The Common Threads of the
World Religions
What is
?
The word religion comes from the
latin word ligare: to join, or link,
classically understood to mean the
linking of human and divine.
What is religion?
• When did we feel we needed religion?
• Why did religion come into human feeling?
• How did it originate?
• What did they call it before we called it religion?
• How do we classify 1000’s of religions? Many off
shoots.
What is Religion?
• “Is Religion just another way of reflecting human
feeling and meaning of life?”
• Karl Marx. “Religion created by humans who
worship nothing else but the mind.”
• Max Muller. “He who knows one, knows none.”
(German Theologian Dec. 6, 1823)
• Religion is the state of being grasped by an
ultimate concern. Paul Tillich
Ninian Smart's
Seven Dimensions of Religions
Ninian Smart's
Seven Dimensions or Religions
The Earth Maker
Buddha, Krishna and Jesus are believed by their
followers to have had quite miraculous conceptions
and births marked by a star.
Near East
date
1000+ BCE
600 BCE
India
Judaism:
Hinduism:
Moses 1500-1350 BCE
2000 BCE
Zoroastrianism:
Zoroaster 628-527 BCE
Jainism:
Mahavira
599-527 BCE
Buddhism:
Buddha
563-483 BCE
date
Near East
100 CE
Christianity:
Jesus 1-33 CE
600 CE
Islam:
Muhammad 570-632 CE
1500 CE
1900 CE
India
Sikhism:
Guru Nanak 1469-1538
CE
Baha'i:
Baha'u'llah
1817-1892 CE
“Science teaches us more about what is out there. Religion teaches us more about what is in here.”
Where is God in this?
Mundeshwari Devi Temple. Bihar in India. 108 AD and sited in a solitary place in
the Mundeshwari Hills in Kaura in the Kaimur district.
Where is God in this?
The Borobudur Temple. Central Java, Indonesia. Built between the 7th
and 8th centuries.
Where is God in this?
The Jobar synagogue in Damascus is thought to be some 2,000 years old and contained a
remarkable 120 square meter stone carved with a seven branched menorah. The synagogue
dates to the period of the Second Temple, Located near the Sea of Galilee.
Where is God in this?
Rihab, northern Jordan near the Syrian border33 AD to 70 AD
Where is God in this?
The Quba Mosque (Quba' Masjid or Masjid al-Quba, Arabic: ,)‫ )المسجد القبة‬in the
outlying ... of Medina in Saudi Arabia,
Where is God in this?
Nankana Sahibis a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province
of Pakistan. The Janam Asthan Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, originally constructed in
around 1600 CE was renovated in the years 1819–20 CE
Where is God in this?
The Bahá'í House of Worship (or Bahá'í Temple) in Wilmette, Illinois, is the
oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship in the world, and the only one in the
United States
Where is God in this?
• "Like the bee gathering honey from the different flowers,
the wise person accepts the essence of the different
scriptures and sees only the good in all religions."
- Mahatma Gandhi
• God has made different religions to suit different
aspirations, times and countries...one can reach God if
one follows any of the paths with wholehearted devotion.
-- Ramakrishna, a Hindu mystic
• I believe all religions pursue the same goals, that of
cultivating human goodness and bringing happiness to all
human beings. Though the means may appear different,
the ends are the same.
-- His Holiness the Dalai Lama
What Do We Have In Common With Other Faiths?
• Religions have core values in common.
• Can you pass the test and tell which religions
the following teachings come from?
1)‘I will act towards others exactly as I
would act towards myself.’
Buddhism. Udana-Varga c.500 BCE
2) ‘This is the sum of duty: Do naught to
others which if done to thee, could cause
thee pain.’
Hinduism. Mahabharata c. 150 BCE
3)‘Treat others as you would like them to
treat you.’
Christianity. Luke: Revised Standard Version of the New
Testament c.90 CE
• 4) “The only gift is giving to the poor;
All else is exchange.”
Hinduism
• 5) “It is great to endure hunger, but only next
To removing it.”
Hinduism
• 6) "Whoever saved a life, it would be as if he
saved the life of all mankind“.
Islam
7)
8)
Could you say these prayers?
• Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be
fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a
home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet
of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to
the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
-Baha'i Prayer for Peace
Could you say these prayers?
• God judges us according to our deeds, not the
coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything,
but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
and only that victory endures in consequence of
which no one is defeated. Know that we attain
God when we love, and only that victory endures
in consequence of which no one is defeated.
-Sikh
Could you say these prayers?
• May you be at peace, May your heart remain
open. May you awaken to the light of your
own true nature. May you be healed, May you
be a source of healing for all beings.
-Tibetan Buddhist Prayer
Could you say these prayers?
• We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in
the world: that understanding triumph over
ignorance, that generosity triumph over
indifference, that trust triumph over
contempt, and that truth triumph over
falsehood.
-Zoroastrian
Could you say these prayers?
• Oh Creator of the Universe, may we receive
thy supreme sin-destroying light, May Thou
guide our intellect in the right direction.
-Hinduism: The Gayatri Mantra
Origin: The Vedas
Could you say these prayers?
• May there be peace on Earth, peace in the
atmosphere and in the heavens. Peaceful be the
waters and the plants. May the Divine bring us
peace. May the holy prayers and invocations of
peace-liturgies generate ultimate Peace and
Happiness everywhere. With these meditations
which resolve and dissolve harm, violence and
conflicts, we render peaceful whatever on earth
is terrible, sinful, cruel and violent. Let the earth
become fully auspicious, let everything be
beneficial to us.
-Hinduism: Atharva Veda, XIX-9
Could you say these prayers?
• Lead me from Death to Life, from falsehood to
Truth. Lead me from Despair to Hope, from
Fear to Trust. Lead me from Hate to Love,
from War to Peace. Let Peace fill our Heart,
our World, our Universe.
-Jainism
Could you say these prayers?
• Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
-Christian. Matthew 6. 9-13 (RSV)
Could you say these prayers?
• May the whole world be peaceful.
May the wicked become gentle.
May all creatures think of mutual welfare.
May their minds be occupied with what is
auspicious.
And may our hearts be immersed in selfless
love for the Lord.
-Hinduism. Bhagavata Purana 5.18.9
Could you say these prayers?
• In the name of God, the Beneficent, the
Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
You alone we worship; You alone we ask for
help. Show us the straight path…
-Islam. Qur'an 1: The Fatihah
Could you say these prayers?
• Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
that we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall
not lift up sword against nation—neither shall
they learn war any more. And none shall be
afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has
spoken.
-Jewish
Myths of the World Religions
• Christians Hate Harry Potter
• Islam Doesn’t Allow Other Religions
• Muslim Women are Required to Wear Face
Scarves
• Lebanon is 59.3 percent Muslim and Kazakhstan
is only 56.4 percent Muslim.
• Buddhists Believe in God
Myths of the World Religions
•
•
•
•
All Buddhists are Vegetarians
Buddhist Believe in the Soul
All Hindus Share the Same Beliefs
Hinduism is One Religion