Download World Religions

World Religions
Religion
• Religion is an organized
system of beliefs,
ceremonies, practices
and worship that centers
on one or more gods
– Polytheism- belief in
many gods
– Monotheism- belief in one
god
• Religion is a dominate
force in the worlddetermining what people
wear, eat and how they
behave
Hinduism
• Hinduism is one of the
worlds oldest religionsstarted in India
• Hinduism has developed over
thousands of years but the basic
premise is to achieve Mokshaperfect understanding
• Hindus today worship many gods,
but the original belief was based
on Brahman- the world soul, who
had three personalities
– Brahma the creator, Vishnu the
protector, and Shiva the
destroyer
• Hinduism believes that every person can be
achieve Moksha if they let go of selfish desires
• Hindu holy books are called the Vedas and
the Upanishads
– The Upanishads are the interpretation of the Vedas
• The Spiritual leaders are called Guru’s
• Hindus base their
beliefs and actions
on Karma or a belief
that what happens to
you is a result of past
deeds
• Karma is the main part of
Reincarnation or the
belief that you will come
back as another object or
person on your quest to
nirvana
• Another main part
of the Hindu belief
system is the
Caste System
– Social, economic
traditions that you
are born into
• There are several
levels of Hindu
society
– Brahmins
(teachers),
Ksatriyas (warriors),
Vaishyas
(merchants,
artisans, farmers),
and Shudras
(laborers)
– The level you are
born into will be the
level you live your
life in.
– There is no
changing levels
Buddhism
• Buddhism-started in Indiahas ties to Hinduism
• Around 525 BC, an Indian
prince named Siddhartha
Gautama (the founder of
Buddhism) left his palace to
search for understanding
– He found an old man, an ill
man, a corpse and an ascetic
– Because of what he saw, he
became convinced that
suffering lay at the end of all
existence
• He decided to give up all his
riches and become a monk to
try to comprehend the truth of
the world around him
• After meditating under a tree, he finally understood
how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to
achieve salvation.
• From this point on, he was known as the Buddha,
meaning the "Enlightened One."
• Spent the remainder of his life journeying around
India, teaching others what he had come to
understand.
• After the death of the Buddha, monks or
Buddhist spiritual leaders cremated the
Buddha’s body and had the ashes divided and
put in Stupas or a mound-like structure
containing Buddhist relics
• They also had his words written down in the
Sutras- Buddhist Holy Book
• The Sutras tell of the Four Noble Truths- Life
is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, one
can escape suffering by reaching nirvana &
follow the 8 fold path to nirvana
– These four truths were “discovered” by the Buddha
• According to the Buddha, one must follow the
Eightfold Path- Right views, Right aspirations, Right
speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort,
Right mindfulness, Right concentration
• If you follow the path, you will become enlightened
and reach Nirvana- When you’ve reached
enlightenment
Confucianism
• 551 BC, K'ung Fu Tzu was
born
– Also known as Confucius-the
founder of Confucianism
(started in China)
• He became a teacher, but
eventually gave it up to
travel to China and give
advice to the rulers
• His writings deal primarily
with individual morality and
ethics, and the proper
exercise of political power
by the rulers
• Confucianism does not have any gods
– He dealt mostly with how people should act instead of what to believe in
• His teachings were written down in The Five Classics- the
Confucius Holy Book
• Basic beliefs say
– Evil would disappear if people would just think and act properly
– Practice a moral code of conduct
– Honor relationships of man and society: Ruler, parents, spouse, siblings,
friends
– Education
Judaism
• Around 2,500 BC, a man
named Abraham was
commanded by God to
leave Ur
• Eventually, he settled in a
land called Canaan where
his descendants (Hebrews)
grew to be quite large
• Abraham made a covenant
with God- he promised to
obey him if God protected
the Hebrews.
• The Hebrews called God
Yahweh, or Jehovah.
• After a major drought
hit Canaan, his
descendants left for
Egypt where there
was food
• While there, they were
taken as slaves
– Stayed slaves for 400
years until Moses rescued
them and led them out of
Egypt.
– Eventually, they ended up
back in Canaan, where
they separated into 12
tribes.
•
As Moses led them across the Sinai peninsula he spoke to
God and received the Torah- or The Jewish Holy Book
–
•
•
The main part of the Torah was the 10 commandments
In the commandments, the Hebrews were given a Holy Day
or a Sabbath
Current Jewish synagogues (a Jewish Church) have
Rabbis- Jewish spiritual leader
• After making it back to Canaan, the Jewish people
became powerful under kings Saul, David and
Solomon
–
–
–
–
Saul drove the Philistines out of the kingdom
David united the 12 tribes
Solomon built the great temple
The temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the
Babylonians around 580 B.C. It was rebuilt under Cyrus after
the Persians conquered the area.
– The Romans destroyed it around 70 AD
Christianity
• Christianity Started in
Israel/Palestine, in the Roman
Empire, around 33 AD
• Around year 6-4 B.C., Jesus
of Nazareth was born into the
Jewish faith.
• Jesus spent most of his life traveling all over
Israel teaching people how to be better
• A main point to his teachings was BaptismImmersion or sprinkling of water and
Resurrection- Belief that people will rise from
the dead
•
•
Over time, the teachings of the Torah and
Jesus were written down and put into a book
called the Bible- Christian Holy Book
After the death of Jesus Christ (Means
“Savior”) Christianity was spread by two main
people- Paul and Peter
• Eventually the Christian church would split into two
main churches:
– Catholic- meaning “universal”
– Orthodox- meaning “original”
• Ultimately, the Catholic church dominated Western Europe, while
the Eastern Orthodox church dominated Greece and Eastern
Europe
• Around 1500, another
group split off from the
Catholic church. They
were known as
“Protestants.”
Islam
• In 570 AD, Muhammad- Founder of Islam- was born in modern
day Saudi Arabia
• Around 610 AD, after leaving his home for the mountains, he
claims to have received his first revelation from God (Allah) .
He believed he was the last prophet.
• After his death, his revelations were written down in
what became known as the Qur’an/Koran
• His main teachings became known as the Five Pillars
of Islam- Confession, Prayer, Alms to the poor,
Fasting, Pilgrimage to Mecca
• The religion Muhammad founded became known as
Islam- Started in Saudi Arabia which means
“submission”
•
The holiest city in
Islam is Mecca
–
–
•
Site where Muhammad
received his revelation
Where the main
Islamic Mosque or
Muslim place of
worship is located
Muhammad
eventually became a
military and religious
leader, uniting most of
the Arabian peninsula
under Islam