Transcript Religion Notes

Religion Notes
Religion

Looks at how cultures answer life’s great
questions:
-What is the origin of life?
-What does it mean to be human?
-Are there greater-than-human
forces responsible for events in the
world?
 Examines who or what people worship and how
they worship.
Religion Key Terms
Deity – Any god or goddess.
Hapy – Egyptian god
embodied by the Nile,
and who represents
life.
In Roman mythology, Diana
was the goddess of the hunt.
Religion Key Terms
Monotheism – The belief that there is
only one god. This god can take
different forms across many religions
and cultures
Religious Key Terms
Polytheism – The
belief that there are
many gods. It is
believed that
different gods are
representations of
different things in
the world.
Brahma is the
Hindu god of
creation.
Varuna is a god of
the sky, of rain and
of the celestial
ocean, as well as a
god of law and of
the underworld.
Buddhism
Followers
: Buddhists
Numbers of Adherents: 376
Million
Gods : None
Buddhism
Important
People:
Siddhartha Gautama: the
Buddha (“enlightened one”)
Important Texts:
Tripitaka: the teachings of the
Buddha
Buddhism
Important
Points:
-Reincarnation: a cycle of birth, life, and
death
-Enlightenment: the final goal
-Place of worship: Buddhist Temple
The Four Noble Truths
1. Life is suffering;
2. Suffering is due to attachment;
3. Attachment can be overcome;
4. There is a path for accomplishing this.
Young Tibetan Buddhist
monks of Drepung
Typical interior of a temple in Korea
Buddhist Symbols

The image to the right is the Tibetan
Wheel of Life, which represents
Samsara. In the very center, there is a
rooster chasing a pig chasing a snake
chasing the rooster -- craving, hatred,
and ignorance. Around that are people
ascending the white semicircle of life,
and others descending the black
semicircle of death. The greatest
portion of the Wheel is devoted to
representations of the six realms -- the
realm of the gods, the realm of the
titans, the realm of humans, the realm
of animals, the realm of the hungry
ghosts, and the realm of demons -- each
realm looked over by its own
boddhisattva. The outermost circle is
the 12 steps of dependent
origination. The entire Wheel is held
by Yama, the Lord of Death.
Christianity
Followers
: Christians
Numbers of Adherents: 2.1
billion
Gods : One God
Christianity
Important
People:
Jesus: the son of God who
came to earth
Important Texts:
the Bible: Old and New
Testament
Christianity
Important
Points:
-The Trinity: Father/Son/Holy Spirit
-Heaven: the final afterlife
-Salvation through Jesus’ death
-Place of worship: church or cathedral
-Divisions: Catholics & Protestants
Vatican City – Home of the
Pope who is head of the
Catholic Church
Statue of Christ the Redeemeroverlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Nativity Scene – Birth of Jesus
Christian Symbols
The budded cross is a common form of
the cross. Its trefoils represent the trinity.
A Celtic Cross
Hinduism
Followers
: Hindus
Numbers of Adherents: 900
million
Gods : Many gods
-Brahman: the source
Hinduism
 Important
People:
Gandhi: emphasized nonviolence resistance and equality of
all people
 Important Texts:
the Vedas: a collection of texts
Hinduism
Important
Points:
-Caste System: each person in society
has a set place
-Karma: combination of good and bad
deeds that determine unity with God
-Place of worship: Hindu Temple
Front Entrance to Brihadisvara Temple
The Ganges River in India.
Hindu Symbol
As the cross is to Christians, the
AUM is to Hindus. It is the most
important symbol in Hinduism. It
is made up of three Sanskrit letters,
aa, au and ma which, when
combined, make the sound Aum or
Om. It occurs in every prayer.
 This symbol represents the
Brahman or the Absolute -the
source of all existence, in English
it’d mean 'omniscience',
'omnipotent', 'omnipresent'.

An Indian woman wearing the bindu.
The small red dot can indicate she is
married, indicate her Hindu faith, or
serve as a symbol of wisdom and divine
power.
Islam
•Followers : Muslims
•Numbers of Adherents: 1.3 billion
•One God : Allah
•Islam means “surrender”
Islam
 Important
People:
Muhammad: the last prophet
 Important Texts:
The Qur’an (Koran): Allah’s
words revealed to Muhammad
Islam
Important
Points:
-The Five Pillars: the duties of all
Muslims
-3 Holy Cities: Mecca, Medina,
Jerusalem
-Place of worship: Mosque
-Divisions: Sunnis and Shi’i

Muslims performing salat
(prayer) at the Umayyad
Mosque.
The Ascension of the
Prophet Muhammad,
Persian manuscript of the
Islamic school, 16th century;
in the Seattle (Washington)
Art Museum. Manuscript
shows Muhammad
ascending into heaven
surrounded by angels; out of
respect, his face is veiled.
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul
Islamic Symbol
Legend holds that the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Osman, had a dream in
which the crescent moon stretched from one end of the earth to the other.
Taking this as a good omen, he chose to keep the crescent and make it the
symbol of his dynasty. The symbol is due to cultural diffusion and the spread of
Islam to the Ottoman Turks who ruled a large area and also put the crescent
moon and star symbol on their flag.
 It can also refer to the fact that Muslims follow a religious lunar calendar. For
example, Ramadan, the ninth month, is a holy month.

Judaism
Followers
: Jews
Numbers of Adherents: 14
million
Gods : One God
Yahweh: God of Israelites
Judaism
 Important
People:
Abraham: the father of the
Jewish Nation
 Important Texts:
the Torah: God’s words revealed
to Moses
-The Torah is included in the
Hebrew bible (Tanakh).
Judaism
Important
Points:
-Messiah: Jews are still waiting
-Israel: considered the Promised Land
-Place of worship: synagogue
A view of Jerusalem, Israel from the Mount of Olives.
A synagogue in Sofia, Bulgaria.
•Jews praying at the Western (Wailing)
Wall in Jerusalem.
Jewish Symbols
•The Star of David
•Symbolizes the six days of creation, and
are also represent the six attributes of
God: power, wisdom, majesty, love,
mercy and justice.
Moses with the Ten Commandments