Life is a beautiful mystery and the world is enwrapped in it. But what makes it all the more mysterious and strange is when lack of proper observation or attention causes us to ignore certain things. That does not mean such things did not exist before. They were already there as they are right now. We did not notice their presence or rather, missed them out.
Just like for example, in a world of more than 7 Billion current populations, have you ever thought about the number of religions that are active today? No would the most estimated answer for many. Oh, by the way, there are roughly a total of 4,200 religions in the world. And all that we have ever learned in our school textbooks are a few names like Hinduism, Christianity, Islamic, Buddhism.
Well whatever be your divine quest be, here are some of the most never-before-heard-of religions that were strangely unknown to the world. Some are young and some are old. And they continue to remain active till now. Read on to learn more about them…
1. Falun Gong
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Meditation and qigong are the two key exercises through which a Falun Gong disciple tries to obtain better health and renewal. The religion is a combination of elements such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and a little bit of Chinese folklore. Its moral philosophy is centered on the tenets of belief, which are compassion, truthfulness, and forbearance.
The practice enjoyed considerable support from the Chinese officials initially and increased in size. However, by the late 1990s, the religion was recognized as a major threat to the Communist party. This initiated a mass propaganda campaign against the community to bring the religion to an end. Despite several attempts of suppression, the Falun Gong religion continues to be practiced by hundreds of thousands outside China, across 70 countries worldwide.
2. Bahai
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Unity of God, religion, and humanity are the three principles that form the basis of this youngest religion in the Middle East. It was founded in Iran, in the year 1863 by Bahaullah, who was considered by the disciples to be God’s messenger. To the belief, no religion has only one divine messenger. There are several others and they will only reveal themselves with the passage of time. Unity is the main idea that operates for the betterment of humanity.
3. Iglesia Maradoniana
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Did you know fans of the Argentine footballer had created a church in his name? Well yes. The Iglesia Maradoniana or the Church of Maradona has a total of 200K members from around 60 different countries of the world.
Identified as a type of syncretism, the passion for football and their love for Maradona is what holds them united. It is quite popular among the football fans. They even use the neo-Tetragrammaton D10S as Maradona’s name, which is a combination of Diez (Spanish ten), Maradona’s shirt number, and Dios (meaning God in Spanish).
4. Cao Dai
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Cao Dai is a Vietnamese religion and claims a total of 6 million adherents. It was founded in the year 1926 and is a combination of elements like Taoism, Confucianism, Catholicism, and Buddhism. The religion is governed by the idealistic mission towards creating a more tolerant world. Adherents are seen as humans sharing a divine heritage. Some of the notable figures that the believers worship are Pericles and Julius Caesar. Offering group prayer and elaborate ritual ceremonies are some of the practices held by the believers.
Featured Image Courtesy: Joffers951/ Wikimedia Commons
