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World Religions
Comparisons and Contrasts
Monotheism
 Greek roots
 Mono=one
 Theos=God
Monotheistic religions are those that believe in
one God. They include the following
religions:
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
The monotheism
triple scoop
Judaism
Origins:
Abraham leaves Ur
(Babylon,
modern Iraq) and
travels to Egypt
and settles in
Palestine
Judaism
 Important People
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Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
David
Solomon
Judaism: Sacred Books
 Old Testament-Record of the
Jews from Adam up to 400
B.C.
 Torah-first five books of the
Old Testament. Commonly
referred to simply as “the law.”
 Talmud-historical commentary
on Jewish law, ethics, customs
and history
Judaism: holidays
 Shabat (Sabbath) Period of rest that begins at
sundown on Friday night and lasts until sundown on
Saturday night.
 Passover: A week long festival in late March or early
April that celebrates the Exodus from Egypt.
 Rosh Hashanah: Jewish New Year. Usually begins in
September-October
 Yom Kippur: “Day of Atonement” a sacred day spent in
fasting and prayer.
 Hanukkah: Eight day holiday (usually in December)
that celebrates the rededication of the temple in
Jerusalem after victory over the Greeks.
Judaism: customs
 Bar (bat) mitzvah: the celebration at twelve
when a boy (or girl) enters adolescence.
 Jewish law prohibits foods such as pork or
eating meat and milk together.
 Kosher: foods that have been blessed
Rabbi.
by a
Diaspora “Scattering”
 The Jews were conquered by the
Greeks, Persians, Babylonians and
Romans. Each time groups of Jews
were either forced from or left Palestine.
 There are large groups of Jews in
Europe, America and Africa. Jews have
had a big influence on the places where
they have
Jewish Populations
 Israel
United States
 France
 Canada
 United Kingdom
Russia
Argentina
Germany
5,309,000
5,275,000
492,000
373,000
297,000
228,000
184,000
118,000
Jewish People
Because of the importance of
reading the Bible, the Jews have
always valued education. Although
they were not allowed to own land
in Europe, they became rich as
bankers, lawyers, doctors and
merchants. That tradition continues
today.
Just like most religions, the
differences among the Jewish
people ranges from liberal to
conservative
A few famous Jews
Albert Einstein
Sarah Jessica Parker
Adam Sandler
Jerry Seinfeld
David Beckham
Paul Newman
Woody Allen
Levi Strauss
Ben Stiller
Judy Blume
Howard Cosell
Madeline Albright
Alan Greenspan
Calvin Klein
Ralph Lauren
Kenneth Cole
Christianity
 Christians believe
that Jesus Christ
is the literal son of
God. His death on
the cross was an
act of love that
overcame sin and
death
Spread of
Christianity
The Roman Empire adopted
Christianity as its official
religion in 400 a.d. As the
Roman Empire spread,
so did Christianity
The Protestant Reformation
 The Catholic Church was the only Christian
Church from 400 a.d. until 1525 a.d.
 In 1512 a young German priest named
Martin Luther began to question “the sale
of indulgences” and said that the church
should only teach the things that were
written in the Bible. He believed that people
don’t need the ordinances of the church but
only faith through which people could gain
God’s grace.
The sale of indulgences
Martin Luther
Christianity
in Europe
Spanish Colonialism
 Bringing Christianity to the New World was
one purpose of Spanish colonialism.
Since
Spain is a
Catholic
nation, all
of its
colonies
became
Catholic
too.
English Colonialism
 Protestant Religions spread to the parts
of the world colonized by Great Britain.
Christianity in the U.S.
The Protestant Work Ethic
 The Reformation had a huge impact on
Europe.
 The Protestant Work Ethic is an idea that
influenced people to work hard to prove their
worthiness of salvation.
 Some believe that is why the Protestant
countries of Northern Europe and North
America are more prosperous, materialistic
and individualistic.
Christian Holidays
 The word “holiday” is a conjunction for
holy day.
 Christmas
 Easter
 St. Patrick’s Day
 Mardi Gras/Carnival
 Lent
Percentage of Christians
by country
Islam
Muslims believe that
Islam is not a new
religion. They
believe that
Muhammed
restored the
original teachings
of Abraham, Moses
and Jesus.
Koran (Qur’an)
 The revelations of
Muhammed are
recorded in the Koran.
 The Koran is the
Islamic holy book.
 Koran means “recite”
Muhammed
 Muhammed is
considered the last and
greatest in a long line
of prophets.
He lived in Mecca (Saudi
Arabia) from a.d 570 to
a.d. 632.
At age 40 Muhammed
claimed to receive
revelations that form
what is now Islam.
Five Pillars of Islam
 The five pillars are the basic beliefs of Islam.
They are:
 Belief in one God
 Daily Prayer (5x): pre-dawn, mid-mornning, noon,
after-noon, evening.
 Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan
(February). Do not eat during day light hours.
 Giving to the poor
 Make a pilgrimage (journey) to Mecca sometime
during your life.
Jihad- Holy War
 Jihad is the idea that a person will go
straight to heaven if they sacrifice their
life for some other person or some higher
purpose.
 Most religions have an idea like this, but
some branches of Islam have used the
idea of Jihad to motivate young men to
blow themselves up in order to fight
against “infidels” that they believe are evil
and corrupt.
Spread of Islam
Islamic Influences
 Architecture
Islamic architecture is
characterized by domes,
arches and towers. Any
time you see these on a
building, they were most
likely adapted from
Islamic architecture.
Islamic Influences
 Art
Mosaics are a form of
art that uses patterns
of color (often tile) to
create an intricate
design.
As in all cultures,
paintings glorify
important events and
people.
Sunni & Shia majorities
 Green =Sunni
Blue =Shi’a
Percentage of Muslims per country
Religions as percentage of
world population
World Religions by total
number
# Religion
Remarks
[2]
Number of
Adherents
1 Christian
1.9 billion
Has the most followers and most widespread presence of all
well-recognized religions. Predominant religion in Europe,
the Americas, Southern Africa, Oceania, and the Philippines.
2 Islam
1.1 billion
A widespread religion with many countries majority Muslim,
particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, Maritime
Southeast Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, West Africa and
some parts of Eastern Europe.
3 Hinduis
m
781 million
Umbrella term for various Hindu denominations forming the
majority in India, Nepal, North Eastern province of Sri Lanka,
and the Bali & Java sub-province of Indonesia, parts of Latin
America, Eastern Africa, Australia, USA and UK.
4 Buddhis
m
324 million
Largely in East Asia and the Mainland Southeast Asia, and small
parts of South Asia and Russia.
continued
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19 million Mostly in the Indian Punjab; also large numbers in other
parts of India and the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada,
Malaysia and Southeast Asia, Germany and East Africa.
Judaism 14 million A widespread religion with a majority in Israel; large
populations in North America, Western Europe, and
South America.
Bahá'í Faith6.1 million Youngest of the group of 10, second most widely
dispersed religion after Christianity; fastest growing
of top 10.
Confucianism 5.3 millionMostly in China proper; and in Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam.
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Jainism
4.9 millionMostly in India.
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Shinto
2.8 millionMostly in (and formerly the state religion of) Japan.
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Sikhism