world religions

non-religious people (unaffiliated with a religion)
- atheists- don’t believe in god/gods
- agnostics- don’t know if god exists
- people who don’t identify with a particular religion
- not all unaffiliated people aren’t spiritual (68% of unaffiliated US adults believe in a higher power
hinduism
- no single founder, text, or set of beliefs
- purpose of life is to get closer to god so the soul can be released from human suffering
- build up good karma to determine where your next reincarnation will be
- polytheistic- worship many gods
- brahman- ultimate reality in the universe
- main gods: brahma the creator, vishnu the preserver, and shiva the destroyer/transformer
- priests perform rituals, closest to moksha (freedom from reincarnation)
- many sects- but all believe in karma, dharma, reincarnation, brahman, vedas
- puja- daily worship, involves all five senses, essential ritual
- varnas- castes (priests, then leaders/warriors, then merchants, then peasants, then untouchables)
- vedas- hymns, prayers, ceremonies of divine origin
buddhism
- meditation and nonviolence
- mostly in china, india, japan, thailand
- founded ~2,500 years ago by siddhartha (the buddha/awakened one)
- the buddha was a human who gained enlightenment from ignorance that binds us to suffering
- siddhartha was a prince who realized that life sucked, and tried to find out why. eventually he realized that neither indulgence of austerity would provide enlightenment, and created the middle way
- dharma- core teachings about the middle path to enlightenment
- nothing is fixed
- all actions have consequences
- change is inevitable
- no god-focus on four noble truths
- life is suffering
- cause of suffering is selfish desires
- there is an end to suffering
- way to end suffering is to follow the eightfold path
- dalai lama- 14th reincarnation of the bodhisattva of compassion
- kobo daishi- monk who brought buddhism to japan ~1,200 years ago, credited with making it more accessible to not rich people
judaism
- don’t believe in any prophet after the jewish prophets
- abraham- first patriarch of judaism
- first prophet to enter covenant with god
- idea of promised land was created
- god renewed covenant with moses that hebrews are the chosen people
- don’t accept that jesus was the son of god
- don’t believe in teachings of muhammad
- kingdom of israel flourished under david (unified israel) and solomon (wise, son of david, but spent a lot of money)
- hebrew people forced into exile (diaspora) after solomon’s death
- developed ideas of monotheism and covenant
- torah- outlined laws of living/moral code
- god gave torah to moses on mount sinai by way of dictation
- talmud- book of biblical interpretations and jewish oral traditions
- people (including rulers should live moral lives
- synagogue- place of worship
- jerusalem- holy city of all three abrahamic faiths
islam
- islam means “submission to god”
- followers are called muslims
- monotheistic, god is called allah, whose word was revealed to the prophet muhammad through the angel gabriel
- respect the same prophets as jews/christians
- believe muhammad was the final prophet
- mosque- place of worship
- important places: kaaba shrine in mecca, al-aqsa mosque in jerusalem, prophet muhammad’s mosque in medina
- holy text: the qur’an also spelled koran or quran
- believe in a day of judgement and life afterward
- central idea is jihad, which means struggle
- hajj- pilgrimage to mecca, which commemorates abraham’s struggle
- walk seven times around the ka’bah shrine in the great mosque (tawaf)
- wear the attire of pilgrims (ihram)
- ka’bah shrine in mecca is the holiest place in the world, muslims pray in its direction and have to visit it at least once per the qur’an
- two main sects: sunni and shiite (shia) but majority are sunni
- five pillars
- declare faith
- pray 5 times a day
- give to those in need
- fast during ramadan
- make pilgrimage to mecca
- caliphs- muhammad’s successors as leaders of the religion/country, evolved into the ottoman empire
- sharia law- faith based code of conduct