THESE ARE THE RELIGIONS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS SEMESTER No specific origin or founder Gods are in male and female form and represent many different things Karma, what comes around goes around good actions have good effects, bad actions have bad effects Moksha is when an enlightened human being is freed from the cycle of life-and-death (the endless cycle of death and reincarnation) and comes into a state of completeness. He then becomes one with God. Samsara-reincarnation Sculptures;images;Home shrines;Meditation;Ayurveda;Hatha Yoga;Kundalini Yoga;Puja (Pooja) Raksha Bandhan;Krishna Janmashthami;Ganesh Chaturthi;Shiv Ratri;The Onam Carnival;Vasant Panchami;Guru Purnima;Karwa Chauth;Bhai Dooj;Vasanta Navaratri;The Kumbh & Ardhkumbh londonessays.com Beginning of this world and of life is inconceivable, since they have neither beginning nor end do not believe in the concept of a personal God Dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a formulation that is central to Buddhist philosophy Conditions which arise in the mind, producing results initially in the mind, and from there to external actions and physical features. Good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life. Salvation is liberation from such bondage through the transformation of our consciousness and our awakening to our true nature. The Buddhist path to salvation does not go through prayers, but is rather based on deeds including mental culture through meditation. For a Buddhist salvation is reaching Nirvana. The Buddhist view is that there is no soul, as it is understood in the Judeo-Christian or scholastic philosophy traditions. after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated) or enters nirvana Meditation;Mantras;Mudras;Prayer wheels • Buddhist New Year • Buddha’s Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja • Songkran-(essentially a cleansing of life by cleaning homes and washing clothes etc.) • The Ploughing Festival(May, when the moon is half-full, two white oxen pull a gold painted plough, followed by four girls dressed in white who scatter rice seeds from gold and silver baskets. This is to celebrate the Buddha’s first moment of enlightenment) • Loy Krathong: When the rivers and canals are full of water, this festival takes place in all parts of Thailand on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month. Bowls made with leaves, candles, and incense sticks, are placed in the water, and represent bad luck disappearing. londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com It makes some reference to the origin of the world through the interaction of the forces of Ying and Yang. There are no stories about the origin of human beings. They believe that God is loving and benign The purpose of existence is to reach one’s highest potential as a human being. Through a rigorous process of self-cultivation that lasts a lifetime, one may eventually become a “perfected person.” Suffering and evil are inevitable in human life, and can promote learning and growth. A mistake is not a “sin,” but an opportunity to learn and do better next time. Confucians don’t ordinarily hold convictions about the individual salvation or condemnation of persons past this life. Death is neither dreaded nor desired in Daoism rather a person appreciates living. Confucianism regards both life and death as a responsibility to society, while Daoism (Taoism) holds that both life and death should be in conformity to nature. Aside from its important ethical principles, Confucianism does not prescribe any specific rituals or practices. These are filled by the practices of Chinese religion, Taoism, Buddhism, or other religion which Confucians follow. · The 28th day of September is the birthday of Confucius. · The Chinese Ching Ming Festival, also called, Ancestor Day · The Qufu International Confucius Festival is celebrated annually between September 26th and October 10 londonessays.com londonessays.com In the Kojiki it states: ” At the time of the beginning of heaven and earth” and does not refer to whatever may have preceded the separation of Heaven and Earth, but simply suggests that something already existed Kami are the spirits or phenomena that are worshipped in the religion of Shinto. They are elements in nature, animals, creationary forces in the universe, as well as spirits of the revered deceased. Many Kami are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans, and some ancestors became Kami upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of Kami in life. In Shintō it is commonly said that “man is kami’s child.” Purity is at the heart of Shinto’s understanding of good and evil. The concept of salvation is based on the belief that all living things have an essence, soul or spirit known as “kami.” After death, a person becomes a spirit-deity, eventually joining in a great ancestral collective which is the manifestation of the great Divine. Shinto followers place little emphasis on death and what happens after it Shinto rituals are a central component of most of the national festivals in Japan, as well as of the more specialized events at particular shrines and other sacred sites. Most often they are performed by male priests who are assisted by a female shrine functionary called a miko, who often is a shaman. The main Shintō rites and festivals are for celebrating the New Year, child birth, coming of age, planting and havest, weddings, and groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com A Divine singular God made all that exists He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. Judaism completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by Satan or some other deity. Humans were created in the image of God. People have the ability to choose which impulse to follow: the good impulse or the evil impulse. That is the heart of the Jewish understanding of free will. In Judaism good and evil are spoken of as light and darkness. Salvation comes from the Lord and is a favor bestowed upon the nation as a whole. Jewish teachings on the subject of afterlife are sparse: The Torah, the most important Jewish text, has no clear reference to afterlife at all. · Circumcision · Havdalah (includes Havdalah service) · Kashrut (dietary traditions: keeping kosher) · Shabbat – considered the most important of all Jewish holidays · Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year · Yom Kippur – Jewish Day of Atonement · Sukkot – seven–day festival celebrates the fall harvest · Shemini Atzeret – a festive day after the week-long festival of Sukkot · Hanukkah – 8–day Jewish winter festival londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com Christianity inherited the Jewish cosmology that God is the creative force, or power, and created everything himself. God created all things through a series of acts, or methodology, described in the Bible. God is unique, distinct, and unlike any other concept of God. There is only one God, and God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all the same God. Each person is a unique individual and has the power to act under his/her own will. By design, human beings are in relation. They are in relation to their environment, to God, to their ne
ighbors, and to the larger human community. All goodness flows from God’s inherent character, and evil is refusing to submit to s authority and love and serve m. Christians hold that moral evil stems from rebellion against God, which results in injustice, vanity, pride, dishonesty, aggression, violence, greed and more. Salvation is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion. As the judge of all, God will assess each individual’s relationship to Christ; people risk a sentence of eternal punishment and spiritual death, forever separated from God. Majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven, in which the deceased enjoy the presence of God and loved ones for eternity. A small majority of Christians believe in hell, a place of suffering where unbelievers or sinners are punished. Catholic Christians also believe in purgatory, a temporary place of punishment for Christians who have died with unconfessed sins. Nearly all Christians will have been baptized, either as an infant or as an adult, and regularly participate in communion. The cross is important to Christianity as well as Jesus Christ’s depiction of being hung upon that cross. Lent, Easter and Christmas are the main religious festivals of the Christian Year. The most important Christian holiday is Easter, a spring festival that celebrates Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The 40 days prior to Easter form the Lenten season, a time of fasting and repentance. Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25. londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com Allah, the supreme being created everything and everyone Although the God of Islam has revealed his will through the prophets, his actual nature remains ultimately unknowable. He is transcendent and not a part of his creation, and is most often referred to in terms and with names that emphasize his majesty and superiority. Muslims believe humans are the greatest of all creatures, created with free will for the purpose of obeying and serving Allah. The Islamic definitions of good and evil are based on the purposes of creation and the meaning of human life. The ultimate goal of human life is to become perfected spiritually through belief in God, the knowledge of God, the love of God, and the worship of God. Whatever brings a person closer to God and will benefit him in the Next World is good, and whatever takes a person away from God, and incur s anger is evil. In Islam, the purpose of life is to live in a way that is pleasing to Allah so that one may gain Paradise. Unbelievers (“those who are ungrateful”) and sinners will be condemned, but genuine repentance results in Allah’s forgiveness and entrance into Paradise upon death. Islam teaches that no one can gain salvation simply by virtue of their belief or deeds, instead it is the Mercy of God, which merits them salvation. Islamic doctrine holds that human existence continues after the death of the human body in the form of spiritual and physical resurrection. Faith in life after death is one of the six fundamental beliefs required of a Muslim to complete his faith. Rejecting it renders all other beliefs meaningless. The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic arkan ud-Din, “pillars of the faith”) are the five religious duties expected of every Muslim. · Shahada – The first of the Five Pillars Shahada is the Muslim profession of faith, expressing the two simple, fundamental beliefs that make one a Muslim: There is no god but God and Muhammad is the prophet of God. · Salat – ritual prayer which is performed five times a day: at dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and evening. · Alms tax (zakat) · Sawm – fasting, commemorates the revelation of the Quran to humanity during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year. · Hajj – At least once in his or her lifetime, each Muslim is expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, the sacred city of Islam. Before performing certain rituals, most importantly before prayers, Muslims are expected to perform a form of purification Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal): The Celebration concluding Ramadan. Ramadan, the month of fasting, ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr. Literally the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” Eid al-Fitr is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations (Eid al-Adha is the other). Al-jra, the Islamic New Year, is celebrated on the first day of Muharram, the month in which Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina. Ashura is an Islamic holiday observed on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year. londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com Sikhism teaches that only the creator knows the origin of the universe. Sikhism teaches the existence of one God, Ik Onkar. First Guru Nanak taught that the creator and creation are inseparable in the way that an ocean is made up of its individual drops. Sikhs perceive human life as an opportunity to merge with the divine will. However, the core problem is that human judgment is occluded by a false sense of self. Only humans know the difference between right and wrong, and can make moral choices In order to attain salvation one must live a honest life and meditate on God. Sikhism shows the way to attain salvation and become One with God. Sikhism instructs that you do not have to fast, abstain, go on renunciation or enter a monastery in order to meet God. All you have to do is have faith, recite the Name of God and remember m for each possible moment. Sikhs do not believe in an afterlife in either Heaven or Hell. Sikhism teaches that the soul reincarnates when the body dies. Sikhs believe that good or bad actions, in this life, determine the life form into which a soul takes rebirth. Baptism – Amrit; Marriage – Anand Karaj; Naming of Children Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday; Maghi; Hola Maholla; Vaisakhi; Martyrdom of Guru Arjan; Celebration of the Guru Granth Sahib; Guru Nanak’s Birthday; Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com londonessays.com There is a higher being of some form. Most believe that God is a higher being that is benevolent and all seeing human nature is that of a multitude of choices in life and choices are made based on one’s beliefs good and evil exist everywhere, and choices are where we make the choice between good and evil based on our life’s choices Salvation can be achieved by attempting to live a modest, humble life and doing as much good as possible. Afterlife is extremely varied. Some do not believe and others believe in a place similar to the heaven described in Christianity and some also believe in a hell. Practices and rituals are very different from religion to religion. Some believe in meditation, smoking marijuana, wearing certain colors, etc. The celebrations are small and commonly unheard of. THIS IS THE ACTUAL ASSIGNMENT: Choose ONE (1) category (origin of all things, nature of god, view of human nature, view of good and evil, etc.) from the chart to focus on for this assignment. Consider how the selected category relates to all of the religions covered and to your own social or work experiences. Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you: .