World Religions

Traditions and Belief

What is Religion?

 Karl Marx said “Religion is the Opium of the Masses”

What is Religion

    According to Marx, religion is an expression of material realities and economic injustice. Thus, problems in religion are ultimately problems in society. Religion is not the disease, but merely a symptom. It is used by oppressors to make people feel better about the distress they experience due to being poor and exploited.

 Class discussion  Question? Do you believe what Marx is saying -Why or why not

What is Religion?

  Gandhi said Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.  Does Religion play a major role in politics?

 What are some examples?

What is Religion?

  "My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Dali Lama who is currently exiled in India.

 Is religion simply going to a Holy place to worship or is it more?

 In what ways?

What is Religion

So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga galunga. So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

What is Religion

Carl Spackler Caddyshack

Eastern/Western

 Eastern Religions   Hinduism Buddhism  Daoism  Confucianism  Western Religions   Judaism Christianity  Islam (Also eastern)

Religion

 Polytheism  The worship of many gods and goddess  Ancestor worship  Spirits  Animals  Those that had polytheism  Shinto (Japan)  Greeks/Romans  Shamanism in Asia/Native Americans  Animism (Africa)  Monotheistic  The belief of one god.

 First religion to believe in one god was Judaism  Written traditions  Torah  Gospels  Koran

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism   Very complex religion Polytheistic  Probabaly the oldest religion still practiced today   Hinduism does not have one starting point but instead is a mixture of many different religious practices that over the centuries became a formalized religion Started in the Indus River Valley and today is mainly practiced in India

Eastern Religions

 The Vades  Aryan invaders brought the Vedas or scriptures which makes up the bases of Hinduism  Vedas mean knowledge  The Vedas outline the gods and goddesses.

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Began to take shape after 900 B.C.E.

 The Upnaishads written text that outlines Hinduism.

 The Upanishads help a person develop spiritual self improvement  Other books   The Bhagavad-Gita Laws of Manu

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Beliefs  At the center of all time and space is the World Soul.

 The material world is an illusion.

 The material world causes suffering and pain.

  The goal of existance is to become one with Brahman The union is achieved by a cycle of life, death and rebirth (samsara)  Incarnation and reincarnation   Karma- a persons actions determines a future life Dharma-Ones moral duty  Moksha-becoming one with Brahman

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  gods and goddesses  Brahma the Creator (male?)  Vishnu the Preserver (male or female) friend to humanity  Shiva the Destroyer (female?) god of both creation and destruction

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Caste System  The Caste system is a religious concept  Dates back to the invasion of the Aryans  System of social stratification  Labor tasks were given to darker skinned Indians  By 600 B.C.E. the system developed four standard classes.

Eastern Religions

  Hinduism Caste system Priest-Brahmins Warriors and rulers-Kshatriyas Farmers and artist-Vaishyas Servants and serfs-Shudras

Eastern Religions

  Hinduism Caste System  Untouchables or the lowest class of the Caste System was developed later and consisted of those who performed tasks such as  Removal of waste  Burial of the dead

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Male v. Female (Gender)  In Hindu society males are thought to be superior to females  Hindu law requires that males treat women with respect

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Males  Educated.

 Controlled the money.

 Owned property.

 Could divorce.

 Conducted the rituals of the household.

 Hinduism  Females  Women run the family.

 Women could not own property.

 No education.

 Married early usually to older men.

 Could not divorce  Performed the ritual of sati or sutte-throwing themselves on the funeral fires of their dead husband

Eastern Religions

 Hinduism  Question  How do you think dharma and karma played into the roles of women in Hindu society?

  Does dharma and karma make women subordinate to men?

How do you think dharma and karma played into the roles of untouchables and the Caste System?

 Does Hinduism promote segergation and discrimination?

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Originated in India  Spread to China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Tibet Korea.

 Comes from the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama later known as Buddha.

 Later Buddhism split into two sections  Theravada-”Way of the Elders”  Mahayana- “Greater Vehicle”

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  In India around 500 B.C.E. many philosophers began looking for a way to achieve a better understanding of the union with the World Soul.

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Siddhartha Gautama (Buddhism)  Born into a noble family   Lead a sheltered life until the age of 29 when he looked at the world and saw the pain, poverty and suffering in the world.

Left his noble life and began to look for the reasons for suffering and pain in the world.

  Began to fast and lead a life of self-deprivation Did not find peace

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  One night after meditating under a tree Buddha achieved “enlightenment”.

 Buddha then began to preach what he learned from enlightenment.

 Soon his teaching spread from India into Asia.

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Teachings  More of a philosophy then a religion.

 Tried to correct Hindu doctrine.

 Beliefs  The soul tried to achieve perfection by life death and rebirth (reincarnation)  Rejected the Caste System-any person could achieve liberation or enlightenment at death.

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Four Noble Truths  Human existence is inseparable from suffering.

 The cause of suffering is desire.

 Suffering is extinguished by extinguishing desire.

 Desire may be extinguished by following the Eightfold Path.

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Eightfold Path  Know the truth  Resist evil  Do nothing to hurt others  Respect all forms of life  Work for the well-being of others before yourself    Free your mind of evil Control your thoughts Practice meditation

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Buddha also spoke of the Five Moral Rules which each person must follow.

 Do not kill living beings  Do not take what is not given you  Do not speak falsely  Do not drink intoxicating drinks  Do not be unchaste

Eastern Religions

 Discuss with the person next to you   What other religions have a similar set of moral laws or codes?

Does there seem to be an underlining theme to these religions?

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism  Enlightenment  Buddha states that if you follow these moral codes then anyone can reach enlightenment.

 The liberation from the life cycle is called Nirvana which means to extinguish.  Nirvana leads to a state of superconsciousness in which ones spirit is dissolved into the spirit that encompasses all of life.

Eastern Religions

 Theravada Buddhism  “Way of the Elders”  Remained closer to Buddha’s teachings  No gods or goddesses, not even Buddha  Meditation, following the codes and nirvana

Eastern Religions

 Mahayana Buddhism   “Greater Vehicle” Japan, Korea, Tibet  More ritual and symbols-priest, scripture  Buddhism is blended with local religions  Shinto and Buddhism (Zen Buddhism)  Nirvana is more of a heaven  Buddha is seen as god like  Praying to dead souls

Eastern Religions

 Daoism (Taoism)  500 B.C.E.

 More of a philosophy then a religion  Founder-Laozi (Lao-tzu)  Central text-Tao-te Ching  Daoism means the “way” or the “path”

Eastern Religions

 Daoism  Beliefs  The universe is governed by natural forces  This force can not be understood but can be felt   Material values are worthless  Dao is in all things (poetry, rivers, nature) People have no control over the events in the physical world  One must seek harmony with the world

Eastern Religions

 Daoism  Daoism is individualistic  Ying and Yang shows that nothing is absolute  There is good in bad and bad in good  Daoism is often blended with other religions  Confucianism, Buddhism.

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  500 B.C.E. in China  Mostly based on philosophy not religion  Believe in the existence of gods but they play no role in the living person  People should be concerned with they own moral behavior

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  Teachings of K’ung Fu-tzu (Confucius)  Lived during the Zhou Dynasty  Studied the relationships between individuals in society

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  Beliefs  The well-being of the society comes before the well-being of the individual  A good government produces a good ruler  A good ruler is responsible for a good society  Society is responsible for supporting the good ruler  If a ruler is good they have a Mandate of Heaven  If a ruler is corrupt they lose the Mandate and can be overthrown by the people

Eastern Religions

  Question What other rulers used a similar type of rule to the Mandate of Heaven?

   John Locke said in his Treatises of Government that if a ruler abused their power the people could do what? How was this similar to what Confucius said?

Would Locke and Confucius have similar ideals about society and government?

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  Beliefs  The family runs similar to the relationship of the society and government  The family was the most important institution in Chinese culture

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  The relationships  Superior  Ruler (Just)  Father (loving)   Husband (Righteous) Older brother (genteel)  Inferior Subject (loyal) Son (Respectful) Wife (Obedient) Younger (humble) Older friend (considerate) Younger (deferent)

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  In these relationships there should be mutual respect  The Golden Rule  “Never do to others what you would not like them to do to you”

Eastern Religions

  Confucianism Males  Could have more then one wife  Could divorce if the wife did not produce a male heir  Ruled society  Fought wars  Scholars and ministers  Females  Were the subservient sex  Homemakers and mothers  Could not own property  Held no material wealth  Could have a limited education

Eastern Religions

 Confucianism  Confucianism has existed with and competed against Daoism and Buddhsim  It became the official law of the government, lost its status with the government then regained its status again  Confucianism has always influenced Chinese society and still influences China even under the Communist.