Download Major Belief Systems and the Migration of these beliefs systems

I.
Drake Wootton 2nd
Major Belief Systems and the Migration of these beliefs systems
Monotheism
a. Judaism
i. Gave the world the first clearly developed monotheistic religion
ii. Before, religions were polytheistic where gods were explanation
for nature and human destiny
iii. It is durable because it stresses God’s special compact with Jewish
people allowing for non-Jews to convert without premium
iv. Concept of God became less human-like and more abstract
v. Religion became way of life; not rituals and ceremonies
vi. One of the oldest religions at over 3,000 years old
vii. Focuses on the first five books of the Bible, or Torah
viii. Most Jews are found in Israel which was given sovereignty in 1948
b. Christianity
i. Largest religion with roughly 2 billion disciples
ii. Began as sect of Judaism
iii. Originated in eastern Mediterranean during the Roman Empire
iv. Christians were one of the few religious groups persecuted in
Rome because of their failure to prioritize the state
v. Greek-speaking merchants brought it to Ethiopia by 300s C.E.
vi. Split into two branches:
1. Roman Catholicism
a. Centered in Europe; has spread to South America
b. Weakened in the 1400s because of Reformation
i. Protestantism
1. Rose from Reformation
2. Occupies majority of North America,
Australia, and parts of northern
Europe
2. Eastern Orthodoxy
a. Epicenter spread to Russia and eastern part of
Roman Empire
c. Islam
i. Second largest with 1.5 billion followers
ii. Originated with Muhammad and teachings at Mecca
iii. Jewish clan leaders attempted to kill Muhammad because of the
threat of his teachings
iv. Muhammad fled to Medina where he gained followers
v. Returned to Mecca after gaining much support
vi. Teachings center around Quran and Allah
vii. Five Pillars of Faith that are basis of philosophies
viii. Oriented itself with Ottoman Empire situated in Middle Eastern
and northern African area
ix. Grown and spread out from Saudi Arabia to north Africa and
Indonesia
x. Major Split called Shiite-Sunni Split
1. Took part due to disagreement in succession
2. Shiite
a. Comprise 13% of Islamic adherents
3. Sunni
a. Comprise roughly 89% of Islamic adherents
II.
Other religions
a. Hinduism
i. Third largest religion with .75 billion adherents
ii. Roughly 97% of Hindus are concentrated in India
iii. Known as the “oldest living religions” but no definite origin
iv. Principle document is karma, the transferring of a soul
v. Person goes through reincarnations and either goes upwards or
downwards based on behavior
vi. Diffused from India into the island of Bali and Indonesia
vii. Kept a strong economic system throughout millennium during the
height of the Indus Valley Civilization
viii. Mauryan emperor Ashoka, although Buddhist, sponsored Hindu
shrines and supported the religion
ix. Gupta rulers claimed they were gods; this is why they favored
Hinduism over Buddhism because Hindus believed in such gods
x. Caste System
1. Five class social ranking system
2. Highest class was Brahman
3. Lowest class were the untouchables
b. Buddhism
i. About .25 billion followers most living in East or Southeast Asia
ii. Religion had taken root in this region by 500 C.E.
iii. Buddhism never dominated any whole civilization; rather lived
alongside other faiths
iv. Originated in eastern India around the sixth century B.C.
v. Prince Gautama was upset about poverty caused by caste system
vi. Became known as the Buddha
vii. Received enlightenment under the Bohdi or the awakening tree
viii. Attracted many followers in India after the conversion of the
Ashoka but never had a permanent following
ix. Ultimate objective is to reach nirvana, or highest level of
enlightenment through reincarnations
x. Spread through contagious diffusion within missionaries
xi. Saw surge into eastern Asia with the fall of the Han Dynasty;
people were desperate for celestial afterlife
xii. Became only small minority faith in India
xiii. Monks were the chief agents of expansion
xiv. Chinese Confucians thought Buddhism disrupted family
obligations