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Judaism
SS6G11.b: Describe the major religions in Europe; including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. Judaism is the world’s oldest
major religion.
The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is one God.
Judaism teaches that God wants people to do what is right and to be fair and
kind to other people. Many Jewish people believe that someday God will send a
special person, called a Messiah (messenger), to Earth. The Messiah will bring
the Jews together, lead them in God’s way, and defeat their enemies.
The Jewish Sabbath, or day of worship, begins at sundown every Friday
and ends at nightfall on Saturday. On the Sabbath, many Jewish people attend
services and have special meals at home. Important holy days and festivals of
Judaism include Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, and Hanukkah.
The synagogue is the Jewish house of worship. It is also a center for
Jewish education and social activities. A rabbi is a Jewish leader and teacher.
A cantor chants the prayers during worship in the synagogue.
The teachings of Judaism are described in two important collections of
writings—the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. The Hebrew Bible is what
Christians call the Old Testament. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible
make up the Torah. The Torah is the most important of all Jewish holy
writings. It contains the basic laws of Judaism and tells about the history of
the Jews. The Talmud is a guide to the laws that Jewish people are supposed to
live by.
Source: www.worldbookonline.com
Christianity
SS6G11.b: Describe the major religions in Europe; including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Christianity is the religion that is based on the life and teachings of Jesus
Christ. People who follow Christianity are called Christians.
Jesus lived in Judea (later called Palestine), a Middle Eastern land ruled
by the Roman Empire. The Romans put Jesus to death about A.D. 30. Jesus’
followers believed that He rose from the dead. They spread His story and His
teachings throughout the Roman Empire.
Today, Christians make up the largest religious group in the world.
About 2 billion people follow Christianity. It is the major religion in Europe,
North and South America, and Australia. Many Christians also live in Africa,
Asia, and the Pacific Islands.
Christianity teaches that Jesus was the Son of God. God sent Jesus into
the world as the Savior, the Messiah. Jesus’s job was to help people follow the
right path. Some Christians believe that Jesus was only a great human teacher.
However, most Christians think of Jesus as a heavenly being who chose to be
born and to live as a man. They believe that Jesus died to save us from our
sins. According to this view, Jesus’s death made it possible for other people to
live forever. Christianity also teaches that after Jesus’s earthly life ended, God
remained on Earth in the form of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.
Source: www.worldbookonline.com
Islam
SS6G11.b: Describe the major religions in Europe; including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Islam is one of the world’s major religions. People who follow the faith of
Islam are called Muslims. More than half the world’s Muslims live in South
and Southeast Asia. Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have the
largest Muslim populations. About one-fourth of all Muslims live in the Middle
East. There are many Muslims in parts of Europe and several million in the
United States.
Islam was first preached by an Arab prophet (holy man) named
Muhammad. In about A.D. 610, he began to receive messages from Allah (God).
These messages were collected in the Qur’an (also spelled Koran), the holy book
of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an contains God’s actual words. Muhammad
preached that there is only one God and that God wants people to make islam,
meaning submission, to God.
Muhammad died in 632, but the new religion of Islam soon spread. By
the mid-700’s, Muslims had built an empire that stretched from the Atlantic
Ocean to the borders of China. The symbol of Islam is a crescent, or a thin
moon, and a star.
Muslims follow the Five Pillars of Islam: (1) saying they believe that there is no
God but Allah, and that Muhammad is his messenger; (2) praying five times a
day; (3) giving alms (charity), such as money or gifts, to the poor; (4) fasting, or
not eating or drinking, from sunrise to sunset every day during Ramadan, a
holy month of the Islamic year; and (5) making a pilgrimage, or holy journey, to
Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad in Saudi Arabia, at least once during
their life. The building where Muslims worship together is called a mosque.
Source: www.worldbookonline.com