Download Religious Movements

Polytheism
 Deities: ex. Olympic pantheon
 Beliefs varied from no afterlife to shadowy existence in the
underworld to a paradise-like afterlife
 Human life is subject to the whim of the gods and to Fate;
these can be controlled through sacrifice and divination
 Animal sacrifice, harvest offerings, festivals, games,
processions, dance, plays, in honor of the gods
Traditional African Religions
Traditional Amerindian Religions
 Many gods
 Appease and nourish the gods; determine luckiest
dates for various activities
 soul journeys through dark and threatening
underworld; but sacrificial victims and women who die
in childbirth go to heaven.
Hinduism
 Deity: Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma
 No founder
 Sacred Texts: Vedas & the Upanishads
 Beliefs
 Soul never dies, continually reborn
 Persons achieve happiness & enlightenment after they
free themselves of earthy desires
 Freedom from earthy desires comes from lifetime of
worship, knowledge, and virtuous acts
Jainism
 Deity: no specific deity
 Founder: Parshva and Mahavira
 Sacred Text:
 Beliefs:
 regards every living soul as potentially divine
 path of non-violence to progress the soul to this
ultimate goal
 human beings who rediscover the dharma, become fully
liberated
Buddhism
 No deity, but many worship Buddha
 Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
 Sacred Texts: Tripitaka (Pali Canon); Mahayana sutras
like the Lotus Sutra
 Beliefs
 Persons achieve happiness & peace (nirvana) after they
free themselves of earthy desires
 Nirvana is reached by following Eightfold Path:

Right views, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort,
mindfulness, concentration
Confucianism




No Deity:
Founder: Confucius
Sacred Texts: Analects
Beliefs
 Social order, harmony, & good government based on strong
family relationships
 Respect for parents & elders is important to well-ordered
society
 Education is important both to the welfare of the individual
and society
 Purpose of life is to fulfill one's role in society with propriety,
honor, and loyalty
Daoism




Deity: the Tao pervades all
Founder: Lao-Tzu
Sacred Texts: Tao Te Ching
Beliefs
 Purpose is inner harmony, peace, and longevity.




Achieved by living in accordance with the Tao.
Tao: road, channel, path, way, doctrine, or line
De: the active living, or cultivation, of that "way“
Wu Wei: knowing when to act and when not to act
Pu: a state of pure potential and perception without
prejudice
Legalism
 Deity: none
 Founder: Shang Yang
 Sacred Text: none
 Beliefs:
 Fa: law code must be clearly written and made public
 Shu: Special tactics to be employed by the ruler to make
sure others don't take over control of the state
 Shi: the position of the ruler, not the ruler himself or
herself, that holds the power
Judaism
 Deity: God (Yahweh)
 Founder: Abraham
 Sacred Text: Torah
 Beliefs:
 One God who watches over and cares for his people
 God holds his people responsible for their sins &
shortcomings
 People serve God by studying the Torah and serving God
Christianity
 Deity: God
 Founder: Jesus Christ / St. Paul
 Sacred Text: The Bible
 Beliefs:
 One God who watches over and cares for his people
 Jesus is the son of God
 He died for the sins of others
 His death and Resurrection made the eternal life
possible for others
Islam
 Deity: God (Allah)
 Founder: Muhammad
 Sacred Text: The Koran (Qur’an)
 Beliefs:
 Five Pillars of Islam





Believe in one God & Muhammad as his prophet
5 daily prayers
Giving charity to the poor
Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj: once in a life time pilgrimage to Mecca
 Live a just life
What is a Universal Religion ?
 Began as a local faith
 Expand outwards adopting other peoples
 Adopt ideas of these peoples
 Buddhism – Daoism, Hinduism, Traditional East &
Southeast religions
 Christianity – Greek philosophy, Zoroastrianism,
 Islam – Zoroastrianism, Christianity
Early Beginnings
 Buddhism, Christianity, & Islam all found themselves
persecuted early in their lives
 Buddhists: by Hindus
 Christians: by polytheistic Romans
 Muslims: by polytheistic Arabs
 Often exert strong political control over their nations
 Buddhism – Ashoka & the Mauryan Dynasty in India
 Christianity – Clovis and the Franks across Europe
 Islam – the Umayyad Dynasty across Middle East & N.
Africa
Missionaries
 member of a religion who works to convert those who do
not share the missionary's faith
 Leading Missionary Religions
 Christianity
 Islam
 Buddhism
 The spread of these faiths changed them as they
encountered
 Adopt some of cultures of people being taken in to make it
more palpable