Transcript Belief Systems Religion

Belief Systems
Religion (The Basics)
• Religion is a belief in a supernatural power
or powers that are regarded as the creators
and maintainers of the universe.
Types of Religions
• Monotheistic religions believe in one god.
• Polytheistic religions believe in many gods.
• Animistic or traditional religions often believe that
different aspects of nature have divine powers.
Religions of the World
Religions of the World
Religions of the World
Red = Christianity, Green = Islam
Religions of the World
Religion
Followers
Christianity
1.9 billion
Islam
1.1 billion
Hinduism
781 million
Buddhism
324 million
Sikhism
19 million
Judaism
14 million
What you
will learn
today?
What are the characteristics of major religions?
How are they similar and different?
How have major religions affected culture?
How have belief systems spread over large areas?
Animism
Animism is the belief that all
living and nonliving things in
nature have a spirit.
Animism was the belief system
of many early civilizations.
Animism in early civilizations
was often combined with
ancestor worship.
•Animism dates back to earliest
humans and still exists.
•Animism exists in traditional
African, Asian, American and
Aboriginal cultures.
Traditional African Religion
ANIMISM
1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being.
2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all
things (rocks, water, trees, sky, etc.)
3. Ancestor veneration.
4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes.
5. Diviner  mediator between the tribe
and God.
African Diviner (Shaman)
Like a wise man, prophet, healer, “witch doctor”
Mediator between the spirit
world and the people
World of the Spirits
Believe that spirits are everywhere – in sky, rocks, sand, etc.
Can communicate with spirits & ancestors in the Dogon
Dogon “Spirit House”
Ancestors - Artwork with a special purpose
Ancestors are venerated and prayed to
Fetishes - Artwork with a special purpose the attribution of religious or mystical qualities to inanimate
objects (used as protective figures or fertility goddesses)
•Another one of the
earliest religions is
Hinduism.
•The Indo-Aryans
invaded northwest India
sometime between
1750 and 1560 B.C.
(depends on which book or
map you read – no one
knows for sure)
•They brought with
them their own
religious beliefs and
texts
THE VEDAS
•The oldest text being the
Rig-Veda
•They worshipped many godsassociated with forces of
nature
The Vedas dictated the
VARNAS – a social
structure of classes:
•Kshatriyas-warrior noble
Varnas
=Caste
System
•Brahmins – Priests
•Vaisyas – merchant,
farmer
•Sudras – servants,
artisans – considered
unclean (included nonAryan Indians – darker
skinned)
Marriage, even eating
together outside of
your class was
prohibited
The Brahmins eventually rose to
the top and a new group outside
of the system was created
HINDUISM arose as the
predominant Indian religion –
recognizes many gods
(33,000+)
• the Trimurti (also called the
Hindu Trinity)
•Brahma the Creator ब्रह्मा
•Vishnu the Preserver
•Siva the Destroyer (Shiva)
शिव or श्रीशिव
•All gods and living beings part of a
single universal spirit – BRAHMA(N)
Three most important concepts of
Hinduism:
•REINCARNATION – when people die
their souls are reborn in new bodies
•DHARMA – the moral duty one must fulfill
during lifetime (dependent on position)
•KARMA – consequences of actions taken
during lifetime (determines next cycle)
•Fulfill dharma –
rewarded with
good karma –
may eventually
break cycle of
rebirth and
realize oneness
with Brahma(n) MOKSHA
JAINISM – developed in
500s BC by Mahavira of the
noble/warrior class
•Everything in nature posses a
soul (People, animals, plants,
stones)
•Belief in non-violence – AHIMSA
•Self-denial leads to perfect
wisdom
•Covered noses with cloth to
avoid breathing in germs or
insects and killing them
•Vegetarians – avoided farming –
(guess why - ?)
The focus of this
religion has been
purification of the soul
by means of right
conduct, right faith and
right knowledge.
BUDDHISM – founded by
Prince Siddhartha Gautama
(563 BC-483 BC)
• Buddha or “Enlightened One”
•Age 29 – discovered hunger
disease, death –
•set out in search of truth
•Lived as a hermit – meditated
and fasted – searched for 6
years
•Suddenly achieved
enlightenment – state of inner
calm and understanding
Bodhi Day—
the date of his
enlightenment (Dec. 8) and
his subsequent revelation of
the ‘four noble truths’: From
that point forward,
Siddhartha Gautama was
referred to as the Buddha
THE FOUR
NOBLE
TRUTHS
• Dukkha: All human life contains suffering and
sorrow
•Trsna: desire causes suffering
•Nirvana – perfect peace: It is possible to find
an end to suffering – reject desire.
•The ‘noble eightfold path’ is the way to find the
solution to suffering and bring it to an end.
•Buddha did not believe the
Vedas were sacred works
•Priests should practice
virtue, non-violence
(AHIMSA), and poverty
•Rejected Varna system –
this would be very
appealing to who?
•Buddhism eventually
became organized religion
with priests, temples and
rituals
PAGODA
Buddhism has much in common with Hinduism,
but important differences.
Buddhism like
Hinduism:
Reincarnation
Karma
Dharma
But not
Caste system
Hindu gods
Hindu
priesthood
~Buddhism spread
through cultural
diffusion to
eastern Asia,
including China,
Thailand, Korea
and Japan.
~In other areas,
Buddhism was
adapted and took
on new forms.
Buddha did not record his
teachings, but after he died, his
followers collected them into the
Tipitaka.
Today’s Tibetan
Buddhists are
led by the Dalai
Lama, who
advocates for
freedom from
China.
Middle East / Asia
The four religions that
began in Southwest Asia
are:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Zoroastrianism (750 BC)
Judaism (2000 BC)
Christianity (26-36 AD)
Islam (610 AD)
Zoroastrianism
(750 BC)
• One of the most
ancient religions in the
world
• Originated in the
region of Persia
(modern day Iran.)
• Known today as Yazidi
in the Middle East and
Eastern Europe
• Known as Parsiism in
India
Look at the
purple
shaded area
below ancient
Persia /
modern Iran
Founder: prophet/reformer Zoroaster
Beliefs:
• Monotheistic
• One supreme god – Ahura
Mazda - is all good, no evil
originates from him
Beliefs:
• Life is a struggle between good and evil
• Humans are free to choose between right and wrong, truth
and lie, and light and dark
• The choices made will affect destiny of eternity.
Beliefs:
• Saviors would
come at the dawn
of days to save
mankind
• First religion to
incorporate the
belief in angels and
demons
• First religion to
believe in a heaven
and a hell
• Believed bodies
would be
resurrected in the
dawn of days
The Daevas were a class of
demons in Zoroastrianism that
chose to followAngra Mainya
Influenced other later religions
including Judaism, Gnosticism,
Christianity and Islam.
YAZIDI – modern day Zoroastrianism
• Found primarily in Iraq,
Syria, and Turkey
• Large diaspora into Europe,
especially Germany, due to
persecution
YAZIDI – modern day Zoroastrianism
• Persecuted as “devil
worshippers” under Saddam
Hussein and fundamentalist
Sunni Muslim revolutionaries
• This year, August 2014,
targeted by the Islamic
State of Iraq and the
Levant, known as ISIS or
ISIL –
• Campaign to “purify”
Iraq and neighboring
countries of nonIslamic influences (they
are also killing Christians)
YAZIDI – modern day Zoroastrianism
• ISIS captured Sinjar in August 2014
• 50,000 Yazidis forced to flee into the mountainous region to
Mount Sinjar
• People are starving to death and dying of thirst
• US & UK began humanitarian assistance (food drops) on August 7, 2014
• Other European nations and Australia have pledged to help
• Some have pledged weapons to the Kurdish Peshmerga
fighters aiding the Yazidi
• Kurdish troops rescued several thousand Yazidi, crossing the
Tigris River into Syria
Crossing the Tigris River
• Conditions on Mount
Sinjar are considered
“a genocide” – as
witnessed by the
hundreds of corpses
seen there.
Judaism
•Judaism originated in the Middle East around 1000
BCE.
• According to Jewish tradition, God chose the Hebrews
and helped them to escape slavery in Egypt.
•Judaism was one of the first monotheistic religions.
Basic Beliefs of Judaism
~The Torah is a
sacred scripture
recording laws and
events in Jewish
history.
~The Old Testament
of the Bible includes
the Torah.
~God gave the
Hebrews the
Ten
Commandments
through Moses.
~The Ten
Commandments
describe how
people should
behave toward God
and one another.
God made a
covenant, or
promise to
Abraham that he be
the God of the
Hebrews.
Judaism had a great influence on the later
development of Christianity and Islam.
Jews were discriminated against in the Roman Empire
and eventually kicked out of their homeland, Israel, in
what is known as the Diaspora.
Star of David
A symbol and sign of the Jewish
faith
This symbol was tragically
used against them – to identify
Jews who were then
persecuted throughout history
Christianity
Christianity
•
Christianity was heavily influenced by
Judaism. Some of the major beliefs of
Christianity are:
A. Monotheism - There is one god who is all
powerful and all knowing.
B. Jesus Christ died for the sins of
humankind.
C. Salvation comes from faith in God.
JESUS - born around 4
BC in Bethlehem
Carpenter by
trade - Began
preaching
around age 30
Large crowds
would gather to
hear his
teachings
 He called himself the
son of God
 Many believed he was
the Messiah
 The New Testament
states that his MISSION
was to bring spiritual
salvation and eternal
life to anyone who
would believe in him
Jewish priests felt Jesus was a
challenge to their leadership
Roman authorities thought
Jesus was a revolutionary
who might lead the Jews in a
rebellion
Jesus was
tried,
found
guilty,
and was
crucified
Christians believe that he rose from the
grave on “Easter Sunday”
As his followers would
spread the “GOOD
NEWS” (Gospel)….
.. many early
Christians
were killed by
Roman
authorities –
they became
MARTYRS people who
suffer or die
for the sake of
their faith
Christianity eventually became the
official religion of the Roman Empire.
• Christians
believe the Old
and New
Testaments of
the Bible are
holy books.
• The first four books of the New Testament are
believed to be written by followers of Jesus.
• Some branches of Christianity are:
Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and
Eastern Orthodox.
HISTORY OF ISLAM
PRE-ISLAM
• Home is on the
Arabian Peninsula
• Tribes =nomadic
Bedouins led by
sheiks
• Not Politically
unified, no
centralized
government
• Constantly warring
MUHAMMAD
• born in Mecca
• successful merchant
•Received first revelation in
610, age 40.
•revelations became Koran
/ Qur’an, compiled between
650 and 651
•Muslims accept all the Hebrew prophets including
Moses and Jesus - do not believe Jesus was divine
•Consider themselves “People of the Book” – along
with Christians and Jews
•Book of Muhammad’s
revelations
•Recognizes Jesus as a
prophet not as divine
•It is a theocratic
religion - leaders of the
church are the political
leaders
•Muhammad
considered last &
greatest prophet in
Islam
Koran or Qur'an
•Muhammad’s faith was
rejected by authorities at
Mecca
•622 - left Mecca for the
northern city of Medina.
• This
trip is known
as the Hijra
•This is the start of the
Muslim Calendar and the
true foundation of Islam
•Hijra means breaking
of former ties or flight
MECCA - The Islamic
Holy City
• Kaaba – (meaning
cube in Arabic) a large
black stone enshrined
at Mecca that was
believed to be built by
Abraham
• This made it a
significant place of
worship and
pilgrimage
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Grand Mosque Kaaba
Five Pillars of Islam
• The profession of faith:
there is no God but Allah
and Muhammad was the
last prophet
• Prayers have to be uttered
five times a day
• The giving of alms or
charity to the poor
• Fasting during Ramadan
• The Hajj - pilgrimage to
Kaaba in Mecca at least
once in lifetime
Muslims often gather in houses of
worship called Mosques
Spread of Islam--In the 150 years following the death of
Muhammad, Islam spread through trade, missionaries
and conquest into Asia and Africa.
Great Differences separating
Hindus from Muslims
•Hindus worshipped many gods and
goddesses – Muslims worshipped
only Allah
•The Hindu varna system
contradicted the Muslim belief that
all people are equal before God
•Different rules about the kind of
food and drink they could consume
•These differences remain a
troubling issue even today
•Chinese philosophic
tradition founded by Lao-tzu,
advocating
•a life of simplicity and
naturalness
•noninterference with the
course of natural events, in
order to attain a happy
existence in harmony with
the world Tao.
• practitioners seek longevity
and immortality
Confucianism
• Confucianism is a
philosophy that began
in China around 500 400 B.C.
• It is based on the
teachings of
Confucius.
• Confucianism is
concerned mainly with
social organization. It
emphasizes respect for
elders and education.
Confucianism
Analects
>>>>>
Ancestor
Worship
• One ancient
belief that has
been
incorporated into
many religions
in Asia is the
idea of
worshipping and
respecting one’s
ancestors.
Questions: Look on the last page of Outline Notes
1. What do all these belief systems have in common?
2. Summarize the role of the Shaman.
3. What is the purpose of Fetishes?
4. Which religion gave rise to the Caste System?
5. How do religions spread?
6. What is the similarity between the Five Pillars of Islam
and the Ten Commandments?
7. Differentiate between Hinduism and Buddhism.
8. Cite evidence from the PowerPoint that illustrates that
genocide still exists today; explain using specific
details.