What are the most popular religious practices? where are they practiced around the world? why is religion important to the development\makeup of a civilization

There are some 4,300 religions of the world. This is according to Adherents, an independent, non-religiously affiliated organisation that monitors the number and size of the world's religions.

Side-stepping the issue of what constitutes a religion, Adherents divides religions into churches, denominations, congregations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, and movements. All are of varying size and influence.

Nearly 75 per cent of the world's population practices one of the five most influential religions of the world: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.

Christianity and Islam are the two religions most widely spread across the world. These two religions together cover the religious affiliation of more than half of the world's population. If all non-religious people formed a single religion, it would be the world's third largest.

One of the most widely-held myths among those in English-speaking countries is that Islamic believers are Arabs. In fact, most Islamic people do not live in the Arabic nations of the Middle East.

51% of the world believes in Christianity. (Including me) There are large Christian communities in parts of the world, such as Indonesia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, where Christianity is the second-largest religion after Islam. The United States has the largest Christian population in the world, followed by Brazil and Mexico.

The second largest is Islam. 21% of the world believes in Islam practice. Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region (from Turkey to Indonesia), with over 1 billion adherents. The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a nation home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), and India (10.9%).

The third largest is non religious. According to Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population is not affiliated with a religion, while 84% are affiliated.

People practice religion because it’s a way of life for many. Some were brought up in their religion and others just need hope. It’s important that we believe something is waiting for us, it helps people know there is something to look forward to.

Hope this helps.

Provide additional information.