Religious Studies Notes

Sacred Texts In All Religions:

  • Judaism:
    • Tanakah, the first 5 books of the Tanakah is called the Torah.
    • Tankha provides an introduction to the Israeli god, outlines the Jewish covenant to God, and moral and ethical obligations.
  • Islam:
    • The Quran
    • Has 114 chapters, 6000 verses, 6666 ayats, and quran means “recitation”
    • Quran has the following themes:
      • Tawhid: Allah and predestination (hereafter)
      • Risalah: Angels of Allah, books of Allah, Messengers of Allah
      • Akhirah: Life after Death and the day of judgement
  • Hinduism:
    • The Vedas Scriptures
    • Written in Sanskrit
  • Buddhism:
    • The Tripitaka
    • Comprise of the teachings of Buddha, collectively known as dharma
    • 3 sections, each is called a pitaka
  • Christianity:
    • The Bible
    • New Testament & old testament
    • Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuterometry

Samsara & Karma

  • Karma
    • Law of cause and effect, where one's actions determine their future consequences
  • Dharma
    • Moral duty and righteousness that guide your ethical behaviour
  • Atman
    • Individual's soul or true self which is considered divine
    • Seeking unity with Brahman
  • Samsara
    • Cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, driven by karma
  • Moksha
    • Liberation from rebirth, and union with your soul and Braham in the ultimate reality
    • In samsara, if you are good you will be rebirthed into a good life, if you are bad you will rebirth into a bad life (ex. Good: average man -> wealthy man, Bad: Average man -> dog)

Hindu Sacred Texts

  • Rigg Veda

Practices When Reading The Torah

  • Torah is placed on a Bimah, which is a stand/podium for it
  • Instead of touching the Torah with your hands, you will touch and point using a yad

Buddhist Scriptures Content

  • Discipline Basket (Vinaya pitaka)
    • The basket of guidance
    • Rules given to the community of buddhist believers (Sangha)
    • Contains hundreds of rules about basic morality
    • Helps guide you away from the vices
  • The Sutras
    • Held as the most important of the 3 baskets
    • Also called the discourse basket, a written collection of Buddha’s teachings (over 10000 teachings)
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka/ Philosophical Basket
    • Contains theories and descriptions of things like the nature of time, the workings of the humans mind, and even the state of matter
    • With its rather metaphysical - like content, this is probably the most contested of all three basket

Jewish Rite Of Path For Girls

  • Bat Mitzvah

Important Event in Year 630 BCE For Islam

  • January 630 CE Muhammad SAW returns to Mecca
  • In 630 CE Muhammad restored the Kaaba/cleansed it of the deities, leaving only the house/Kaaba

Hinduism Vedic Period

  • The period focused on prayers, elements of nature and animal sacrifices

Original Purpose of Hindu Caste System

  • The purpose was to ensure that society would always have an appropriate amount of weavers, potters, and soldiers help to ensure order

Branches Within Religions

  • Sunni Muslims (Islam):
    • Disagree with the idea that a leader had to be a descendant of Muhammad SAW
    • Faces on individuals direct relationship with Allah
  • Shia Muslims (Islam):
    • Believe in succession/leadership based on blood relatives to Muhammad SAW
    • Focuses on the role & authority of religious leaders
  • Orthodox Jews (Judaism):
    • Followers that strictly follow the teachings of Judaism (Following the letter)
  • Reform Jews (Judaism):
    • Followers that reform Judaism to fit modern society, or loosely follow it

Symbol Mistaken for Five Ks of Sikhism

  • The Kangha

The Middle Path in Buddhism

  • A practice that avoids extreme self-indulgence and extreme selflessness, strive for a balance between both

Founder of Sikhism

  • Guru Nanak

Yom Kippur

  • Day of atonement

Hindu Festival of Colors

  • Holi

Religions That Believe in Samsara

  • Hinduism & Buddhism, their soul is reborn into another body

Cults Incorporating Elements of Authentic Religion

  • Yes, they do.