Download Comparative Religions

Comparative Religions
Elizabeth Pham
 How It Began:
 Founder: Muhammed
 Founded: 610 C.E. (Muhammed
received first revelation)
 Point of Origin:
 Mecca
 Where It Spread:
 West and East Africa,
A Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in
their life. In the heart of Mecca, lays the Ka’aba.
He/she must walk around the Ka’aba seven times
and then, the Black Stone.
Philippines, Central Asia,
Western China, India, Malaysia,
Indonesia, North America, and
Europe.
 How It Spread:
 Trade
 Where Most Influential
Today:
 India and Indonesia,
however being the fastest
growing religion, North
America is giving way to
many Muslims.
 Followers, worldwide:
 1,387,454,500
Prayer 5 times a day is part of the Five Pillars.
When praying it is important to face the direction
of Mecca, thus, everyone in the above picture is
facing the same direction.
 Holy Book:
 The Qur'an (or Koran)
 Main God/gods/deities:
 Allah
 Basic Beliefs:
The sacred text of Islam is the Qur’an, which is shown
in the above picture.
 Strictly monotheistic; Allah is the
 Muslims must practice 5 Pillars of Islam
 Submission to Allah
 Fasting during Ramadan
 Prayer 5 times a day
 Pilgrimage to Mecca
 Zakat (pay alms to needy)
 Religious Leader Organization:
 Caliph is Islamic leader.
 Sects Evolved Overtime:
 Shiites
 Sunnis
The Holy Mosque (Masjid Al-Haram) in Mecca is the most
famous Mosque in the world and holds the holy Black
Stone, the Ka’aba.
BUDDHISM

How It Began:



Point of Origin:


Founder: Siddhartha
Gautama (The Buddha)
Founded: c. 525 B.C.E.
near present-day Benares,
India
Where It Spread:

Mainly throughout Asia and
North America.
The Life of a Buddhist Monk is meant to
be simplistic. Thus, the shave their heads
and wear robes in order to rid themselves
of vanity.
BUDDHISM [CONT.]


The Dharmashakra represents the
Eightfold Path.


How It Spread: By Trade and as
Ashoka the Great spread the word
throughout his Mauryan Dynasty
Where Most Influential: Buddhism
is predominately practiced in Asia
Followers, worldwide:
385,609,000
Holy Book: The Tripitaka and
Mahayana Sutras
BUDDHISM [CONT.]

Main God/gods/deities:


no divine being
Basic Beliefs:


Karma
Reincarnation


Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth
Four Noble Truths




Life means suffering
Origin of suffering is desire.
The stopping of all suffering is possible
By following the correct path, one can achieve Nirvana (the state of no
suffering).

The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering.
BUDDHISM [CONT.]

Religious Leader
Organization:


Monastic order where
traditions passed down
between monks and
nuns
Sects Evolved Overtime:



Mahayana (Zen &
Sokagakkai)
Theravada
Vajrayana (Tantrism)
One of the eight auspicious symbols for Buddhism, the white
lotus represents the state of spiritual perfection.

How It Began:
› Founder: Jesus (of
Nazareth)
› Founded: c. 33 C.E.

Point of Origin:
› Palestine

Where It Spread:
› Europe, North
America, and South
America
A painting of Jesus Christ.

How It Spread:
› Constantine made it
the official religion of
the Roman Empire.

Where Most Influential
Today:
› Europe, North
America, and South
America

Followers, worldwide:
› 2,199, 817,400
Jesus Christ died on the Cross in order to forgive
everyone’s sins, thus, the cross is a symbol to
represent Christianity.

Holy Book:
› The Bible

Main God/gods/deities:
› God

Basic Beliefs:
› Monotheistic
› Jesus died on the cross to forgive everyone's
sins
› The Bible tells the life of Jesus
› Heaven and Hell

Religious Leader
Organization:
› The Pope is head of
the church.

Sects Evolved
Overtime:
› Main sects include
 Roman Catholic
 Eastern Orthodox
 Protestant
A church of Eastern Orthodox, one sect of Christianity.
Hinduism

How It Began:
◦ Founder: Not
Specified
◦ Founded: c. 1500
B.C.E.

Point of Origin:
◦ India

Symbol for Hinduism.
Where It Spread:
◦ Mainly India, Nepal,
Malaysia, Guyana,
Suriname, and Sri
Lanka.
Hinduism [cont.]

How It Spread:
◦ Trade

Where Most
Influential Today:
◦ India and Nepal

Followers,
worldwide:
◦ 875,726,000
A statue of Shiva, a Hindu trinity God.
Hinduism [cont.]

Holy Book:
◦ Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita

Main God/gods/deities:
◦ Brahman, Shiva,Vishnu, Devi

Basic Beliefs:
◦ Four Vedas
◦ Karma
◦ Reincarnation
Hinduism [cont.]

Religious Leader
◦ Organization: Spiritual
leaders known as
gurus and sages.

Sects Evolved
Overtime:
◦ Shaivism
◦ Vaishnavism
Vishnu, a Hindu trinity God.
 How
It Began:
• Founder: c. 2000 B.C.E.
• Founded: Abraham
 Point
of Origin:
• Israel
 Where
It Spread:
• Mainly across Israel
and United States
For each night of Hanukah, a Jewish holiday,
one candle is lit on the menorah.
 How
It Spread:
• Started by passing down through families.
 Where
Most Influential Today:
• Israel
 Followers, worldwide:
• 14,956,000

Holy Book:
• The Torah

Main
God/gods/deities:
• God

Basic Beliefs:
• Monotheistic
• Stresses ethical behavior
• God has special
relationship with
Hebrews; they shall bear
witness to God’s mercy.
The Holy Book of Judaism, the Torah.

Religious Leader
Organization:
• Other than the Rabbi,
who teaches and
preaches Judaism, there
is no overall religious
leader.

Sects Evolved
Overtime:
•
•
•
•
•
Orthodox
Conservative
Reform
Reconstructionist
Humanist
The Star of David.

How It Began:
 Founder: Confucius
 Founded: 6th-5th Century
C.E.

Point of Origin:
 China

Where It Spread:
 Koreans, Japan, Vietnam
and Europe.
The Chinese symbol for Confucianism.

How It Spread:
 Chinese tradition;
Became state doctrine
for the Han Dynasty

Where Most Influential
Today:
 China
An analect of Confucianism.

Followers, worldwide:
 6,111,100

Holy Book:
 Confucianism followed many different documents as sacred text,
including, but not limited to: The Confucian Analects, The Doctrine
of The Mean, The Book of Odes, The Book of Changes, The Book of
Rites, and The Book of Filial Piety

Main God/gods/deities:
 God

Basic Beliefs:
 Because Confucianism was more of a moral code, the basic beliefs
were simply the stressing of certain values:
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
Li: ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc.
Hsiao: love among family members
Yi: righteousness
Xin: honesty and trustworthiness
Jen: benevolence towards others; the highest Confucian virtue
Chung: loyalty to the state, etc.

Religious Leader
Organization:
 There’s no set religious
leader for Confucianism.

Sects Evolved Overtime:
 There are no formal sects
of Confucianism, however
Neo-Confucianism could
be considered as
Confucianism evolving
over time, as it
incorporates ideas from
Buddhism and Daoism to
form.
A depiction of the founder of
Confucianism, Confucius.