If an individual was asked if their personal religion was the faith most consistent with the ultimate holy, chances are that answer would be yes. Additionally, the majority of individuals asked would probably be drawing only from their limited knowledge of their one religion. So naturally, their religion would be the one they believed in because they are unaware of any other.
Out of this general lack of knowledge then, the individual would most likely have no knowledge of the diversity of religions within the United States, let alone the diversity present around the world. But occasionally, an individual decides to come out from under the sheltering protection of their religion to gain a better understanding of other beliefs. Unfortunately, what one finds is a vast array of religions with such "unconventional" rituals and beliefs, it can make it very difficult to try and decipher them. The author of this paper can appreciate problem because this exact situation happened. It will be the goal of this paper to allow the reader (and myself) an opportunity to get a better understanding of the diversity of the more prevalent religions in the United States, and abroad. This will be achieved by discussing eastern religions and western religions, then finally comparing and contrasting the main ideologies of these religions of this modern era. To begin our discussion, we'll focus first on Hinduism. Hinduism is the third largest religion, with a history dating back to 1500 B.C.E. They gain their knowledge through their distinct scriptures written during relatively different time periods. These three different scriptures help to reform some of the teachings which had an effect on the practice of religion. Hinduism initially started out as a religion which practiced sacrifices and magic. With the addition of the second scripture, the "Upanishads" spoke of how people go through cycles of rebirth or "Samsara", to achieve "Moksha" which is liberation to holiness.