Download Overview of World Religions

Introduction to World Religions
Judaism
Islam
Christianity
Buddhism
Hinduism
The following are general explanations
about different world religions.
Learning about various religions helps
prepare people for living and working
together as an interfaith service-learning
community.
What is
Buddhism?
The Four Noble Truths:
1. The First Noble Truth is the existence of suffering. Birth
is painful and death is painful; disease and old age are
painful. Not having what we desire is painful and having
what we do not desire is also painful.
2. The Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering. It is
the craving for the pleasures of the senses, which seeks
satisfaction now here, now there; the craving for
happiness and prosperity in this life and in future lives.
3. The Third Noble Truth is the ending of suffering. To be
free of suffering one must give up, get rid of, extinguish
this very craving, so that no passion and no desire remain.
4. The Fourth Noble Truth leads to the ending of all pain by
way of the Eightfold Path.
What is
Christianity?
The central figure in Christianity is Jesus (or Christ), a
Jew who was born to a virgin named Mary. His birth is
celebrated at Christmas with hymns and gift giving. This man
was not only man but also the son of God who was born sinless
and lived his life without sin.
During his lifetime, Jesus performed miracles and spoke
about his father in heaven. He was arrested for claiming to be
God’s son and was hung on the cross by the Romans at age 33.
The suffering and death upon the cross which this
sinless man endured paid for the sins of all mankind, and
because of Jesus’ actions, salvation can be achieved by anyone
who believes in him. This act of sacrifice is remembered during
Lent. Following his death, he rose from the grave and returned
to the earth, appearing to his followers and telling them of the
kingdom of God to which he was going. He also promised his
disciples that he would return one day to bring all believers with
him to that kingdom, to enjoy eternal life in the presence of
God.
What is
Hinduism?
Hinduism is based on the concept that human and animal spirits
reincarnate, or come back to earth to live many times in different
forms. The belief that souls move up and down an infinite hierarchy
depending on the behaviors they practiced in their life is visible in many
of the Hindu societal policies. The caste system survives and charity
towards others is unheard of because each individual deserves to be in
the social class they were born in. A person is born into the highest
class because they behaved well in a past life, and a person is born into
poverty and shame because of misbehaviors in a past life.
Today, a Hindu can be polytheistic (believe in more than one
God), monotheistic (believe in one God), pantheistic (believe that God
and the universe are one), agnostic (be unsure if God exists), or
atheistic (have no belief in God) and still claim to be Hindu. This open
theology makes it difficult to discuss basic beliefs since there are many
ideas about what Hinduism means.
However, these universal ideas must be mentioned. Central to
Hinduism are the concepts of reincarnation, the caste system, merging
with Brahman (or the ultimate reality), finding morality, and reaching
Nirvana.
What is
Islam?
The teachings of Islam are comprised of both faith and duty
(din). One branch of Muslim learning, “Tawhid”, defines all that a man
should believe, while the other branch, “Shari’a”, prescribes
everything that he should do. There is no priesthood and no
sacraments. Except among the Sufis, Muslims receive instruction
only from those who consider themselves adequately learned in
theology or law.
The basis for Islamic doctrine is found in the Qur’an (Koran).
It is the scripture of Islam, written by Muhammad and his disciples
as dictated by the Angel Gabriel. It alone is infallible and without
error. The Qur’an is comprised of 114 surahs, or chapters, arranged
from longest to shortest. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of
God, and the carrier of the revelation of Muhammad, the last and
most perfect of God’s messengers to mankind.
In addition to the Qur’an, other documents are also referred
to by followers of Islam. A number of additional sayings of
Muhammad were compiled in the Hadith (“tradition”). The Torat (of
Moses), Suhuf (books of the prophets), Zabur (psalms of David), and
the Injil (gospel of Jesus) are also studied and considered to be
revelations, although they are believed to have been corrupted
through time.
What is
Judaism?
Judaism is a monotheistic religion which
believes that the world was created by a single,
all-knowing divinity, and that all things within that
world were designed to have meaning and purpose
as part of a divine order.
According to the teachings of Judaism,
God’s will for human behavior was revealed to
Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The
Torah, or commandments, which regulate how
humans are to live their lives, were a gift from God
so that the Jews might live in according to His will.
The religions that are included in this presentation
are among the largest religions in the world.
For more information
on these and other religions see
http://www.religionfacts.com/
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