Religion in Different Cultures

By Alexa Harrison

Table of Contents

Pg 1-What is Religion Pg 2 -Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia Pg 3 -Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia Pg 4 -Religion in Ancient Egypt Pg 5 -Religion in Ancient Egypt Pg 6 -Religion in Modern Canada Pg 7 - Religion in Modern Canada Pg 8 -Religion in Ancient Greece Pg 9 -Religion in Ancient Greece Pg 10 - Religion in Ancient China Pg 11 - Religion in Ancient China Pg 12 - Bibliography Pg 13 - Bibliography

What is Religion ? Religion is the belief of a group or

god . A person expresses religion in ways of praying or worshipping . There are many types of religion that varies in the region in the world you reside in . Popular religions in the world are Christianity , Muslim , Buddhism and Judaism .

Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia-The culture of Mesopotamia had a system in were the citizens believed in multiple gods rather then one . They also peopled in demons created by gods that could be good or bad .

-The people of Mesopotamia worshipped the demons to keep them happy and to prevent bad luck , because if the gods were mad they would take their unhappiness out on the citizens of Mesopotamia . They believed if something bad happened ( ie a storm ) it was because of angry gods punishing them.

-Each city had their own way of categorizing gods or goddesses . To worship the gods and goddesses of Mesopotamia citizens built large structures called Ziggurats that served as temples . Inside the temples large stone statues were built with large eyes and clasp hands praying for Mesopotamians . This was also the area in which Mesopotamians could offer apologies or rekindle their trust with the Gods.

Ziggurat

Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia

Some of the most important deities or gods were-

An – Sky god or King of all gods . There was no way to depicting him all information about his god was translated from Ancient texts .

Enki – God of fresh water known for his wisdom , Enkoi was depicted as a bearded man with water seen flowing threw his body

Inanna- Goddesses of love , fertility , and war she was the most important female gods of all.

Nanna- God of moon he was seen travelling across threw the sky in a boat with woven twigs surrounded by the stars and planets.

Utu- God of the sun and justice . Between the period when the sun sets in the west and rises in the east he is the underworld were he decides the fate of the the dead .

Religion in Ancient Egypt

Religion was very important to the Ancient Egyptians. One very strong tradition was Divine Kingship. Divine Kingship is the belief that the Pharaoh was not only a king but a god . The Pharaoh was in association with the Horus ( the sun god ). Once the Pharaoh died it was believed that he became a Osiris and helped the Egyptians in afterlife . The Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh held a lot of power in their religion .

The priests of Ancient Egypt were also very powerful as well . When everything was going well the people of Egypt believed the priest and the Pharaoh were doing their job well . But when the crops were bad that year the people blamed the Pharaoh and the priests . Just like the Mesopotamians the Ancient Egyptians Religion was based on a polytheistic ( many gods ) religion. In there religious calendar their was a short period in which there was only one god ( monotheism ) a year . Their religion was made up of 700 gods and goddesses , so it was frequently expected to have deities combined to form a new deity

Religion in Ancient Egypt One of the most famous Egyptian religious beliefs was Afterlife ,

believing that the body had to be preserved so the spirit could thrive in afterlife .For a body to get food and to be able to drink in the afterlife the body had to be mummified . Mummification took a long time and it met for a tomb to be built and all necessary objects to be placed in the tomb.

In Ancient Egypt only Pharaohs and important workers were mummified but as time went on the modern Egyptians realized mummification should be available to all. Mummification was done in several steps according to the individuals status. For example King Tuts head was covered with a golden face mask .

Religion in Modern Canada

The religion in Modern Canada is huge variety of different religions . There is no official religion in Canada but more then half of all Canadians claim there religion as Christianity. Christianity is a religion in which someone will go to church and praise Jesus Christ or God and follow the laws of the roman catholic church .

But not all Canadians are Christian , because of the increase of immigration from foreign countries each person brings with them their own unique identity or culture . For example countries such as Asia , Africa or the Middle east contribute to the growth of Muslim , Buddhist , Hindu and Sikh communities in Canada . Other religions include Bahai Faith , Unitarian , Universalists , Judaism , Pagans and First Nations.

Religion in Modern Canada

The religion in Modern Canada doesn't just have strong Christian roots but as well as Muslim . The first mosque of Canada opened in Edmonton in 1931 identifying 645 Muslims in Canada .

Even though there more then 50 plus identified religions in Canada ,the Canadian government believes in pluralism ( you have a free voice in your religion ) so you can act how you want and even have no religion at all .

Religion in Ancient Greece

Religion was a key role in Ancient Greece because the Ancient Greeks believed that religion would make their life better as well as the gods would take take care of them when they died .

The Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and goddesses . The Grecians believed that the gods and goddesses controlled everything in their lives as well as in their environment. Staying on the Gods good side was important so they would help you but when you got on their bad side you were in danger . In Greek their were certain places in their homes which they could pray to the gods . In the streets their were also shrines in which you could leave small presents and offerings for the gods .

The Greeks , to show their respect to the gods built temples in each town for gods or goddesses . The temple were not like the ordinary worship halls were people could pray in . The temples in Ancient Greek were the homes for the statues of the gods.

Religion in Ancient Greece

Priests were important to the people in the community of Ancient Greek because they were believed to have the power to talk to the gods and so they were respected and trusted . There were only two ways to become a priest . By inheriting the role or being voted in too become one . The Ancient Greeks had faith in that all gods came from Gaia ( the earth ) and Uranos ( the sky ).

The Greek gods were like adult humans falling in love , arguing , having children , playing music and partying . The Ancient Greeks similar to the Romans believed that gods and goddesses were responsible for different things .The Greeks believed that the most important Gods and Goddesses lived together on top of Mt. Olympus . Mt Olympus was the highest mountain in Greece and it was so high you couldn’t see the summit .

Mt. Olympus in Mythology.

Mt. Olympus in real life

Religion in Ancient China

There were three major religions in Ancient China. They included Taoism , Confucianism , and Buddhism . Taoism was founded in the Zhou Dynasty in the 6th century when a philosopher wrote down his ideas in a book called the Tao Te Ching .

Taoism is the believe that people should become connected with nature and all living things have flow through them .Taoists didn’t believe in rules or government so their religion was very simple . The idea of the Yin and Yang comes from this Ancient Chinese religion . The Ying and Yang represents that everything in nature has a balance between them called Yin and Yang . The opposite forces are always equally balanced continuously through natures connection.

Religion in Ancient China

Not long after Taoism was founded Confucianism became another religion in Ancient China. Confucianism had strict rules in how you could behave or live . The Confucius worshipped being fair , and respecting others , they honored the differences in people as well . Unlike Taoism Confucianism had a powerful government .

The last type of religion in Ancient China was Buddhism . Buddhism started in 563 BC in Nepal . Buddhists believed in the cycle of rebirth meaning the cycle is complete once a person enters nirvana. Karma was also practiced by Buddhists so the actions you take will either help you or hurt you depending if you did a bad thing or a good thing .

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