Review!
1. What are the 5 Pillars of Islam?
2. Who is the founder of Islam?
3. Rank the religions of Christianity, Judaism, and
Islam from oldest to youngest.
4. What is the difference between Sunni and Shia
Muslims?
5. Do you think Muslims should be allowed to
practice aspects of sharia law in the United
States if they choose to?
Eastern Religions
Thanksgiving!
• What does your family do for Thanksgiving?
• Do you eat any food diffused from other
cultures?
• In terms of Thanksgiving, do you think you
have become assimilated into American
culture?
Hinduism
Very different
• Very old (3500-4000
years old)
• No central founder
• No main prophet
• Main holy book, but
not only one—The
Vedas
• Polytheistic
• Cultural Hearth—Indus
River Valley, India
• Ethnic religion
• 97% of Hindus
live in India
• Branches of Hinduism
tend to focus on one
God, but can worship
others too
• Main gods: Vishnu,
Brahma, and Siva
Brahma
• God of creation
• Created the universe
• Work now complete?
Siva
• God of war and
destruction
• Also destroys
imperfection
within people to
make them better
Vishnu
• The preserver of
the universe
• He/she keeps
harmony between
Brahma and Siva
• Most popular God
in Hinduism today
The Caste System
• In Hinduism, different
groups have different
places in society
• Hierarchical- Some
groups are above others
• Bottom LevelUntouchables- Do jobs
considered dirty, like
picking up trash
• ReincarnationOnce you die, you
are reborn again. If
you lived a good
life, you move up a
caste. If a bad life,
you move down a
caste
Buddhism
Overview
• Universal Religion
• 2510 years old
• Founder of religion:
Buddha
• Hearth: Northern India
• No real god: Don’t care
how Earth was created
How it started
• In 563 B.C., Siddhartha Guatama was born a
Hindu lord.
• Lived in luxury (servants, palaces, etc.)
• Took 4 trips out of his house, and saw
suffering for the first time (sick, old, poverty,
death)
• Left civilization, lived in the forest for 6 years
and meditated
• Came back Buddha, The Enlightened One
4 Noble Truths—Don’t Write
• All living beings must
endure suffering
• Suffering, which is
caused by bad thoughts,
like wanting more
possessions or being
jealous, leads to
reincarnation
• Goal of existence is to
escape suffering and
reincarnation into
Nirvana
• NirvanaEnlightenment,
complete happiness
• Nirvana reached by
following the Eightfold
Path (8 rules for being a
good person)
Buddhist Practices
• Non-violence
• Meditation
• Poverty (don’t care
about wealth, only
causes suffering)
• Charity
Branches
• Mayahana
Buddhism—
Emphasize helping
others and teaching
• Theravada
Buddhism—
Emphasizes
meditation and
introspection
Dalai Lama—Don’t Write
• Leader of Tibetan
Buddhism
• Most famous Buddhist
today
• Cannot live in Tibet,
because China took it
over (refugee in India)
• Won Nobel Peace Prize
in 1989
Syncretism
• The combining of
different beliefs
• As Buddhism
spread, it combined
with different
religious beliefs,
especially in Japan
Review!
1. Why did Buddha break away from the Hindu
faith?
2. How does someone reach Nirvana?
3. How is Buddhism different from Hinduism?
4. What is reincarnation?
5. What is the cultural hearth for Hinduism?
Buddhism?
6. How did Buddhism diffuse to other religions?
What is this called?
7. How is Hinduism different from Christianity?