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Judaism - 2000 BCE

     Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'i faith all originated with a divine covenant between the God of the ancient Israelites and Abraham around 2000 BCE. Moses, who led his people out of captivity from Egyptian rule, received the Law directly from God. Joshua then led the Israelites onto the promise land where Samuel established the Israelite Kingdom with Saul as the first King. King David established Jerusalem and King Solomon built the first temple there. In 70 CE the temple was destroyed and the Jews were scattered throughout the world until 1948 when the state of Israel was formed after World War II.

Jewish Beliefs:

Jewish peoplebelieve in one creator who alone is to be worshipped as absolute ruler of the universe.
He monitors peoples activities and rewards good deeds and punishes evil.
The Torah was revealed to Moses by God and can not be changed though God does communicate with the Jewish people through prophets.
Jewish people believe in the inherent goodness of the world and its inhabitants as creations of God and do not require a savior to save them from original sin.
They believe they are God's chosen people and that the Messiah will arrive in the future, gather them into Israel, there will be a general resurrection of the dead, and the Jerusalem Temple destroyed in 70 CE will be rebuilt.

Christianity

     Christianity started out as a breakaway sect of Judaism nearly 2000 years ago. Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary was in disagreement with many of the Jewish faith and began preaching his own message from God. Jesus was later joined by twelve followers, the twelve disciples and became students. Jesus was said to have performed numerous miracles during his time, as well as creating many of the most known parables, such as “love thy neighbor”, and “turn the other cheek”. Jesus was crucified on the cross for his teachings, and then revealed himself as the son of God by rising from the dead and telling his disciples to continue to spread his word of God.

Beliefs:

Since Christianity and Judaism share the same history up to the time of Jesus Christ, they are very similar in many of their core beliefs.
One is that Christians believe in original sin and that Jesus died in our place to save us from that sin.
The other is that Jesus was the Son of God and part of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All Christians believe in heaven and that those who sincerely repent their sins before God will be saved and join Him in heaven.
Belief in hell and Satan varies among groups and individuals.
There are a multitude of forms of Christianity which have developed either because of disagreements on dogma, adaptation to different cultures, or simply personal taste. For this reason there can be a great difference between the various forms of Christianity they may seem like different religions to some people.

Islam - 622 CE 

     Islam was founded in 622 CE by Mohammed the Prophet, in Medina. Islam is the youngest of all the major world religions, but it is not viewed by many Muslims as new. They share the belief that it is the same religion taught by Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus. Mohammed is believed to be the final prophet who clarified and purified the teachings of his predecessors by removing all of the errors in two sacred texts; the Qu’ran which is the words of the one true God Allah, and the Hadith, a collection of Mohammed’s sayings.

Muslims follow Five Pillars of Islam:
Recite the shahadah at least once. 
Perform the salat (prayer) 5 times a day while facing Mecca. 
Donate regularly to charity via the zakat, a 2.5% charity tax, and through additional donations to the needy. 
Fast during the month of Ramadan, the month that Mohammed received the Qu'ran from Allah. 
Make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca if economically and physically possible. 
Beliefs:
Muslims follow a strict monotheism with one creator who is just, omnipotent and merciful.
They also believe in Satan who drives people to sin, and that all unbelievers and sinners will spend eternity in Hell.
Muslims who sincerely repent and submit to God will return to a state of sinlessness and go to Paradise after death.
Alcohol, drugs, and gambling should be avoided and they reject racism.
They respect the earlier prophets, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but regard the concept of the divinity of Jesus as blasphemous and do not believe that he was executed on the cross.

Hinduism - 4000 to 2500 BCE

     The origins of Hinduism can be traced to the Indus Valley civilization sometime between 4000 and 2500 BCE. Hinduism is the belief that everything in the universe is connected to each other. This totality is called Brahman. Life’s purpose is to come to the realization that we are all part of God and that once we reach that realization we can become one with him in the afterlife. Samsara, the re-occuring cycle of life and death, helps followers reach this realization. Their Karma, or good and bad deeds throughout life will help determine how they will be reincarnated. Through good deeds in life, God will help you be reborn on a higher level, however bad deeds will lead you to being reborn at a lower level.
Hindus follow a strict caste system which determines the standing of each person. The caste one is born into is the result of the karma from their previous life. Only members of the highest caste, the Brahmins, may perform the Hindu religious rituals and hold positions of authority within the temples.

Hindu Beliefs:
1. I believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest reality.
2. I believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.
3. I believe that all souls are evolving towards union with God and will ultimately find moksha: spiritual knowledge and liberation from cycle of rebirth. Not a single soul will be eternally deprived of this destiny.
4. I believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by thoughts, words and deeds.
5. I believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved.
6. I believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments as well as personal devotionals create a communion with these devas and God.
7. I believe that spiritually awakened master or satguru is essential to know the transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, self-inquiry and meditation.
8. I believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa or nonviolence.
9. I believe that no particular religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facets of God's pure love and light, deserving tolerance and understanding.