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World Religion

Global Issues 621

2015

Quotes on Religion

When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.– Abraham Lincoln

Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters. – Isaac Bashevis Singer (writer)

Major World Religions

• Billions of people are now adherents (followers) of:– Hinduism– Buddhism– Judaism– Christianity– Islam

• These account for the major religions and they all began in Asia.

Some Others:

Common Ground

• Common to all of these faiths are the following:1. Ritual and prayer2. Sacred sites and pilgrimage3. Saints and martyrs4. Ritual clothing and implements5. Dietary laws and fasting6. Festivals and holy days7. Special ceremonies for life’s

major moments.

Earth & Heaven

• Most religions have moral and ethical guidelines that attempt to make life better on Earth, as well as in Heaven (or reasonable facsimile).

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The Voices of the Gods

• The world’s major religions blossomed from the teachings/revelations of individuals who listened to and transmitted the voice of God or discovered a way to salvation that could be understood by others.

– Jews: Abraham and Moses

– Buddhists: Buddha

– Christians = Jesus Christ

– Muslims = Muhammad

– Hindus = • Brahma• Vishnu• Shiva

Power of Religion

• Today, the world’s religions - with their guidance here on Earth and hopes and promises of the afterlife - continue to exert an extraordinary force on billions of people.

Adherents Worldwide

1%

15%

21%

33%

10%6%14%

Christianity

Islam

Non-Belief

Hinduism

Buddhism

Judaism

Other

Dominant by Geography:

Religion at a Glance

A Brief Overview

Christianity

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Christianity• Christian belief in eternal life is based on the

example of Jesus Christ, a Jew born over 2000 years ago.

• The New Testament tells of his teaching, persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection.

• Today, Christianity in the world is found in three main forms:

• Roman Catholicism;• Eastern Orthodox;• Protestantism.

Forms of Christianity

• The Big Three:– Roman Catholic– Protestant– Eastern Orthodox

Other Christian Churches:– Pentecostal– Anglican– Monophysite– Africa Initiated Church– Latter-Day Saints– Evangelical– Seventh Day Adventists– Jehovah’s Witnesses– Quakers– Assemblies of God

Thought on Christianity

“An individual Christian may see fit to give up all sorts of things for special reasons - marriage, or meat, or beer, or cinema; but the moment he starts saying the things are bad in themselves, or looking down his nose at other people who do use them, he has taken the wrong turning.”– CS Lewis

Hinduism

Hinduism

• Began in India over 4000 years ago.

• Sacred texts known as the Vedas form the basis of Hindu faith and ritual.

• There are three gods for Hindus (the trinity). They are:

– Brahma the creator– Vishnu the preserver– Shiva the destroyer

Hinduism Beliefs

• Hindus believe in reincarnation. • Yoga is also an

important connection to Hindu religious and historical heritage.

• The art of spiritual and physical exercises is tradition pursued by millions of Hindus worldwide.

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Islam Islam

• Muslims believe that the Koran, Islam’s sacred book, accurately records the spoken word of God (Allah) as revealed to the prophet Muhammad, who was born in Mecca.– The Archangel Gabriel

was God’s messenger.

Strict Muslims pray five times a day, fast during the holy month of Ramadan, and make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca - Islam’s holiest city (Saudi Arabia) - in their lifetime.

Ka’aba: The House of Allah

Jihad

• Often wrongly called ‘holy war’, it usually refers to military exertion against non-Muslim combatants or defending the Islamic state.

• It can also refer to striving to live a moral and virtuous life, to spreading and defending Islam, and to fighting injustice and oppression.

How Many See Muslims

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Reflections on Islam

• “Unlike Christianity, which preached a peace that it never achieved, Islam unashamedly came with a sword”– Steven Runciman

• “The rise of Islam offers perhaps the most impressive example in world history of the power of words to alter human behavior in sudden, surprising ways.”– William H MacNeill

Dispelling Some Myths:

• Muslims also revere Moses and Jesus, but do not believe that Jesus was divine.

• Islam’s holy text, the Q’uran, contrary to popular belief is quite a peaceful book, promoting understanding and tolerance of other religions.

• Terrorist organizations, however, indoctrinate their primarily illiterate recruits into believing that their suicides and acts of terrorism will be the path to Heaven.

Buddhism Buddhism

• Founded about 2500 years ago by an Indian prince who became the Buddha or “Enlightened One”.

Four Noble Truths

• Buddhism accepts four noble truths:

1. Life is suffering2. Suffering has a

cause which is desire3. The cause can be

overcome4. The way to overcome

the cause is through ethical conduct, meditation, and wisdom.

Potala Palace in Tibet

The Dalai Lama• Ruler of Tibet and

Tibetan Buddhists.

• Forced to flee when the Chinese invaded in 1949.

• Wants to establish Tibet as a ‘sanctuary of peace’.

• Chinese won’t grant Tibet self-rule, and keep the Dalai Lama out of Tibet and living in India.

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Judaism Judaism

The 4000+ year old religion of the Jews stands out as the oldest of the major faiths that believe in a SINGLE god.

Let My People Go

Judaism’s traditions, customs, laws, and beliefs date back to Abraham, the founder, and to the Torah - the first five books of the Old Testament, believed to have been handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The Torah

• According to traditional Jewish belief, the God who created the world established a covenant (agreement) with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah.

Beliefs

•The practice of Judaism is devoted to the study and observance of the Torah’s laws and commandments, as well as those found in the Talmud.

Worldwide Adherents

• As of 2007, adherents of Judaism numbered around 14 million followers, making it the world's eleventh-largest organized religion.

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It Would Have Been Much More…

“Judaism is not complete without Christianity and without Judaism, Christianity would not exist”–Benjamin Desraeli

The Non-Believers

The Non-Believers

• Today, more than one out of six people (16% of the world’s population) claim to be atheist or nonreligious.

Includes agnostic, atheist, secular humanist, people answering no religious preference when answering a poll.

Atheism

• The absence of belief in the existence of God or other deities.

• The opposite of theism: the belief in one or more gods.

• Many self-described atheists share common skeptical concerns regarding supernatural claims, citing a lack of empirical evidence for the existence of deities.

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Why Atheism?• Common reasons

include:– the problem of evil– inconsistent

revelations– the argument from

non-belief– Philosophical/social

/historical.

• In our culture, atheists are frequently assumed to be irreligious or unspiritual.

Albert Einstein

“A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.”

Agnosticism

• It means ‘unknowable’

• The philosophical view that the theological claims regarding the existence of God or gods and the afterlife is unknown or unknowable.

• Agnostics claim that:– It is not possible to have knowledge of God or gods, – For that reason, Agnostics don’t ponder God’s existence

to the same extent as ‘religious’ people.

Fundamentalism• Extreme belief

coupled with intolerance of other views.

• Typically, fundamentalists rely on violence to achieve their goals.

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The Solution: