion. Abraham was the "prophet" of Judaism who began the belief in one God and began to spread his word. Overall, Judaism is the union of the jewish people and the Holy Land in praise of the one eternal and holy God. The Jewish people follow the kashruth which are the dietary laws on what they eat in order to sustain life. This among many other practices of the Jewish religion based on foods give the religion its unique character.

Christianity is a further stage of Judaism in one respect. The Old Testament and the Christian Bible is entirely Jewish history. The separation between Christianity and Judaism is the belief in Jesus Christ as the savior by the christians. Christians see themselves as the "chosen people" who believe in God and Jesus Christ as his son and savior.

Islam developed from both Judaism and Christianity and follows the belief in only one God. Yet while Judaism sees the son of David as the final messenger of God and Christianity sees Jesus as the final messenger of God, Islam sees Muhammad as the final messenger of God. The holy book of Islam, the Koran is seen as the later and more perfect testament of the lord brought after the Jewish Old Testament and the Christian New Testament. Muhammad's life and experience with God is what brought about the entire Islam religion.

I hope that this description helps you distinct between these five major religions. Hopefully I have given a simple summary that will help you generalize these religions that you may not have already known.