Download The Religions of the World

The Religion of Hinduism
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World’s oldest religion dating back to prehistory (before 35000 BC)
Begun in the Indus River Valley of India
Currently the 3rd largest world religion
14% of the world population – estimated 900,000,000 people
Founder is unknown
Prophet – Krishna = god Vishnu incarnated – made man
Major gods- Brahma the Creator (all gods come from him), Vishnu the preserver
(10 incarnations), and Shiva the destroyer (circle of fire)
Holy books- Mahabharata (longest book in the world), Bhagavad-Gita (song of
god), Vedas, Upanishads, Brahamanas, and Ramayana
o Mahabharata- 90,000 stanzas, 18 books- includes the Bhagavad-Gita
o Vedas- most sacred of Hindu scriptures
o Upanishads- mystical scriptures
o Brahamanas- instructions on ritual and sacrifice
o Ramayana- epic poem on the god Rama
Laws – Dharma- gods divine law- follow the natural and spiritual duties.
Samsara – reincarnation- earthly cycle of birth, life, suffering, death, & rebirth
Karma- method for reaching Moksha- good deeds done in one’s life
Ending goal- Moksha- relief from the earthly cycle of reincarnation
Denominations of Hinduism – Sivaism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, & Smartism
Polytheistic religion with one supreme being and many minor gods
Followers are called Hindus- worship in a Mandir- each has a shrine dedicated to
a specific god
Holy days- Divali = Festival of Lights, Holi = Spring festival spreading water
Hindu Beliefs:
o Caste system- Brahmin, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Sudras, & Untouchables
o Ethics of Reciprocity – The Golden Rule
o Ahimsa – non-injury of any creature
o Meditation- process of freeing mind to become closer to Moksha
o Satguru- spiritually awakened master
o The cow is revered as a sacred animal representing the nature of life
o The red dot is a symbol of the Hindu religion and a beauty mark
o Pariah – child of someone of the upper caste and a lower caste
o Pujah- daily worship
o Calendar = Lunar
The Religion of Buddhism
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World’s 3rd oldest religion dating back to 563 BC
Begin in the area of India near present day Lumbini, Nepal
4th Largest world religion
6% of the world’s population – estimated 376,000,000 people
Founder is Siddhartha Gautama the “ One who brings all good”
Prophet is Buddha the Enlightened One also known as Siddhartha Gautama
Holy Books – Tripitaka = Three Baskets- collections of teachings and oral
traditions
Laws = Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, & Five Precepts
o Four Noble Truths = Life is full of suffering, suffering causes pain, desire
causes suffering and desire can be overcome by following the Eightfold
path
o Eightfold path- Right: View, Thought, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort,
Mindfulness, and Concentration.
o Five Precepts- Do Not: Lie, Steal, Kill, Chastise, or abuse drugs or alcohol
Reincarnation- earthly cycle of birth, life, suffering, death, and rebirth
Karma- one of the ways to reach Nirvana – good deeds done in one’s life
Ending Goal – Nirvana= relief from the earthly cycle of reincarnation
Denominations- Theravada and Mahayana
o Theravada- Southern Buddhists, Way of the elders, no god, Buddha is
prophet
o Mahayana- Northern Buddhism- Buddha is god & prophet
Monotheistic Religion for the Mahayana division of Buddhism
Followers are called Buddhists, some worship in a monastery
Beliefs include:
o Middle Way- The path to Nirvana between luxury and mortification
o Ethics of Reciprocity- The Golden Rule
o Ahimsa- Non-injury to all creatures
o Buddha was enlightened under the Bodhi Tree
o The Ganges River is holy
o Deer Park – where Buddha gave his 1st sermon
o Dalai Lama- head of the Tibetan Monks
o Puja- offerings or worship
The Four Noble Truths:
The Buddha's Four Noble Truths explore human suffering. They may be described
(somewhat simplistically) as:
Dukkha: The reality and universality of suffering. Suffering has many causes: loss,
sickness, pain, failure, the impermanence of pleasure.
Samudaya: The cause of suffering is a desire to have and control things. It can take
many forms: craving of sensual pleasures; the desire for fame; the desire to avoid
unpleasant sensations, like fear, anger or jealousy.
Nirodha: Suffering ceases with the final liberation of Nirvana (a.k.a. Nibbana). The
mind experiences complete freedom, liberation and non-attachment. It lets go of
any desire or craving.
Magga: The eightfold path leads to the cessation of suffering.
1. Life is suffering;
2. Suffering is due to attachment;
3. Attachment can be overcome;
4. There is a path for accomplishing this
The Five Precepts:
These are somewhat analogous to the second half of the Ten Commandments in Judaism
and Christianity -- that part of the Decalogue, which describes behaviors to avoid.
Do not kill
Do not steal
Do not lie
Do not be unchaste
Do not consume alcohol or other drugs
The Eightfold Path
1. Right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths. (Samma ditthi)
2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and
hatefulness. (Samma sankappa)
These two are referred to as prajña, or wisdom.
3. Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.(Samma vaca)
4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing, stealing, and
careless sex. (Samma kammanta)
5. Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and
hurting others, including animals.(Samma ajiva)
These three are refered to as shila, or morality.
6. Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of one's mind: Bad
qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good qualities should
be enacted and nurtured. (Samma vayama)
7. Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts,
and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.(Samma
sati)
8. Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true
understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.(Samma samadhi)
The last three are known as samadhi, or meditation.
The Religion of Judaism
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World’s second oldest religion dating back to 1750 BC
Began in the area of Jerusalem/Cannan
5th largest world religion (one of the smallest)
.22% or 14 million people practice Judaism
Founder would be Abraham and Moses
Abraham is the patriarch
Moses is the prophet of Judaism
Yahweh is their God, Hebrew translation of God
Holy book is the Tanakh – written originally in Hebrew
Torah- 1st five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
Nevee’eem- book of the Prophets
Ketuvim- book of Psalms and Proverbs
Laws-The 10 Commandments & Golden Rule
ONE: 'You shall have no other gods before Me.'
TWO: 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything
that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth.'
THREE: 'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
FOUR: 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.'
FIVE: 'Honor your father and your mother.'
SIX: 'You shall not murder.'
SEVEN: 'You shall not commit adultery.'
EIGHT: 'You shall not steal.'
NINE: 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'
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TEN: 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your
neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his
donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.'
Ending goal- Heaven
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Denominations- Pre-enlightenment, Reform, Orthodox, Conservative,
Reconstructionist
Monotheistic Religion which worships Yahweh as God
Followers are called Jews who worship in a Synagogue
Beliefs
The Exodus- where Moses freed Jews from Egypt
The Burning Bush- where Moses received the 10 Commandments from
Yahweh on Mount Sinai
The 10 Plagues
Passover- where Jews put lambs blood on the doorway to keep the Lord
From taking their first born.
Messiah –the anointed one, who will be a man related to King David
Chosen people- special people responsible for receiving the Torah.
Prayer 3times a day
Charity (Tzedakah) 10-15% of their income
Dietary law- only split-hooved animals that chew their cud, duck, chicken,
turkey and fish. Kosher
Sabbath – (Shabbat)- from sundown on Friday night until dark on
Saturday night
Circumcision
Bar Mitzvah/Bat Mitzvah 13years old
Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient
Calendar – lunar - they have a leap month
Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Sukkot (Harvest
Festival), Chanukah (Rededication of the Temple), Pesach (Passover)
The Religion of Christianity
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The World’s 4th oldest major religion dating back to the year 0
Began in the area of Jerusalem/Bethlehem
Largest of the world religions, 2.1 Billion or 33%
Abraham would be considered the patriarch through the bloodline of Isaac and
King David
Founder is technically Jesus Christ
Holy book is the Bible, combination of the Old and New Testaments
New Testament- Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Laws- 10 Commandments & Golden Rule, same as Judaism
Eternal Life in Heaven
Denominations: there are over 20 different denominations
Split in 1054 into Western and Eastern Churches
Western Church split again in the 16th Century into Roman Catholic and
Protestant
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Roman Catholic has stayed the same
Protestant Church has divided many times into:
Lutheran, Anglican, Quakers, Methodists, Calvinists,
Presbyterians, and Baptists to name a few
Eastern Church or Eastern Orthodox has a few denominations also
Monotheistic Religion worshipping God, and belief in the Trinity(God, Jesus, and
The Holy Spirit)
Followers are called Christians, Catholics are Christians, but not all Christians are
Catholic. They worship in a church. Sabbath is Sunday.
Calendar- Solar
Ending Goal- Heaven
Holy Days- Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday,
Good Friday
Beliefs
Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem
He was both God and Man
He died on the cross to save man from their sins.
He rose from the grave into Heaven and will return some day
There are 7 sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation,
Marriage, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick
Prayer: Our Father
There were 12 Apostles, Jesus gave them The Sermon on the Mount,
where he gave them the Beatitudes.
Constantine, emperor of Rome, made Christianity their official religion, whereas
Nero persecuted them for their beliefs.
Pontius Pilate, governor of Judaea, had Jesus put to death on a cross.
The Religion of Islam
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The World’s youngest religion dating to 570 CE, revelations in 610CE
Began in the areas of Mecca and Medina, (Saudi Arbia)
2nd largest of the worlds religions
1.5 Billion followers or 21%
Abraham is the patriarch through the bloodline of his son Ishmael all the way to
the prophet Mohammad
The founder is Mohammad
Allah – Arabic translation of God
Holy Book is the Quran or Koran
Laws: Five Pillars of Islam
1. Witnessing-Shahadah
“There is no God other than Allah and Mohammad is his prophet”
2. Prayer-Salat- facing the Kaba
1.Fajr-Before sunrise.
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2.Zuhr-After the sun begins to decline from its zenith.
3.Asr-Mid-afternoon.
4.Magrib-Just after sunset.
5.Isha-night.
3. Charity-Zakat- obligated to do so
4. Fasting-Sawm- during the month of Ramadan
5. Pilgrimage-Hajj- done at least once in the lifetime
Denominations- there are three forms
Sunni- Orthodox Muslims who are the largest group, Traditional path of
Mohammad from Abraham
Shiite- Descendants of Ali an Imam of Islam
Sufi- Islamic Mystics
Monotheistic worshipping one God (Allah)
Followers are called Muslims who worship in a Mosque
Calendar dates from 622CE, The time of Mohammad’s Hegira to Medina.(Lunar)
Ending goal is called Paradise
Holy days: Ramadan- month of fasting, Muharram- New Years day, Dhul-Hijja –
annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
People- Mohammad, the Angel Gabriel, Abraham & Ishmael, Jesus, Mary, Moses
BeliefsMohammad’s revelations came through the Angel Gabriel from Allah
Mohammad traveled to Medina to escape death of the
Major Religions of the World
Ranked by Number of Adherents
(Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering
the groups, not providing a definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in
perspective.)
1. Christianity: 2.1 billion
2. Islam: 1.5 billion
3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
4. Hinduism: 900 million
5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
6. Buddhism: 376 million
X = Religion
7. primal-indigenous: 300 million
360
Tot Pop.
8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
9. Sikhism: 23 million
10. Juche: 19 million
11. Spiritism: 15 million
12. Judaism: 14 million
13. Baha'i: 7 million
14. Jainism: 4.2 million
15. Shinto: 4 million
16. Cao Dai: 4 million
17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
18. Tenrikyo: 2 million
19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
22. Scientology: 500 thousand
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