Other Religions
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Transcript Other Religions
Other Religions
Jainism
Jain, a break-off from Hinduism, is an ethical system
which believes that our souls are originally perfect, but
karma corrupts the soul; yet the soul can be purified
through right living.
Jainism, a religion that branched out from Hinduism and
Buddhism, has the main goal of reaching moksha
(breaking the cycle of reincarnation) by avoiding as
much karma as possible.
Sikhism
Sikhism, a blend of Hinduism and Islam, believes in the
cycle of reincarnation as a means for coming closer to
satnam (the monoist deity) and emphasizes an
individual’s religious state rather than the performance
of certain rituals.
Sikhism, which takes elements from Hinduism and
Islam, follows monistic pantheism, believe in the cycle of
reincarnation which is broken when you achieve union
with satnam.
Baha’i
Baha’i, a break-off from Islam, is a monotheistic religion
that teaches that most religions are valid, emphasizing
unity of God, religion and humanity.
A recent religion, Baha’i is monotheistic and combines all
main religions, stressing unity of God, religion and the
human race.
Shinto
Shinto is a polytheistic Japanese ethical system in which
adherents worship their ancestors and Shinto gods,
while also permitting Buddhist religious thought and
practices.
Shinto, a Japanese ethical system, is polytheistic and
focuses on the four affirmations or beliefs, yet also
borrows from Buddhism for the understanding of the
afterlife.
Confucianism
Confucianism—Basic Data
Christianity
Confucianism
Adherents
2 billion (32%)
6.3 million
Leading Person
Jesus
Kung Fu Tze
(Confucius)
Holy Book
Bible
Analects (sayings of
Confucius)
Clergy
Bishops, Priests
None
House of Worship
Church
None
Theology
MonotheisticTrinitarian
Non-Theist
Soteriology
Passion of Christ
Duty
Holidays
Easter
None
Fasting
Lent (Advent)
Moderation in all things
Kung Fu Tze
551 BC (BCE)
Born of low-level nobility
Desired to be politician in order to improve society and
bring about good government
His integrity, principles and ideals prevented him
Turned to teaching his political theory
Died 479 BC (BCE) with only modest success
What is Confucianism?
Not really a religion but an ethical system
“How can you hope to understand the spirits? First you
must seek to understand the living”
Seeks a well-ordered society
Opposed to self-interest
Seeks the common good
Well-Ordered Society
Keys to a well-ordered society
Social order, harmony, and good government should be
based on family relationships.
Respect for parents and elders is important to a wellordered society.
Education is important both to the welfare of the individual
and to society
At the heart of these three key elements is tradition
Tradition must be deliberately and consciously enacted by
the individual
Tradition shifts from an unconscious to a conscious foundation
Importance of Rituals
Rituals are the “glue” that cultivates good human beings
and good relationships
The rituals are
Ren: goodness or human-heartedness; it can be
understood as the notion that a relationship is not an
objective thing but rather a relational event.
Chun Tze: the noble person; the ideal partner or
participant in a relationship.
Li:
(1) the proper manner or orderliness with which sacred ritual
acts are carried out;
(2) the idea that one's social comportment is just such a ritual
act
De: power by moral example; ruling by how you handle
yourself and behave is better than ruling through
intimidation and fear
Li: The Five Basic Relationships
The Five Basic Relationships are
parents and children
spouse and spouse
older and younger siblings (brothers and sisters)
older and younger friends
ruler and subject (and by extension, employer and
employee; teacher and student)
Family relationships are the basis of the others
Xiao ("Filial Piety"): the veneration and respect for all
members of one's family
Daoism (Taoism)
Daoism—Basic Data
Christianity
Daoism
Adherents
2 billion (32%)
2.7 million
Leading Person
Jesus
Chuang Tze
Holy Book
Bible
Dao De Jing
Chuang Tze
Clergy
Bishops, Priests
None
House of Worship
Church
None
Theology
MonotheisticTrinitarian
Non-theist
Soteriology
Passion of Christ
Right being
Holidays
Easter
None
Fasting
Lent (Advent)
Balance, Harmony
Daoism in Perspective
Religion in China has essentially been a threefold hybrid
of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.
Confucianism is about relation
Buddhism is about release.
Daoism is about balance.
Some Chinese say that
In business, one should be a Confucianist,
in retirement and withdrawal from worldly activities, one
should be a Daoist,
Just prior to death, one should be a Buddhist.
For the Chinese, "covering all the bases" is not a
trivializing of the sacred.
The three religions demonstrate that we are multi-faceted
Daoism—Philosophy
An attempt to codify and organize the wisdom and
experience of the natural world
The Dao (“Way”) and the De (“Power”)
The Doa is
the "transcendent Dao," or the Dao of ultimate reality. In
this sense, the Dao is the very ground of all being, the
principled source of all that is.
the "immanent Dao," or the Dao of the universe. This is the
energies and rhythms of nature that are all around us.
To be with or in the Dao is to be in balance and to live one's life
in accordance with the natural rhythms and patterns of the
universe.
If one's life or affairs are in turmoil and conflict, one is not living
in accordance with the Dao . For this reason, the Dao is often
associated with the metaphorical image of water.
Daoism—Philosophy
The De is
Efficiency: Making the most out of the least
Harmony without friction, without extremes, within the
rhythm and energies of the universe
Wu Wei, or "actionless action." Not “going with the flow”
(being carried along) but acting in harmony with the tide
(maximizing the tide’s energy).
Right being leads to right doing
For the Confucianist, right doing leads to right being
Daoism—Religion
The natural order is more important than the social
order.
A universal force guides all things.
Human beings should live simply and in harmony with
nature.
Daoism—Religion
Harmony is demonstrated by the yin & yang
The circle represents harmony of yin ( earth, female,
passive) and yang (heaven, male, active); natural order
Non-ceasing interaction of give and take, the rhythm
and interplay of the universe as it ebbs and flows
It is not about opposites in a conflict that must be
resolved