There are many religions all across the world out of which you and I follow one. This post will enlist some literally mind-blowing facts about the worldly religions that you may not have known about before!
Here are 15 less-known religion facts that are simply WOW:
- It is estimated that by the year 2050, every fourth person in sub-Saharan Africa will be a Christian.
- There is a Jedi Church which practices Jediism! Remember Jedis from the Star Movies? Yes, they are Gods now!
- To this day, the Holy Bible remains the most shoplifted book in the world!
- Technically, there are at least 10,000 distinct religious groups spread out across the world.
- The Bible is not one single book – it is a compilation of 66 books – 39 from the Old Testament and 27 from the New Testament.
- It is estimated that till 2060, Islam will be the youngest and most populated religion in the world due to Muslims having higher fertility (2.9 offspring/s per woman) than other religions. The religion is expected to grow at least 70% during the period from 2015 to 2060.
- Psalm 117 of the Bible is in the exact middle of the Bible. It has 594 chapters before it and exactly 594 chapters after it.
- India, according to research, will be a Muslim majority country by 2050. It is slated to surpass Indonesia to become the largest Muslim populated country in the world by then.
- There are always four doors in every Sikh Gurudwara – the Door of Peace, the Door of Livelihood, the Door of Learning, and the Door of Grace which welcome people from all walks of life into them.
- Latin America has more than 425 million Catholics which is at least 40% of the entire Catholic population in the world!
- It is said that at the Narasimha Swamy temple of Warangal, the idol of Lord Vishnu’s avatar Narasimha feels like human skin when touched.
- Jews, in general, are considered more educated than Hindus and Muslims who are considered to have the least years of formal schooling.
- Christians are considered the most educated religious groups. Most Christian adults (91%) of age 25 or less have at least had formal schooling and hold 1/5th of post-secondary degrees in the world.
- Though Muslims hate Jews (antisemitism) now, thousands of Muslims fought Nazis in the World War II in order to save Jews by sacrificing their own lives for the Jewish community.
- Vedic literature (dating back to 1700–1100 BCE) mentions intricate details like the spherical shape of the Earth (Greeks believed Earth is flat), what causes the seasons to come and go (earth’s rotation) and that a force holds this universe together. This was more than 64 centuries before modern day scientists like Newton discovered gravity.
- Buddhism believes that there are 29 Buddhas – 28 lived on this planet (Lord Gautama Buddha was the 28th) and the 29th is yet to take human form. They believe that the 29th Buddha will be called Maitreya who will set this world at peace.
- There is a Barbie-looking doll called Fulla which is sold in Middle-Eastern countries as an alternative to the normal Barbie. Fulla is so popular in Islamic countries that she has her own line of accessories and teaches Muslim girls to wear the hijab with pride.
- It is believed that there is a space beside Prophet Muhammed’s Tomb left reserved for the burial of Lord Jesus. The tomb of the Prophet is right below the Green Dome of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque) in Saudi Arabia’s Medina.
- It is believed that at the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, Eagles are seen in the sky only when Lord Aiyyappa’s jewels are carried in and out of the temple.
- Unlike most world religions, Hinduism does not outline one founding father of the religion. All deities and sages are believed to have contributed to the religion’s spread across the world.
- The Swastika holds a very unique meaning in Jainism – the four quadrants of the symbol are four states of existence of each soul – humans, Animalia, hellish beings and heavenly beings. Souls are believed to cycle through these four states before attaining ‘moksha’ or nirvana.
Wasn’t this a really mind-blowing article? We hope each fact was new to you! Please share this post as much as you can! Cheers!
