Religions/Belief Systems

Islam - Origins

• Developed on the Arabian Peninsula in the year 622 CE, and quickly spread to other regions.

• Monotheistic

• Founder is Mohammad (prophet)

Five Pillars of Faith

First Pillar

• The Declaration of Faith

– “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

– God is Allah– Monotheistic

Second Pillar

• Daily Prayer– Muslims face the holy city of Mecca to pray 5

times a day– Muslims worship in mosques

A Holy Mosque

Third Pillar

• Giving charity to the poor

Fourth Pillar

• Fasting from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan– Akeem Olijawan – NBA basketball star– Kareem Abdul-Jabar – NBA– Mohammad Ali - boxer

Fifth Pillar

• Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca–Muslims in the US (NYC) charter

planes to complete this

–Muslims are trampled

The Quran (Koran)

• Islamic holy text• Retains the sacred

word of God as revealed to Muhammad

More Hajj Pics

Islam-Impact today?

• Islamic Fundamentalists – show opposition to westernization

• Dominant throughout the Middle East, including Southwest Asia and North Africa

• Fastest growing religion

Judaism

• Oldest monotheistic religion

• Founder-Abraham is generally recognized as the founder of Judaism due to his covenant with God. However, Moses is also considered a founder due to his role in the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt.

• Geographic Origin-Developed in the Middle East in and around the area that is currently Israel.

• Currently Practiced-Worldwide, but the greatest majority of  Jews reside in Israel, the United States, and the former Soviet Union.

• Sacred text – Torah (Old Testament)

Judaism - Teachings

• God made a covenant with Abraham to be the god of the Hebrews

• God chose the Hebrews as his people

• Moral standards and justice

• One true god is present everywhere

• Strongly influenced Christianity and Islam

Impact?

• Constant persecution– Romans expelled Jews from Palestine in 135

AD – Diaspora – scattering of Jews– Holocaust

Christianity

• Christianity is currently the most popular religion in the world based on the number of worshippers found throughout the world.

• Monotheistic religion

Origins/Founder

• Founder-Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples who helped spread his teachings.

• Geographic Origin-Developed in Judea (now Israel), located in the Middle East bordering the Mediterranean Sea sometime around the year 30 CE.

• Currently Practiced-Christianity is the dominant religion in North America, South America, Europe, and Russia.

• Significant Writings-The Holy Bible, consisting of both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Christianity – beliefs/teachings

• Place of worship – church

• Many different sects of Christianity– Catholicism– Protestant

• Lutheranism• Baptist• Episcopalian• Presbyterian

Christianity - teachings

• Faith in one god

• Achieve salvation and eternal life

• Jesus was the son of God and the Messiah

• Bible includes the Old and New Testament

• Mercy, sympathy for poor

Impact?

• After persecution, Theodosius made it the official religion of the Roman Empire

• Holds western Europe together during the M.A. and becomes very powerful

• Crusades – 1050, holy wars,– Christian goal is to win back the holy land from

Muslims– “One of history’s most successful failures.”

• Protestant reformation– Luther– 95 Theses– Printing press

Hinduism

• Established- Elements of the Hindu religion can be traced back to the ancient Indus River Valley civilization (approximately 3000 BCE) in modern-day Pakistan.

• Founder- no specific founder

• Geographic Origin-Developed on the Indian subcontinent.

• The soul never dies, it is just reborn.

• Polytheistic – belief in many gods• In Hinduism, salvation is achieved through a

spiritual oneness of the soul, atman, with the ultimate reality of the universe, Brahman.

• To achieve this goal, the soul must obtain moksha, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

• As a result of these basic teachings, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is influenced by karma (material actions resulting from the consequences of previous actions), and dharma (fulfilling one's duty in life).

• Ahimsa – non-violence

• Support the caste system

Impact

• Caste system today?

• Non-violence– Gandhi

• Salt March, civil disobedience• Rejects the caste system; everyone should be

equal

• Ganges River – horribly polluted, yet sacred to Hindus

Buddhism

• Founder-Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, which means "enlightened one."

• Geographic Origin-Developed in India.

• Currently Practiced-Most common in Southeast Asia and Japan

• Significant Writings-Tripitka, or Three Baskets of Wisdom.

• Places of Worship-Buddhism may be practiced individually, but temples and monasteries do exist.

• Significant Religious People-The Dalai Lama

Four Noble Truths

• Life is full of pain and suffering.

• Human desire causes this suffering.

• By putting an end to desire, humans can end suffering.

• Humans can end desire by following the Eightfold Path.

Eightfold Path

• Right conduct• Right intentions• Right mindfuless• Right speech• Right conduct• Right livelihood• Right effort• Right meditation

Ultimate Goal

• Nirvana – union with the universe and release from the cycle of death and rebirth

• Karma

• Darma

• Reincarnation

• Monks and nuns

Confucianism

• Founder - Confucius

• China

• 551 BC

• The Analects – a collection of Confucian ideas and teachings

Five Relationships

• Older brother to younger brother

• Ruler to subject

• Husband to wife

• Father to son

• Friend to friend

Other ideas

• Filial piety – respect for your elders

• People are naturally good

• Education is the road to advancement

• Maintaining social order

• Ethical behavior

Taoism (Daoism)

• Founder is Laozi

• China

• 500’s BC

• Teach people to live in harmony with nature

• People should contemplate the Tao, or the way

• The best government is the one that governs the least

• Yin and Yang - balance

Animism

• Africa

• Traditional values• Story telling - griot• Animists practice nature worship. They believe

that everything in the universe has a spirit. • Ancestor worship

Shintoism

• Japan

• 500 BCE

• Respect for nature

• “Ring of fire”

• Everything has a spirit or kami