World Religions

Religion• Religion is an organized

system of beliefs, ceremonies, practices and worship that centers on one or more gods– Polytheism- belief in

many gods– Monotheism- belief in one

god

• Religion is a dominate force in the world- determining what people wear, eat and how they behave

Hinduism

• Hinduism is one of the worlds oldest religions- started in India

• Hinduism has developed over thousands of years but the basic premise is to achieve Moksha- perfect understanding

• Hindus today worship many gods, but the original belief was based on Brahman- the world soul, who had three personalities– Brahma the creator, Vishnu the

protector, and Shiva the destroyer

• Hinduism believes that every person can be achieve Moksha if they let go of selfish desires

• Hindu holy books are called the Vedas and the Upanishads – The Upanishads are the interpretation of the Vedas

• The Spiritual leaders are called Guru’s

• Hindus base their beliefs and actions on Karma or a belief that what happens to you is a result of past deeds

• Karma is the main part of Reincarnation or the belief that you will come back as another object or person on your quest to nirvana

• Another main part of the Hindu belief system is the Caste System– Social, economic

traditions that you are born into

• There are several levels of Hindu society– Brahmins

(teachers), Ksatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants, artisans, farmers), and Shudras (laborers)

– The level you are born into will be the level you live your life in.

– There is no changing levels

• Buddhism-started in India- has ties to Hinduism

• Around 525 BC, an Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama (the founder of Buddhism) left his palace to search for understanding– He found an old man, an ill

man, a corpse and an ascetic– Because of what he saw, he

became convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence

• He decided to give up all his riches and become a monk to try to comprehend the truth of the world around him

Buddhism

• After meditating under a tree, he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation.

• From this point on, he was known as the Buddha, meaning the "Enlightened One."

• Spent the remainder of his life journeying around India, teaching others what he had come to understand.

• After the death of the Buddha, monks or Buddhist spiritual leaders cremated the Buddha’s body and had the ashes divided and put in Stupas or a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics

• They also had his words written down in the Sutras- Buddhist Holy Book

• The Sutras tell of the Four Noble Truths- Life is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, one can escape suffering by reaching nirvana & follow the 8 fold path to nirvana– These four truths were “discovered” by the Buddha

• According to the Buddha, one must follow the Eightfold Path- Right views, Right aspirations, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration

• If you follow the path, you will become enlightened and reach Nirvana- When you’ve reached enlightenment

Confucianism

• 551 BC, K'ung Fu Tzu was born– Also known as Confucius-the

founder of Confucianism (started in China)

• He became a teacher, but eventually gave it up to travel to China and give advice to the rulers

• His writings deal primarily with individual morality and ethics, and the proper exercise of political power by the rulers

• Confucianism does not have any gods– He dealt mostly with how people should act instead of what to believe in

• His teachings were written down in The Five Classics- the Confucius Holy Book

• Basic beliefs say – Evil would disappear if people would just think and act properly– Practice a moral code of conduct– Honor relationships of man and society: Ruler, parents, spouse, siblings,

friends– Education

Judaism • Around 2,500 BC, a man

named Abraham was commanded by God to leave Ur

• Eventually, he settled in a land called Canaan where his descendants (Hebrews) grew to be quite large

• Abraham made a covenant with God- he promised to obey him if God protected the Hebrews.

• The Hebrews called God Yahweh, or Jehovah.

• After a major drought hit Canaan, his descendants left for Egypt where there was food

• While there, they were taken as slaves– Stayed slaves for 400

years until Moses rescued them and led them out of Egypt.

– Eventually, they ended up back in Canaan, where they separated into 12 tribes.

• As Moses led them across the Sinai peninsula he spoke to God and received the Torah- or The Jewish Holy Book

– The main part of the Torah was the 10 commandments

• In the commandments, the Hebrews were given a Holy Day or a Sabbath

• Current Jewish synagogues (a Jewish Church) have Rabbis- Jewish spiritual leader

• After making it back to Canaan, the Jewish people became powerful under kings Saul, David and Solomon– Saul drove the Philistines out of the kingdom– David united the 12 tribes– Solomon built the great temple– The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the

Babylonians around 580 B.C. It was rebuilt under Cyrus after the Persians conquered the area.

– The Romans destroyed it around 70 AD

Christianity• Christianity Started in

Israel/Palestine, in the Roman Empire, around 33 AD

• Around year 6-4 B.C., Jesus of Nazareth was born into the Jewish faith.

• Jesus spent most of his life traveling all over Israel teaching people how to be better

• A main point to his teachings was Baptism- Immersion or sprinkling of water and Resurrection- Belief that people will rise from the dead

• Over time, the teachings of the Torah and Jesus were written down and put into a book called the Bible- Christian Holy Book

• After the death of Jesus Christ (Means “Savior”) Christianity was spread by two main people- Paul and Peter

• Eventually the Christian church would split into two main churches:– Catholic- meaning “universal”– Orthodox- meaning “original”

• Ultimately, the Catholic church dominated Western Europe, while the Eastern Orthodox church dominated Greece and Eastern Europe

• Around 1500, another group split off from the Catholic church. They were known as “Protestants.”

Islam• In 570 AD, Muhammad- Founder of Islam- was born in modern

day Saudi Arabia• Around 610 AD, after leaving his home for the mountains, he

claims to have received his first revelation from God (Allah) . He believed he was the last prophet.

• After his death, his revelations were written down in what became known as the Qur’an/Koran

• His main teachings became known as the Five Pillars of Islam- Confession, Prayer, Alms to the poor, Fasting, Pilgrimage to Mecca

• The religion Muhammad founded became known as Islam- Started in Saudi Arabia which means “submission”

• The holiest city in Islam is Mecca

– Site where Muhammad received his revelation

– Where the main Islamic Mosque or Muslim place of worship is located

• Muhammad eventually became a military and religious leader, uniting most of the Arabian peninsula under Islam