About the book: 2012 / The manual contains extensive reference and methodological material on issues of religiosity of the world population. The history of world religion, its origin, formation, development, influence on a person’s worldview is presented in an accessible language; the essence of ancient Indian schools, Russian Old Believers and other religious sects is revealed. Religious holidays, their origin and meaning, and modern interpretation are shown. Tests, dictionaries of basic terms, seminar plans and essay topics have been developed for each topic. The manual can provide significant assistance to teachers in organizing and conducting classes, and to students in studying the course of general humanitarian and socio-economic disciplines.