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World Religions
CategoriesUniversalizing or
ChristianityIslamBuddhismBaha’i
EthnicJudaismHinduismConfucianismShintoism
Monotheistic orChristianityIslamJudaism
PolytheisticHinduismVodum (Voodoo)
Syncretic or
Orthodox
Universalizing
• Religions that – claim applicability to all humans and – that seek to transmit their beliefs
through missionary work and conversions
– And who choose to make some sort of symbolic commitment
Christianity• Jesus• Universalizing• Spread through the Roman Empire
– Roads– Military
• Expansion Diffusion– Hierarchical Diffusion: Rome– Contagious Diffusion– 2 Billion followers
Christian Diffusion
Christian Branches
• Roman Catholic• Eastern Orthodox – relocation
diffusion– Russian, Armenian, Greek– Coptic
• Protestant– Denominations: Baptist, Lutheran,
Methodist, Presbyterians, Episcopal– etc.
Islam
• 570 – 632 Muhammad• 622 – The migration or journey
of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Makkah (In Saudi Arabia) to Madinah - Universalizing
• Expansion Diffusion– Hierarchical along trade
routes • Relocation Diffusion – 39
countries• World’s fastest growing religion-
1.3 Billion followers
Branches of Islam
• Sunni– The majority– Supported caliphs that were not related to
Muhammad
• Shi’ite or Shi’a– Concentrated in Iran– Caliphs should be related to Muhammad– Believe the imams are without sin & are infallible
• Sufis– Primarily in Indonesia– More mystic, less conservative
Islamic Diffusion
Buddhism
• Founded by Siddhartha Guatama – a Hindu priest – 6th cen. BC
• Four Noble Truths
1. All of life is marked by suffering.
2. Suffering is caused by desire and attachment.
3. Suffering can be eliminated.
4. Suffering is eliminated by following the Noble Eightfold Path
• Contagious Diffusion- Universalizing• Was once state religion of India – few followers
now- 360 Million worldwide• The concept Buddha
was absorbed into Hinduism
Buddhism• Theravada (Vehicle of the Elders)
– Personal salvation– Closer to original
• Mahayana (Greater Vehicle)– “In the process of the proselytic spread,
particularly in China and Japan, Buddhism fused with native ethnic religions such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintoism to form syncretic faiths that fall in the Mahayana division of Buddhism” Human Mosaic 78.
• Vajrayana (Diamond Vehicle)– Dalai Lama– Also called Tantrayana or Lamaism – Tibet & Mongolia
Baha’i
• Founded in Persia (Iran) in 1844• Universalizing
• To overcome the disunity of religions and establish a universal faith-emphasizes the spiritual unity of humankind
• 8 mil. Primarily in Africa & Asia
• God is unknowable – except through manifestations of prophets such as: Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha, Krishna, * Bahá'u'lláh
Sikhism• 1500’s – attempt to unify Hindu & Islam• Universalizing• NW India region of Punjab• Never cut beard or hair, wear turbans• Militant• "A Sikh is any woman or man whose faith
consists of belief in one God, the ten Gurus, the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib and of the ten Gurus, who has faith in the amrit of the tenth Guru, and who adheres to no other religion." --Rahit Maryada (Religion Facts)
Sikhism
Sikh at the Golden Temple of Amritsar, Punjab.http://www.religionfacts.com/sikhism/
Ethnic
• Religions that have – strong territorial and – cultural group identification, – usually one become a member by birth
or – by adoption of a complex lifestyle and
cultural identity,– not merely by a statement of faith
(Fellman, 157)
Hinduism
• World’s oldest religion – 4000+ yrs old
• Ethnic• Hindus believe in karma, the law of
cause and effect by which each individual creates his or her own destiny by thoughts, words or deeds.
• Understanding Hindu Traditions
Hinduism
• 850 mil. – 1 bil. Followers• Contagious Diffusion – India
– Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka
• Relocation Diffusion– Eastern Europe,
N. America
Judaism
• Original Abrahamic religion• Ethnic• 4000 yrs. Old• Has territorial & political identity• 13-14 million followers world wide
• Power of Place: Jerusalem
Judaism
• Branches– Sephardim
• Iberian Pen. – expelled 15th cen.• Ties to N. Africa & Babylonian Jews
– Ashkenazim• Western & Central Europe• Most came to US
Shinto
• “The Way of the Gods”
• Traditional religion of Japan-Ethnic
• Worship of nature & ancestors
• Complex set of deities – inc. Emperor
CONFUCIANISM
• K’ung Fu-tzu– Compiler of traditional wisdom– Lived in time of Gautama Buddha
• No Churches or Clergy• Ancestor Worship• Ethnic
TAOISM (Daoism)
• First taught by Lao-tsu in 6th c. B.C.
• Ethnic• Tao – “The Way”
– Eternal happiness lies in total identification with nature
– Deploring Passion, unnecessary invention, unneeded knowledge, and govt. interference
Tribal or Traditional
• Special form of ethnic religion• Localized culture groups• Close ties to nature
Tribal or Traditional
• Animism – belief that life exists in all objects (rocks, trees, etc.) or that such inanimate objects are the abode of the dead, of spirits, and of gods
• Ethnic
Tribal or Traditional
• Shamanism – involves community acceptance of a religious leader, healer, or worker of magic, who, through special powers, can intercede w/ and interpret the spirit world
orthodox
• Purity of faith• accepting and closely following the
traditional beliefs and customs of a religion.
• Christian, Jews, Hindu and Islam
Cultural Diffusion
• Culture hearth – religions spread through relocation and expansion diffusion (hierarchical or contagious)
• Diffusion of religions
Diffusion
• Hierarchical• Contagious• Relocation
• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Buddhism• Hinduism• Bahai
Diffusion
• Hierarchical• Contagious• Relocation
• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Buddhism• Hinduism• Bahai
Diffusion
• Hierarchical• Contagious• Relocation
• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Buddhism• Hinduism• Bahai
Diffusion
• Hierarchical• Contagious• Relocation
• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Buddhism• Hinduism• Bahai
Diffusion
• Hierarchical• Contagious• Relocation
• Judaism• Christianity• Islam• Buddhism• Hinduism• Bahai
Cultural Interaction
• Religion & the Economy– Demands for certain foods
• Wine for communion• No pigs
– Pilgrimages• Birthplaces, natural sites, settings for
miracles, administrative centers = nodes for functional regions
– Makkah & Madinah– Rome & Lourdes– Varanasi, India on the Ganges– Ise, the hearth of Shintoism
Cultural Interaction
• Religion vs. government policies– Taliban– Hinduism & the Caste system
Cultural Landscape
• Christian structures– Roman Catholics – cathedral is literally
the house of God, so the focal point and large
Protestant Structures
• Buildings are merely a place to assemble
Amish & Mennonite
Islamic Mosques
• Imposing, but not sanctified, a place of gathering
Hinduism
• Usually dedicated to one deity
Goparum
• Varanasi on the Ganges River is the holist city in Hinduism and is over 3,000 years old. As the sun rises each day worshipers come to the ghats (steps) to perform rituals, such as washing themselves, drinking the river water, and making floating offerings.
• To die here is to be released from the cycle of life -- from reincarnation and reborn. If possible, Hindus want to die here, and then be burned on one of two funeral ghats -- which are clearly identified by the large piles of firewood.
www.uwec.edu/.../India/India/Varanasi-ghats.htm
Baha’i
• Are building temples around the world to emphasize the universality of the religion
For the N. American continent
Chile
India
Buddhism
• Not designed for congregational worship
Todaiji TempleNara period, constructed 745
Shintoism
• Not designed for congregational worship