World Religions

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World Religions
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Religion Defined

• "Religion is any specific system of belief about
  a deity or deities, often involving rituals, a
  code of ethics and a philosophy of life."

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Major World Religions

• Judaism
• Christianity
• Buddhism
• Islam
• Hinduism
• Confucianism
• And more

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Major World Religions
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We will discuss the following about each religion

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area Today
• Texts / Major Documents
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

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Hinduism

• Indian Sub-continent
• No one person
• Pre-historic times (oldest religion)
• Indian sub-continent
• Vedas, Upanishads, Epics
• (henotheistic) Brahman universal soul (Gods
  aspects of Brahman, ex Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma,
  Ganesha) reincarnation, karma, dharma, caste
  system, yoga
• Center on birth, marriage, death, pilgrimages to
  sacred sites (Ganges)
• Different cults related to specific deities

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

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• Brahma- the Creator
• He has four heads representing the four vedas
  which are said to have sprung from his heads.
• In his four arms he holds the vedas, the
  kamandalam (water pot), suruva (sacrificial
  spoon) a mala (rosary).
• Vishnu- the Sustainer/ Preserver
• Usually represented as a beautiful blue
  adolescent
• 4 hands carrying a conch, a discus, a mass of
  arms and a lotus flower
• Siva/ Shiva- the Destroyer
• Portrayed in numerous ways
• Anthropomorphically- 4 arms holding a tambourine
  and a trident, and making gestures of giving and
  reassuring
• Third eye in the center of his forehead
• Ganesha- the Remover of Obstacles
• Son of Shiva and Parvathi
• He has an elephant head, with one broken tusk and
  4 arms

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Buddhism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

• Indian Sub-continent
• Siddhartha Gautama
• 4th or 5th cent. BCE
• E. Asia
• Tripitaka and other scriptures
• Buddha as deity or teacher, 4 Noble Truths,
  Eightfold Path, follow the Middle Way to achieve
  nirvana, reincarnation
• Depends upon the branch, New Years,
  anniversaries from life of Buddha
• Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Tantric

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• Mantras-
• Chanted phrases to help one meditate and
  contemplate the universe
• Om Mani Padme Hu
• Hail to the Jewel of the Lotus'
• Om (or Aum) predates Buddhism the symbolic word
  for the infinite, the perfect, the eternal
• This entire universe, including our body, mind
  and senses, is it's manifestation, extension and
  expansion. Past, present and future all are
  nothing but OM. This was true in the past, it is
  true in the present and it will be true in the
  future. And whatever else exists beyond the three
  divisions of time, that is also indeed OM.

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Confucianism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals

• China
• Kung Fu-tzu
• 551-479 BCE
• Eastern Asia (although officially ended in 1911)
• Analects of Confucius (4 Books), 5 Classics
• Cultivating virtue, jen (humantarian attitude),
  li (proper relationships, ex. 6 relationships),
  value of education, proper behavior (often
  blended with Taoism or Buddhism), ancestor
  worship
• 4 life passages (birth, maturity, marriage, death)

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• The 6 relationships
• Parent children
• Husband wife
• Older brother younger brother
• Ruler subject
• Teacher Student
• Friend Friend
• Cardinal virtue jen (or ren) translated as
  "love," "goodness," "humanity," and
  "human-heartedness."
• Golden Rule Do not do to others what you do not
  want done to yourself .

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Taoism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals

• China
• Lao-Tse (Laozi)
• 4th century BCE
• China, Taiwan (Eastern Asia)
• Tao Te Ching (Daodejing)
• Tao the Way, Develop virtue (3 Jewels), nurture
  Chi, cyclical time, become one with the Tao, wu
  wei- dont fight the natural course of things
• Faith healing, monasticism, pilgrimages, Chinese
  New Years Eve

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• "Be still like a mountain and flow like a great
  river." Lao Tse
• Tai ChI
• Yin/ Yang Yin, the darker element, is passive,
  dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds
  to the night yang, the brighter element, is
  active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and
  corresponds to the day.
• Sun Tzu- The Art of War
• Exemplifies both Taoist and Confucian principles
• Feng Shui

The Taoist Sage
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Judaism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

• Fertile Crescent
• Abraham
• 20th cent. BCE (?)
• Israel, United States
• Tanakh, (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim), Talmud
• Yahweh, Covenant Chosen People, Kosher,
  Sabbath Saturday, circumcision, afterlife
  Paradise, waiting for Messiah
• Bar and Bat Mtzvahs, holidays center on
  historical events or theology
• Orthodox, Conservative, Reform

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• Menorah- 9 candle lamp symbolizing the miracle of
  not running out of sacred oil during a time of
  oppression
• Chanukah NOT one of the major holidays of the
  Jewish tradition- Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and
  Passover much more important
• Star of David- relatively new as Jewish symbol
  (17th century), became the emblem of the 19th
  century Zionists, later misappropriated by the
  Nazis
• Mezuzah- small case on the door of a Jewish home
  as a constant reminder of G_ds presence.

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Christianity

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

• Fertile Crescent
• Jesus of Nazareth
• AD (CE) 30
• North and South America, Europe, Russia
• Bible (Old and New Testament)
• Jesus Messiah, Trinity (Father, Son, Holy
  Spirit), Resurrection after death, Faith as
  transformer, Sabbath Sunday, afterlife
  Heaven, Hell or Purgatory
• Sacraments (7 or less, depending on
  denomination), Various holy days through year
• Catholic, E. Orthodox, Protestant

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• Philosophy of Sin and redemption
• Major differences between the branches
• Catholic- Pope and priests interpret the religion
  for the people, saints intercede on peoples
  behalf, 7 sacraments, celibate
• Eastern Orthodox- all bishops are equal, holy
  relics are concealed from the people, 7
  sacraments
• Protestant- Pope is not the head of the church,
  preacher may still interpret the religion, but
  the people have a personal relationship with
  their God, less than 7 sacraments

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Islam

• Arabia (Fertile Crescent)
• Muhammad
• 622 CE
• Middle East, Northern half of Africa, Indonesia,
  Central Asia, South Asia
• Quran, hadith
• There is no god but Allah, 5 pillars of Islam,
  pilgrimage to Mecca, worship day Friday, jihad
  (personal struggle)
• Muslim New Years, anniversaries of life of
  Muhammad, Ramadan, etc.
• Sunni, Shia, Sufi

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches

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• 5 Pillars of Islam
• 1. To proclaim that there is none worthy of
  worship save Allah and that Muhammad is His
  messenger.2. To observe Prayer (Salat).3. To
  Pay Zakat (Alms giving)4. To perform the
  Pilgrimage to the House of Allah (Hajj).5.
  To Observe fasting during Ramadhan. (Bukhari)
• Branches
• Sunni
• Caliph may be any righteous Muslim
• Shia
• Caliph descendent from Muhammad
• Sufi
• mystics, ascetics, monks

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Sikhism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals
• Branches?

• Punjab area (Pakistan)
• Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
• 1469-1538
• mainly South Asia, UK, US
• Shri Guru Granth and Dasam Granth
• Strict monotheism, Leaders Gurus, Syncretic?,
  reincarnation, equality of all, God is mother/
  father, reject caste system, blind rituals,
  monasticism and idol worship
• Times of life, lives of the gurus, reading the
  scriptures, Diwali
• Sikhs and non-practicing Sikhs

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• Who is a Sikh?
• "Any human being who faithfully believes in(i)
  One Immortal Being,(ii) Ten Gurus, from Guru
  Nanak Dev to Guru Gobind Singh,(iii) The Guru
  Granth Sahib,(iv) The utterances and teachings
  of the ten Gurus and(v) the baptism bequeathed
  by the tenth Guru, and who does not owe
  allegiance to any other religion, is a Sikh."
• The Five K's These are clothing practices
  followed by stricter Sikhs, called Khalsa saints
  
• Kesa (long hair, which is never cut)
• Kangah (comb)
• Kacha (short pants)
• Kara (metal bracelet)
• Kirpan (a ceremonial dagger)

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Shintoism

• Origins
• Founder
• Date
• World Area
• Texts/ Major Docs.
• Major Beliefs
• Ceremonies / Rituals

• Japan
• Founder Yamato Clan (?)
• 500 BCE
• Japan
• No major texts
• Shin tao (the way of the gods)
• Benign Kami (deities) in natural objects and
  features, guardians, ethical code of
  Confucianism, ancestor worship, 4 Affirmations,
  pacifism
• Sacred natural spaces, shrine ceremonies of
  cleaning, seasonal celebrations

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• "Four Affirmations"
• Tradition and the family The family is seen as
  the main mechanism by which traditions are
  preserved. Their main celebrations relate to
  birth and marriage.
• Love of nature Nature is sacred to be in
  contact with nature is to be close to the Gods.
  Natural objects are worshipped as sacred spirits.
  
• Physical cleanliness Followers of Shinto take
  baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their
  mouth often.
• "Matsuri" The worship and honor given to the
  Kami and ancestral spirits.

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Cultural Landscape of religion

• Hinduism
• frequent festivals and feasts, countless shrines
  and temples, holy animals, distinctive garb
• Buddhism
• Pagodas, sculptural images of Buddha, bell shaped
  structures over burial mounds
• Judaism
• Distinctive manner of dress (Orthodox), Hebrew
  language, cemeteries
• Christianity
• Cathedrals, most churches have steeples, some
  have bells, public festivals and rituals, Holy
  days, cemeteries
• Islam
• Manner of dress- especially women, public
  festivals, rituals, Holy days, mosques, minarets,
  public loudspeakers for prayer

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Religion and conflict

• Fundamentalism
• Often linked to extremism (especially with
  exclusive religious ideas) and far right wing
  politics
• Liberation theology
• Willingness to link religion and political
  struggles for freedom and equality- thus friction
  with government (Catholics and Buddhists)
• Boundaries
• Interfaith
• When religious boundaries of sharply defined
  geographic areas
• Africa- Islamic north, Christian or Animist south
• South Asia- Kashmir
• Intrafaith
• Between sects of a religion
• Iran-Iraq
• Northern Ireland
• Switzerland

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• Photo Credits
• AP Photo Archive
• ABC-CLIO
• Map Credits
• World Civilizations The Global Experience
  Peter Stearns
• Works cited
• http//www.religioustolerance.org
• http//www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0113529.html