Download Overview of the Major World Religions

Overview of the Major
World Religions
Compiled from P. Maniaci (2006). Class Notes and Adapted from
Information gleaned from the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) Online (2006).
Accessible at http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/
Atheism
Bare Facts
Atheism is not a belief.
Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods.
Atheists are people who do not believe in God or other spiritual beings.
Some atheists go further and deny that God, or other spiritual beings, exist.
Atheists are people who don't believe that God or supernatural beings exist.
Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe
Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid
of Gods or scriptures
Atheism is not a religion, nor a specific philosophical system.
Some religions are substantially atheist in nature.
Atheist philosophical systems are as intellectually adequate as religious belief systems.
There are many atheist philosophical systems, the only thing they have in common is
non-belief in God(s).
Atheists are as moral (or immoral) as religious people.
Reasons for Non-Belief
People are non-believers for many reasons, among them:
Atheism is their chosen philosophy.
They find insufficient evidence to support any religion.
They think that religion is nonsensical.
They once had a religion and have lost faith in it.
They live in a non-religious culture.
Religion doesn't interest them.
Religion doesn't seem relevant to their lives.
Religions seem to have done a lot of harm in the world.
The world is such a bad place that there can't be a God.
Sects
Humanism: This philosophy of life understands the world without using any
supernatural ideas.
Secularism: An atheist philosophy that emphasizes that no-one should be disadvantaged
for not having a religious faith.
Rationalism: An approach to life based on reason and evidence.
Buddhism: A way of living based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama.
Humanistic Judaism: A form of Judaism which does without God.
Christian Non-realism: A form of Christianity which does without an external God.
Postmodernism: A view of religion without God, and without any absolute values.
Unitarian Universalism: A religion of individual belief, most of whose members adopt a
non-realist position and focus on humankind as the source of religious authority.
Agnostics
Agnostics, in the popular sense, are people who have doubts about the existence of God. They
don't believe that God exists, but they don't believe that God doesn't exist, either.
There are probably over a billion people who don't believe in God, but don't go as far saying that
they are certain that God doesn't exist.
The strict meaning of Agnostic is not the same as this popular meaning.
An agnostic in the original sense of the word is a person who thinks that we can't ever know about
anything other than the material world, and therefore that the question as to whether God exists or
not is one that can never be answered.
Buddhism
Bare Facts
2,500 years old
350 million Buddhists worldwide
Founded by Siddhartha Gautama in India
The path to Enlightenment or Buddhahood is through the practice and development of
morality, meditation, and wisdom.
Buddhists do not believe in a creator God nor a personal God, but Buddhists are tolerant
of those whose beliefs are different from theirs.
Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent — change is always possible.
Buddhism teaches that all life is interconnected, so compassion is natural and important.
Basic Beliefs
Karma: Actions have consequences; so our lives are conditioned by our past actions
Rebirth: Consciousness continues after death, and finds expression in a future life
Liberation from karma: By following the Buddha's path one escapes the cycle of craving
and suffering
Enlightenment: The highest goal of life is to reach Enlightenment; a state of being that
goes beyond suffering
Dharma: The teachings and hence the way to nirvana
The Core of Buddhist teaching
At the heart of the Buddha's teaching lie The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path
which lead the Buddhist towards the path of Enlightenment.
Facing the Truth
The Buddha taught that the human tendency is to avoid the difficult truths of life and this
in turn leads to suffering.
By enabling the mind to be at peace through meditation a human being can confront
reality and overcome hatred and craving.
The Four Noble Truths: The essentials of Buddhism
Whilst seated beneath the Bodhi tree the Buddha experienced the four noble truths:
 Dukkha: All existence is unsatisfactory and filled with suffering
 Trsna: The root of suffering can be defined as a craving or
clinging to the wrong things; searching to find stability in a
shifting world is the wrong way
 Nirvana: It is possible to find an end to suffering
 The Noble Eightfold path is the way to finding the solution to
suffering and bring it to an end
Sects
Theravada
Pure Land
Zen
Nichiren
Mahayana
Tibetan
Korean Zen (Son)
Christianity
Bare Facts
2,000 years old
Began in the Middle East
Founded by the followers of Jesus Christ
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and that:
God sent his Son to earth to save humanity from the consequences of its sins (i.e. its nongood behavior, or its disobedience to God)
Jesus was fully human, and experienced this world in the same way as other human
beings of his time (this belief is different concerning Orthodox/Catholics and some
Protestant sects)
Jesus was tortured and gave his life on the Cross (at the Crucifixion)
Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his Crucifixion (the Resurrection)
Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament
Christians believe that there is only one God, but that this one God consists of 3
"persons": God the Father; God the Son; The Holy Spirit
Christians worship in Churches; their spiritual leaders are called priests or ministers
The Christian holy book is the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments
Sects and their Brief History
Three main sects:
Eastern Orthodox Church,
Catholicism
Protestant.
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church was the first established church and is a self-governing body of
Christians adhering to a pure and unbroken line from first days of the Apostles and the disciples
of Jesus.
Then there was a minor dispute called The Great Schism. And along came Rome and The Pope.
Catholic
The Roman Catholic Church is the oldest institution in the Western World and the largest
Christian denomination.
In the 16’Th Centaury further divisions developed when a series of reform movements occurred.
Instead of a single governing church the communities developed independently under the influence of
their reformers.
Lutheran
Methodist
Episcopal
Baptist
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Quaker
Puritan
Presbyterian
Mennonites
Hinduism
Bare Facts
Those who follow this faith are known as Hindus Hinduism is over 3000 years old,
although elements of the faith are much older.
No founder, single teacher, nor prophets.
Not a single unified religion.
Originated near the river Indus.
Hindus believe in a universal soul or God called Brahman.
Hindus believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, governed by Karma
Hinduism is the world's third most popular religion, with around 900 million followers
About 80% of the population of India regard themselves as Hindus.
Worship at home and in temples
There are many other deities such as Krishna, Shiva, Rama, Durga, Vishnu, and Shiva
Brahma
Brahman is the universal soul and is the sole reality who is present in all things.
Brahma is the Creator. However, Brahma is not worshipped in the same way as other
gods because it is believed that his work — that of creation — has been done
Brahman has no form, and is eternal.
Brahman is creator, preserver and transformer of everything.
Brahman appears in the human spirit as atman, or the soul
Other Gods?
Hindus worship many gods
Recognize the other gods as different aspects of the Brahman
Three Religious Paths
The path of knowledge (jnana)
The path of work and religious performances (karma)
The path of devotion (bhakti)
Karma
Central to the Hindu faith
The soul passes through a cycle of successive lives and its next incarnation is always
dependent on how the previous life was lived
In other words: you reap what you sow
Islam
Bare Facts
Those who follow Islam are called Muslims
As a religious movement, Islam began in Arabia over 1300 years ago (Muslims believe
that Islam has always existed, but for practical purposes date their religion from 622 CE)
Muslims believe that Islam was revealed to humanity by the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad was not a god, but a human being and the last prophet of God
Muslims believe that there is only one god. The Arabic word for God is Allah
The word Islam means “submission to God”
The Muslim scripture is the Holy Qur'an
The Muslim building for communal worship is called a Mosque
The Five Pillars of Islam are practices through which Muslims put their faith into action:
1. Shahadah: declaration of faith
2. Salat: ritual prayer 5 times a day
3. Zakat: giving a fixed proportion to charity
4. Sawm: fasting
5. Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
Islam the second most popular faith in the world with over one billion adherents.
Basic Articles ofFaith
Muslims have 6 main beliefs
Belief in Allah as the one and only God.
Belief in angels.
Belief in the holy books.
Belief in the Prophets
o Adam, Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Dawud (David), Isa (Jesus).
o Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final prophet.
Belief in the Day of Judgement
o The day when every human being will go to either heaven or hell.
Belief in Predestination
o That Allah has already decided what will happen.
o Muslims believe that this doesn't stop human beings making free choices.
Allah
Allah – Muslim name for the supreme and unique God, who created and rules everything.
The heart of faith for all Muslims is obedience to Allah's will.
Allah is eternal, omniscient, and omnipotent.
Allah has no shape or form.
Allah is just.
A believer can approach Allah by praying, and by reciting the Qur'an.
Muslims worship only Allah. (All Muslims believe there is only one God.)
Sects
Sunni Muslims (make up 90%)
Shi'ite Muslims
Judaism
Bare Facts
3500 years old
Began in the Middle East
Founded by Abraham and Moses
Parent faith of Christianity
Jews believe that there is only one God
Jews believe that the Jewish people are specially chosen by God
Each person is created in the image of one God. Therfore, all people are created equal.
Likeness to God is in each person’s intellectual ability to understand. People have
freewill and are responsible for the choices made.
Jews worship in Synagogues, their spiritual leaders are called Rabbis.
The Jewish Holy Book is the Hewbrew Bible, or Tanakh, especially the first five books,
called The Torah (which are also the first five books of the Bible.
12 million followers, most in Israel and the USA.
6 million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust in an attempt to wipe out Judaism.
Sects
These different sects have more to do with how to worship rather than fundamental beliefs.
Humanistic Judaism
Liberal Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Reconstructionist Judaism
Reform Judaism
Most important fundamental belief: k’lal yisreal – the community or totality of the Jewish people.
No matter the differences, Jewish tradition states the whole is greater than the sum of its parts;
they belong, with diverse interpretations of deity and destiny to a single entity – The Jewish
People.
Most Widely Accepted Principals of Judaism as Written by Rabbi
Moshe ben Maimon 1135-1204
God exists
God is one and unique
God is incorporeal
God is eternal
Prayer is to be directed to God alone
The words of the prophets are true
Moses was the greatest prophet, and his prophecies are true
The Torah was given to Moses
There will be no other Torah
God knows the thoughts and deeds of men
God will reward the good and punish the wicked
The Messiah will come
The dead will be resurrected
Native American
Bare Facts
Dated around 9200 BCE
Different native beliefs evolved to match the needs and lifestyles of the individual tribe influenced by their methods of acquiring food, whether by hunting wild animals or by
agriculture
Rituals and belief concern the promoting and preserving their hunting and horticulture
Religious belief is grounded in the belief that anua (souls) exist in all people and animals
Rituals and ceremonies are performed before and after hunting expeditions to assure
hunting success
Shaman is the spiritual leader of each tribe
Creator and the spirits may be perceived as a single spiritual force, as in the unity called
Wakan-Tanka (Lakota and Dakota)
Individual tribes have differing stories of Creation
Many tribes have complex forms of writing while other tribes have preserved their
spiritual beliefs as an oral tradition
Native religions have no precise belief about life after death – some believe in
reincarnation, others belief nothing can be known precisely after a soul departs, and then
others believe a mixture of the two
Vision Quests are typically required at a young man’s puberty
No specific place of worship, however many tribes have sweat lodges used for
meditation, purification, healing, divination
Some Native prophets include Handsome Lake in the Iroquois Confederacy, Sweet
Medicine of the Cheyenne, and White Buffalo Woman of the Lakota & Dakota tribes
Native families today have been devout Christians for generations (many combine
traditional and Christian elements)
Southwest tribes incorporate the Peyote Sacrament – Peyote has psychedelic properties
which aided in visions and meditations
Paganism
Bare Facts
Worship vary widely
It may be collective or solitary
It may consist of informal prayer or meditation, chanting, music, prayer, dance, the
pouring of libations, recitations of poetry, the performance of sacred drama, and the
sharing of food and drink
Formal structured participants affirm their deep spiritual connection with nature, honor
their Gods and Goddesses, and celebrate the seasonal festivals of the turning year and the
rites of passage of human life
No public buildings specifically set aside for worship
Women and men almost always worship together, with women normally taking the
leading role as representative of the pre-eminence of the female principle
Do not believe that they are set above, or apart from, the rest of nature, and understand
divinity to be immanent, woven through every aspect of the living earth
Ceremonies usually begin with the marking out of a ritual circle, a symbol of sacred
space which has neither beginning nor end, and within which all stand as equals, at the
quarter-points, the four directions and the corresponding elements of Earth, Air, Fire and
Water will be acknowledged and bid welcome
Core Concepts
Nature - The recognition of the divine in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. Pagans are
deeply aware of the natural world and see the power of the divine in the ongoing cycle of
life and death. Most Pagans are eco-friendly, seeking to live in a way that minimizes
harm to the natural environment.
Concepts of the divine - Pagans worship the divine in many different forms, through
feminine as well as masculine imagery and also as without gender. The most important
and widely recognized of these are the God and Goddess (or pantheons of God and
Goddesses) whose annual cycle of procreation, giving birth and dying defines the Pagan
year. Paganism strongly emphasizes equality of the sexes. Women play a prominent role
in the modern Pagan movement, and Goddess worship features in most Pagan
ceremonies.
Pagan theology - Paganism is not based on doctrine or liturgy. Many pagans believe that
'if it harms none, do what you will'. Following this code, Pagan theology is based
primarily on experience, with the aim of Pagan ritual being to make contact with the
divine in the world that surrounds them.
What Pagans Are Not
Sexual deviants
Devil worshipers
Evil
Practice 'black magic'
Harm people or animals
Sects
Wiccans
Druids
Shamans
Taoism
Bare Facts
Originated in China
2000 years old
Widespread in Taiwan and China
Lao Tzu is traditionally described as the founder of Taoism
Key book of Taoism is the Tao Te Ching
Things Taoism doesn't have:
No creator God (although some would dispute this: in God of the Dao, Laozi, the
central figure of Taoism, appears as a creator God)
No single founder
No one path to realization
No central organization
Key Taoist belief 1: The Tao
tao means The Way or The Method
the Tao is the origin of everything
the Tao sustains everything
the Tao is benign
human beings should not interfere with the working of the Tao
Key Taoist belief 2:
The doctrine of complementary forces – Yin and Yang
Taoism promotes:
Achieving harmony or union with nature
The value of life
The pursuit of spiritual immortality
Being 'virtuous' (but not ostentatiously so)
self-development
Going with the flow
Taoism is against:
Human self-importance
Structured moral codes
Rigid religious rituals
Formal knowledge
Trying to change the world
Taoist practices include:
Living with unaggressive receptiveness
Physical routines
Meditation
Feng Shui
Fortune telling
Reading and chanting of scriptures
Compiled from P. Maniaci (2006). Class Notes and Adapted from Information gleaned from the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) Online (2006).
Accessible at http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/