An overview of the main religions in Wigan.
Christianity
Christianity is the worlds biggest religion with over 2 billion adherents.
Christians believe:
- That Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament
- That Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
- That God sent his son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.
- That Jesus gave his life on the cross and rose from the dead after the 3rd day.
- There is only one God but there are three elements to this God. (God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit.)
Christians worship in churches, their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers. The Christian holy book is the Bible and consists of Old and New Testaments.
Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular calendar.
Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the worlds oldest religions and has over 900 million adherents worldwide. 0.7% of Wigan's population describe themselves as being Hindu (2001 Census)
Hindus believe:
- in a universal eternal soul called Brahman, who created and is present in everything, but they worship other deities such as Ram, Shiva, Lakshmi and Hauman, recognising different attributes of Brahman in them.
- that the soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on how the previous life was lived.
- that the texts were received by scholars directly from God and passed onto generations by word of mouth.
Hindu worship, or puja, involves images (murtis), prayers (mantras) and diagrams of the universe (yantras). Central to Hindu worship is the image, or icon, which can be worshipped either at home or in the temple.
The Vedas are the most ancient religious Hindu text and define the truth.
Hindus celebrate many holy days, but the Festival of Lights, Diwali is the most well known.
Islam
Followers of Islam are called Muslims. 0.33% of Wigan's popualtion describe themselves as followers of the Islamic faith. The Islamic faith splits muslims into Shi'a muslims and Shi'te muslims.
Muslims believe:
- that there is only One God. The Arabic word for God is Allah. According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to His law. Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God. They believe that the final Prophet was Muhammad (peace be upon him).
- that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes, date their religion from the time of the migration of Muhammad.
There are five basic Pillars of Islam. These pillars are the declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca.
Muslims worship in a building called a mosque. A Muslim can perform their daily prayers anywhere, but it is especially good to pray with others in a mosque.
Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Qur'an, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is the practical example of Prophet Muhammad.
There are only two Muslim festivals set down in Islamic law: Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha (Eid or Id is a word meaning festival). But there are also several other special days which Muslims celebrate.
Judaism
Followers of Judaism are called Jews. 0.03% of Wigan's population describe themselves as followers of the judaic faith. (2001 census)
Jews believe:
- that there is only one God with whom they have a covenant (external link) In exchange for all the good that God has done for the Jewish people, Jewish people keep God’s laws and try to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.
- that there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have an individual and personal relationship.
- that God continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do.
Judaism has a rich history of religious text, but the central and most important religious document is the Torah (external link). Spiritual leaders are called Rabbis.
Jews worship (external link) in Synagogues (external link).
Some of the main holy days in the Jewish calendar include, the Days of Repentance or Days of Awe, Hanukkah or Chanukah (the Jewish Festival of Lights) and Passover, celebrated to commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses.
Sikhism
Followers of Sikhism are called Sikhs. 0.02% of Wigan's population describes themselves as followers of the Sikh faith.
Sikhs believe:
- There is only one God, he is the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer.
- God cannot take human form.
- That the goal of human life is to break the cycle of birth's and deaths and merge with God.
- There are five cardinal vices are; Kam (lust), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (worldly attachment) and Ahankar (pride). If one can overcome these, they will achieve salvation
- There should be a rejection of all forms of blind rituals such as fasting, religious vegetarianism, pilgrimages, superstions, yoga, as well as any form of idol worship
- That the devotee must live in the world yet keep his mind pure. He must be a soldier, a scholar, a saint.
- That there should be no distinctions based on caste, creed, race or sex
- In the full equality of women, rejecting female infanticide, sati (wife burning), permitting widow remarriage and rejects purdah (women wearing veils).
- Honest labour and work (Kirat Karna) are considered honourable
- Vand Chhakna, sharing with others is also a social responsibility.
The Guru Granth Sahib is truely unique among the world's great scriptures. It is considered the Supreme Spiritual Authority and Head of the Sikh religion, rather than any living person.
A Sikh place of worship is called a Gurdwara. Any place where the Guru Granth Sahib is installed and treated with due respect can be referred to as a Gurdwara. Three main functions are carried out in a Gurdwara:
1) The singing of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib
2) Katha which is reading of the Guru Granth Sahib and explanations
3) The third main function which is carried out at every Gurdwara is the Langar, free community kitchen for all visitors of all religions.
There are many Sikh events including Hola Mohalla, an annual festival of thousands held at Anandpur Sahib and Akhand Path.
(Taken from www.sikhs.org(external link) )
Buddhism
Buddhism is a spiritual tradition that focuses on personal spiritual development and the attainment of a deep insight into the true nature of life.
- Buddhism teaches that all life is interconnected, so compassion is natural and important.
- Buddhism is 2,500 years old
- There are currently 376 million followers worldwide
- There are around 151, 816 Buddhists in Britain according to the 2001 census
- Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama's quest for Enlightenment in around the 6th Century BCE
- There is no belief in a personal God. It is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God
- Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible
- The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more
- Buddhism is a very colourful faith with many festivals throughout the year
- Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple
- The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom
(Taken from the BBC website)
Atheism
Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings. The word Atheism comes from a, meaning without, and theism meaning belief in god or gods. Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe. Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods or scriptures
Reasons for non-belief
People are atheist for many reasons, among them:
- They find insufficient evidence to support any religion.
- They think that religion is nonsensical.
- They once had a religion and have lost faith in it.
- They live in a non-religious culture.
- Religion doesn't interest them.
- Religion doesn't seem relevant to their lives.
- Religions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world.
(Taken from the BBC website (External Link) )
Further Information
For more information on different religions please go to the BBC religion webpage (external link).
Multi-Faith Calendar
To view an up to date multi-faith calendar please follow this link to the BBC website(External Link)
For Wigan Councils Diversity Calendar (.pdf, 255KB) please follow this link.
Faith Quiz
