James Williams

MAJOR RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD

POLYTHEISTIC: BELIEF IN MANY GODS.

1. HINDUISM STARTED ABOUT 1000 B.C. IN INDIA. THE RELIGION BASED ON THE RIGA VEDA HAS OVER 500 MILLION FOLLOWERS.

2. BUDDHISM FOUNDED ABOUT 500 B.C. IN INDIA BY SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA HAS 256 MILLION FOLLOWERS WHO STUDY THE PALI CANON.

3. TAOISM BASED ON LAO-TZE'S (LAO ZI) TAO TE CHING (DAL DE JING) FROM ABOUT 500 B.C. IN CHINA AND IT HAS ABOUT 20 MILLION FOLLOWERS.

4. CONFUCIANISM BASED ON THE ANALECTS OF K'UNG FU-TZU FROM ABOUT 500 B.C. IN CHINA AND STILL HAS ABOUT 175 MILLION FOLLOWERS.

5. ZOROASTRIANISM DATES FROM PERSIA AROUND 500 B.C. AND IS BASED ON THE ZEND AVESTA OR GATHAS OF ZOROATER AND HAS ABOUT 250,000 FOLLOWERS.

6. SHINTOISM FROM THE 6TH CENTURY A.D. IN JAPAN AND IS BASED ON BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM MIXED WITH OTHER JAPANESE CULTURAL HERITAGES.

MONOTHESISM: BELIEF IN ONE GOD

1. JUDAISM OR HEBREW DEVELOPED BY 2000 B.C. IN WHAT IS NOW ISRAEL. BASED ON THE TORAH, PENTATEUCH, OR TALMUD FROM THE TEACHINGS OF ABRAHAM. TODAY JEDAISM HAS ABOUT 17 MILLION FOLLOWERS: SEVEN MILLION IN THE U.S., FOUR MILLION IN ISRAEL, AND SEVEN MILLION SCATTERED THROUGHTOUT EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD.

2. CHRISTIANITY DEVELOPED BY 30 A.D. IN ISRAEL AND IS BASED ON THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS OF NAZARETH OR JESUS CHRIST AS RECORDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE. THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 1.2 BILLION FOLLOWERS.

3. ISLAM BY 600 A.D. IN ARABIA. THE FAITH IS BASED ON THE KORAN OR QURAN THAT CONTAINS THE TEACHINGS OF MUHAMMED. ISLAM HAS ABOUT ONE BILLION FOLLOWERS.

CHRISTIANITY--SUB-DIVISIONS

1. ROMAN CATHOLIC FOUNDED IN THE FIRST CENTURY A.D. HAS ABOUT 806 MILLION+ FOLLOWERS.

2. KOPTIC/COPTIC CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA AND NORTH AFRICA WAS CREATED IN THE 7TH CENTURY BECAUSE OF THE SPREAD OF ISLAM ACROSS NORTH AFRICA.

3. EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH AFTER THE 7TH CENTURY. HAS ABOUT 74 MILLION FOLLOWERS IN EASTERN EUROPE, GREECE, AND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN. DOES NOT INCLUDE THOSE CHRISTIANS IN COMMUNISTIC COUNTRIES PRIOR TO 1989 WHO WERE UNKNOWN OR UNRECORDED.

4. PROTESTANISM--STARTED BY THE OUTLAWED CATHOLIC PRIEST JOHN WYCLIFFE OF ENGLAND AND HIS FOLLOWERS BEGINNING IN THE 1370S AND JOHN HUSS AND MARTIN LUTHER.

PROTESTANT BEGINNINGS

1370s--THE LOLLARDS (POOR PRIESTS) LEAD BY JOHN WYCLIFFE(1320-1384), A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST IN ENGLAND WHO DEMANDED AN ENGLISH BIBLE FOR THE PEOPLE.

1400-1415--MORAVIANS LEAD BY JOHN HUSS(1369-1415) IN PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA PROGAGATED WYCLIFFE'S DOCTRINES, WHOM HE HAD HEARD AS A STUDENT AT OXFORD, FOR THE CZECHS

1517--LUTHERANISM LEAD BY MARTIN LUTHER IN SWITZERLAND, WHICH SPREAD TO GERMANY AND SCANDINAVIA

1533--FRENCH HUGUENOTS AND DUTCH REFORMED CHURCHS BEGIN BASED ON THE TEACHING OF JOHN CALVIN.

1534--ANGLICAN COMMUNION STARTED BY HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND

1559--PRESBYTERIANISM BASED ON JOHN KNOX'S TEACHINGS IN SCOTLAND

1590s--ANABAPTISTS: QUAKERS, MENNONITES, AND AMISH BEGIN IN GERMANY

1635--BAPTISTS START UNDER ROGER WILLAMS IN RHODE ISLAND. LATER BE BECOMES A SEEKER

1680s--PIETISM BY GEORGE FOX IN ENGLAND: SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. THE PIETISTS OPPOSED DEISM AND ORGANIZED RELIGIONS.

1738--METHODISM IN ENGLAND BY JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY

1740s DEISM IN FRANCE AND GERMANY UNDER LEADERSHIP OF VOLTAIRE AND OTHERS

1745--CHURCH OF NEW JERUSALEM IN SWEDEN UNDER EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

1820--MORMONS/CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS FOUNDED BY JOSEPH SMITH AND LATER LEAD BY BRINGHAM YOUNG IN THE UNITED STATES

WORLD RELIGIONS


Day 1 INTRODUCTION

Hand out Study Map: location of where some religions where founded
Introduction of Monotheistic Religions:

Judaism: with background, founding, history, etc

Reform
Conservative
Orthodox

Islam: with background, founding, history, etc.

Sunni
Shiite
Wahhabya

Day 2 Continue Monotheistic religons

Christianity: with background, founding, history, etc.

Roman Catholic|
Coptic/Koptic Catholic
Orthodox Catholic
Protestant: discuss the major denominations

Sikhism

Day 3 Introduction to Polytheistic Religions with background, founding, history, etc.

Hinduism
Buddhism
Taoism
Confucianism

Day 4 Map Test: location of religions and their founding

Continue Polytheistic Religions

Shintoism
Jainism

Day 5 Power Point Presentation on Religions including pictures of structures

Introduction to some minor religions

Falun Gong
Baha'I Faith
Unification Church

Day 6 Continue minor religions and denominations

Shakers
Mormons
Jehovah Witnesses

Purposes of Religions in General as a group discussion/project: codes of conduct and morals.

Day 7 Develop a Timeline about the Religions given a list of Data

Hand out NOTES for test on Day 9

Day 8 Develop a bar graph based on data about religions

Review for test

Day 9 TEST on Religions

Background and history should include Time/Dates; Where/Location; Who/Names;Current Size/Population

WORLD RELIGIONS 2003-04

MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS All are based on Abraham and either Isaac or Ishmael

1. JUDAISM or HEBREW: Developed before 2000 BCE in what is now Israel. Based on the Torah/Pentateuch/Talmud. Today Judaism has about 18 million followers: 7 million in the US, about 5 million in Israel, and another 6 to 7 million throughout the world. The Sabbath is from sundown on Friday (about 6:30 pm)
until sundown on Saturday. The branching of Judaism occurred during the 18th and 19th Centuries:

REFORMED the least restrictive caused by enlightenment, science, and modernization
CONSERVATIVE a compromise between Orthodox and Reformed
ORTHODOX Rabbic Judaism. The most restrictive in diet and costume, all laws are kept. Yamakas are worn at all times.

2. ISLAM Based on the teachings of Mohammed (you will see various spellings) as the messenger of God beginning in 620 AD at Mecca (622 at Medina with Bedouin tribes). Quran/Koran. About 1.2 Billion followers worldwide

SUNNI the most traditional based on a true line of succession. About 80% of all Muslims.
SHIITE (minority) political party, the supporters of Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law as the
Head of the faith at Mohammed's death. About 15% of all Muslims.

WAHHABIYA an Ultra-Conservative puritanical Muslim movement. Founded in the 18th Century on the Arabian Peninsula. It is the dominant fraction in Saudi Arabi and is in conservative control with a kind of private religious police monitoring not only public but also private conformity to Islam

The FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM are as follows

1. SHANADA or recitation "there is no God but God, and Mohammed is the Messenger of God"

2. PRAYER five times a day: sun up, noon, mid afternoon, sundown, and evening facing towards Mecca. Friday is the day of Prayer and Worship

3. ALMS GIVING required to help fellow human beings; at least 2 ½ percent of income must be given for charity.

4. FAST OF RAMADAN Self-discipline as a Muslim: lack of food or water from sunup until sundown for those physically capable.

5. HAJJ pilgrimage to Mecca by any adult Muslem physically and financially capable.

3. CHRISTIANITY Jesus the Christ or Joshua the Messiah (3 or 4 BCE to 30 AD). Started in Israel.

The faith is based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded by some of his disciples in the New Testament of the Bible. By 2000 AD the number of Christians worldwide was estimated at 1.8 billion.

CHRISTIANITY--SUB-DIVISIONS

1. ROMAN CATHOLIC founded in the first century AD. Has over 800 million followers.

2. KOPTIC/COPTIC CHURCH of Ethiopia and North Africa was created in the 7th Century because of the spread of Islam across North Africa.

3. EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH after the 7th century AD. Has about 74 million followers in Eastern Europe, Greece, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Does not include those Christians in Communistic countries prior to 1989 who ere unknown or unrecorded.

4. PROTESTANISM started by the outlawed Catholic Priest John Wycliffe of England and his followers beginning in 1370s and John Huss and Martin Luther


PROTESTANT BEGINNINGS

1370s--the LOLLARDS (poor priests) lead by John Wycliffe (1320-1384), a Roman Catholic priest in England who demanded an English bible for the people.

1400-1415--MORAVIANS lead by John Huss (1369-1415) in Prague, Czechoslovakia propagated Wycliffe's doctrines, whom he had heard as a student at Oxford: demanded a vernacular Bible for the Czechs.

1517--LUTHERANISM lead by Martin Luther in Switzerland where he was a Catholic priest. His ideas spread to Germany and Scandinavia.

1533--FRENCH HUGUENOTS and DUTCH REFORMED churches begin based on the teachings of John Calvin who had been a student of Luther.

1534--ANGLICAN COMMUNION started by Henry VIII of England. Know as the Episcopal church in the United States.

1559--PRESBYTERIANISM based on John Knox's teaching in Scotland. Knox had been a student of Calvin.

1590s--ANABAPTISTS: Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish begin in Germany. They are all parts of the reformed church.

1635--BAPTISTS begun under Roger Williams in Rhode Island. Later he became a Seeker.

1680s--PIETISM by George Fox in England: included the Society of Friends which later became part of the Quakers. The Pietists opposed Deism and organized religions.

1738--METHODISM started in England by John and Charles Wesley.

1740s DEISM in France and Germany under the leadership of Voltaire and others.

1745--CHURCH OF NEW JERUSALEM in Sweden under Emanual Swedenborg.

1820--MORMONS/CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS founded by Joseph Smith and later lead by Brigham Young in the 19th Century United States.


POLYTHEISTIC RELIGIONS--RELIGIONS OF THE EAST (ASIA)

1. HINDUISM started about 1000 BCE in India. The religion is based on the Vedas including the Riga Veda. Although the religion has 330+ deities they are all considered to be a part of the one ultimate reality: Brahma, and as a result Hinduism is also considered Monotheistic by some. About 2500 BCE the Aryans invaded the Indus River Valley bringing with them 1000 hymns known as the Veda that praised God. Hindu is a mispronunciation of Indus (river) by outsiders. The Pantheon of Gods is divided into 1) Celestial Gods, 2) Earth or Terrestial Gods, and 3) Atmospheric Gods. In Hindusim the ATMAN (or soul) takes another form when the body dies. This is call reincarnation or transmigration of the soul in western cultures. A person's Karma during their lifetime controls the six main possibilities of rebirth: 1) divinity, 2) titan, 3) human, 4) ghostly specter, 5) animal, and 6) the worst of all a creature in hell. The concept of Karma: the bad things that stick to your soul during your lifetime actually comes from a different religion: Jainism. Hinduism's major gods are Shiva the destroyer, Vishnu the preserver, and Brahma the oldest god and superior. Hinduism is the religion with the caste system; 1) Brahmans--priest and intellectual leaders; 2) warriors and government officials; 3) merchants and business people; 4) servants and manual laborers; and f) untouchables or excluded. Hinduism has between 800 million and 1 billion followers.

2. BUDDHISM began in Nepal by a prince Siddharta Gautama from a small Tibetan Republic. He is known as
"The Enlightened One" or Buddha. Buddhism has no separate God so actually should probably be considered a philosophy. Under Buddhist beliefs "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional." 500 monks wrote down the Buddha's teaching in Pali Canon in both Pali and Sanskirt. Most of the myths about Buddha were written about 100 years after his death at age 80. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are:

1. The Truth of suffering--Dukkha
2. The Truth of the origin of suffering--Samudaya
3. The Truth of the Cessation of suffering--Nirodha
4. The Truth of the path that leads to cessation--Magga

Magga is known as the "Middle Way" or "Middle Path" and refers to the Noble Eightfold Path:

1. Right understanding WISDOM (panna)
2. Right thought
3. Right speech ETHICAL CONDUCT (sila)
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort MENTAL DISCIPLINE (samadhi)
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

3. TAOISM based on the writings of Lao-Tze/Lao-zi in the Tao Te Ching (pronounced Dal De Jing) from about j500 BCE in China and has about 20 million followers today. Lao-Tze was an old man when Confucius was young.

4. CONFUCIANISM is based on the Analects of K'ung Fu-tzu from about 500 BC in China. Outlawed by the Communist and degraded in importance early by the Republic before that the philoosphy still has about 175 million followers.

5. SHINTOISM is the traditional religion of Japan. The title means "way of the spirits/gods/kami". It is a nature Worship kind of thing with 8 million kami or spirits: trees, mountains, brooks, etc. It is pantheistic: God is everywhere. It developed by the 6th Century AD in Japan and is based on Buddhism and Hinduism mixed with older Japanese cultural heritages.

6. JAINISM is a belief in absolute non-violence. Every member is either a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman. They Respect all forms of life. A very rigid group who can actually fast to death by refusing to kill anything including plants for food. The goal of a Jainist is Moksha or liberation from the cycle of rebirth so they can go to be with God.


MINOR RELIGIONS and other Sects


1. FALUN GONG/Wheel of Dharma. A Chinese movement founded by Li Hongzhi in 1992. Draws on ancient Practices in Chinese tradition; mainly Taoist and Buddhist. With a membership of about two million Chinese, plus overseas, the followers, who claim not to be an organization keep in contact, partly achieved through the internet.

2. BAHA I FAITH Founded by Bahaullah in the 1860s claiming to be the promised one of all religions and preaching a global socio-religious reform. Bahaullah drew followers from another offshoot of Islam called the Babis from the 1st half of the 19th Century. It is monotheistic and since the 1950s has grown to about 5 million followers. But God is considered completely transcendental and unknowable. The religious doctrine centers on a series of "Manifestations of God" who include Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Gautama/Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad, and Bab.

3. UNIFICATION CHURCH Sun Myung Moon (b. 1920). Popularly known as the Moonies. Claimed to experienced a vision of Jesus Christ on Easter Day, 1936, and then communicated with other religious leaders over the next nine years including: Buddha and Moses. This is the religion that has the mass marriages.

4. SHAKERS United Society for Believers in Christ's Sacred Appearing. The sect was founded by Ann Lee (1736-84). In 1758 she converted to Shaking Quakers. As Mother Ann she received revelations that she was the female counterpart of Christ. By 1840 the sect had about 6000 members in twenty communities, but is now down to four ladies in their 90s (they are sisters).Shakers do not reproduce because the abstain totally from sexual relations.

5. MORMONS/CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS. Should more likely be considered a mainstream denomination of Protestant Christianity. Founded by Joseph Smith (1805-44) and the Book of Mormon. In 1822 the angel Moroni revealed to Smith where golden tablets were to be found, on which were written Gods words. The book tells of Christ coming to American after the Resurrection to establish religious order and truth. Under persecution and opposition for their beliefs and for polygamy (the early church attracted many more females than males the Mormons moved several times. Smith was arrested and killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois. Most Mormons then followed Brigham Young (1801-77) to the Salt Lake area of what is now Utah which at that time was a part of Mexico.

6. JEHOVAH WITNESSES A sect derived from Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) emphasizing Biblical lieration and the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. To the Witnesses Jesus is not god, but the son of God, the first of his creations. The "Battle of Armageddon" will begin the promise of God's Kingdom on Earth. The Battle according to Russell and the early Witnesses the "Battle" was predicted for 1914.

WORLD RELIGIONS STUDY GUIDE 2003-04

IDENTIFY THE HOLY SCRIPTURES OF: IDENTIFY THE CHURCH FOR EACH PERSON:
BUDDHISM SIDDHARTA GUATAMA
CHRISTIANITY MOHAMMED
CONFUCIANIAM LAOTZE/LAOZI
HINDUISM K'UNG FU-TZU
ISLAM JESUS OF NAZARETH
JUDAISM/HEBREW ABRAHAM AND ISAAAC
MORMONS  
TAOISM  
   
IDENTIFY CHURCH FOR EACH PERSON: IDENTIFY THE MODERN COUNTRY FOR EACH RELIGION:
ROGER WILLIAMS MORMONS AND BAPTISTS
JOHN & CHARLES WESLEY LUTHERANS
CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL METHODIST AND ANGLICAN
JOSEPH SMITH HINDUISM
JOHN KNOX ISLAM
MARTIN LUTHER CONFUCIANISM AND TAOISM
"MOTHER ANN" LEE CHRISTIANITY AND JUDAISM/HEBREW
HENRY VIII BUDDHISM

1. ON WHAT CONTINENT WHERE MOST RELIGIONS FOUNDED?

2. WHAT IS THE NEWEST OR MOST RECENT BRANCH OF CHRISTIANITY?

3. WHICH EASTERN RELIGION IS A NATURE WORSHIP?

4. WHAT MODERN CHURCHES/SECTS WERE FOUNDED ON THE NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT?

5. WHAT IS THE NEWEST MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION?

6. WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON THREAD RUNNING THROUGH MOST RELIGONS?

7. WHAT THREE RELIGIONS ARE BASED ON AN ANGEL'S SPEAKING TO ABRAHAM, ALSO KNOWN AS ABRAM?

8. WHAT IS THE STRICTEST BRANCH OF JUDAISM?

9. WHAT CHRISTIAN SECT IS DYING OUT BECAUSE ITS MEMBERS ABSTAIN FROM SEX EVEN FOR REPRODUCTION?

10. WHAT ASIAN GROUP MIGHT FAST THEMSELVES TO DEATH BECAUSE OF THEIR RESPECT FOR ALL LIVING THINGS--EVEN PLANTS?

11. WHAT RELIGION IS BASED ON HINDUISM AND EARLY JAPANESE CULTURAL HERITAGE?

12. NAME THE MAJOR MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS(3):

13. NAME THE MAJOR POLYTHEISTIC RELIGIONS(6):