Comparing World Religions

Hinduism
• Beginnings
– India
– World’s oldest religion (4000 B.C.E.)
– Founded by nomads who invaded India
• Sacred Texts
– Vedas – collection of sacred texts
• Major Deity(deities)
– Brahma – supreme being
– Shiva –
– Vishnu
 Hinduism cont.
• Core beliefs
– Reincarnation until soul achieves enlightenment
– Two paths anyone can choose:
• Path of desire – leads to unhappiness
• Path of renunciation – leads to happiness
– Karma – actions in this life affect future lives
– Non-violence toward all living things
• Worship
– Offerings of food and incense 3 times a day at temple
in home
– Worship at the regional temple
 Judaism
• Beginnings
– Middle East
– 1300 B.C.
– Founded by Abraham
• Sacred Texts
– Torah (Old Testament of the Bible)
– Talmud (teachings of the rabbis)
• Major Deity
– Called “God”
 Judaism, cont.
• Core Beliefs
– Each person is free to choose to do good or evil
– If you follow God’s laws as described in the Torah, life
will be full of love, compassion, and justice
– The Jews are the people God chose to transmit his law
– Someday, God will redeem the world from evil
• Worship (varies)
– Daily prayer
– Saturdays go to worship at the synagogue
– Observe holiday rituals during Passover, Rosh
Hashana, Yom Kippur, Hanukkah
 Buddhism
• Beginnings
– 500 B.C.E.
– Founded by a young Hindu noble named Siddhartha
who sought the meaning of life and found
enlightenment. His followers are Buddhists.
• Sacred Texts
– Dharma – the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
• Major Deities
– No gods, this religion focuses on what is within
everyone
 Buddhism, cont.
• Core Beliefs
– We are our own masters and there is no higher being
controlling our destinies
– Violence is forbidden
– You will be trapped in samsara (reincarnation) until
you have achieved Enlightenment (reached nirvana)
– All actions have consequences (karma)
– Accept the 4 Noble Truths which basically state that
selfishness causes suffering
• Worship
– Buddhists don’t really worship, they reflect.
– Follow the 8 Fold Path to stop selfishness through
proper living with the right understanding, speech,
thought, action, livelihood, effort, awareness,
concentration (meditation).
 Christianity
• Beginnings
– 1 A.D.
– Started by followers of a Jew named Jesus Christ in
what is now Israel
– After the Protestant reformation, Christians were
split into two categories, Catholic and Protestant.
• Sacred Texts
– The Old Testament
– The New Testament of the Bible
• Gospels
• Acts of Apostles
• Epistles
• Book of Revelation
• Deity
– Called “God”
 Christianity, cont.
• Core Beliefs
– God created the world and humans are born with
original sin from Adam and Eve’s mistake
– Jesus is God’s son who came to Earth to teach about
God. His death was a sacrifice to save the world.
– Do God’s work and you will go to heaven or sin
against God and you could go to hell.
• Worship (varies)
– Go to church on Sundays
– Spread the gospel (word of God)
– Observe the holidays of Easter and Christmas
– Follow the 10 commandments
 Islam
• Beginnings
– 622 A.D. in Saudi Arabia
– Builds on early foundations of Judaism and
Christianity, but focuses on the teachings of a
prophet named Muhammad.
• Sacred Text
– Qur’an (Koran) considered by Muslims to be the
actual transcribed word of God.
• Deity
– God (called Allah)
 Islam, cont.
• Core Beliefs
– Surrender to God (Allah)
– Worship Allah and not idols or physical
representations of him
– There will be a day of judgment and sinners will go to
hell while the good, who have followed God, go to
paradise
• Worship
– Practice 5 pillars of Islam: saying the shahadah (there
is no God but Allah), pray five times a day, fast
during Ramadan, give to charity, make a pilgrimage
(hajj) to Mecca once in your lifetime