Transcript World Religio

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 (1750
B.C.)
• Hindus have developed
over thousands of
years and worship
several gods
– Brahma- Creator god
– Other gods are
• Vishnu- Preserver God
• Shiva-Destroyer God
• Hinduism believes that every person can be
enlightened or pure happiness if they let go of
selfish desires
• Moksha- To achieve a perfect understanding
and thus relief from perpetual reincarnation.
• Hindus holy books are called the Vedas and
the Upanishads
• 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 being on
your quest to
Nirvana = Eternal
bliss and liberation
from Samsara (birth,
life, death)
• 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),
Shudras (laborers),
Out of Caste
– The level you are
born into will be the
level you live your
life
– 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 they said, 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 about 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
• As in Hinduism, the Buddha accepted the
idea of reincarnation.
• However, Buddha rejected the many gods
of Hinduism –Instead he taught a way of
enlightenment.
• The Buddha also rejected the caste system
• The final goals of both religions-involving a
perfect state of understanding and a break
from the chain of reincarnation.
– Hinduism: Moksha/Nirvana
– Buddhism: Nirvana
Confucianism
• 551 BC, Kung Fu Tzu was
born
– Also known as Confuciusthe founder of Confucianism
(started in China)
• He became a teacher, but
eventually gave it up to
travel 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 1,800 BC, a
man named Abraham
(the generally accepted
founder of Judaismstarted in Canaan
(Israel) left the city of
UR
• Eventually, he settled in
a land called Canaan
where his descendants
(Hebrews) grew to be
quite large
• 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
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After rescuing the Hebrews, Moses brought them to Canaan
(the Promised Land)
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On the way, he received the Torah- or The Jewish Holy Book
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The main part of the Torah was the 10 commandments - Laws of
God- given to Moses (Monotheistic)
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 large and powerful and
eventually built a temple
– The temple was destroyed by the Babylonians
around 580 BC so they rebuilt it
– The Romans destroyed it around 70 AD
Christianity
• Christianity Started in
Israel/Palestine, in the Roman
Empire, around 33 AD
• Around year 1 AD, Jesus, the
founder of Christianity was
born
• Jesus spent most of his life traveling all over
Israel teaching people how to be better people.
• A main point to his teachings was BaptismImmersion or sprinkling of water and
Resurrection- Belief that the soul of a person
will have an after-life.
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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 and resurrection of Jesus
Christ (Means “Savior”) two churches were
created:
– Roman Catholic- Means “Universal”
– Eastern Orthodox- Means “Original”
• These churches did not get along
– They had differences in church teachings
– However, they both had Priests- Christian spiritual leader
• Eventually, the Catholic Church had followers that felt
the church was corrupt and decided to protest
– They became known as Protestants- People that protests
the Catholic Church
Christianity’s Key Beliefs
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Belief in God (Monotheistic)
Believe Jesus as son of God
Believe in Ten Commandments and
that they were given to Moses
Believe that Jesus died and then rose
from the dead to save people from sin.
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Call him “Christ” or “Messiah”
Believe in heaven, hell, and afterlife
Christians believe that they can serve
God and achieve salvation by
following the teachings of Jesus
Christianity’s Divisions (Sects)
• Some examples:
– Roman Catholics
– Eastern Orthodox
– Baptist
– Lutheran
– Presbyterian
– Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day
Saints
– And many more
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)
• Throughout his life, he would write down these
revelations in what became known as the
Qur’an/Koran or Islam Holy Book
• His main teachings became known as the:
Five Pillars of Islam- Confession, Prayer (5x a
day), 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
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Site where Muhammad
was born
Where the main
Islamic Mosque or
Muslim place of
Worship is located
Muhammad teaches,
in the Koran, that
believes need to wage
Jihad or Muslim Holy
War against
nonbelievers
Those that teach the
Koran are called
Imam- Muslim
spiritual leader