Religion
Stories of meaning
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What Is Religion?
Religions are systems of belief that help people understand life's biggest mysteries: Where did we come from? Why are we here? What happens after we die? Different religions offer different answers, but they all address the same deep questions.
Words of Wisdom
"Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace."โ The Dhammapada
"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path."โ Siddhartha Gautama
"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."โ Attributed to the Buddha
"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."โ Jesus of Nazareth
Why Religion Matters
Religion shapes how billions of people live, from daily habits to major life decisions. Understanding different faiths helps you understand the world and the people in it.
All Religion Articles
Buddhism for Kids
Have you ever noticed how everything around you is always moving, shifting, or changing into something else?
Christianity for Kids
What if the most powerful force in the universe wasn't a king's army or a mountain's height, but a quiet kind ...
Moses for Kids
What does it take to lead a group of people from a place of fear to a place of hope?
Artemis for Kids
Have you ever stood at the very edge of a forest just as the sun was going down?
Diwali for Kids
Have you ever noticed how a single candle can make a dark room feel safe?
What is the Afterlife?
Have you ever looked at the stars and wondered where people go when their time on Earth is finished?
Loki for Kids
Have you ever done something just to see what would happen, even if you knew it might get you into trouble?
What Do Religions Have in Common?
If you could zoom out and look at the whole world at once, you would see billions of people doing very differe...
Horus for Kids
Have you ever looked at a hawk circling high above and wondered what the world looks like from its point of vi...
Hajj for Kids
Imagine standing in a place so crowded that you can't see the ground, yet so quiet that you can hear your own ...
Islam for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and felt both very small and very connected to everything else at the...
Abraham for Kids
Have you ever had a feeling that there was something more to the world than what you could see right in front ...
Hades for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens to a secret once it is forgotten, or where the roots of a giant oak tree t...
Freya for Kids
What would you do if you were a goddess who could choose her own fate, fly across the sky in a feathered cloak...
Soul for Kids
If you look in a mirror, you see your eyes, your hair, and your smile, but is there something else hiding behi...
Thoth for Kids
What if every time you picked up a pen, you were performing a small act of magic?
Hinduism for Kids
Have you ever wondered if everything in the world, from the tiniest ant to the farthest star, is somehow conne...
African Mythology for Kids
What if the world wasn't just made of rocks and trees, but was actually a giant conversation that has been goi...
Prophet Muhammad for Kids
What would it be like to live in a world where everyone was searching for a new way to understand the universe...
Holi for Kids
What if, for one single day, every rule about staying clean and being polite was completely erased?
Creation Stories Across Cultures for Kids
If you could travel back in time to the very first second of the universe, what do you think you would see?
Hercules for Kids
What does it mean to be strong when your biggest battle is inside your own heart?
Valkyries for Kids
If you were a Viking standing on a cold, windswept field a thousand years ago, you might have looked at the fl...
Mecca for Kids
Imagine a place so important that every person in a global community of two billion people knows exactly which...
Forgiveness for Kids
Have you ever carried a heavy secret, or a hot, prickly feeling in your chest because someone was mean to you?
Book of the Dead for Kids
If you had to travel through a land of monsters and magic to reach paradise, what would you bring with you?
Guru Nanak for Kids
Have you ever wondered why people build walls between themselves, even when they live in the same neighborhood...
Mahabharata for Kids
Imagine a story so long that it would take you two whole weeks of non-stop reading just to reach the end.
Judaism for Kids
Imagine you had to leave your home and could only take what you could carry in your mind.
Sufism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a still lake and seen the clouds reflected perfectly in the water?
Flood Myths Around the World
Have you ever sat by a window during a heavy rainstorm and wondered what would happen if the clouds simply nev...
Valhalla: The Hall of the Brave
What does it mean to be brave when you know the world might end?
Four Noble Truths for Kids
Have you ever felt like life was a bit like a bicycle wheel that isn't quite round?
Faith for Kids
Have you ever closed your eyes and fallen backward, certain that a friend would catch you before you hit the g...
Pharaohs for Kids
Imagine you woke up tomorrow and everyone in your country believed that you, personally, were responsible for ...
Sikhism for Kids
Imagine a world where the king and the servant sit on the same floor to eat from the same pot.
Odysseus for Kids
What does it mean to be a hero when you cannot win with your muscles alone?
Joseph Campbell & The Hero's Journey
Have you ever noticed that your favorite movies, books, and even your own dreams seem to follow the same secre...
Rumi for Kids
Have you ever felt so happy that you wanted to spin in circles until the world became a blur of color?
Ragnarok for Kids
What if you knew exactly how the story would end, but you chose to play your part anyway?
Ramayana for Kids
Have you ever had to choose between what you wanted to do and what you knew was right?
The Dalai Lama for Kids
Can a person be a leader without an army, a country, or a palace?
Enlightenment for Kids
Have you ever had a moment where everything suddenly made sense?
Eightfold Path for Kids
Have you ever tried to walk across a balance beam?
How to Explain God to a Child
If you look up at the night sky, do you feel small, or do you feel like you belong to something huge?
Jainism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a tiny ant on the sidewalk and decided to step over it instead of on it?
Roman Mythology for Kids
If you could look up at the night sky and see a map of your familyโs history, what stories would you find ther...
Trojan War for Kids
Could a single golden apple really start a war that lasted ten years and changed the world forever?
Kabbalah for Kids
Have you ever looked at a tree and felt like there was a secret hidden inside its bark, or stared at the stars...
Greek Mythology for Kids
If you looked up at the night sky three thousand years ago, what would you see?
Egyptian Mythology for Kids
Imagine living in a world where the sun isn't just a star, but a king on a golden boat fighting a giant shadow...
Saints for Kids
Have you ever met someone who seems to shine with a different kind of light?
Ten Commandments for Kids
Have you ever wondered what keeps a group of people together when things get difficult?
How to Explain Religion
Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered where everything came from?
Celtic Mythology for Kids
Have you ever looked at a thick bank of morning mist and felt like something was hiding just behind it?
Zoroastrianism for Kids
Imagine a world where every single thought you have, every word you speak, and every action you take is like a...
Christian Mysticism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a sunset so beautiful that you forgot your own name for a second?
Karma for Kids
Have you ever tossed a pebble into a perfectly still pond and watched the circles spread out until they touche...
Greek Gods for Kids
If you could design a god to explain why you feel angry, or why the sea is so wild, what would they look like?
Egyptian Gods for Kids
What if the sun wasn't just a ball of fire, but a king on a journey?
How to Explain Different Religions for Kids
Have you ever wondered why your neighbor celebrates a holiday you have never heard of, or why some buildings h...
Beatitudes for Kids
What if everything the world told you about success was completely backward?
Medusa for Kids
What if a single look could turn you into a statue forever?
Bahai Faith for Kids
Imagine a world where every person, no matter where they are from or what they look like, is considered part o...
Japanese Mythology for Kids
Imagine standing on a misty mountain in Japan, where every stone, every waterfall, and every twisted pine tree...
Zen Buddhism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a flower so closely that you forgot your own name for a second?
Reincarnation for Kids
Have you ever looked at a seed and wondered how it knows how to become a giant oak tree?
Buddhist Meditation for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens if you just... stop?
Zeus for Kids
Imagine looking up at a summer storm and wondering if the thunder is actually a voice.
Parables of Jesus for Kids
Imagine a teacher who never gives you a straight answer, but instead tells you a story that feels like a puzzl...
Why Do People Believe in God?
Have you ever looked up at the stars and felt a tiny shiver of wonder?
The Minotaur: Myths, Mazes, and Hidden Monsters
Imagine walking through a hallway where every turn looks exactly the same as the last.
Shinto for Kids
Have you ever walked through a forest and felt like the trees were watching you, or stood by the ocean and fel...
Meditation for Kids: Finding Stillness in History
Have you ever noticed that your mind feels like a crowded room where everyone is talking at once?
Hindu Gods for Kids
Have you ever wondered how one thing can be many things at the same time?
Indigenous Religions for Kids
What if the rock you sit on or the river you splash in wasn't just an 'it', but a 'who'?
Ra for Kids
Have you ever wondered what the sun does when it goes behind the horizon at night?
Chinese Mythology for Kids
Imagine the entire universe tucked inside the shell of a single, giant egg.
Athena for Kids
Have you ever had a thought so big it felt like it was trying to burst out of your head?
Five Pillars of Islam for Kids
Imagine you are building a house that needs to stand for a thousand years, even in the middle of a desert wind...
Indigenous Spirituality for Kids
What if the mountain you are looking at isn't just a pile of rocks, but a living ancestor with a memory?
Norse Mythology for Kids
What if the world was not a planet floating in space, but a series of secret realms hidden among the roots of ...
Jesus for Kids
Have you ever wondered why our calendar counts the years starting from one specific personโs birth?
Prayer for Kids
Have you ever closed your eyes and spoken to someone you couldn't see?
Ganesha for Kids
Have you ever stood at the very start of something big, like the first day of school or the first page of a bl...
Animism for Kids
Have you ever looked at an old, gnarled tree and felt like it was watching you, or whispered a quick 'thank yo...
Osiris for Kids
Have you ever looked at a brown, shriveled seed and wondered how something so small and 'dead-looking' could t...
Hindu Mythology for Kids
Have you ever looked at a river and wondered where the water began and where it will end?
Poseidon for Kids
Have you ever stood at the edge of the ocean and felt a sudden chill, not from the water, but from the sheer s...
Atheism for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered where it all came from?
Ramadan for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens when an entire community decides to slow down, wait, and look inward all a...
Norse Gods for Kids
What does it feel like to live in a world where the gods are just as worried about the future as you are?
Buddha for Kids
Have you ever wondered why even the people who have everything they want still feel like something is missing?
What is Heaven?
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if there is something more beyond the stars?
Isis for Kids
What would you do if the person you loved most in the world disappeared?
Paganism for Kids
Have you ever walked through a forest and felt like the trees were watching you, or looked at a thunderstorm a...
Hanuman for Kids
Have you ever felt like you had a giant secret inside you, a source of strength that you just hadn't learned h...
Aztec Mythology for Kids
What if the world you live in today is just one chapter in a much longer story of endings and beginnings?
Hera for Kids
If you look up at the night sky and see the white smudge of the Milky Way, you are looking at a story about He...
Agnosticism for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if something or someone made all of this, only to realiz...
Eid for Kids: The History and Meaning of Celebration
Have you ever waited for a secret to be revealed by the night sky?
Odin for Kids
Would you trade something you love to know everything in the world?
Anubis for Kids
If you were walking through the Egyptian desert four thousand years ago, you might see a pair of pointed ears ...
Why Are There Different Religions? for Kids
If you looked at the night sky from a mountain in [Peru](/history/learn/ancient-peru-for-kids), a desert in [E...
Mayan Mythology for Kids
If you had to build a human being from scratch, what ingredients would you use?
Krishna for Kids
Imagine a god who is also a mischievous child, a brave protector, and a wise teacher all at once.
What is Faith?
Have you ever wondered how we can be so sure about things we cannot see, touch, or measure with a ruler?
Thor for Kids
If you heard a crack of thunder a thousand years ago, you wouldn't look for a weather report: you would look f...
Apollo for Kids
Have you ever wondered why we feel the need to make things perfect, whether it's a drawing, a song, or even a ...
Rama for Kids
Would you give up everything you owned just to keep a promise made by someone else?
Why Are There Different Religions for Kids
Have you ever wondered why your neighbor celebrates [Diwali](/history/learn/festival-of-lights-history-kids) w...
Lakshmi for Kids
What does it actually mean to be 'rich'?
Native American Mythology for Kids
If you wanted to explain how the world began, would you use a science book or a [story](/big-ideas/religion/cr...
๐ Mythology 45
Artemis for Kids
Have you ever stood at the very edge of a forest just as the sun was going down?
Loki for Kids
Have you ever done something just to see what would happen, even if you knew it might get you into trouble?
Horus for Kids
Have you ever looked at a hawk circling high above and wondered what the world looks like from its point of vi...
Hades for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens to a secret once it is forgotten, or where the roots of a giant oak tree t...
Freya for Kids
What would you do if you were a goddess who could choose her own fate, fly across the sky in a feathered cloak...
Thoth for Kids
What if every time you picked up a pen, you were performing a small act of magic?
African Mythology for Kids
What if the world wasn't just made of rocks and trees, but was actually a giant conversation that has been goi...
Creation Stories Across Cultures for Kids
If you could travel back in time to the very first second of the universe, what do you think you would see?
Hercules for Kids
What does it mean to be strong when your biggest battle is inside your own heart?
Valkyries for Kids
If you were a Viking standing on a cold, windswept field a thousand years ago, you might have looked at the fl...
Book of the Dead for Kids
If you had to travel through a land of monsters and magic to reach paradise, what would you bring with you?
Flood Myths Around the World
Have you ever sat by a window during a heavy rainstorm and wondered what would happen if the clouds simply nev...
Valhalla: The Hall of the Brave
What does it mean to be brave when you know the world might end?
Pharaohs for Kids
Imagine you woke up tomorrow and everyone in your country believed that you, personally, were responsible for ...
Odysseus for Kids
What does it mean to be a hero when you cannot win with your muscles alone?
Joseph Campbell & The Hero's Journey
Have you ever noticed that your favorite movies, books, and even your own dreams seem to follow the same secre...
Ragnarok for Kids
What if you knew exactly how the story would end, but you chose to play your part anyway?
Roman Mythology for Kids
If you could look up at the night sky and see a map of your familyโs history, what stories would you find ther...
Trojan War for Kids
Could a single golden apple really start a war that lasted ten years and changed the world forever?
Greek Mythology for Kids
If you looked up at the night sky three thousand years ago, what would you see?
Egyptian Mythology for Kids
Imagine living in a world where the sun isn't just a star, but a king on a golden boat fighting a giant shadow...
Celtic Mythology for Kids
Have you ever looked at a thick bank of morning mist and felt like something was hiding just behind it?
Greek Gods for Kids
If you could design a god to explain why you feel angry, or why the sea is so wild, what would they look like?
Egyptian Gods for Kids
What if the sun wasn't just a ball of fire, but a king on a journey?
Medusa for Kids
What if a single look could turn you into a statue forever?
Japanese Mythology for Kids
Imagine standing on a misty mountain in Japan, where every stone, every waterfall, and every twisted pine tree...
Zeus for Kids
Imagine looking up at a summer storm and wondering if the thunder is actually a voice.
The Minotaur: Myths, Mazes, and Hidden Monsters
Imagine walking through a hallway where every turn looks exactly the same as the last.
Ra for Kids
Have you ever wondered what the sun does when it goes behind the horizon at night?
Chinese Mythology for Kids
Imagine the entire universe tucked inside the shell of a single, giant egg.
Athena for Kids
Have you ever had a thought so big it felt like it was trying to burst out of your head?
Norse Mythology for Kids
What if the world was not a planet floating in space, but a series of secret realms hidden among the roots of ...
Osiris for Kids
Have you ever looked at a brown, shriveled seed and wondered how something so small and 'dead-looking' could t...
Hindu Mythology for Kids
Have you ever looked at a river and wondered where the water began and where it will end?
Poseidon for Kids
Have you ever stood at the edge of the ocean and felt a sudden chill, not from the water, but from the sheer s...
Norse Gods for Kids
What does it feel like to live in a world where the gods are just as worried about the future as you are?
Isis for Kids
What would you do if the person you loved most in the world disappeared?
Aztec Mythology for Kids
What if the world you live in today is just one chapter in a much longer story of endings and beginnings?
Hera for Kids
If you look up at the night sky and see the white smudge of the Milky Way, you are looking at a story about He...
Odin for Kids
Would you trade something you love to know everything in the world?
Anubis for Kids
If you were walking through the Egyptian desert four thousand years ago, you might see a pair of pointed ears ...
Mayan Mythology for Kids
If you had to build a human being from scratch, what ingredients would you use?
Thor for Kids
If you heard a crack of thunder a thousand years ago, you wouldn't look for a weather report: you would look f...
Apollo for Kids
Have you ever wondered why we feel the need to make things perfect, whether it's a drawing, a song, or even a ...
Native American Mythology for Kids
If you wanted to explain how the world began, would you use a science book or a [story](/big-ideas/religion/cr...
๐ก Big concepts 29
Diwali for Kids
Have you ever noticed how a single candle can make a dark room feel safe?
What is the Afterlife?
Have you ever looked at the stars and wondered where people go when their time on Earth is finished?
What Do Religions Have in Common?
If you could zoom out and look at the whole world at once, you would see billions of people doing very differe...
Hajj for Kids
Imagine standing in a place so crowded that you can't see the ground, yet so quiet that you can hear your own ...
Soul for Kids
If you look in a mirror, you see your eyes, your hair, and your smile, but is there something else hiding behi...
Holi for Kids
What if, for one single day, every rule about staying clean and being polite was completely erased?
Mecca for Kids
Imagine a place so important that every person in a global community of two billion people knows exactly which...
Forgiveness for Kids
Have you ever carried a heavy secret, or a hot, prickly feeling in your chest because someone was mean to you?
Four Noble Truths for Kids
Have you ever felt like life was a bit like a bicycle wheel that isn't quite round?
Faith for Kids
Have you ever closed your eyes and fallen backward, certain that a friend would catch you before you hit the g...
Enlightenment for Kids
Have you ever had a moment where everything suddenly made sense?
Eightfold Path for Kids
Have you ever tried to walk across a balance beam?
How to Explain God to a Child
If you look up at the night sky, do you feel small, or do you feel like you belong to something huge?
How to Explain Religion
Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered where everything came from?
Karma for Kids
Have you ever tossed a pebble into a perfectly still pond and watched the circles spread out until they touche...
How to Explain Different Religions for Kids
Have you ever wondered why your neighbor celebrates a holiday you have never heard of, or why some buildings h...
Reincarnation for Kids
Have you ever looked at a seed and wondered how it knows how to become a giant oak tree?
Why Do People Believe in God?
Have you ever looked up at the stars and felt a tiny shiver of wonder?
Meditation for Kids: Finding Stillness in History
Have you ever noticed that your mind feels like a crowded room where everyone is talking at once?
Five Pillars of Islam for Kids
Imagine you are building a house that needs to stand for a thousand years, even in the middle of a desert wind...
Prayer for Kids
Have you ever closed your eyes and spoken to someone you couldn't see?
Atheism for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered where it all came from?
Ramadan for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens when an entire community decides to slow down, wait, and look inward all a...
What is Heaven?
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if there is something more beyond the stars?
Agnosticism for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered if something or someone made all of this, only to realiz...
Eid for Kids: The History and Meaning of Celebration
Have you ever waited for a secret to be revealed by the night sky?
Why Are There Different Religions? for Kids
If you looked at the night sky from a mountain in [Peru](/history/learn/ancient-peru-for-kids), a desert in [E...
What is Faith?
Have you ever wondered how we can be so sure about things we cannot see, touch, or measure with a ruler?
Why Are There Different Religions for Kids
Have you ever wondered why your neighbor celebrates [Diwali](/history/learn/festival-of-lights-history-kids) w...
๐ Traditions 19
Buddhism for Kids
Have you ever noticed how everything around you is always moving, shifting, or changing into something else?
Christianity for Kids
What if the most powerful force in the universe wasn't a king's army or a mountain's height, but a quiet kind ...
Islam for Kids
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and felt both very small and very connected to everything else at the...
Hinduism for Kids
Have you ever wondered if everything in the world, from the tiniest ant to the farthest star, is somehow conne...
Judaism for Kids
Imagine you had to leave your home and could only take what you could carry in your mind.
Sufism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a still lake and seen the clouds reflected perfectly in the water?
Sikhism for Kids
Imagine a world where the king and the servant sit on the same floor to eat from the same pot.
Jainism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a tiny ant on the sidewalk and decided to step over it instead of on it?
Kabbalah for Kids
Have you ever looked at a tree and felt like there was a secret hidden inside its bark, or stared at the stars...
Zoroastrianism for Kids
Imagine a world where every single thought you have, every word you speak, and every action you take is like a...
Christian Mysticism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a sunset so beautiful that you forgot your own name for a second?
Bahai Faith for Kids
Imagine a world where every person, no matter where they are from or what they look like, is considered part o...
Zen Buddhism for Kids
Have you ever looked at a flower so closely that you forgot your own name for a second?
Buddhist Meditation for Kids
Have you ever wondered what happens if you just... stop?
Shinto for Kids
Have you ever walked through a forest and felt like the trees were watching you, or stood by the ocean and fel...
Indigenous Religions for Kids
What if the rock you sit on or the river you splash in wasn't just an 'it', but a 'who'?
Indigenous Spirituality for Kids
What if the mountain you are looking at isn't just a pile of rocks, but a living ancestor with a memory?
Animism for Kids
Have you ever looked at an old, gnarled tree and felt like it was watching you, or whispered a quick 'thank yo...
Paganism for Kids
Have you ever walked through a forest and felt like the trees were watching you, or looked at a thunderstorm a...
๐ค Key figures 15
Moses for Kids
What does it take to lead a group of people from a place of fear to a place of hope?
Abraham for Kids
Have you ever had a feeling that there was something more to the world than what you could see right in front ...
Prophet Muhammad for Kids
What would it be like to live in a world where everyone was searching for a new way to understand the universe...
Guru Nanak for Kids
Have you ever wondered why people build walls between themselves, even when they live in the same neighborhood...
Rumi for Kids
Have you ever felt so happy that you wanted to spin in circles until the world became a blur of color?
The Dalai Lama for Kids
Can a person be a leader without an army, a country, or a palace?
Saints for Kids
Have you ever met someone who seems to shine with a different kind of light?
Hindu Gods for Kids
Have you ever wondered how one thing can be many things at the same time?
Jesus for Kids
Have you ever wondered why our calendar counts the years starting from one specific personโs birth?
Ganesha for Kids
Have you ever stood at the very start of something big, like the first day of school or the first page of a bl...
Buddha for Kids
Have you ever wondered why even the people who have everything they want still feel like something is missing?
Hanuman for Kids
Have you ever felt like you had a giant secret inside you, a source of strength that you just hadn't learned h...
Krishna for Kids
Imagine a god who is also a mischievous child, a brave protector, and a wise teacher all at once.
Rama for Kids
Would you give up everything you owned just to keep a promise made by someone else?
Lakshmi for Kids
What does it actually mean to be 'rich'?
๐ Sacred texts 5
Mahabharata for Kids
Imagine a story so long that it would take you two whole weeks of non-stop reading just to reach the end.
Ramayana for Kids
Have you ever had to choose between what you wanted to do and what you knew was right?
Ten Commandments for Kids
Have you ever wondered what keeps a group of people together when things get difficult?
Beatitudes for Kids
What if everything the world told you about success was completely backward?
Parables of Jesus for Kids
Imagine a teacher who never gives you a straight answer, but instead tells you a story that feels like a puzzl...