· Monotheism – belief in only one God
· Polytheism – belief in multiple Gods
Hinduism
- Most predominant religion in northern India
- Aryan Invasions 2000 CE
- One supreme force (Brahma) creator of all things
o Gods all manifestations of Brahma
§ Vishnu – Preserver of the World
§ Shiva – Destroyer of the World
- Worship at home and at temple
- No single holy written source because it was passed on for centuries – has a holy set of literature
o Veda – collection of prayers, hymns, incantations and services
o Upanishads – sacred texts/interpretations of Vedic traditions
- Caste system
o Brahmin – priests
o Kshatriyas – warriors and princes
o Vaisyas – merchants
o Sudras – peasants
o Untouchables – everyone else
- Dharma – rules and obligations you were born into (each caste followed own dharma)
- Ultimate goal – to achieve moksha – highest state of being
- Reincarnation
- Sati – sacrifice of women at husband’s cremation
- Cow is sacred
- Jainism – offshoot of Hinduism, takes sacredness higher
Buddhism
- Siddartha Gautama 563 BCE
o Became Buddha or “Enlightened One” after sitting under Bodhi tree and thinking about life
- Four Noble Truths
o Suffering is universal
o Suffering is caused by desire
o The cure to suffering is eliminating all desire
o Following the Eightfold Path will eliminate desire
- Eightfold Path
o Right knowledge
o Right aspirations
o Right speech
o Right conduct
o Right livelihood
o Right effort
o Right mindfulness
o Right meditation
- Nirvana – “self extinction”, state of perfect peace and harmony
o Ultimate goal of Buddhism – extinguish all desire and the self
o May take lifetimes to achieve
- Divided after Buddha’s death 483 BCE
o Theravada Buddhism – “lesser vehicle”
§ Most closely followed precepts of Buddha
§ Meditation, simplicity
§ Largely followed in SE Asia ex) Vietnam
o Mahayana Buddhism – “greater vehicle”
§ Complicated, lots of rituals
§ Followed in Japan, China, Korea
Taoism/Daoism
- The Tao – “the road or path”
- Lao Tzu 600 BCE
o Believed to be author of Tao Te Ching
§ Addressed individual, ideal state, relationship of individual to state, and attributes of good leader
§ Individual was good, but individuals living close together brought chaos (ambition/activism brought chaos)
- Urged search for balance in universe -Yin-yang
o Yin – feminine, passive, cold
o Yang – masculine, active, hot
- Didn’t address needs of daily living – Confucius did one a century and half later
Confucianism
- Not a religion, but a philosophy
- Confucius (Kung Fu-tzu) 551 BCE
o Remembered through Analects – his sayings/teachings compiled by his students
o Stressed virtue, which could be developed by education
§ Education should be open to everyone
- Filial piety – respect to elders
- Five relations
o Subject to emperor
o Wife to husband
o Eldest son to father
o Younger brother to older brother
o Friend to friend
- Emperor in Confucius society most virtuous leader
· Following three religions are MONOTHEISTIC, and in order of evolution
Judaism
- Oldest monotheistic religion
- Moses and the Ten Commandments
- Torah is holy book
- Jews believed they were the “Chosen People” - if they follow his laws, worship him, remain faithful, they would be preserved for all time
- Task of humans is to honor/serve god by following laws of Moses, promote ethics of prophets, maintain identity of people
- Strict dietary laws
- Values freedom and choice of destiny
Christianity
- Jesus of Nazareth is son of God
o Born in Bethlehem
o Was considered a Messiah – would save the ppl
- Taught devotion to God and love for human
- Bible and the Gospels
- St. Paul important for spread of Christinity
- Emperor Constantine declared Christianity official religion of Roman Empire 380 CE
- Focused on individual’s troubles
- Worship at church
Islam
- Founded by Prophet Muhammed 7th cent. CE
o Hijira 622 to Medina – when Islamic calendar starts
- Allah is God
- Five pillars
o Testimony of faith – “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah”
o Praying 5 times a day
o Fasting during Ramadan
o Giving charity
o Pilgrimage to Mecca once in your lifetime
- Qur’an is holy book
- Mecca – sacred city, important in trade
- Emphasizes individual surrendering himself to God by following Qur’an – will enter paradise
- Worship at mosque
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