Major Religions of the

World

What does religion mean to you?

something one believes in and follows
devotedly
usually has some form of higher power

Why do you think religion causes so

many conflicts and wars in the world
when it is supposed to promote peace?

What religion are you?

Why do you practice that religion?

Numbers

Christianity: 1.9 billion people

Islam: 1.1 billion
Hinduism: 800 million
Buddhism: 325 million
Judaism: 13 million

Christianity

Based on the life and teachings of Jesus

Christ
Originated in Palestine in the 1st
century AD
Believe that Jesus was the son of God
who came and died for peoples sins
and then rose so that all people could
be saved
Believe in one God(monotheistic) who
created the universe and all things in it
Christianity originally developed as a
part of Judaism

Christian Way of Life

Fellowship with God

Our relationships with others
Obedience to God's commands
Discipline

Ten Commandments

Important Days

Ash Wednesday-Lent
Palm Sunday
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter
Ascension
Pentecost
Advent
Christmas
Epiphany

Judaism

Is a monotheistic religion
Judaism is the oldest and smallest of
the world's five great religions
Being a part of a Jewish community and
living one's life according to Jewish law
and traditions is very important.
The fundamental beliefs of Judaism are:
-There is a single, all-powerful God,
who created the universe and
everything in it.
-God has a special relationship with the
Jewish people due to covenant that
God made with Moses on Mount
Sinai,
3500 years ago.

1.

Rambams 13 Principles of
Faith

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

G-d exists
G-d is one and unique
G-d is incorporeal
G-d is eternal
Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no
other
The words of the prophets are true
Moses prophecies are true, and Moses was the
greatest of the prophets
The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible)
and Oral Torah were given to Moses
There will be no other Torah
G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
The Messiah will come
The dead will be resurrected

613 Mitzvot

Judaism 101: List of the 613 Mitzvot

The Jewish place of worship is called a

Synagogue

The religious leader of a Jewish

community is called a Rabbi

Unlike leaders in many other faiths, a

rabbi is not a priest and has no
special religious status

The Jewish holy day, or

Sabbath(Shabbat), starts at sunset on
Friday and continues until sunset on
Saturday

During the Sabbath, Jews do not

work(drive, cook, etc)

7 Holy Days

Rosh Hashanah-Jewish New Year

Yom Kippur-A day of fasting and
praying which occurs 10 days after
the first day of Rosh Hashanah. The
holiest day in the year
Sukkot-8 day festival of thanksgiving
Hanukkah-The Feast of Lights is an 8
day Feast of Dedication. It recalls the
war fought by the Maccabees in the
cause of religious freedom

Purim-The Feast of Lots recalls the

defeat by Queen Esther of the plan to
slaughter all of the Persian Jews, circa
400 BC
Pesa(Passover)-The 8 day festival
recalls the exodus of the Israelites from
slavery in Egypt circa 1300 BCE.A
holiday meal, the Seder, is held at
home
Shavouth-Pentecost recalls God's
revelation of the Torah to the Jewish
people

Menorah-It is a
symbol of the
nation of Israel and
a mission to be "a
light unto the
nations.

A Yarmulke is worn
during prayer to
shoe respect to
G_d

The Star of David is

the international
symbol of Judaism
Flag of Israel has it

Kosher Foods

Foods are kosher when they meet all

criteria that Jewish law applies to
food
Characteristics that make a food nonkosher:

the mixture of meat and milk

the use of cooking utensils which had
previously been used for non-kosher
food
The type of animal it is

Leviticus 11:3 says that Jews may eat all

animals that have cloven hooves and
chew their cud
Leviticus 11:4 explicitly prohibited the
consumption of animals that do not have
these characteristics designating them
"unclean to you."
Six mammals are specifically not allowed:

The camel
The hyrax
The hare
The pig
Whales and dolphins

Kosher animals are as follows:

Cows, goats, sheep, antelope, deer, giraffes, okapis

and pronghorns
Most fish(excluding shellfish, sharks, octupus, eels
and squid)
Chicken, duck, turkey
Milk and cheese are kosher but cannot be eaten with
meat or mixed with meat.

Preparation

the slaughter of animals is designed to minimize the

painusually done by a slice across the throat
this eliminates the practice of hunting for food unless
it can be captured alive and ritually slaughtered.
All blood and veins must be removed from
meat(salting and broiling are common methods)

Islam

Islam is the world's second most followed religion

It began around 1400 years ago in Arabia, but
swiftly become a world faith, and now has around
1.2 billion people
"Islam" is an Arabic word which means
surrendering oneself to the will of God
One will achieve peace and security by doing so

A person surrenders to the will of Allah by living

and thinking in the way Allah has instructed.

Islam is more than a system of beliefs. The faith

provides a social and legal system and governs
things like family life, law and order, ethics,
dress, and cleanliness, as well as religious ritual
and observanceIslamic Republic

Where is Islam practiced?

The countries with the largest Islamic

populations are not in the Middle
East as most would think
The largest are Indonesia (170
million), Pakistan (136 million),
Bangladesh (105 million), and India
(103 million)
Islam's three holiest places, the cities
of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, are
all in the Middle East

The present form of Islam began in Arabia in

622 AD
It is based on the ministry of a man named
Muhammad and on the words that Allah gave
to the world through him
Muhammad did not found Islam. Islam was
created by Allah at the beginning of time,
and in fact Muslims regard Adam as the first
Muslim
Muhammad was the final messenger through
whom Allah revealed the faith to the world
There had been earlier messengers, among
them Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and
Jesus.

5 Pillars of Islam
1. Shahada(witness) is the Muslim
profession of faith
- "I witness that there is no god
but Allah, and that Muhammad
is the prophet of Allah"

Muslims say this when they wake

up in the morning and just before
they go to sleep at night

2. Salat(daily prayer) is a prayer

ritual performed 5 times a day by
all Muslims over the age of 10
Between first light and sunrise
After the sun has passed the middle
of the sky
Between mid-afternoon and sunset
Between sunset and the last light of
the day
Between darkness and dawn

3. Sawm(fasting) is abstaining each day

during Ramadan

Sawm helps Muslims develop self-control,

gain a better understanding of God's gifts
and greater compassion towards the
deprived.

Ramadan is the holiest day for Islam. It

marks when Muhammad had the Qur-an
revealed to him

Sawm is usually described as fasting, but it

actually involves abstaining from all bodily
pleasures between dawn and sunset

Not only is food forbidden, but also things

like smoking, chewing gum, negative
thoughts and sexual activity

4. Zakat(almsgiving) is giving alms to

the poor

This is a compulsory gift of 2.5 % of

one's savings each year

Giving in this way is intended to

free Muslims from the love of
money

It reminds them that everything

they have really belongs to God.

4. Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that all

physically/financially able Muslims should
make at least once in their life
Mecca is the most holy place for Muslims
Takes place during days 8-13 of the 12 th
month of the Islamic Lunar calendar
They circle the Kaaba seven times on
three occasions, say prayers, drink from
a holy spring, walk to Mount Arafat to
pray, feast, cast stones at three pillars(to
fight Satans temptations), shave hair,
run seven times between some hills

The Kaaba
Kaaba - Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia

Other Info

The Quran is the Islamic holy book

The Qur'an is the actual word of God,
and contains the fundamental beliefs
of Islam
Mecca, Medina and Jerusulem are holy
cities
According to tradition, the Qur'an was
dictated to Muhammad
Two major sects

Sunni-920 million people(everywhere else)

Shiite-120 million people(Iran)
Comparing the Sunni and Shiite branches o
f Islam

Islamic Law

The Sharia outlines all of the

laws(comes from the Koran)
5 Major Crimes:

theft, highway robbery, intoxication,

adultery and falsely accusing another of
adultery

Sharia - Wikipedia
, the free encyclopedia

Food Laws

Very similar laws to the Jewish kosher

foods
No alcohol, pork, blood, no pork fat
products, scavenger animals
Food must be prepared similarly to
the Jews

Slice to the jugular

Drain blood

Hinduism

Hinduism includes a very wide range

of beliefs and practices, so there
aren't many things that are common
to all Hindu groups
Hinduism has no founder, no single
book of faith, no creed, and no single
source of authority(such as Jesus)
Hinduism is very individualistic but a
big part of a persons everyday life
There are 750 million Hindus in the
world, mostly in India

For many Hindus, religion is a matter of

practice rather than of beliefs. It's more
what you do than what you believe.

Behind Hindu practice is the belief that

every soul is trapped in a cycle of birthdeath-rebirth(reincarnation). Every Hindu
wants to escape from this cycle.

Hindus aim to live in a way that will cause

each of their lives to be better than the
life before.

Whether one is reborn into a better life, a

worse life, or even to live as an animal,
depends on Karma, which is the value of a
soul's good and bad deeds.

Dharma is a cosmic natural law that forms the

basis for Hindu philosophies, beliefs and practices
and holds everything together

People that live in harmony with Dharma proceed

more quickly toward Moksha

Hindus ultimate aim is escape from the life cycle

altogether and achieve the ultimate liberation
Moksha

Hindus believe the universe doesn't have a

beginning and an end. It's a cyclical pattern, so
once it ends, it begins again.

One attains Moksha when one has "overcome

ignorance" and no longer desires anything at
all(and yes, that includes the desire for Moksha)

Hindu Beliefs

All good things in life are gifts from

God
Finding out what your lifes calling is
as Dharma suggest/requires is a very
important goal
Being a fair and decent person is very
important
Wealth, power and material
belongings are good goals as long as
they dont become all important
Moksha is the ultimate goal

Four Stages of Life

1.
2.

3.

4.

Ages 12-24 you get educated and trained

Ages 24-48 you get married, raise a family,
make money, get involved in many things
Ages 48-72 you become a mentor to a
young person and start isolating
themselves from the outside world
At age 72 you end ties to the outside world
and get rid of your worldly possessions.
Prayer and devotion become very
important.
Mostly aimed at men and is not followed as
much as it used to be

Hindu Gods

One would think Hinduism is polytheistic.

Most Hindus would say they worship one
God.
There is only one ultimate God, Brahman,
but shows itself in many forms
The gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, for
example, are different aspects of Brahman:
Brahma reflects God's divine work of
creating the universe
Vishnu reflects God's work in keeping the
universe in existence
Shiva reflects God's work in destroying it

Buddhism

Founded in India around 500 BC by

Siddhartha Guatama
Became Buddha, the Enlightened One,
when he was 29
He was trying to find the true meaning
of life and eventually, through four
trance-like stages of meditation, he was
enlightened to the Buddhist was of life
His main teachings was to eliminate
human wants as they are the cause of
suffering in the world

Buddhism has no unique creed, no single

authority and no single sacred book
Buddhism focuses on each individual seeking
to attain enlightenment
Key beliefs and values are contained in "The
Four Noble Truths
1. Life means suffering
2. The origin of suffering is attachment to
worldly things
3. The end to suffering is attainable through
eliminating physical wants/needs

Eventually can achieve Nirvana(no wind)

Nirvana means freedom from all worries and
troubles

4. The path to the end suffering

and achieve Nirvana is to follow
the Eight Fold Path

Eight Fold Path

1. Right View

2. Right Intention

Think and do the right things at all times

3. Right Speech

To see and view things as they really are

Attained true wisdom

Do not lie, curse, slander, or gossip

4. Right Action

Do not harm yourself or others, do not

steal, and no sexual misconduct

5. Right Livelihood

6. Right Effort

Give 100% effort in what you do

7. Right Mindfulness

No jobs dealing in weapons, in living beings

(including raising animals for slaughter as
well as slave trade and prostitution),
working in meat production and butchery,
andselling alcohol and drugs

Having the power to control our thought

process and see the truth behind things

8. Right Concentration

Ability to have deep concentration and

ability to focus on wholesome thoughts and
actions

Assignment

Try to follow Buddhists Eight Fold

Path for 48 hours.
Blog your results. Did you make it
through? If so, was it tough? If not,
what made it challenging?