Transcript World Religions: A Comparison Global Connections

World Religions:
A Comparison
Global Connections
Buddhism:






365 Million followers
No personal deity
Siddhartha Gautama
was the founder (6th
C. BC), people follow
his teachings.
Many sacred texts, no
main one
Buddhist monks and
nuns are the
leadership
Reincarnation
The Buddha:


The Buddha is not
considered a god,
rather he is seen as
an example on how to
live your life.
Statues appear in
many different sizes
and shapes
Basic Beliefs of the Buddhist:

People reach
complete peace and
happiness, Nirvana,
when they divorce
themselves from
worldly things and
desires.

Noble Eightfold Path
is the way that a
person reaches
Nirvana
The 3 practices



Sila: Virtue, good conduct, morality. This is based on two
fundamental principles: The principle of equality: that all living
entities are equal. The principle of reciprocity: This is the "Golden
Rule" in
Christianity -- to do onto others as you would wish them do
onto you. It is found in all major religions.
Samadhi: Concentration, meditation, mental development.
Developing one's mind is the path to wisdom which in turn leads to
personal freedom. Mental development also strengthens and
controls our mind; this helps us maintain good conduct.
Prajna: Discernment, insight, wisdom, enlightenment. This is the
real heart of Buddhism. Wisdom will emerge if your mind is pure
and calm.
Christianity:





1.9 Billion followers
God
Jesus Christ is the
founder
The holy book is the
bible
The leaders of the
Christian church are
the clergy members
Basic Beliefs of the Christian:


There is only one god
and he protects and
watches over his
people
Jesus was the son of
god and he died for
man’s sins.
Vishnu
Hinduism:
Shiva



Brahma


Since Hinduism has more than
one god, what type of religion
is it?
837 million followers
Three main gods
Brahma=Crator
Vishnu=preserver
Shiva=destroyer
Oldest organized religion
No one founder
No one holy book, several
texts including the Vedas
Leaders include the guru,
Holy Man, and Brahmin
priests
Basic Principles of Hinduism:



Reincarnation (Karma)
People reach
happiness when they
let go of worldly
possessions
Worship, knowledge
and virtuous acts also
lead to happiness
Islam:






1.2 billion followers
God (Allah)
Muhammad is the
founder
The Qur’an is the holy
book
There are no clergy
leaders
Islam is the religion
while a person who
follows Islam is know as
a Muslim
Basic Beliefs of the Muslim:


Person achieves salvation by following the
5 pillars and living a just life.
The 5 pillars are:





Faith
Almsgiving
Fasting
Hajj
Prayer
Judaism:




14 million followers
God (Yahweh)
The founder is
Abraham.
The holy books include
the Hebrew Bible or
Torah


Connection with the
Christian bible?
Rabbis
Basic Beliefs of Judaism:


There is only one god
who watches over his
people.
God protects his
people, but also holds
them accountable for
their sins.

A person serves god
by studying the torah
and living its
teachings.
Confucianism:


Not known how
many followers
Confucius was the
founder



Some say the main
deity as well
Holy books include
Analects and 5
Classics
No clergy
Basic Beliefs of Confucianism:


Strong family
relationships
Social order, harmony
and good government

Education is very
important