Download Religion Basics

Religion Basics
Hinduism
Oldest of the major religions:
About 900 million followers
World’s 3rd largest religion
Hinduism is not a centralized religion
Great diversity in beliefs and practices
No origin date or founder
(what does that tell you)
Sacred texts are the Vedas
Hinduism began and is centered in India
Hindu religion has 333,000,000 gods
many gods take multiple forms
(called incarnations)
some gods are benevolent (good)
Some gods are malevolent (bad)
gods are used to explain their universe
used to explain natural phenomenon
can be active in the lives of people
Ethnic
Place of worship: Ashram
Brahma
Creator
Vishnu
Protagonist
Shiva
Creator/Destroyer
Where you find Hinduism: the top 25 countries.
Explain diffusion of Hindus in different regions.
Central tenants
• All sentient beings have Altman (life-force/soul)
• Altman is reincarnated (reborn)
• Based on Karma (mixture of fate and action)
• Dharma (loosely) is the correct way of living
Law of Karma:
1. The present condition of your soul (confusion or serenity) is a product of your past decisions.
You have made yourself what you are.
2. Your present thoughts and decision are determining your future states.
2.
3. Every persons gets what that person deserves--even though decisions are freely arrived at,
there is no chance in the universe.
4. We will not change the world in any significant way.
5. There is no chance or accident in the universe. "There are no lost traces."
Caste System/Arranged Marriages
Caste System
Name one fact that would support the idea of arranged marriages.
Dowry is common in arranged marriages.
What are two negative impacts of dowries?
-by birth
-locks groups (families) in power
-illegal but continues
-trans caste dating/marriage much frowned upon
Ganesh
Ten Commitments
Like ten commandments
1. Ahimsa - do no harm
2. Satya - do not lie
3. Asteya - do not steal
4. Brahmacharya - do not overindulge
5. Aparigraha - do not be greedy
6. Saucha - be clean
7. Santosha - be content
8. Tapas - be self-disciplined
9. Svadhyaya – study
10. Ishvara Pranidhana - surrender to God
He is the Lord of
success and destroyer
of evils and obstacles.
He is also worshipped
as the god of education.
Buddhism
• Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was
born in the sixth century B.C. in what is now
modern Nepal. His father, Suddhodana, was the ruler
of the Sakya people and Siddhartha grew up living
the extravagant life of a young prince.. His father
had ordered that he live a life of total seclusion, but
one day Siddhartha ventured out into the world and
was confronted with the reality of the inevitable
suffering of life.
• The next day, at the age of twenty-nine, he left his
kingdom to lead an ascetic life and determine a way
to relieve universal suffering
Four Noble Truths
Eight Fold Path
Life is suffering
The origin of suffering is
attachment.
To cease suffering lose
attachments.
The cessation of leads to
enlightment.
(ends rebirth)
1. Right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths.
2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment,
ignorance, and hatefulness.
3. Right speech involves abstaining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.
4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behaviors, such as killing,
stealing, and careless sex.
5. Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid
dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.
6. Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of
one's mind, good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.
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.
8. Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively
realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and nonseparateness.
Sanchi Stupa
the most famous in India
All drawings and statues of Siddhartha (Buddha)
must be drawn in these proportions. Many
Chinese gods are called Buddha by people, so
be careful of some people’s description.
Judeo-Christian Tradition
Christianity
c. 0-33 CE
Jesus
Sunday
Bible
Church
Preist/Pastor
Islam
610 CE
Mohamed
Friday
Koran
Mosque
Iman
Judaism
c. 535 BCE
Abraham
Saturday
Torah, Talmud, many others
Synagogue
Rabbi
Judaism
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/
Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions and was founded over 3500 years ago in
the Middle East.
Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an
example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world in the form of a covenant (contract).
Ethnic: has led to problems as seen as isolationist/separatist
Community as a center for Jewish life
(the Jewish prayer book uses WE and OUR in prayers where some other faiths would use I and MINE)
God is omnipresent: God is everywhere, all the time.
God is omnipotent: God can do anything at all
The Sabbath begins at nightfall on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday.
In order to avoid work and to ensure that the Sabbath is special, all chores like shopping, cleaning, and cooking for the
Sabbath must be finished before sunset on Friday.
Many walk to the synagogue which has led to members living in clusters and creating residential segregation.
Dietary and proper dress requirements have made Jews easily identifiable, which has led to problems in
the past.
Judaism
Tefillin, (sometimes called phylacteries) are cubic black leather
boxes with leather straps that Orthodox Jewish men wear on
their head and their arm during weekday morning prayer.
Kippah/yarmulke: Orthodox Jewish men always cover their heads by
wearing a skullcap known in Hebrew as a kippah or in Yiddish as a yarmulke
(Liberal or Reform Jews see the covering of the head as optional.) The most
common reason (for covering the head) is a sign of respect and fear of God.
It is also felt that this separates God and human, by wearing a hat you are
recognising that God is above all mankind
The eruv has a boundary 11 miles long and encloses an area of
6.5 square miles. Since Jews are prohibited from carrying aor
pushing anything on the Sabbath, except at home or in an eruv
this cases a form of voluntary residential segregation. On the
right are examples of things that can be carried within the eruv.
Don’t tell anyone
I’m Jewish
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
carry house keys carry a handkerchief
carry food or drink for use during the
Sabbath
carry prayer shawls
carry books - normally a Jew can't even
carry a prayer book on the Sabbath
carry reading glasses
push a pram or wheelchair
use a walking frame or crutches
Christianity
Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide. It is based on the
teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the Holy Land 2,000 years ago.
Universalizing
•
•
•
•
Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Christians believe that God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins.
One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that of Jesus giving his life on the Cross (the Crucifixion) and
rising from the dead on the third day (the Resurrection).
• Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God:
• God the Father
• God the Son
• The Holy Spirit
Links to subdivisions:
•The Amish
•Baptist churches
•Christadelphians
•Church of England
•Church of Scotland
•Coptic Orthodox Church
•Eastern Orthodox Church
•Exclusive Brethren
•Methodist Church
•Opus Dei
•Pentecostalism
•Quakers
•Roman Catholic Church
•Salvation Army
•Seventh-day Adventists
•United Reformed Church
Christianity
• Christians believe that there is only one God.
• Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save mankind from death and
sin.
• Christians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of God,
and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose
forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.
• Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.
• Prayer is the means by which Christians communicate with their God.
• The Christian church is fundamental to believers. Although it has many faults it is recognised
as God's body on earth.
• The Christian church believes in one baptism into the Christian church, whether this be as an
infant or as an adult, as an outward sign of an inward commitment to the teachings of Jesus.
• Eucharist is a Greek word for thanksgiving. Its celebration is to commemorate the final meal
that Jesus took with his disciples before his death (the Last Supper).
• This rite comes from the actions of Jesus who, at that meal, took bread and wine and asked his disciples to
consume them and continue to do so in memory of him.
Islam
The word Islam means “submission to the will of God”.
Islam is the second largest religion in the world with over 1 billion followers. Moslem is the
term for followers and “means those who submit”. The Arabic word for God is Allah.
Universalizing/monotheistic
Muslims believe that Islam was revealed in c. 640 CE in Mecca, Arabia to Mohamed.
According to Muslims, God sent a number of prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to His law.
Jesus, Moses and Abraham are respected as prophets of God. They believe that the final Prophet was
Muhammad.
Muslims believe that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes, date their religion from the time of the
migration of Muhammad.
Muslims base their laws on their holy book the Koran, and the Sunnah.
Pillars of Faith
SHAHADAH (recitation)
There is no God except Allah,
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
SALAT (compulsory prayer) 5 times per day facing Mecca
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
FAJR - between dawn and sunrise
ZUHR - between midday and mid-afternoon
ASR - between mid-afternoon and sunset
MAGHRIB - just after sunset
ISHA - between nightfall and daybreak
ZAKAT (annual payment)
is neither a charity nor a tax: charity is optional, whilst taxes can be used for any of
the needs of society. Zakah, however, can only be spent on helping the poor and
needy, the disabled, the oppressed, debtors and other welfare purposes, as defined
in the Qur'an. This amounts to 2.5% of your wealth.
SAWM (obligatory fasting during Ramadan)
during the month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar.
Haj is a pilgrimage to the House of Allah (Al Kabba) in Mecca, Saudi
Arabia, in the month of Dhul Hijjah, the twelfth month of the Islamic
calendar.