World Religions

Religion- a unified system of beliefs and practices concerned with sacred things

Sacred- Holy; set apart and given a special meaning that goes beyond , or transcends, immediate existence

Profane- Non-sacred

CHANGE OVER TIME RELIGIONS• UNIVERSALIZING vs. ETHNIC RELIGIONS

– MAJOR FEATURES OF EACH, WHERE ARE RELIGIONS LOCATED

• OVERTIME: – RISE OF PERMANENT RELIGIOUS CASTE, MORAL CODES INCLUDING SOME

CASTING– ANIMISM/SHAMANISM TO GENERALIZED ANTRHOPOMORPHISM T0

POLYHEISM– PHILOSOPHIES AND MONOTHEISMS DEVELOP AT END OF PERIOD

• EARLY RELIGIONS– ANIMISM, SHAMANISM– ANTHROPOMORPHIC POLYTHEISM– ELABORATED POLYTHEISM WITH PRIESTS, RITUAL, DOGMA– HINDUISM– SHINTO

• ETHICAL PHILOSOPHIES AND RELIGIONS BLEND– CHINESE RELIGIOUS COMPLEX: TAOISM, CONFUCIANISM, LEGALISM– JAINISM, BUDDHISM– HELLENIC PHILOSOPHY

• MONOTHEISM: EXCLUSIVITY– JUDAISM– CHRISTIANITY– ISLAM

World Religions

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CONFUCIUS’ SEARCH FOR ORDER

• Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) – A strong-willed man, from an aristocratic family – Traveled ten years searching for an official post – Educator with numerous disciples – Sayings compiled in the Analects by disciples

• Confucian ideas – Fundamentally moral and ethical in character – Restore political and social order; stress

ritual – Formation of junzi - "superior individuals" – Edited Zhou classics for his disciples to study

• The key Confucian concepts – Ren - a sense of humanity – Li - a sense of propriety – Xiao - filial piety – Cultivating of junzi for bringing order to

China– 5 Relationships and filial piety as basis of

society

CONFUCIAN SOCIAL HIERARCHY

Confucian Scholar Official

THECONFUCIAN

WORLD

Siddhartha Gautama “Buddha”

• Founder of Buddhism• Called the Enlightened

One• Lived 563-483 BCE• Originated in India

Beliefs

• Reincarnation• Recycle: birth, death, rebirth• Seek detachment from worldly desires• Four noble truths• Nirvana- release from selfishness and pain• Eight fold path

WORLD OF BUDDHISM

Christianity

• Jesus born in Bethlehem taught forgiveness, mercy, and sympathy

• He was later crucified by the Romans for claiming to be the Messiah

• After his death a band of Apostles believed Jesus rose from the dead, and help to preach Jesus’ message (Paul’s Journeys)

• Christians were killed because they refused to worship the emperor

• Emperor Constantine had a vision before a battle that convinced him to become Christian, which he later made Christianity the official Roman religion

THE CHRISTIAN WORLD

Muhammad

Teachings

Written in the Qur’anMonotheismEconomic and Social

Justice

Muhammad the last & greatest of all the prophets sent by

Allah--Abraham, Moses, Jesus

among the earlier prophets

Muhammad

Teachings, continued

Five Pillars__Believe in One God (Allah) & that Muhammad is His

Prophet

__Pray 5x a day facing Mecca

__Give to the Poor

__During Holy Month,Ramadan, fast during daytime

__At least once in life, take hajj to Mecca

TRADE ROUTES c. 500 CE

SPREAD OF ISLAM

ISLAM

HinduismMajor beliefs of Hinduism• Many gods but they all come from one central God• At death a person’s soul is reborn into another living

thing creating an endless cycle of rebirth (reincarnation)

• Karma is your behavior in life and good karma means better placement in the next life

• Hindu’s belief in sacred objects such as the cow and the Ganges River which has the power to wash away evil and sin

Caste SystemPriests

WarriorsLandowners

PeasantsUntouchables

• The Aryans created this to secure their stature among the Dravidians (only Aryans could occupy the higher castes)

• Caste is based on birth, and one could only move up through reincarnation

SPREAD OF INDIAN FAITHS

Judaism

• Abraham, 3rd century BCE (Israel Egypt) Diaspora

• Moses, circa 1200 BCE (back to Israel from Egypt) Diaspora

• Torah and Talmud are sacred writings• First monotheistic faith• Ten Commandments

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Religious Hearths

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