world religions (1)

8/2/2019 World Religions (1)

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World Religions

A Lesson for 7th Grade Geography


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State Standards *7.1.02 Recognize the role of major religions.

Define religion.

Describe the beliefs of the world's major

religions. Evaluate the role of religious beliefs on local,

regional, nation-state, and global levels.

*Blue Book Rhetoric: Compare and contrast thetenets of the five major world religions (i.e.,Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, andJudaism).


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Comparison of types:

Monotheistic: belief in 1 God

Polytheistic: belief in many

gods/goddesses

Non-Theistic: religion that does not focuson a god

Atheist: a non-believer in afterlife nor agod


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Introduction

There are five major world religions.

There are several religious groups that have

beliefs that are different from these five majorreligions, but are historically anchored in thesame roots.

In the following slides, we will look at thefollowing characteristics of the five major worldreligions: founders, holy books, beliefs, history,customs/traditions, and icons.


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Christianity: MONOTHEISTIC


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Founder

Christianity is based upon the teachingsofJesus, a Jew who lived his life in the

Roman province of Palestine. Romancommunications networks enabledChristianity to spread quickly throughout

the Roman empire and eventually to therest of Europe, and finally the entireglobe.


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Locations Found USA

BrazilMexicoRussiaChinaGermanyThe Phillipines

United KingdomItalyFranceand Nigeria

*All over the World!


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Holy Book

Christians can read of the life of Jesus, aswell as his ancestors in the only Christian

holy text, the Bible. It consists of the OldTestament (which is also consideredsacred to Judaism and Islam) and the New

TestamentThe King James Bible.


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Beliefs

Christianity believes in one God, while thecentral figure in Christianity is Jesus (or

Christ), a Jew who came into this worldby immaculate conception to a virginnamed Mary. His birth is celebrated atChristmas with hymns and gift giving.

It's believed that Jesus was not only man,but also the son of God and lived his lifewithout sin.


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Beliefs Continued The Apostle's Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth.And in Jesus Christ,His only Son, our Lord;Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,Born of the Virgin Mary,Suffered under Pontius Pilate,Was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell;The third day He rose again from the dead;He ascended into heavenand is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,The holy Christian Church,The Communion of Saints,the Forgiveness of sins,The Resurrection of the body,And the Life everlasting.Amen.


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Branches Eastern Christians are mostly "Eastern Orthodox," but some are

Nestorians ("Church of the East") or Monophysites ("Oriental Orthodox").

The divisions among these Eastern Churches go back almost 1500 years,stemming from disagreements in the fifth century CE. Long after the East/West divisions of 1054, some Eastern Churches reunited

with the Roman Catholic Church (thus called "Uniate" Churches). Catholic Christians are mostly "Roman Catholic"; yet some groups still call

themselves "Catholic," but are no longer united with Rome.

The "Old Catholic Church" broke away in 1870, disagreeing with the decreesfrom the First Vatican Council about "papal infallibility." Various groups of "Traditionalist Catholics" or "Tridentine Catholics" broke

after 1965, disagreeing with reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Other groups of "Progressive Catholics" broke since 1965, thinking the

reforms instituted by Vatican II did not go far enough.

Protestant Christians are subdivided into thousands of differentdenominations, as well as "independent" or "non-denominational" groups.

The historically earliest were founded in the 16th century by Martin Luther("Lutherans") and by John Calvin ("Reformed" or "Calvinist" Christians).

The Anglicans, or "Church of England," separated from the Roman CatholicChurch for political, not theological reasons; thus, "Anglo-Catholic" beliefs

and practices are similar to Roman Catholics, but Anglicans don'tacknowledge the leadership role of the Bishop of Rome (the "Pope").


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History

As time progressed, Christianity divided intothree major branches. The Roman Catholicbranch of Christianity is the successor of thechurch established in Rome soon after Christ'sdeath. It traces its spiritual history to the earlydisciples of Jesus. The Pope, or spiritual leader,traces his office's lineage back to St. Peter, the

first Pope, one of Jesus' disciples. RomanCatholicism was originally predominatelypracticed in Ireland, Poland, France and Spain.


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History During the fourth century, the Roman Catholic church split and

the Eastern Orthodox branch was formed.

'Romanian Church' MIT Orthodox Christian Fellowship The split was primarily a political one due to the division of the

Roman Empire into western and eastern components. The twochurches became officially separate in 1054. Orthodox churchesare largely national, each associated with a particular country.

Orthodoxy is common in Russia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, theUkraine, and Armenia. The Protestant branch split from Roman Catholicism during

the Reformation, a sixteenth and seventeenth century seriesof church reforms in doctrine and practice. This movementchallenged the authority of the Pope, and became popular inScandinavia, England, and the Netherlands. Protestantismeventually divided into many denominations which arose inresponse to disputes over doctrine, theology, or religiouspractice. Some of the large denominations today are Lutherans,Methodists and Baptists.


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Customs & Traditions The Date of Christmas

The idea to celebrate Christmas on December 25 originated

in the 4th century. The Catholic Church wanted to eclipse thefestivities of a rival pagan religion that threatenedChristianity's existence. The Romans celebrated the birthdayof their sun god, Mithras during this time of year. Although itwas not popular, or even proper, to celebrate people'sbirthdays in those times, church leaders decided that in orderto compete with the pagan celebration they would themselvesorder a festival in celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.Although the actual season of Jesus' birth is thought to be inthe spring, the date of December 25 was chosen as theofficial birthday celebration as Christ's Mass so that it wouldcompete head on with the rival pagan celebration. Christmaswas slow to catch on in America. The early colonistsconsidered it a pagan ritual. The celebration of Christmas was

even banned by law in Massachusetts in colonial days.
http://www.missionary-blogs.com/christian-missionary-to-africa.html


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Icons
http://www.missionary-blogs.com/christian-missionary-to-africa.htmlhttp://www.cmalliance.org/


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Judaism: monotheistic


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Founder

Circa 2000 BCE, the God of the ancientIsraelites established a divine covenant

with Abraham, making him the patriarchof many nations. The term AbrahamicReligions is derived from his name. Theseare the three or four major religions which

trace their roots back to Abraham:Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha'iFaith.

d


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Location Found

Israel

United States


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Holy Book

The Tanakh corresponds to the Jewish Scriptures,(often referred to as the Old Testament by Christians). Itis composed of three groups of books:

the Torah (aka Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus,Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. the Nevi'im:Joshua, Judges, Samuel (2), Kings (2), Isaiah, Jeremiah,Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah,Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and

MalachiIsaiah. the Ketuvim, the "Writings" includingPsalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes,Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah,Chronicles (2).


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Beliefs God exists. God is one and unique. God is incorporeal. God is eternal. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other. The words of the prophets are true.

Moses was the greatest of the prophets, and hisprophecies are true. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral

Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and otherwritings) were given to Moses.

There will be no other Torah. God knows the thoughts and deeds of men. God will reward the good and punish the wicked. The Messiah will come. The dead will be resurrected.


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History The book of Genesis describes the events

surrounding the lives of the threepatriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(Joseph, who is recognized as a fourthpatriarch by Christians is not considered one

by Jews). Moses was the next major leaderof the ancient Israelites. He led his peopleout of captivity in Egypt, and received theMosaic Law from G-d. After decades ofwandering through wilderness, Joshua ledthe tribes into the promised land, drivingout the Canaanites through a series of

military battles.


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History Continued Division into the Northern kingdom of Israel and

the Southern kingdom of Judah occurred shortlyafter the death of Solomon in 922 BCE. Israelfell to Assyria in 722 BCE; Judah fell to theBabylonians in 587 BCE. The temple wasdestroyed. Some Jews returned from captivity

under the Babylonians and started to restore thetemple in 536 BCE. (Orthodox Jews date theBabylonian exile from 422 to 352 BCE).

Alexander the Great invaded the area in 332

BCE. From circa 300 to 63 BCE, Greek becamethe language of commerce, and Greek culturehad a major influence on Judaism. In 63 BCE,the Roman Empire took control of Judea andIsrael.

C d T di i


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Customs and Traditions

Observation of the weekly Sabbath as a

day of rest, starting at sundown on Fridayevening. Strict discipline, according to theLaw, which governs all areas of lifeRegular attendance by Jewish males at

Synagogue Celebration of the annualfestivals including:

Passover, or Pesach is held each Springto recall the Jews' deliverance out ofslavery in Egypt

Hanukkah or the Feast of Lights is an 8day feast of dedication.


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Icons
http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/http://sami119.tripod.com/shemaisrael/id5.html


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Islam: monotheistic


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Founder

Most religious historians view Islam ashaving been founded in 622 CE by

Muhammad the Prophet (peace be uponhim). He lived from about 570 to 632. Thereligion started in Mecca.

L ti F d


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Locations Found

North Africa

Southwest Asia (Middle East)

Oceania

Southern Europe


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Holy Book The Qur'an (Recitation) are the literal words of

God in their original Arabic language. Muslimsbelieve that it was dictated to Muhammad by

the archangel Jibril over an interval of 23 years.The text was originally in oral and written form;it was later assembled together into a singlebook, the Qur'an. Its name is often spelled

"Koran" in English. This is not recommended, assome Muslims find it offensive. It is the onlybook that is considered free of tahrif (error).

Beliefs


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Beliefs Islam considers six fundamental beliefs to be the foundation of their faith: A single, indivisible God. (God, the creator, is just, omnipotent and

merciful. "Allah" is often used to refer to God; it is the Arabic word for God.)

The angels. The divine scriptures, which include the Torah, the Psalms, the rest of

the Bible, (as they were originally revealed) and the Qur'an (which iscomposed of God's words, dictated by the Archangel Gabriel toMuhammad).

The Messengers of God, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David,Jesus and Muhammad -- the last prophet; (peace be upon them).Muhammad's message is considered the final, universal message for all ofhumanity.

The Day of Judgment when people will be judged on the basis of theirdeeds while on earth, and will either attain reward of Heaven or punishmentin Hell. They do not believe that Jesus or any other individual can atone foranother person's sin. Hell is where unbelievers and sinners spend eternity.

One translation of the Qur'an, 98:1-8, states: "The unbelievers among thePeople of the Book and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell.They are the vilest of all creatures."("People of the Book"refers toChristians, Jews and Muslims). Paradise is a place of physical and spiritualpleasure where the sinless go after death

The supremacy of God's will.

Beliefs Continued


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Beliefs Continued The Five Pillars of Faith The five pillars of faith are duties each Muslim performs to demonstrate his

or her faith. Testimony of Faith (Kalima)- One must state, "There is no God but

Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah." publicly to become a Muslim. Prayer (Salat)- Prayer must be done five times a day (upon rising, at

noon, in mid-afternoon, after sunset, and before going to sleep) towards thedirection ofMecca. The call to prayer is sounded by the muezzin (Muslimcrier) from a tower (minaret) within the mosque.

Almsgiving (Zakat)- Muslims are legally required to give one-fortieth oftheir income to the needy. Since those whom alms are given are helping thegiver achieve salvation, there is no sense of shame in receiving charity.

Fasting (Sawm- During the holy month of Ramadan, faithful Muslims fastfrom sunup to sundown each day. This develops self-control, devotion toGod, and identity with the needy.

Pilgrimage (Hajj)- Each Muslim is expected to make the pilgrimage toMecca at least once in their lifetime if they have the means to do it and arephysically capable of the trip. It is an essential part of gaining salvation, sothe old or infirm may send someone in their place. It involves a set of ritualsand ceremonies.

Hi t


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History When Muhammad died, he left no document

appointing a successor. Some people thought that one

of the original converts who had taught withMuhammad, some wanted a member of a powerfulpolitical family in the area, and others felt that 'Ali, thecousin and son-in-law of Muhammad had beendivinely designated as successor. An early believer,

Abu Bakr was appointed, but died within two years. Eventually, a power struggle developed as different

groups of Muslims believed their method ofestablishing a successor were the best. The largest

argument was over whether the successor should beelected or chosen through heredity. This controversyproduced the main body of Islam known as theSunnis (followers of the prophet's way) and othernumerous sects including the Shi'a and the Sufis.

The Sunnis are the majority in Islam today.


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Hajj literally means 'to set out for a place'.Islamically however it refers to the annual

pilgrimage that Muslims make to Makkahwith the intention of performing certainreligious rites in accordance with the

method prescribed by the ProphetMuhammad


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Icons


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Buddhism: Non-Theistic


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Founder

The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama, aprince of the Sakya tribe of Nepal, in

approximately 566 BC. When he was twentynineyears old, he left the comforts of his home toseek the meaning of the suffering he sawaround him. After six years of arduous yogic

training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and instead sat in mindfulmeditation beneath a bodhi tree.

Locations Fo nd


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Locations Found

Southwest Asia (Middle East)

Japan Vietnam

Thailand

Cambodia


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Holy Book

Buddhism is based on Buddha's teachings.At first these were passed down by word

of mouth and later were complied into twosets of scripture. One set by Council ofMonks of the Theravada school (the

Tripitaka) the other by the Mahayanaschool ( the Sutras). Both were similar.


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Beliefs

Four Noble Truths1. Suffering exists

2. Suffering arises from attachment todesires

3. Suffering ceases when attachment to

desire ceases4. Freedom from suffering is possible bypracticing the Eightfold Path


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Beliefs Continued

Noble Eightfold Path

Three QualitiesEightfold Path

I. Wisdom- Right View, Right Thought

II. Morality- Right Speech, RightAction, Right Livelihood

III. Meditation- Right Effort, RightMindfulness, Right Contemplation


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History

Buddhists believe in reincarnation and that one must gothrough cycles of birth, life, and death. After many suchcycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire

and the self, they can attain Nirvana. In general,Buddhists do not believe in any type of God, the needfor a savior, prayer, or eternal life after death. However,since the time of the Buddha, Buddhism has integratedmany regional religious rituals, beliefs and customs into

it as it has spread throughout Asia, so that thisgeneralization is no longer true for all Buddhists. Thishas occurred with little conflict due to the philosophicalnature of Buddhism.


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Daily Practice of Lay Followers It has long been a tradition of Japanese lay Buddhists to

observe a short service in front of the family altar everymorning and evening before meals.At the morning service, the first food of the day andfresh flowers are offered. Though not many, there arestill quite a few Buddhists who hold a short service atthe family altar daily, since, according to recent survey,more than sixty percent of the Japanese families possess

a Buddhist alter.At these daily services, all the family members of theused to participate and chant a short scripture led by thehead of the family.


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Icons

Icons: men spinning prayer


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Icons: men spinning prayerwheels
http://personal.carthage.edu/jlochtefeld/buddhism/buddhismpicture.html


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Hinduism: polytheistic


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Founder

No known founder!!!

Locations Found


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Locations Found


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Holy Scriptures

The Vedas


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Beliefs

One must follow their dharma (lifesduties), to maintain good karma (life

peace), and be reincarnation into a higherposition in the caste systemthen theycan find Nirvana.


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History

Hinduism is based on the concept that human and animal spiritsreincarnate, or come back to earth to live many times in differentforms. The belief that souls move up and down an infinite hierarchydepending on the behaviors they practiced in their life is visible inmany of the Hindu societal policies. The caste system survives andcharity towards others is unheard of because each individualdeserves to be in the social class they were born in. A person isborn into the highest class because they behaved well in a past life,and a person is born into poverty and shame because ofmisbehaviors in a past life.

Today, a Hindu can be polytheistic (more than one god),

monotheistic (one god), pantheistic (god and the universe are one),agnostic (unsure if god exists), or atheistic (no god) and still claimto be Hindu. This open theology makes it difficult to discuss basicbeliefs since there are many ideas about what Hinduism means.However, these universal ideas must be mentioned.


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History Continued

Providing an adequate history for the development of Hinduism is difficult,since it has no specific founder or theology and originated in the religiouspractices of Aryan tribes who moved to India from central Asia more thanthree thousand years ago. The Aryans attacked the Harappan people wholived in modern day India around 1500 BC. Eventually, through adaptation

to the religious beliefs of the other, both groups developed similar religiousbelief systems, founded on the polytheism of the Aryans and the sanctity offertility of the Harappans.

Soon, the predominantly Aryan society developed the caste system, whichranked society according to occupational class. The caste system is asfollows:

Brahmins priests

Kshatriyas soldiers, king-warrior class Vaishyas merchants, farmers, Sutras laborers, craftspeople Harijahns "untouchables"- those thought to be descended from the

Harappan aboriginal people-extremely poor and discriminated against


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History Continued

Hinduism has grown to become theworld's third largest religion, after

Christianity and Islam. It claims about 837million followers - 13% of the world'spopulation. 2 It is the dominant religion in

India, Nepal, and among the Tamils in SriLanka.


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Customs & Traditions

The family inheritance is patriarchal andpatrilinear. There are exceptions in certain sects such asin Kerala (called Marumakkattayam) and South Kanaradistrict in Karanataka (among the Bunt community called

Aliyasantana), where a matrilineal system isfollowed. The father is the head of the house andadministrator. The family usually lived as an extendedgroup of parents, children, grandchildren, uncles andtheir descendents. The group is bound together and

linked with three generations of ancestors through aceremony called Shraddha. The ritual consists ofoffering balls of rice called pindato the ancestors. Sons,grandsons and great grandsons participate and threegenerations of deceased are believed to participate inthe benefits of the ceremony.

Icons: Hinduism is polytheistic (belief in


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Icons: Hinduism is polytheistic (belief inmore than one god/goddess)
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/12/31/stories/2006123100380400.htmhttp://www.answers.com/topic/culture-of-indiahttp://www.indiadivine.org/

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