Introduction to World Religions

Hinduism

Buddhism

IslamJudaism

Christianity

The following are general explanations about different world religions. Learning about various religions helps prepare people for living and working together as an interfaith service-learning community.

Buddhism What is

?

The Four Noble Truths:

1. The First Noble Truth is the existence of suffering. Birth is painful and death is painful; disease and old age are painful. Not having what we desire is painful and having what we do not desire is also painful.

2. The Second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering. It is the craving for the pleasures of the senses, which seeks satisfaction now here, now there; the craving for happiness and prosperity in this life and in future lives.

3. The Third Noble Truth is the ending of suffering. To be free of suffering one must give up, get rid of, extinguish this very craving, so that no passion and no desire remain.

4. The Fourth Noble Truth leads to the ending of all pain by way of the Eightfold Path.

Christianity What is

?

The central figure in Christianity is Jesus (or Christ), a Jew who was born to a virgin named Mary. His birth is celebrated at Christmas with hymns and gift giving. This man was not only man but also the son of God who was born sinless and lived his life without sin.

During his lifetime, Jesus performed miracles and spoke about his father in heaven. He was arrested for claiming to be God’s son and was hung on the cross by the Romans at age 33.

The suffering and death upon the cross which this sinless man endured paid for the sins of all mankind, and because of Jesus’ actions, salvation can be achieved by anyone who believes in him. This act of sacrifice is remembered during Lent. Following his death, he rose from the grave and returned to the earth, appearing to his followers and telling them of the kingdom of God to which he was going. He also promised his disciples that he would return one day to bring all believers with him to that kingdom, to enjoy eternal life in the presence of God.

Hinduism What is

?

Hinduism is based on the concept that human and animal spirits reincarnate, or come back to earth to live many times in different forms. The belief that souls move up and down an infinite hierarchy depending on the behaviors they practiced in their life is visible in many of the Hindu societal policies. The caste system survives and charity towards others is unheard of because each individual deserves to be in the social class they were born in. A person is born into the highest class because they behaved well in a past life, and a person is born into poverty and shame because of misbehaviors in a past life.

Today, a Hindu can be polytheistic (believe in more than one God), monotheistic (believe in one God), pantheistic (believe that God and the universe are one), agnostic (be unsure if God exists), or atheistic (have no belief in God) and still claim to be Hindu. This open theology makes it difficult to discuss basic beliefs since there are many ideas about what Hinduism means.

However, these universal ideas must be mentioned. Central to Hinduism are the concepts of reincarnation, the caste system, merging with Brahman (or the ultimate reality), finding morality, and reaching Nirvana.

Islam What is

?

The teachings of Islam are comprised of both faith and duty (din). One branch of Muslim learning, “Tawhid”, defines all that a man should believe, while the other branch, “Shari’a”, prescribes everything that he should do. There is no priesthood and no sacraments. Except among the Sufis, Muslims receive instruction only from those who consider themselves adequately learned in theology or law.

The basis for Islamic doctrine is found in the Qur’an (Koran). It is the scripture of Islam, written by Muhammad and his disciples as dictated by the Angel Gabriel. It alone is infallible and without error. The Qur’an is comprised of 114 surahs, or chapters, arranged from longest to shortest. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the word of God, and the carrier of the revelation of Muhammad, the last and most perfect of God’s messengers to mankind.

In addition to the Qur’an, other documents are also referred to by followers of Islam. A number of additional sayings of Muhammad were compiled in the Hadith (“tradition”). The Torat (of Moses), Suhuf (books of the prophets), Zabur (psalms of David), and the Injil (gospel of Jesus) are also studied and considered to be revelations, although they are believed to have been corrupted through time.

JudaismWhat is

?

Judaism is a monotheistic religion which believes that the world was created by a single, all-knowing divinity, and that all things within that world were designed to have meaning and purpose as part of a divine order.

According to the teachings of Judaism, God’s will for human behavior was revealed to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. The Torah, or commandments, which regulate how humans are to live their lives, were a gift from God so that the Jews might live in according to His will.

The religions that are included in this presentation are among the largest religions in

the world.

For more information on these and other religions see

http://www.religionfacts.com/!

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