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Religion

Cosmogony - Origin of the Universe

Nature of God

View of Human Nature

View of Good and Evil

View of “Salvation”

View of After Life

Practices and Rituals

Celebrations and Festivals

Week 2

Hinduism and Jainism

Vedas

Hindus believe that there is one true god, the spirit called Brahman.

Man is divine according to the Vedas. Man is also animal.

Sattva- Gods, Orders, Balance, Selflessness.

Tamas- Demons, Chaos, Extreme, Selfishness

Self-Realization,

Salvation is for all.

After life is a reward or punishment for their conduct during life.

Chola rule were interwoven with the royal family’s authority.

The central act of Hindu worship is puja, a ritual to engage the gods.

Diwali - Festival of Lights

Holi - Festival of Colors

Week 3

Buddhism

The creation, duration, dissolution, and state of being.

Buddhists don't believe in God or believe that the existence or non-existence of God is irrelevant.

Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, or arising, which shows how poisonous mental states give rise to suffering.

The Buddhist understanding is that good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life. This view makes it hard to label a person or group as good or evil. Every person is capable of good, or evil.

To reach Nirvana you must follow the Noble Eightfold Path

Heaven

Human Life

Asura

Hungry Ghost

Animals

Hell

Bowing

Chanting

Lighting- Incense

Altar-Offerings

Meditation

Buddhist New Year

Vesak

Magha Puja Day

Asalha Puja Day

Week 4

Daoism and

Confucianism

Two great religious and philosophical systems of China and Asia.

God is All, All is God

Humans should respect those who are superior to them.

Humans should just follow the Tao.

If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. This is what is meant by the saying that human nature is good. If a man does evil, it's not the fault of his natural endowment.

To have a structured society.

To be one with nature.

To be worshipped by one's descendants and their families.

The soul lives on.

Visit to temples to pay homage to Ti'en “God or Heaven”, Confucius, and ancestors; To practice ”Jing zuo” Quiet Sitting

Visit to shrines, to pay homage to Taoist deities; Tai Chi.

Chinese New Year, Teacher Day, Ancestor Day.

Chinese New Year,

Three Day Festival of the Dead, Lantern Festival

Week 5

Shinto

Numerous deities. The sun is one of the most important ones. They believe that the sun is a goddess.

Numerous deities.

Human beings are believed to be born pure, with a gentle and clear disposition.

Purity is at the heart of Shinto's understanding of good and evil.

Impurity in Shinto refers to anything which separates them from kami

By serving the Kami.

Yomi

Visit to shrines to pay homage to Shinto deities; Shamanism

The main Shinto festivals are for celebrating the New Year, child birth, coming of age, planting and havest, weddings, and groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings.

Week 6

Judaism

The Levant

God is the one True Creator. God has always existed, none existed before him and will exist forever. He transcends life and death.

You must choose good from bad. You are responsible for your actions, not thoughts.

In Judaism we do not see it as there being a conflict between good and evil. Some ancient religions believed that there are two forces in the universe, one good and one evil, and that they are constantly warring with each other.

Through belief in God, good deeds, complete faith.

World to come, Reincarnation some groups, unifying with God, there are different opinions and beliefs

Tefillah (prayer)

Talmud Torah (learning of a wide range of traditional texts, with a special emphasis on Chasidic and other mystically-oriented texts)

Jewish mindfulness meditation

Embodied practices, including yoga and singing

Tikkun middot (developing desirable personal and communal traits)

Sabbath, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu BiShvat, Purim, Passover, Lag BaOmer, Shavout. Holidays given by God or historical events, Israeli holidays. Holocaust remembrance.

Week 7

Christianity

Roman province of Judea

One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Man has inherited original sin from Adam. Mankind then is inherently evil and is in need of forgiveness of sin. By knowing right and wrong Christians choose their actions. Humans are a fallen, broken race in need of salvation and repair by God.

Many Christians hold that moral evil stems from rebellion against God, which results in injustice, vanity, pride, dishonesty, aggression, violence, greed and more.

Christianity believes in a benevolent God who created the universe and all things in it…God's plan for creation is rooted in divine goodness.

Through Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Eternity in Heaven or Hell, in some cases temporal Purgatory.

Christmas (celebration of the birth of Jesus), Good Friday (death of Jesus), Sunday (day of rest),

Easter (resurrection of Jesus), Lent (Catholicism), saints' feast days.

Week 8

Islam

Arabian Peninsula, Mecca at Mount Hira.

Only one God.

Human beings are not believed to be inherently sinful, but are seen as equally capable of both good and evil. Islam also teaches that faith and action go hand-in-hand.

Human evil and natural evil can often work together, with human evil making natural evil worse – or better! For example, the suffering caused by an earthquake or floods can be made worse by people looting, but it can be made more bearable by people showing compassion and making personal sacrifices to help those who are suffering.

Belief in one God, remembrance of God, repentance, fear of God and hope in God's mercy.

A Muslim and all the beings will be accountable to Allah on the Day of Judgement.

Five pillars: Testament that there is one God and Muhammad is his messenger (shahadah); prayer five times daily; fast during Ramadan;

charity to the poor (zakat); pilgrimage (Hajj).

Week 9

Sikhism

Punjab, in an area which was partitioned into modern-day Pakistan. Sikhs are now predominant in Indian-Punjab.

Monotheism

People are essentially good; the divine spark within them needs only to be fanned into a flame of goodness. Sinning is following the veil of illusion "Maya". Karma is unavoidably paid f you sin.

Only humans know the difference between right and wrong, and can make moral choices. So it is only when the soul is in a human being that the cycle can be broken. Freedom from this cycle of rebirth is called mukti.

Good actions do lead to good karma. However, Guru Nanak preached that the birth is due to a person’s karma, but the final liberation (mukti) is due to God’s grace.

Worship God, do Good Deeds in the name of God, performing service for community. Fight 5 evils (5 sins) - Greed, Ego, Attachment, Anger, and Lust. Meditate, pray, and improve your relationship with God and God will forgive, cleanse, and save you.

A constant cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment is reached. Sikhs believe that there are 8,400,000 forms of life and that many souls have to travel though a number of these before they can reach Waheguru. The goal is to merge with God.

Daily prayers. The three pillars of Sikhism are: a) To remember God at all times which includes being thankful to God for what you have been given, b) To live your life honestly/with integrity and c) Sharing what you have with those less fortunate.

Dates that have historical significance such as Vasaikhi and Gurpurabs are celebrated with Prayers in Gurdwaras.

Week 10

New Religious Movements