Final World Religions Notes
Grouping the five major world religionsMajor Monotheistic (one God)
religions
Eastern religions
- Judaism
- Hinduism
- Christianity
- Buddhism
- Islam
Hinduism
-monotheist vs. polytheist (many gods)
Some would say Hindus worship many gods, so it is polytheist,
but others would argue that those gods are different forms of the
supreme spirit, so it is monotheist.
Buddhism
-Buddha is not a god, but a spiritual leader – religion does
not deny the existence of gods, but they are not an essential
part of it
-because gods are not emphasized, some would say it is
more of a philosophy or way of life than a religion
-later branches did begin to worship Buddha
Judaism
-Oldest of the three monotheist world religions
-World population – has fewest followers of any of the five major
world religions
-Israel- Jewish nation, only country where it’s the majority
Christianity
-majority religion of USA
-broken into three branches – Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox –
(which can be broken down into further denominations)
Islam
-followers called Muslims
-frequently misplaced in the Eastern Religions column, its roots come
from Jewish and Christian faiths
Additional vocab words
Indigenous– native beliefs to a certain area (not a world religion),
can be mixed with a world religion that has spread to an area
Atheist- not believing in God or gods
Agnostic- does not follow a religion because believes there is not way
to know about the supernatural