Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Basic Beliefs
Monotheistic one God
Jews are the chosen people of God,
must follow his laws.
Jerusalem/Israel are holy lands.
Who Jesus of Nazareth
Where Israel
Basic Beliefs
Jesus Christ is the son of
God
Death and resurrection
Came to redeem mankind
from sin.
Islam
Who Mohammed
Basic Beliefs
There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the
messenger of God
Quran is word of God.
Muslims must perform the Five Pillars of Faith.
TheFivePillarsofIslam
thefiveobligationsthateveryMuslimmustsatisfyin
ordertoliveagoodandresponsiblelifeaccordingtoIslam.
1.Shahadah:sincerelyrecitingtheMuslimprofessionoffaith
2.Salat:performingritualprayersintheproperwayfivetimeseach
day
3.Zakat:payinganalms(orcharity)taxtobenefitthepoorandthe
needy
4.Sawm:fastingduringthemonthofRamadan
5.Hajj:pilgrimagetoMecca
Hinduism Holy
Sound
Who Ancient priests of India (symbol)
When 5000 3000 BCE
Om(alsospelledAum)isaHindusacred
Where India soundthatisconsideredthegreatestofall
Holy Books Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita mantras.
Ommysticallyembodiestheessenceofthe
entireuniverse.Thismeaningisfurther
deepenedbytheIndianphilosophicalbelief
thatGodfirstcreatedsoundandtheuniverse
arosefromit.Asthemostsacredsound,Om
istherootoftheuniverseandeverything
thatexistsanditcontinuestohold
everythingtogether.
ReincarnationandKarma:
ExcerptsfromGroundhogDaystarringBillMurray:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hq5jZr
FTbE&list=RD02eZbtAFq7dP8
Buddhism
Who Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
When 500 BC
Where Northern India
Holy Books - Tripitaka
Major Divisions Mahayana,
Theravada
Holy Symbols -
CircleofZen
WheelofDharma
Basic Beliefs
Life is suffering, caused by wanting
things, caused by ignorance.
Reincarnation and karma
8-fold Path allows escape to Nirvana
Other Religions
Bahai: a religion founded in Iran in 1863 by Husayn Al
(called Bahaullah) teaching the essential worth of all
religions, the unity of all races, and the equality of the sexes.
Confucianism: the system of ethics, education, and
statesmanship taught by Confucius, a Chinese philosopher
and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor
worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and
conduct.
Jainism: a dualistic religion founded in the 6th century b.c. as a
revolt against current Hinduism and emphasizing the
perfectibility of human nature and liberation of the soul, esp.
through asceticism and nonviolence toward all living
creatures. In Jainism, nirvana means final release from
the karmic bondage.
Shinto: the native religion of Japan, primarily a system of
nature and ancestor worship.
Other Religions (cont.)
Sikhism: a monotheistic religion, founded in the Punjab c1500 by
the guru Nanak, that refuses to recognize the Hindu caste
system or the Brahmanical priesthood and forbids magic,
idolatry, and pilgrimages.
Taoism: the philosophical system evolved by Lao-tzu and Chuang-
tzu, advocating a life of complete simplicity and naturalness and
of noninterference with the course of natural events, in order to
attain a happy existence in harmony with the Tao.
Zoroastrianism: an Iranian religion, founded c600b.c.by Zoroaster,
the principal beliefs of which are in the existence of a supreme
deity, Ahura Mazda, and in a cosmic struggle between a spirit of
good, Spenta Mainyu, and a spirit of evil, Angra Mainyu. Pre-
Islam