✝️🪷Religion- term 2 🪷✝️

9 aspects of religion

1. Beliefs

2. Sacred Stories

3. Texts

4. Spaces, Places, Times & Artifacts (SPAT)

5. Spiritual Experiences

6. Ethics

7. Rituals

8. Social Structures

9. Symbols

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Beliefs- Catholicism

• Catholics believe in one God who exists as Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit (The Holy Trinity).

• Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection offer salvation to humanity.

• The seven sacraments are sacred rituals that bring God’s grace

• Belief in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.

Sacred Stories- Catholicism

In Christianity, there are sacred stories of God creating the earth and heaven in 6 days (genesis), along with how humanity began from Adam and Eve.

Spaces, Places, Times & Artifacts (SPAT)- Catholicism

St Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral in East Melbourne contains all the elements of SPAT

• Space: A sacred space for prayer, Mass, and reflection

• Place: Important Catholic site in Melbourne- the seat of the Archbishop

• Times: Celebrates key times like Easter, Christmas, Lent, and Sunday Mass

• Artifacts: Altar, stained glass, statues, etc

Texts- Catholicism

Catholics draw on Scripture contained in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible

The Bible includes history, stories, laws, poetry, letters, prophecies, and teachings.

Rituals- Catholicism

Catholics are initiated into the faith community through the Sacrament of Baptism

Symbols- Catholicism

• Many Catholics will wear a cross on a necklace or earrings to signify their faith

• This represents the resurrection of Jesus,

• It also symbolises sacrifice, faith, and victory over death.

Social structures- Catholicism

• Contains figures such as priests, bishops, cardinals and the pope.

• To maintain order, unity, and allows for guidance.

• Helps pass down teachings and lead worship across the world.

Ethics- Catholicism

• Christians follow the 10 commandments

• Forms the foundation of Christian moral teaching

• The 10 commandments are the direct word of God as told to Moses on a mountaintop.

• Christians also follow the word of Jesus, who taught that love is the greatest commandment

Spiritual Experience- Catholicism

Meditation has long been a Catholic practice in many forms.

• It's not just calming the mind, but opening oneself to God’s presence.

• It often includes reflection on:

  • Bible passages

  • The life of Jesus

  • God's love and guidance

Beliefs- Hinduism

5 Core beliefs of Hinduism

1. God is in everything, so everything is God

2. One God, many faces. Hindus believe in many different Gods, but they all really stem from one God, Brahman.

3. Dharma- do your duty

4. Karma- what you do today will affect your future

5. Reincarnation- after death, you will be re-born

Sacred Stories- Hinduism

• There are many narratives in Hinduism about the creation of the universe- this shows a rich variety within the religion.

• The most prominent is of Vishnu where a lotus flower with Brahma in it grew from his navel. Brahma is the creator of heaven, earth and the skies.

• Brahma opened his eyes, and from his thoughts, he created the world, the sky, land, sea, plants, animals, and people.

Spaces & Places- Hinduism

Space: Temples are the main sacred spaces. They are used for prayer, rituals, and connecting with the gods.

Place: The River Ganges- Hindus believe the river fell from its source of Vishnu’s feet onto Shiva’s head and out from his hair, the water of the Ganges is sacred enough to purify all sins.

Times- Hinduism

• Hindus celebrate many holy days, but the Festival of Lights, Diwali is the best known.

• Festivals and holy days- no set day of the week is holy, each day has it’s possibilities.

• Some numbered days of the month are more important than others. There are 125 special days in the Hindu year

Artifacts- Hinduism

• Most Hindus have a small shrine in their home where they can worship daily.

• The shrine will contain at least one image, of their gods, for example, Lord Ganesh or Lord Krishna.

• These images help the Hindu to focus on different aspects of God.

• Each shrine will also contain a tray which holds seven items. These items are used in the worship.

• they help the Hindu to use all their senses when they worship, as a symbol that the whole person is taken up with the worship.

Texts- Hinduism

• The main Hindu Texts are the Vedas and their supplements (books based on the Vedas).

• They include hymns, rituals, chants, and philosophical ideas.

• The texts guide how to live a good life, perform rituals, and understand the universe.

• Many scriptures discuss dharma

Spiritual experiences- Hinduism

• Feeling peace, devotion, or a deep connection to the divine

• Can happen during prayer, meditation, or visiting a temple

• Pilgrimages to holy places (like the Ganges River are powerful experiences

Ethics- Hinduism

• Karma - action or deeds

• Every action produces a justified effect based on its moral worthiness.

• Karma determines all the particular circumstances and situations of one's life.

• Dharma - ethical duty based on the divine order of reality.

Social Structures- Hinduism

There are priest and religious teachers in Hinduism, however there is no-one "at the top" like a Bishop or Pope, correcting false beliefs.

Symbols- Hinduism

• For Hindus, Aum/Ohm is the most sacred of symbols.

• It represents the physical and spiritual beliefs of Hinduism:

• the means and the goal of life,

• the world and the Truth behind it,

• the material and the Sacred,

• all form and the Formless.

Rituals- Hinduism

• Puja: daily worship at home or temple with prayers, offerings, and chanting

• Aarti: waving light in front of a deity as a sign of devotion

• Meditation and yoga: to calm the mind and connect with the divine

Similarities of Sacred Stories (of creation)

• In both religions, there is a belief that there is one creator of the universe.

• In Hinduism, Brahma created all aspects of the world from his thoughts and his willingness to do so; this is exactly like how God in the Christian faith created the world.

• In Hinduism they believe Brahma is the creator; in Christianity they believe God is the creator.

Differences of sacred stories

• In Hinduism, there are many different stories about how the universe came to be.

• In Christianity, there is only one story that is regarded as truth.

• Furthermore, in the prominent Hindu story of creation, there are no instructions telling its followers how to live their life based on this creation of the universe.

• In Christianity, because God rested on the seventh day, Christians interpreted it as Sunday being a day of rest.

Similarities of beliefs (nature of God)

• In both religions, there are different aspects of God and how they may appear to the followers of their respective faiths.

• In Hinduism, the different Gods really all branch out from the core creator, Brahman and in Christianity, God being present in Christ and the Holy spirit are very similar.

• Hindus can experience the divine through other Gods, such as Krishna and Vishnu, and similarly, Christians can experience God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Differences of beliefs(life after death)

• In Hinduism, it is believed that after death, you get reincarnated into another being based on how morally good you were in your previous life.

• In Christianity, it is believed that you can either enter heaven or hell, based on whether you repent for your sins and accept God as the truth.