Religious Movements
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Transcript Religious Movements
Polytheism
Deities: ex. Olympic pantheon
Beliefs varied from no afterlife to shadowy existence in the
underworld to a paradise-like afterlife
Human life is subject to the whim of the gods and to Fate;
these can be controlled through sacrifice and divination
Animal sacrifice, harvest offerings, festivals, games,
processions, dance, plays, in honor of the gods
Traditional African Religions
Traditional Amerindian Religions
Many gods
Appease and nourish the gods; determine luckiest
dates for various activities
soul journeys through dark and threatening
underworld; but sacrificial victims and women who die
in childbirth go to heaven.
Hinduism
Deity: Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma
No founder
Sacred Texts: Vedas & the Upanishads
Beliefs
Soul never dies, continually reborn
Persons achieve happiness & enlightenment after they
free themselves of earthy desires
Freedom from earthy desires comes from lifetime of
worship, knowledge, and virtuous acts
Jainism
Deity: no specific deity
Founder: Parshva and Mahavira
Sacred Text:
Beliefs:
regards every living soul as potentially divine
path of non-violence to progress the soul to this
ultimate goal
human beings who rediscover the dharma, become fully
liberated
Buddhism
No deity, but many worship Buddha
Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)
Sacred Texts: Tripitaka (Pali Canon); Mahayana sutras
like the Lotus Sutra
Beliefs
Persons achieve happiness & peace (nirvana) after they
free themselves of earthy desires
Nirvana is reached by following Eightfold Path:
Right views, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort,
mindfulness, concentration
Confucianism
No Deity:
Founder: Confucius
Sacred Texts: Analects
Beliefs
Social order, harmony, & good government based on strong
family relationships
Respect for parents & elders is important to well-ordered
society
Education is important both to the welfare of the individual
and society
Purpose of life is to fulfill one's role in society with propriety,
honor, and loyalty
Daoism
Deity: the Tao pervades all
Founder: Lao-Tzu
Sacred Texts: Tao Te Ching
Beliefs
Purpose is inner harmony, peace, and longevity.
Achieved by living in accordance with the Tao.
Tao: road, channel, path, way, doctrine, or line
De: the active living, or cultivation, of that "way“
Wu Wei: knowing when to act and when not to act
Pu: a state of pure potential and perception without
prejudice
Legalism
Deity: none
Founder: Shang Yang
Sacred Text: none
Beliefs:
Fa: law code must be clearly written and made public
Shu: Special tactics to be employed by the ruler to make
sure others don't take over control of the state
Shi: the position of the ruler, not the ruler himself or
herself, that holds the power
Judaism
Deity: God (Yahweh)
Founder: Abraham
Sacred Text: Torah
Beliefs:
One God who watches over and cares for his people
God holds his people responsible for their sins &
shortcomings
People serve God by studying the Torah and serving God
Christianity
Deity: God
Founder: Jesus Christ / St. Paul
Sacred Text: The Bible
Beliefs:
One God who watches over and cares for his people
Jesus is the son of God
He died for the sins of others
His death and Resurrection made the eternal life
possible for others
Islam
Deity: God (Allah)
Founder: Muhammad
Sacred Text: The Koran (Qur’an)
Beliefs:
Five Pillars of Islam
Believe in one God & Muhammad as his prophet
5 daily prayers
Giving charity to the poor
Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj: once in a life time pilgrimage to Mecca
Live a just life
What is a Universal Religion ?
Began as a local faith
Expand outwards adopting other peoples
Adopt ideas of these peoples
Buddhism – Daoism, Hinduism, Traditional East &
Southeast religions
Christianity – Greek philosophy, Zoroastrianism,
Islam – Zoroastrianism, Christianity
Early Beginnings
Buddhism, Christianity, & Islam all found themselves
persecuted early in their lives
Buddhists: by Hindus
Christians: by polytheistic Romans
Muslims: by polytheistic Arabs
Often exert strong political control over their nations
Buddhism – Ashoka & the Mauryan Dynasty in India
Christianity – Clovis and the Franks across Europe
Islam – the Umayyad Dynasty across Middle East & N.
Africa
Missionaries
member of a religion who works to convert those who do
not share the missionary's faith
Leading Missionary Religions
Christianity
Islam
Buddhism
The spread of these faiths changed them as they
encountered
Adopt some of cultures of people being taken in to make it
more palpable