LESSON 1:

Religion

 is an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship God

 comes from word “religare” means “to tie or bind”
 It indicates the two objectives of religion
1. To bind humanity and the divine together
2. To bind humans into a community that is bound with the divine.

Major World Religions

 CHRISTIANITY- 2.3 Billion

 ISLAM- 1.8 Billion
 HINDUISM- 1.1 Billion
 BUDDHISM- 500 M
 JUDAISM- 14.7 M

The origin of Religion

1. The Human Quest for Meaning

 Understanding our world and our experience
2. The Quest of Purpose
 Motivation to live a life which promotes human wholeness in accordance with
meaning discovered.
3. The Quest for Salvation
 Search to be free from the feeling of disharmony deep within human person

Belief system or Worldview – A particular way of ordering the realities of one’s world

Elements of belief system

1. MONISTIC – all is one

2. POLYTHEISTIC – many Gods ( Hinduism)
3. MONOTHEISTIC - one God ( Judaism, Christianity, Islam)
4. ATHEISTICS- no Go, does not believe in God
5. AGNOSTICISM – God is unkwon

Spirituality

 It comes with the term “spiritual” and being defined as “relating or affecting the
human spirit or souls as opposed to material or physical things”
 It is derived from latin word “spiritus” ( verb root spirare) means “to breath”
 People get attracted to Spirituality and embark on their spiritual journeys for
different reasons, Generically, there are a few main reasons for this.
 Curiosity about the spiritual dimension
 When facing a problem in
 Interested in spirituality healing
 Interested in personality improvement
 Wanting to grow spirituality
Located directly south of Eastern Europe, contains of some of the world’s most desolate
environments. The Arabian Peninsula situated on the north eastern part of Africa is almost
completely a baking hot desert were no plants can thrive.

Topography of West Asia is characterized by vast areas of mountains terrains

Mountains – plays significant roles in many religious beliefs: ideal setting where Gods lives or where
Gods and mortals meet.

In the Judeo- Christian region of West Asia and Egypt, there are four sacred mountains listed below

1. Mount Ararat
 Eastern part of Turkey
 Landing place of Noah’s Ark
2. Mount Sinai
 Sinai Peninsula in Egypt
 Moses received ten commandments
3. Mount Zion/ Mount Moriah
 Jerusalem
 Known as city of David nd Temple Mount

4. Mount Tabor
 Israel
 Site of transfiguration of Jesus Christ

Temple Mount

- One of the most sacred sites in the world revered by the Jews, Christians, and Muslims
- Jewish people consider the Temple mount as their Holiest Shrine

Vast expanse of desert and bodies of water in West Asia also figure significantly in biblical history.

 From the book of Exodus

- Yam Suph being crossed by the Israelites as they escaped from Egyptian lands.
- Present day – Red sea
- Modern day – Sea of Reeds
 Dead Sea
- Landlocked salt lake between Israel and Jordan
 Invasion from people originating Macedonia and central Asia have added diversity to Indian’s
population and complexity to its culture ( Wolpert 1993)
 Because sweltering heat is one major feature of India’s ecological setting, it is no wonder the
Hindus revere the Surya and Agni
- Surya – sun
- Agni – fire
- Revere- feel deep of respect or admiration
 Water also plays a major role on the Indians psyched as evidenced by Hindus venerating a
God of Water and celestial oceans (VARUNA)

Culture

- Set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or
organization.
 - Religions involves socities whose cultural norms must be compatible with the tenets of the
religion

Incompatible of Religion and Culture

 Most likely the religion would be changed rather than the Culture

Mahattava or “ moral sense “

 Shapes our moral thinking by defining what we consider right and wrong, which ultimately
shapes how we want to be happy in this life.

LESSON 3:

IMPORTANT DATES ON THE ORIGIN OF WORLD RELIGIONS

 C. 2000 BCE- time of Abraham, the patriarch of Israel

 C. 1200 BCE- time of Moses, the Hebrew leader of exodus
 C. 1100-500 BCE- Hindus compiled their holy text, the Vedas
 C. 563-88 BCE- time of buddha, founder of Buddhism
 C. 551-479 BCE- time of Confucius, founder of Confucianism
 C. 200 BCE- the hindu book, Bhagavad Gita, was written
 C. 2 to 4 BCE- 32 CE- time of Jesus Christ, the Messiah founder of Christianity
 C. 32 CE- the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
 C. 40-90 CE- the new Testament was written by the followes of Jesus Christ
 C. 100 CE- beginings of Shintoism (no known founder)
 C. 500-580 CE- time of Lao Tzu, founder of Daoism
 C. 570-632 CE- time of Muhammad, who recorder the Q’ran as the basis of Islam

The Patriarch Abraham

 Played a major role in the establishment of the three monotheistic religions: namely
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, which account for more than half of the world’s total
population. As such, these organized religions are collectively known as ABRAHAMIC
RELIGIONS
 The importance of Abraham in these three religions lies in the fact that the patriarch appears
as an elemental (primary) figure for monotheistic belief system and a paragon (exemplar) for
extreme devotion.

Commonalities of Abrahamic Religion

1. They all worship one supreme being.

 Ancient hewbrews- Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh
 Present day Judaism- “lord” or “god”
2. Prophets and apostlest play major roles
 Judaism has 48 prophets and 7 prophetsses
 Early prophets include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Joshua
 Christianity has 12 apostles, some of whom wrote parts of the New Testament
 Islam believes that Muhammad is the final prophet or the “Seal of the Prophets”
3. Prior to the establishment as organized religions, the role of divine revelation or
intervention is associated among their progenitors (ancestors)
 God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to Mount Moriah.
  God presented the 10 commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai
 God sacrificed his son Jesus Christ through crucifixion as the plan to salvation.
 God commanded Muhammad to establish a new religion at a cave in Mount Hira

Eastern Religions

 HINDUISM
 BUDDHISM
 CUNFUCIUNISM
 DAOISM
 SHINTOISM

BUDDHISM

 Buddhism originated in India around 500 BCE

 About 6% of the world’s population today is Buddhist
 Buddhism is the fourth religion in the world, though its large numbers of followers are found
in Southern and Eastern Asia.

BUDDHA

 Siddharta Guatama was a rich man who led a life of luxury; however, he was troubled by the
poverty and suffering that he saw around him
 He became monk and traveled around India for years, hoping to find out why people had to
suffer.
 After meditating about the unhappiness of man, he finally thought he understood what had
to be done
 He felt that people could find peace only if they could reject greed and desire.
 He traveled all over India to share his enlightenment with others and he was called Buddha,
or “The Enlighted One”

One of the earliest statues of Buddha- circa 1st-2nd century CE.

Sarnath- where buddha gave his first sermon

Basic Beliefs

 Buddha taught that there were Four Noble Truths in life ( basic instruction that teach
suffering exist in the world and humans)
 Nirvana us the ultimate goal of Buddhist
 It is a state of enlightenment where one can have happiness and peace
 In order to achieve Nirvana, a person must follow the Middle Way (eightfold path- 8rules for
conduct
 Buddhist also believe in reincarnation, a cycle of birth and rebirth, where one’s behavior in
this life determines what one becomes in the next life.

The Middle Way

1. Try to recognize the truth

2. Try not to avoid evil actions and bad people
3. Do not say things that hurt others
4. Respect your other people and their belongings
5. Choose job that does no Harm, to others
 6. Do not think evil thoughts
7. Avoid excitement or anger
8. Work at meditation, thinking carefully about what matters in life
 Buddha did not recognize God because he felt man alone could change evil into good if he
followed the Eightfold Path of the Middle Way

Mahabodhi template in India- Where budhha attained nirvana under bodhi tree

Sacred Text

 The Buddhist’ holy book is called the Tripitaka.

 It contains all of Buddha’s teachings
 Buddhists do not worship a god but rather Buddha by thanking him for his teachings and
reading the Tripitaka to become more enlighted.

Hinduism

 Hinduism developed in India around 1500 BCE

 It is one of the oldest religions in the world
 Hinduism is largely practiced in India where over 80% of Indians claim to be hindu
 Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world

Baisic Beliefs

 Hinduism does not come from the teachings of one man.

 It is based on the religion practiced by the Aryans
 Aryan priest followed complicated prayers, rituals, and hymns known as the Vedas
 Hinduism is a polytheistic
 Hindus believes that all living beings have souls
 Spme animals, like cow , are especially sacred, and Hinuds are vegetarian

DIWALI “Festival of Lights”- Hindu Celebration in India

Reincarnation

 All hindus believe in reincarnation, the idea that the soul does not die with the body, but
enters body of another being (human or animal)
 The type of life a person leads determines what life will be like
 A soul is reincarnated over and over again until it is good enough to achieve moksha
(freedom from the cycle)
 Hindus also believe that each person’s karma, or good or bad behavior, determines his fate

Caste System

 Hindus live by the caste system ( a belief that social class is hereditary and does not change
throughout a person’s life)
 The only way to change castes is to be born into a different one in the next life
 There are also divisions within each caste
 Traditional families would not let their children marry someone from another caste
 Many jobas in India are still awarded based on caste connections
  The caste system divides people into 4 main classes:

1. Brahmans ( priests and wise men)- highest class

2. Kashatriyas ( warriors, rulers, soldier) next class
3. Vaishyas (merchants, traders, small farmers)- third
4. Shudras (peasants and field workers)- last class
 A fifth case is considered even lower, the untouchables or pariahs, who do work that no one
else would do

Shintoism

 Shinto is the earliest religion in Japan

 It is unique to Japan and has not spread to other parts of the world
 Shinto means the “way of the gods”

Beliefs

 Shintoism has no rules for moral living and no concepts of a single ruling god.
 There is no single text that is followed.
 It centers on the reverence of the kami ( divine spirits that live in nature)
 Most Japanese households have a small altar where the family will offer prayers for the
spirits they hope will bless and protect them
 Shintoism stresses the virtue of cleanliness and teaches physical purity
 Shinto offers no ideas of a moral code, a god, life after death, many people who practice
Shinto also practive another religion as well

Confucianism

 Is not a religion but rather a philosophy that is often said to be the foundation of modern
Chinese culture.
 It was declared the official guiding practice for the Chinese government in 121 BCE.
 It has continued to have a great influence on Chinese government for over 2000 years

Confucius

 Was born 550 BCE, time when government was having trouble keeping order and warloads
controlled much of the land.
 He believed he knew how to bring peace to ancient china- the key was for people to behave
with good character and virtue.
 Created a moral structure for social life and politics that every people should follow
 Was not a religious prophet or leader, he saw himself as a teacher

Basic Beliefs

 Thought of as a philosophy or ethical system based on good deeds and morality rather than a
religion
 Confucius believed there were five basic relationships among men: ruler nd subject, father
nd son, husband nd wife, older brother nd younger brother, & friend nd friend
 He believed that if each relationship were based on kindness, there would be peace and
harmony in the country
 Golder Rule of Behavior was “What you do not like when done unto yourself, do not unto
others”
Sacred Text

 The four books and five classics are the authoritative books on Confucianism written before
300BCE
 There are text that illustrates the core value and belief system of Confucianism

Taoism

Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu

Origins of Taoism

 The origins are ancient, dating back to the time of Confucius: 551-479.
 Taoism’s beginnings are shrouded in mystery
 It is not certain whether the founder of Taoism, Lao tzu, ever actually existed
 There are accounts, however legendary, about Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu

 Born in 604 BCE, his name means “old master”

 He was conceived by the shootng start
 When his mother gave birth to him, he was already eighty two (82 yrs old) years old, a wise
man with flowing white hair
 He worked as a government archivist
 He became disenchanted with the corruption of government
 He left his town after taking three days to write down his words of wisdom, The Tao Te Ching

The Tao Te Ching

 Authored by Lao Tzu, it is taoism’s foundational text

 It is 81 chapters, dating back to the 3rd century bce’contains many paradoxes and profound
teachings on living in harmony with nature
 Chapter 56= Echoes of such mystery are heard repeatedly those who know do not speak;
those who speak do not know

Chuang Tzu

 Taoism’s second founder seem to have lived from 369-186 bce

 His text is as important as the tao te ching but now as well known
 He is known for his humor, profound lessons and stories
 The central theme of his work is the relatively of yhibgs; “who is to say, it asks exactly what is
goodm what ought to be done, or even who are we, when asnwers to such questions are so
dependent on particular circumstances.

The Philosopy of Tao

 Both the ultimate source and principle of order in the universe

 Tao has two components, yin and yang
 Taoism regards moral values as relative and avoids absolute moral judgements
 Taoism literature says nothing about the after life and depicts death as one of the nature’s
transformations from one state to another.
 Humans are part of the grand harmony of nature and to love in accord with the Tao is the
only way to thrive
Virtues in Taoism

 Wu-wei = primary virtue and means “non-action”. To practice wu-wei is to be so perfectly in

harmony with nature that its energy infuses and empowers the individual.
 Humility and noncompetition
 Naturalness and naturalism
 Nomaggression and passive rule
 -

Basic concepts of the religion

Philosophy of religion deals with issues concerning religion,includes analysis on the

existence of divine being or on sacred texts.
Theology - systematic study of the existence and nature of the divine
 It is a study and not formulation
Spirituality one’s integrative view of life

Concepts of religion and spirituality

Religion

 Dictated belief or conditioned mind

 God is inside the mind
 Faith- based
 Heaven is a place you go when you die
 Brick or Mortar Temple
 Goal: Salvation through one truth and one right way

Spirituality

 Belief that the divine is with us

 Personal beliefs or value system
 God is inside the heart
 Spiritual laws-based
 Heaven is a state of mind
 Human relationship/Deed
 Goal: To determine common principles, values, and ethics

Anthropological Structure of Religion

Western Religions

 Judaism
 Christianity
 Islam

Eastern Religions

 Buddhism
 Taoism
 Hinduism
 Shintoism
 Confucianism

LESSON 2:

Geography – Study of location

Geography of Faith- Laws and social norms vary by region and localities. The study about geography
of a religion may reveal some facsinationg truths why a certain country is predominated by one
particular religion why a specific region became homeland of great religions
The Western Frontier

WestAsia is home of the Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Comprising the area bored on the west by
the fertile coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and on the eats by the arid deserts of Arabia, the history
of these religions is closely linked with this region.

Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Syria

Countries closest to the eastern part of the Mediterreneam sea north of the Arabian sea and
sout of turkey, have experienced numerous religious cataclysm in their existence as nation-
states.

Lebanon

- Undergone a protracted civil war for 1975-1990 between Christians and Muslims
- Gaining independence in 1994
- During that time, while Christians controlled wealth and power, majority of Muslims felt
discriminated. Around 250,000 lives were lost as a result of a conflict.

 After 1994, Jews migrate for Europe to their home land Palestine
 In 1948, ISRAEL was established after driving away the Palestinian Arabs who had been living
in the area for centuries.
 The war between Israel and Arab countries has resulted in the deaths of many Jews and
Muslims from both sides

Israel

- (present name of Palestine)

- Remains the only country in the world with a Jewish majority population comprising almost
75% of its citizens.
- 16% of the populations are Muslims

The Arabian Peninsula

 The world’s largest peninsula consists countries that are predominantly Islamic in Character
1. SAUDI ARABIA
2. QATAR
3. BAHRAIN
4. KUWAIT
5. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
6. YEMEN
7. OMAN