RELIGIONS IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIA

Religions in the Southeast Asia


Buddhism

Hinduism

Muslim
Buddhism
Theravada, Mahayana Buddhism had spread throughout Southeast Asia by the seventh century

Buddhism�today�is�divided into two major branches known to their respective followers as Theravada, the Way of the Elders, and Mahayana, the Great Vehicle. Followers of Mahayana refer to Theravada using the derogatory term Hinayana, the Lesser Vehicle.

The number of Buddhists worldwide has been estimated at between 150 and 300 million.

Buddhism�has�been�significant not only in India but also in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and Laos, where Theravada has been dominant; Mahayana has had its greatest impact in China, Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as in India
BUDDHISM IN CAMBODIA



This statue of Buddha seated in the lotus position is located on the island of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. It is 12 m (39 ft) tall. The majority of the Thai people practice Theravada Buddhism.
Hinduism
Hinduism in Southeast Asia influenced the former Champa civilization in southern parts of Central Vietnam, Funan in Cambodia, the Khmer Empire in Indochina, the Srivijayan kingdom on Sumatra, the Singhasari kingdom and the Majapahit Empire based in Java, Bali, and the Philippine archipelago.
Important monuments and sculptures of both faiths survive from that period onward
Bali remains largely Hindu. Bali is the only area in South-East Asia where Hinduism is the dominant religion. The last Hindu court eventually retreated from Java to Bali about 1500. The original Hinduism in Bali itself is still prevailant in Trunyan village. The resurgence of Hinduism in Indonesia is led by Balinese Hindus.
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Hindu Temple on Bali
Pura Besakih is a Hindu temple complex located on the slopes of a volcano, Mount Agung, on the Indonesian island of Bali. Although Indonesia is primarily Muslim today, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms ruled the area for several centuries.
Islam


Indonesia now has the largest Muslim population in the world Islam. Followers of a form of Islam make up 87 percent of the population, making Indonesia the largest Islamic country in the world


Today about 1 billion Muslims are spread over 40 predominantly Muslim countries and 5 continents.
Muslims consider the Kaaba—a small sanctuary near the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca— to be the most sacred spot on earth
According to the American Jewish Yearbook, the total world Jewish population in the year 2000 was estimated at 13.2 million, of whom 5.7 million lived in the United States, 4.8 million in Israel, 530,000 in France, and 438,000 in the former Soviet Union. These are the four largest centers of Jewish settlement. Other significant Jewish communities are found in Canada (360,000), Great Britain (276,000), Argentina (200,000), and South Africa (80,000).
Christianity, the most widely 
distributed of the world religions, having substantial representation in all the populated continents of the globe. In the late 1990s, its total membership exceeded 1.9 billion people.