Download Major Belief Systems

Major Belief Systems
Before 600 C.E.
Earliest Belief Systems
• Early belief systems centered on spirits
– Could be sensed in regions or in objects
– Hunters believed that certain groves, springs, &
mountains were sacred
– Chiricahua Mountains today & Monument Valley
• Polytheism
– Belief in many gods
– Each god has a specialty usually related to nature
Polytheistic Civilizations (cont)
• Egypt
– 3150 B.C.E around Nile
• Mesopotamia
– 3100 B.C.E– Tigris & Euphrates Rivers in modernday Iraq
• Indus River Valley
– 2600 B.C.E. Western part of India – Harappa
civilization
Polytheistic Civilizations
(start dates of civilization)
• Olmec
– 1250 B.C.E eastern Mexico – before Myans
• Chavin
– 900 B.C.E in Andes mountains in modern-day Peru
• Greece
– 700 B.C.E (Athens & Sparta major groups)
• Rome
– 753 B.C.E
Universalizing Religions
During Classical Period
• In classical period two religions
became “universalizing religions”
– Christianity
– Buddhism
• Religions spread across cultures
& sought new adherents
• Both became social glue holding
civilizations together
Ethnic Religions
During Classical Age
• All the following developed during the
Classical Period
– but did not actively seek followers outside of their
regions
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Judaism
Daoism
Confucianism
Hinduism
Daoism
• Daoism encourages people to retreat from
society & lead reflective & introspective life
• “Dao” is the way of nature
– a force, not necessarily good or bad
– Sometimes called the original force of the cosmos
– A force that does nothing, but accomplishes
everything
• Sometimes compared to water
– Does nothing, but can erode mountains
Daoism (cont)
• Logic of Dao
– Since Dao is inevitable, humans must learn to live
in harmony with it
– We must, therefore take the path of least
resistance
– Governments under the rule of ambitious men try
to defy nature and end in ruin
– Human striving brings the chaos in the worldpeople have not accepted Dao
Chief Value of Dao
• “WuWei”
– Disengagement from the affairs of the world
– An ability to live simply, and in harmony with
nature
Founder of Daoism
• Founder: Laozi
– Lived during 6th century B.C.E.
– Name translates into “Old Master”
– May not have actually been a real individual
• Advice to rulers
– Do not enjoy war & its spoils
– Do not overindulge when people are hungry
• Believed happy kingdoms came from wise rulers,
but disagreed with Confucius on centralized state
• Stressed to search for strength by finding the
meaning of life by following the Dao
Buddhism
• Began in Ganges River valley with
Siddhartha Gautama
• Siddhartha was from privileged
class
• Abandoned his class to seek the
meaning of life
• Experienced enlightenment under
bodhi (boh-dee) tree
Buddhism
• Buddha taught that everyone could reach
nirvana or union with the universal spirit
– Different from Hinduism that related reincarnating
to the caste system
– Hinduism saw individuals going through the
various castes based on their previous life
• Reaching nirvana in Buddhism means not
suffering
Buddhism
• Nirvana in Buddhism is similar to Hindu belief
of attaining moksha
– Moksha, however, could only be attained by upper
classes
• Nirvana can be reached through
understanding the Four Noble Truths and the
Eightfold Path
Buddhism & Four Noble Truths
1. All of life is suffering
2. All suffering is caused by desire for things
that ultimately won’t fulfill us
3. Desire can only be overcome by ending all
desire
4. Desire can only be ended by following the
Eightfold Path
Buddhism & Eightfold Path
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Right understanding
Right concentration
Right intention
Right speech
Right action
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Buddhism & Eightfold Path
• By following the eightfold path anyone can
reach nirvana
• Buddhism broad appeal is that anyone can
achieve satisfaction in life
Buddhism
• Buddhism was advanced by King Asoka in
India & by through the trade routes
– Silk Road
– Indian Ocean Trade
Silk Road
Indian Ocean Trade
Two Main Divisions of Buddhism
• Theravada
– Stricter version—means “narrower vehicle”
– Emphasizes monastic life
• Mahayana
– “Great vehicle”
– Followers believe that Siddhartha Gautama took
initial steps of defining the religion & other
Buddha appeared after him
Confucianism
• Confucius or Kung Fu-tzu lived in
Zhou Era during the Warring States
period
• Had more influence after his death
than alive
• Actually wrote nothing himself, but
his followers complied his teaching
into the Analects
• Based his philosophy on model of
Chinese family
Confucianism
• Philosophy was shaped by the
chaos around him during the
Warring States Era
• Envisioned a society of harmony
and order
• His ideas involve principle of
reciprocity, or people must give &
take equally within five basic
relationships
Confucianism
• Five relationships critical to
society’s order
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Parent and child
Sovereign and minister
Husband and wife
Older and younger brother
Friend and friend
Confucianism
• First four relationships are
hierarchical or unequal
– Simply natural according to Confucius
• Doesn’t mean behavior is
unchecked in first four
• Superior rank (parent, sovereign,
husband, older brother) must be
responsible
– As in Mandate of Heaven
Confucianism
• Confucian logic
– If everybody in superior positions
acts responsibly and everyone in
subordinate positions obeys &
supports superiors then:
– Society will be harmonious and
political turmoil, as in Warring States
Era, will end
Confucianism Three Essential Values
1st-XIAO
• Filial piety: devotion of the individual
to family & strong ties holding
families together
• Xiao obliges children to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
respect their parents,
obey elders,
look after their welfare,
support them in old age
Remember them as revered ancestors
Confucianism Three Essential Values
2nd-Ren
• Confucius believed the five basic
relationships should be characterized by
– Ren or kindness & benevolence
• Outward behavior that reflects Ren
–
–
–
–
Courtesy
Respect
Diligence
Loyalty
• Confucius saw the need for Ren in the
states relationship with subjects & states
Confucianism Three Essential Values
3rd-Li
• Li is a sense of treating one
another in conventional
mannerisms
• Li emphasizes orderly rituals that
demonstrate respect & reciprocity
Hinduism
Major Belief Systems
General Facts
• World’s third largest religion
– 800 million followers
• Most adherents live in India
• Historical roots are in the caste system
• Developed over thousand of years
– Blended early religions of Aryans & Dravidians
• No single founder or leader of Hinduism
Concept of Universal Spirit
• Hinduism has concept of universal spirit as do
most Eastern religions
• Universal spirit is responsible for what
happens in universe
– This spirit encompasses humans
• All human souls (called atman) are pieces of
the spirit trapped inside a physical body
What Happens when you Die?
• Greatest desire of human soul is to unite with
the universal spirit
– When you die you have this opportunity
• Each person has a karma
– A destiny shaped by years of cause & effect
– Your outward indication of your karma is the caste
you live in
What Happens when you Die?
(Continued)
• Attached to karma is dharma
– Dharma is your set of duties to perform
• If you have fulfilled your set of duties or your
dharma--- then
– the atman will be reincarnated in the next life to a
higher caste
Hinduism & caste system
• Members of Brahmin caste in original Aryan
religion had attained their status
– Through many reincarnations
• Higher castes have the opportunity to attain
moksha
– Moksha is reunion with universal spirit
• Caste system in modern India is illegal
• Budhism was very critical of Hindu caste
system
Is Hinduism polytheistic?
Universal Spirit & individual gods
• Simplistic to say that Hinduism is polytheistic
• All the gods are part of the universal spirit
– Is Hinduism is actually monotheistic?
Major Hindu gods
Vishnu—the preserver
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Vishnu is the second god of the Hindu triad
Known as preserver of the universe
Represents mercy and goodness
Said to be the cosmic ocean nara, meaning
water
– For this reason, he is also known as Narayana, or
"one who moves on the waters"
Vishnu
Hindu gods often portrayed with multiple
hands or mudras (hand signals)
Vishnu
Shiva—the destroyer
• Shiva is the destroyer of the world
• Responsible for change in the form of death
and destruction
• Also, responsible for positive sense of
destroying the ego
– Includes shedding of old habits
Shiva
Seated on tiger skin;
represents the Mind
tiger skin
Vedas
• Doctrines of Hinduism stem from the Vedas
– Epic poems sung by priests
– Eventually written down
• Rig Veda most significant
– Deals with deities: Indra & Varuna & their
relationship with humans
Hindu Poems & Stories
• Mahabharata
– World’s longest poem
• Ramayana
– Represents the fulfillment of dharma, especially
relationships of husband & wife
• Bhagavad-Gita
– Best known story in Hinduism (part of
Mahabharata)
– About the warrior Arjuna
Bhagavad-Gita
• Warrior Arjuna must go to battle against his
cousins
– His charioteer (god Krishan in disguise) reveals to
him nature of human soul (atman) & cycle of
rebirth
• Poem is moral guideline as are all Hindu
poems
• You could start reading the Hindu poems at
birth and never finish by end of your life
The Bhagavad-Gita
Our bodies are know to end,
but the embodied Self is enduring,
Indestructible, and immearsuralbe;
therefore, Arjuna, fight the battle!
he who thinks this Self a killer
and he who thinks it killed,
both fail to understand;
it does not kill, nor is it killed.
The Bhagavad-Gita
It is not born,
it does not die…
it is enduring, all pervasive
fixed, immobile, and timeless…
The self embodied in the
body of every being is indestructible;
you have no cause to grieve for all these
creatures, Arjuna!
Classical Belief Systems
JUDAISM
Judaism
• Originated with a small Middle Eastern group
called the Hebrews
• Some information comes from archaeological
digs & references from documents from Egypt
& Assyria
• Most information comes from Hebrew Bible,
the Torah
– Historians consider this information accurate as it
relates to events
Judaism
• For many years stories, events, & beliefs were
transmitted orally
– Eventually written down probably during 10th
Century B.C.E.
– Today’s text dates from 5th Century B.C.E.
• Founder of religion was Abraham
– Born in Ur in Mesopotamia
– Rejected polytheism & migrated to land of
modern Israel
Judaism
• Hebrew Bible speaks of a move to Egypt, their
enslavement, & return to Israel
• Kingdom reached its height under kings Saul,
David, and Solomon during 11th & 10th centuries
B.C.E.
• Solomon built a Jewish temple, but it was
destroyed by neo-Babylonians in 6th century
B.C.E.
• Temple was rebuilt, but destroyed by Romans in
2nd century C.E.
Judaism
• With destruction of temple Hebrews suffered
a diaspora, or scattering of the people by its
conquerors
– Spread many of its followers to many parts of the
world
• Judaism survived and influenced major
religions of Christianity & Islam
– Considered a world religion, not because of
number of followers, but its influence
Judaism
• Jewish concept of God represents important
change in human views of sacred
• Gods in early religions were whimsical & most
often had human characteristics, despite
supernatural powers
• Hebrew God was more abstract & less human
– All knowing, all powerful, and always just
Judaism
• More ideas about concerning the Hebrew God
– So holy you should not speak his name “Yahweh”
(YHWH)
– Humans relationship with God was a covenant or
an agreement
• If you are devoted to God you will receive divine care
– God sets high standards for ethical conduct &
moral behavior
• This was a defining element that set Judaism apart from
other early religions
• Ten commandments part of this legacy
Classical Beliefs
CHRISTIANITY
Christianity
• Emerged as a new religion in the early years of
the Roman Empire in Judea
– This old Jewish kingdom had become a Roman
province
• Founder was Jesus of Nazareth
– Jewish prophet and teacher regarded as the son of
God
– Supporters believed he was fulfilling long-standing
belief in coming of a Messiah
Christianity
• Jesus of Nazareth lived during time of
Augustus (First Roman Emperor 63 B.C.-14 C.E.
• Appealed to the poor with his universal
message
– All people welcome in the kingdom of God, no
matter what social status or ethnicity
• He promised a better life, not only after death,
but on earth since the just would be rewarded
Christianity
• Predicted a “Second Coming” of God
• His message was a moral code
– Based on love, charity, & humility
• His talk of a kingdom on earth alarmed the
Romans
– Viewed his message insubordinate
• Some Jewish officials thought him to be a
dangerous agitator threatening their religion
Christianity
• Jesus of Nazareth put to death around 30 C.E.
• His followers believed he was resurrected
from the dead
– This belief became central to the new religion
• The religion of Jesus was spread by his
disciples (12 main disciples)
• Paul, a missionary, was most responsible for
the spread of Christianity
Christianity
• Paul was Jewish & was born in a Greek city
– Familiar with Greco-Roman culture
– Able to put doctrine in a form Greeks & Romans could
understand
• Paul preached in Greece, Italy, Anatolia, and other
regions of the Mediterrean
• Paul helped turn Christianity into a universal
religion
– By 4th century C.E. about 10% of Roman Empire was
Christian
Christianity
• Emperor Constantine issued Edit of Milan in
313 C.E.
– Announced official toleration of Christianity in
Roman Empire
– Became a Christian himself, probably at his death
• Emperor Theodosius made Christianity official
religion of Rome in 381 C.E.
– Roman Empire collapsed, but Christianity survived
as a universalizing religion