Download World Relgions

• *World Religions
–Why did early civilizations have
a need for or turn to religion?
–What do you think are the 5
major world religions across the
world.
World Religions
Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism,
Christianity, and Islam.
Religion
• An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies,
practices, and worship that centers on one or
more gods.
• Religion has had a significant impact on world
history.
– Religion has:
• Guided the beliefs and actions of millions worldwide.
• Brought people together
• Torn them apart.
Religion continues to thrive today!
• Today religion continues to be a dominant
force throughout the world.
– Religion affects:
• What people wear
• How people behave
• So on and so forth (etc.)
A Global View
Why Religion??
• There is no definite answer to why religion was
born.
– Some thoughts and theories:
• People searched for an explanation for human
existence.
• Many seek enlightenment (education that
results in understanding and the spread of
knowledge )
• People desire an explanation to the
unexplainable
5 Major Religions of the World
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Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
• Hinduism is the world’s oldest Religion.
• Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that
forms no one system.
– Was not founded by one single person.
– Major religion of India.
• Hindu Beliefs
– Each person has a soul.
– Hindus Worship several gods which represent the
most divine spirit Brahman.
• Brahman is the most divine spirit in the Hindu Religion.
• Brahman brings together all the individual souls.
Hinduism
– Stresses that in order to reach enlightenment or true
happiness people must free themselves from earthly
desires.
• Achieve this goal through
– Worship
– Attainment of knowledge
– Lifetime of virtuous acts.
• Hindus believe that the soul is born again into
another body after death.
– In the next life the soul has another chance to learn its
lessons.
– How a person behaves in one life will effect the
person’s next life.
Buddhism
• Buddhism has been a dominant religious,
cultural and social force throughout Asia.
• Buddhism started around 528 B.C.
• Buddhists are united in their belief of the
Buddha’s teachings known as the dharma.
• Buddha means the “enlightened one”
Buddhism
• Buddhism is based on 4 noble truths.
– Life is filled with suffering and sorrow.
– Suffering is caused by people pursuing the immediate
pleasures of the world.
– The way to end suffering is to end all desires.
– The way to end all desires is to follow the Eightfold
path leading to nirvana.
• Nirvana= a release from selfishness.
• Much like Hinduism Buddhists believe that the
soul would be born into a new life until the soul
reached understanding.
Judaism
• Judaism is the religion of more than 13 million
Jews throughout the world.
– Was the 1st major religion to teach the existence
of only 1 god.
• Basic Laws and teachings of Judaism come
from the Torah.
– Torah—first five books of the Hebrew Bible.
• Judaism teaches that a person serves god by
studying the Torah and living its teachings.
Christianity
• Christianity is the largest religion in the world
with about 1.9 billion followers.
• Based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
– Believe that Jesus is the son of God and entered
the world and died to save humanity from sin.
– Believe they will reach salvation by following the
teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christianity
–Three main groups of Christians
•Roman Catholic
•Protestant
•Eastern Orthodox
•Many other sects of Christianity would break off of these
three main groups.
Islam
• Religion based on the teachings of the
prophet Muhammad.
• Followers of Islam are known as Muslims
– Live throughout the world.
• Muslims believe in all prophets of Judaism and
Christianity.
Islam
• Muslims show their devotion by performing
lifelong acts of worship known as the Five
Pillars.
– The Five Pillars
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Faith
Prayer
Almsgiving(charity)
Fasting
Pilgrimage
• This is just a glimpse at the five major religions of
the world. There are many other religions world
wide, but in most cases these religions arose as a
spin off of one of these five major religions,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam.
• Writing Prompt: On a separate sheet of paper
answer the following question:
– Why do you think so many people across the world
choose to practice some sort of religion?