On Your Desk

•Religion Research Project

•Unit 5 Notebook

UNIT 5: Religion

Chapter 7

What

Role does Religion Play in

Culture?

Key Question:

Question 1

• What is religion? What is Secularism?

Define and explain both terms.

• What is the difference between

monotheistic, polytheistic, and Animistic

religions? Define and give examples of

these terms.

• What is a reason

for the decline in

Christianity in the

U.S, but a an

increase in Non-

Christian/secular

beliefs?

What religion will increase the

most in followers by 2050?

Religion: A system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities.

Perceived ultimate priorities : a list of things a follower “should” do and ways a follower “should” behave.

Classifications of Religions

Monotheistic religions

– worship a single

deity (god).

EX: Christianity, Islam,

Judaism

• Polytheistic religions:

– worship more than

one deity (god), even

thousands.

• Ex: Hinduism,

Mahayana Buddhism,

Confucianism, Taoism,

Shintoism

Animistic religions – the belief that inanimate

objects, such as hills, trees, rocks, rivers, and

other elements of natural landscape, possess

souls and can help or hinder human efforts on

Earth.

EX: Native American Tribes

Indigenous Religions

• Belief systems practiced and passed from

generation to generation among peoples

within an indigenous tribe or group.

– Indigenous = produced, growing, living, or

occurring naturally in a particular region

or environment.

EX: Folk Cultures (Ex. Native American Tribes)

Tay Ninh is where Vietnam’s indigenous religions –

Caodaism is located.

Ethnic religions – religions whose

adherents are born into the faith and

whose members do not actively seek

converts.

Shamanism

• Ethnic religion where

communities follow

a Shaman(a

religious

leader/teacher)

– Strongest in Africa,

and the Amazon and

in parts of Mexico

and Guatemala

Hinduism(ethnic religion)

Originated:

In Indus River Valley(Pakistan) over 4000 years ago.

Core Beliefs:

Ritual bathing, karma, reincarnation, many deities

Sacred Text:

Vedas

Sacred Sites:

Ganges River (India)

Diffusion:

Through South Asia and into Southeast Asia

Caste System

• The strict social

segregation on ancestry

• Specifically in India’s

Hindu society.

• Recently, lessening

influence

Four Main Classes - Varnas

• Kashi Vishwanath

Temple in Varanasi,

India:

– Towers with stepped

sides and carved in

faces of deities

ConfucianismOriginated:

In China about 2500 years ago

Core Belief:

Real meaning of life lays in the present, service to one’s

fellow humans

Founder:

Confucius

Sacred Text:

“Confucian Classics”

Diffusion:

East Asia, Southeast Asia

Judaism (ethnic)Originated:

In Southwest Asia about 3000-4000 years ago.

Core Beliefs:

Oldest monotheistic religion, covenant between

God (one God) and Abraham (the chosen people)

Sacred Text:

Torah

Founder:

Abraham

Sacred Sites:

Jerusalem (Western Wall), land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River

Diffusion:

Into European cities during the Diaspora,

into N. America during WWII,

into Israel over last 50 years

Diaspora(To Disperse)

• Describes the forced or voluntary dispersal

of a large scale of people from their

homeland to a new place.

Jewish Diaspora• The original Diaspora occurred after the Roman

destruction of Jerusalem in 66-70 CE.

• Jews dispersed north into Central Europe and across

North Africa and Spain.

Zionism

• The movement to unite the Jewish people of the

Diaspora and to establish a national homeland

for them in the promised land.

– Opposes the assimilation of Jews into other societies.

– Advocated the return of Jews to Israel.

Universalizing religions – religions that

actively seek converts because members

believe they offer belief systems of universal

appropriateness and appeal.

Buddhism (universalizing)

Originated:

Splintered from Hinduism 2500 years ago. Originated in a

region from Nepal south to the Ganges River area.

Core Beliefs:

Anyone can achieve salvation, reach enlightenment

Founder:

Siddartha (the Buddha)

Sacred Sites:

Stupas

Diffusion:

Most strongly into Tibet in the north and into East Asia

Christianity (universalizing)

Originated:

In Southwest Asia about 2000 years ago.

Core Beliefs:

Monotheistic religion, follow teachings of Jesus to

achieve eternal life

Sacred text:

Bible

Founder:

Jesus (son of God)

Sacred Sites:

Bethlehem, Jerusalem

Diffusion:

Into Western Europe, and then world wide during colonialism and after.

Primary Branches of Christianity

• Roman Catholic(1054)

– Largest, 830 million, Vatican City, Pope

– 21% of U.S Christians

• Eastern Orthodox Christianity (1054)

– Eastern Europe & Russia

• Protestant Christians (16th Century)

– 25% all Christians Globally

– 46.6% Of Christians in the U.S

Religious Landscapes in the United States

Identify 3 patterns and explain reasons behind both.

Islam (universalizing)

Originated:

Mecca, Saudi Arabia about 1500 years ago.

Core Beliefs:

Monotheistic (Allah), revelations Muhammad received from Allah, Five Pillars.

Sacred Text:

Qu’ran

Founder:

Muhammad (prophet)

Sacred Sites:

Mecca(Saudi Arabia), Medina(Saudi Arabia), Jerusalem(Israel)

Diffusion:

Across Arabian peninsula, across North

Africa, into Spain and also east into Southeast Asia

Sharia law:

• The system of Islamic law.

• Unlike most Western systems of law that

are based on legal precedence, Sharia is

based on varying degrees of interpretation

of the Qur'an.

• Ex: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen

Theocracy

• A government run by a religion

EX: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vatican City

Question 2

• Explain the divide between Sunni and Shi’ite

Muslims. Why did the religion split and what

are some of the differences in religious

practice. How this divide does affects Islamic

countries today?

(ex. Any current conflicts?)

Major split in Islam

Shortly after Muhammad’s death(632 CE), split into

1. Sunni Muslims (the majority, 85%)– Bangladesh and Pakistan

2. Shi’ite Muslims (15%, Direct Descendents)– Caliphate (direct successor)

– Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran

Do We Look Like Terrorists to

You? 1. Explain what happened to Irum Ali that reflects many Americans reactions/attitudes

towards Muslim-Americans.

2. Why do many Americans view Islam as a religion of violence? Explain.

3. How can we change negative perceptions about Islam in America?

4. What do many Americans assume about a Muslim woman wearing a Hijab? How is this

different than the reality of the situation?

5. How many believers of Islam are their globally and what region is their almost a billion

Muslims?

6. What is the difference between a Chador, Hijab, and a Burka?

7. What is the reaction of Muslim-Americans to the myth that Islam promotes terrorism?

8. What are some of the motivations behind why some Muslims are turning towards

violence and listening to terrorist leaders? Are there any connections between these motivations

and the United States?

9. Explain TWO encouraging signs of acceptance of Islam in America presented in the

Article?

10. On the choropleth map on the last page, answer questions 1, 4, 6, 9, and 10 below the

map.

Sacred Sites:

• Places or spaces people infuse with

religious meaning.

Pilgrimage:

• Purposeful travel to a religious site to pay

respects or participate in a ritual at the site.

Roman Catholic: Vatican City –

Sacred site

Hinduism: Ganges River

Death Along the Ganges River

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEOB

W1PvMqo

• The Kaaba (Islam's most sacred mosque)

Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Sacred Sites of JerusalemJerusalem is sacred to three major religions:

• Judaism (Western Wall)

• Christianity (Church of the Holy Sepulchre)

• Islam (Dome of the Rock)

Buddhist Temples/Shrines

• Stupas: Dome or tower, bell-shaped structures that

protect burial mounds-a type of Buddhist shrine. (Nepal

& Tibet)

Pagoda: tower style with several levels that features

winged roofs (East Asia)

Buddhist Stupas :

72 stupas, each containing a sculpture of the

Buddha in meditation were built around 800 CE

and still stand in Borobudur, Indonesia.

Protestant churches – less

ornate – focus on simple

worship

Muslim Mosques:

Dome of this mosque in Isfahan, Iran demonstrates the

importance of geometric art evident in Muslim

architecture.

• Synagogues: no typical style

– Western/Wailing Wall in Jerusalem most

sacred

Western Wall, Jerusalem

Question 3

• What are sacred sites? Explain and give

examples of Christianity, Buddhism,

Hinduism, and Judaism’s impacts on the

landscape.

Religious

Fundamentalism

and Extremism

Religious fundamentalism: • A return to the basics of their faith found in

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

• Fear change, modernization, and loss of

influence.

• Fear mass media/education undermining

teachings

Fundamentalism

• Christian

– Bible prophesies a second coming Christ

• Jewish

– Jewish people are granted unalienable rights to

the entire land do Israel.

• Muslim

– Reject modernity and the western influence that

has perverted their society

• Fundamentalism carried to the point of

violence. Found in Christianity, Judaism, and

Islam.

• EX: Jewish extremists argue that

Palestinians have 3 choices: flee, accept

Jewish rule, or fight.

Religious extremism:

Jihad "to struggle”

• Two commonly accepted meanings of

jihad:

– An inner spiritual struggle by a

believer to fulfill his religious duties.

OR

– the idea of an armed struggle against

persecution and oppression.

Islamic extremists have declared an

Islamic “holy war” against the West

Realities

• The Qur'an does not sanction war or killing

(except for self-defense) and does not

sanction suicide.

– Extremists distort the basic tenets of the religion

to justify the unjustifiable (ex. Suicide bombers).

ISIS Explained in 3 Minutes

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0M4

1Chji6o

Question 4

Explain the difference between an intrafaith

conflict and an interfaith conflict .What is the

African transition zone –explain and give

examples of current or recent armed conflicts

in the zone.

Interfaith Boundaries: Boundaries between the

world’s major faiths.

• Example: India and Pakistan: Pakistan (once part of

India) and India have been conflicting over control of the

northern territory known as Jammu and Kashmir.

– What two religions in conflict?

• Nigeria (Islam vs. Christianity): Islam in northern regions

and Christianity prevails in the south.

Africa: Christian-Muslim interfaith boundary

Question 5

Write a summary of the Israeli and Palestinian

conflict (at least a paragraph). Write a summary of

the conflict in the former Yugoslavia (at least a

paragraph). Explain if these are intrafaith or

interfaith conflicts.

•Intrafaith Boundaries: Boundaries

within a single major religion.

Examples:

• Iraq: Sunni Islam vs. Shiite Islam

–After fall of Sunni Gov.(Saddam Hussein),

Sunnis and Shiites war for control of Iraq.

• United States: Christian Fundamentalism and

liberal Christianity

–Political–cultural issues: evolution and

abortion

Northern Ireland: The Troubles• Political and Religious violent conflict in

Northern Ireland(1966 – 1998)

• Conflict was between minority Catholics and majority Protestants.

• British colonialism deposited large numbers

of Protestants in traditionally Catholic

Northern Ireland.

• Catholics wanted Northern Ireland to re-

unify under the Irish government

• Protestants wanted to remain under the

control of the British

Question 11CURRENT EVENT: Locate a current events article

(occurring within the past year) from a newspaper, news

site (ex. NPR or BBC), or news magazine that relates to

religion. The event must be outside the United States.

You will write two paragraphs:

• Paragraph one (4-6 Sentences) will explain the

event – the who, what, where, why and when.

• Paragraph two (4-6 Sentences) will draw connections

between the event and FIVE Terms from Unit 5.

Rise of Secularism

• Secularism – Indifference to or rejection of

organized religious affiliations and ideas.

• Found in Western Democracies : separation of

government and religion

– In 2014, 22.5 % of U.S. population, up from 16% in

2007

• Where is secularism on the rise and NOT of the rise? Explain