Major Religions Overview
Ayers Rock (Uluru)
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Oral Religion
Sacred Practices in Oral Religions
– Life-Cycle Ceremonies
– Taboo and Sacrifice
– Shamanism, Trance, and Magic
– Artifacts and Artistic Expression in Oral Religions
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artists
artistic expression
totems
effigy
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Oral Religion
• Taboo and Sacrifice
– social order – guidelines
• sex
• birth
• social behavior
• food
• antisocial
– restoration
• Atonement
• Libation
• Sacrifice
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Oral Religion
• Oral Religions Influenced Today by:
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western technology
environment
language
proselytizing religions
restored practices
whole lives – holistic traditions
HINDUISM
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Hinduism
• BRAHMAN – spiritual essence of the universe
– divine reality in all
– god in forms infinite
– beyond time & space
• ATMAN – individual soul
– deepest self
– sacred within oneself
• MAYA – illusion
– matter
– mystery
– magic
• KARMA – to do
– moral law of cause and effect
– force of nature
– directs rebirth
• SAMSARA – wheel of life
– constant rebirth
– circle of life
– one life is to short
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama
• At 29
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Pleasant prison
Witnessed suffering
Depression
Escapes
• Great Going Forth
– Looks at family
– Rides to edge
– Leaves jewels &
clothing
– Cuts hair
• Seeks teacher
– Teacher to teacher
– Unsatisfied
– Six years
• Questions
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Death?
Suffering?
Age?
God?
Soul?
Afterlife?
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Buddhism
• Refused to talk about
anything else
• “Noble silence”
• Concentrate on:
– Minimizing suffering
– Inner peace
• Doctrines not dogma
• Experienced as truth
• Three marks of reality
– Constant chance
– No permanent identity
– Existence of suffering
Practical
• Change (anichcha)
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Impermanence
Nothing remains the same
Sameness is illusion
Expect change
• Zen (Chan) – meditation
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Satori - unity with universe
Zazen – sitting meditation
Koan – public discussion
Manual labor
Samurai - not in fact a true
religion by definition, does
not worship any god
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Buddhism
The way to inner Peace
• Right understanding
– Impermanence of life
• Right intention
– Pure motives
• Right speech
– Honesty
– Kindness
• Right action
– Do no hurt
• Right work
– Job does no harm
• Right effort
– Moderation
– Striving to improve
• Right meditation
– Discipline of
meditation
• Right contemplation
– Inner peace
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Jain
Ethical Recommendations
• AHIMSA (ahiṁsā) – Nonviolence
– Gentleness, harmlessness
• NONLYING – Absolute Truth
– No Falsehood & exaggeration
• NONSTEALING – Receive only what is given
– Improper desire & causes pain
• CHASTITY - Fidelity
– Celibacy for the religious & fidelity in marriage
• NONATTACHMENT – Spirit of Generosity
– Family, possessions, clothing
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Sikh
Belief and Practice
• TRUE NAME of GOD
– No god of Hinduism or of Islam
– One God of all
• KARMA AND REINCARNATION
– From Hinduism
– Rejected ritual
– Rejected polytheism
• SOUL AND BODY
– God dwells in each person
– Social responsibility
• ADI GRANTH— [original collection] SCRIPTURE
– Japji – (first part) long poem
• “There is only one God whose name is true, the Creator, devoid of fear
and enmity, immortal, unborn, self-existent.”
– Second part - 39 rags (tunes)
– Third part - poems and hymns [Hindu, Muslim, Sikh]
• LINE OF TEN HUMAN GURUS
– Nanak was first of these ten
Overview of World’s Major Religions
CHINESE BELIEF
• Veneration of ancestors
– become spirits at death
– to be placated by family
• Patterns in nature
– must work with seasons to survive
– cycles & waves
– represented by Yang & Yin (1000 BCE)
Overview of World’s Major Religions
CHINESE BELIEF
• Yang & Yin (1000 BCE)
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Not opposite, but complementary principles
light/dark, hot/cold, sky/earth, odd/even
not good & evil – balancing between forces
dynamic & perfect balance in change
dot – presence of the other – becoming it
Overview of World’s Major Religions - TAOIST
• Laozi (Lao Tzu) – old master or old child,
born to virgin as old child
• Tao
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origin of everything
not personal
does not care for humanity or dislike either
mysterious reality that creates nature
“natural way” “way” “pattern” “process”
• Began as a philosophy, became a religion
Overview of World’s Major Religions - TAOIST
Virtues
• WU-WEI (“NO
ACTION”) —
SPONTANEITY
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effortlessness
no strain,
only what is necessary
plants grow
• QUIET
– reclusive beginnings
– continuing trait
• GENTLENESS
– loves peace
– avoids violence
– “weapons tied to the
slaughter of mankind”
• HUMOR
•CLOSENESS TO NATURE
•live in harmony with nature
•accepting transformation
•embrace change
•SIMPLICITY
•eliminate unnecessary &
artificial
•natural goodness of
humanity
•formal education
unnecessary
•inherent complexity “give up
learning, put an end to your
troubles”
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Shinto
• No known founder or
group
• Mysterious origins like
people – blend of groups
• Lived close to nature
• Believed spirits inhabited
nature
• Power of nature in
harmony with it
• Elements of shamanism
& mysterious healings
• Ethical & Family elements
• No need for name till
Buddhism arrived
• Shin’-to – “the way of the
gods” “kami-no-michi”
• Blend a large number of gods
into a pantheon myth
• Primeval chaos
• Sacred spirits – “kami”
– Izanami (female who invites) primeval mother
– Izanagi (male who invites) primeval father
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Shinto
• Consolidate to make land
• Floating Bridge of Heaven
• Stirred ocean with end of
spear
• Island formed from brine
– Izanami gives birth to fire
god, & is burned
– Izanagi attempts to rescue
her in underworld
• Returns dirty
• Cleanses in ocean
• As washes sees:
– Amaterasu—sun goddess
– Tsukiyomi—moon god
– Susanowo—wind god
• New family relationship
with these
• Purity:
– Pollution – “tsumi”
– Ritual washing – “harai”
• Japan worldly –heaven
shared with divine beings
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Shinto
• 6th century – forced to
define itself
• Buddhist monks viewed
Shinto as Buddhist deities
with Japanese names
• Shinto – agriculture,
fertility, birth
• Buddhism – philosophy,
sickness, funerals, afterlife
• Accommodation –
Buddhist & Shinto places
of worship
• Confucianism
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ethical system
education
family
government
emperor – father
ministers – elder
brothers
• At times welcome
outsiders & others reject
them
8 Judaism
Overview of World’s Major
Religions - Judaism
Masada
Site of the Zealot holdout in
the resistance of Hebrews
against the Romans, when
the second Temple was
destroyed.
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Judaism
Stories of Origins
•
Genesis 1-11
– Ordered creation
(similar Babylonian Epic – Enuma Elish)
– Image of God
– Garden of Eden – Paradise Lost
– Family rivalries - violence
– Great flood - judgement
(similar Mesopotamian story – Epic of Gilamesh)
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Promised land lost
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587 BCE
70 CE
10-1 Islam
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Islam
• Islam literally means surrender or submission.
• Sacred book of Islam
– Sermons of Muhammad
– Qur’an (Koran).
• Beginning of the Muslim calendar is the Western year
622 c.e.
– Date of Muhammad’s escape from Mecca to Medina
• Religions of Arabian Peninsula
– Judaism,
– Christianity,
– Zoroastrianism,
– local religion – worshipped spirits of trees &
mountains, tribal gods & jinni (capricious spirits of
the desert)
Overview of World’s Major Religions - Islam
• Islam & Judaism
– circumcision
• Muslims like Christians & Zoroastrianism
believe:
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in the soul
resurrection of the body
final judgment
heaven and hell
• Muslims trace themselves back ultimately to
what great patriarch Abraham.
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
• Clear-cut legal
foundation
– Formulated by God
– Not on humanistic
philosophies
• Islamic “Law”
– Rigid
– Dry
• Shariah (source of water)
– Source of life
– Rules/Ethical Principles
• Shariah (5 human actions)
– Obligatory actions (wajib)
• Required to perform
– Devotional/Ethical
(mandub)
• Encouraged to perform
• No liability
– Permissible actions
(mubah)
• Freedom of choice
– Abominable actions
(makruh) (makrūh)
• Morally, but not legally
wrong
– Prohibited actions (haram)
• Practices prohibited
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
• Law & Ethics
– Not separated
– Adhered
• Accepted Shariah
• Follower of faith
• Environment
– All components
– Created by God
– All living things different
functions
– Measured/Balanced by
Creator
– Serve humanity a part
• Not sole reason to exist
• Other reasons too
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Legal & ethical reasons
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2.
3.
4.
to protect environment
Preserve its values as a
sign of the Creator
Components continuous
praise of Creator
Absolute continuity of
Creator (sunnah)
Beings worthy of
protection & kind
treatment (hurmah)
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Legal & ethical reasons
1.
2.
3.
4.
to protect environment
Preserve its values as a
sign of the Creator
Components continuous
praise of Creator
Absolute continuity of
Creator (sunnah)
Beings worthy of
protection & kind
treatment (hurmah)
5.
6.
7.
8.
Human relationships are
established on justice &
kindness
Universe created by God
must be preserved
Not for this generation
alone; all ages
Duty of humans to
protect environment, no
other creature can
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
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Comprehensive Nature of
Ethics
Two principles
1.
Natural instinct
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2.
Imprinted by God
Between good & evil
Neutral – neither good or
bad
Messengers from God
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Complexities
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Cannot define correct
Not in vacuum
Inspired by God
Conscience approves
Accepts
Valued guidance
Desire what God loves &
wants
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
•
•
Comprehensive Nature of
Ethics
Two principles
1.
Natural instinct
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2.
Imprinted by God
Between good & evil
Neutral – neither good or
bad
Messengers from God
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Complexities
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Cannot define correct
Not in vacuum
Inspired by God
Conscience approves
Accepts
Valued guidance
Desire what God loves &
wants
• Virtue part of the whole
– Way of life
– Serves to guide & control
• Truthfulness
– Protecting
– Conserving
– Sustaining
• Political, Social, & Economic
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Not on human reason
Not on society’s mandate
Not on economic groups
These are based on
circumstances
• Ethics unalterable as time and
space
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
• Human-Environment
– Enjoy, use, benefit
– Preserve, protect, promote
• All creatures are God’s
dependents
– Responsible for:
• Trees
• Animals
• All natural elements
– Muhammad prayer for rain
• For trees in drought
• For animals dying for lack of
water
– Humans not punished
• Because of elderly, babies,
animals
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
• Human-Environment
– Enjoy, use, benefit
– Preserve, protect, promote
• All creatures are God’s
dependents
– Responsible for:
• Trees
• Animals
• All natural elements
– Muhammad prayer for rain
• For trees in drought
• For animals dying for lack of
water
– Humans not punished
• Because of elderly, babies,
animals
• Earth place of peace &
rest
– Humans made of earth
(dust) & water
– Brought forth from earth
– Earth often named, so
important
– Subservient to humans
– Receptacle of living & dead
– Source of purity
– Place of worship
– Source of blessing
– To be cared for by
humanity
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Sustainable Care of Nature
• Utilization
– Not unnecessary destruction
– Not to squander
– Continued use in a
sustainable way
• Muhammad
– “Act in your life as though
you are living forever and
act for the Hereafter as if
you are dying tomorrow.”
– “When doomsday comes if
someone has a palm shoot
in his hand he should plant
it.”
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Sustainable Care of Nature
• Utilization
– Not unnecessary destruction
– Not to squander
– Continued use in a sustainable
way
• Muhammad
– “Act in your life as though you
are living forever and act for
the Hereafter as if you are
dying tomorrow.”
– “When doomsday comes if
someone has a palm shoot in
his hand he should plant it.”
– Life is maintained with due
balance in everything.
– Every part of God’s creation
was carefully made to fit into
the general system.
• Not only for the current
generation
– Umar ibn al-Khattab &
Khuzaymah ibn Thubit
• Neglected land
• Old man close to death
• Planted land together
• 5 times a day, prayer starts
– “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the
Worlds.”
• Submit to Creator of all
• World sign of the Creator
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Practice of Environmental
Ethics
• Muslim Communities
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Protection of certain
zones/special use areas
(hima)
Maintain some land in
unused state
Limited to avoid
inconvenience
Not built on or cultivated
For the welfare of the
people
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
Practice of Environmental
Ethics
• Muslim Communities
–
1.
2.
3.
4.
Protection of certain
zones/special use areas
(hima)
Maintain some land in
unused state
Limited to avoid
inconvenience
Not built on or cultivated
For the welfare of the
people
• Hima
– Grazing area for the
livestock of the poor
– To protect wildlife
• Harim
– Inviolable zones
• Wells
• Natural springs
• Underground water
channels
• Rivers
• Trees planted on barren
land
Islam & the Environment
Islamic Environmental Ethics, Law, and Society by Mawil Y. Izzi Dean
• Environmental Aspects of
Development
– First Arab Ministerial
Conference
– Justice, mercy, cooperation
– Islamic faith and its values
• Amir of Kuwait
– To UN 1988
– Conserve natural & human
resources
– Combat pollution
– Support sustainable
development
10-1 Islam