7.1.spi.3 How do you compare and contrast
the tenets of the five major world religions?
WORLD
RELIGIONS
VOCABULARY
A child sits near idols of Hindu Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, on the eve of Diwali in Hyderabad, India.
BELIEFS
• religion: relationship w/ a higher
power
• monotheism: belief in one god
• polytheism: belief in many gods
• atheists: people who do not
believe in a god or gods
5 MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS
Christianity
Hinduism
Judaism
Buddhism
Islam
DEITY: HIGHER POWER
•God­Christian deity
•Yahweh­Jewish deity
•Allah­Islamic deity
•Brahman­Hindu universal spirit
translated as God
• goddesses­female gods
•Buddha­Buddhist deity
Buddhist monks and other devotees walk back to their camps through a field after attending a teaching session of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during the Kalachakra.
FIGURES
• Jesus Christ: believed by Christians to be the son of God
(Messiah), sent to save the Jewish people
• Rabbi: Jewish teacher of the Torah
• Hebrews: Jews that began praying to one God in 2000 BC that
speak Yiddish (Hebrew/Jewish language)
• Abraham: Hebrew leader that made a covenant (holy
agreement) w/ God
• Moses: Jewish man believed to have been given the 10
Commandments (instructions for holy living) directly from God
• Muhammad: prophet that is believed by Muslims (people of
Islamic faith) to have received messages from Allah
• guru: religious teacher that leads Hindu worship
• Dalai Lama: spiritual leader of Tibet associated with Hindu
• Siddhartha Gautama: Indian prince that witnessed ppl.
Suffering in India, became known as Buddha
• monks: men responsible for preserving and teaching Buddhist
teachings/guiding lay followers
An elderly couple read from the Quran together near Orlando, Florida.
HOLY BOOKS
• Bible: Christian holy book, especially the New Testament
• Gospels: first 4 books of the New Testament which tell the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ
• Torah: Jewish holy book, first 5 books of the Old Testament
in the Bible
• Koran/Quran: holy text of Islam, messages recorded by
Muhammad from Allah
• The Vedas: Hindu holy book
• Dhamma: Buddhist collection of sayings/teachings from
Buddha
Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba (center) inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
RELIGIOUS PLACES
• church: Christian place of worship, typically attended on
Sunday
• synagogue: Jewish place of worship, also known as
temple, typically attended on Saturday
• mosque: Islamic place of worship, often visited on Friday
by men for prayer
• Mecca: holy city for followers of Islam
• temple: Hindu place of worship in addition to shrines to
god/goddesses
CEREMONIES/OBSERVANCES
• Sabbath: Saturday, day of rest, day that Jews
attend synagogue to worship
• Ramadan: fasting during daylight hours as
observance of month that Muhammad received
messages from Allah
• pilgrimage: religious journey
Orthodox Christians immerse themselves in the Jordan River at a baptism ceremony, during Holy Week, in Jericho, where Jesus is believed to have been baptized.
TEACHINGS
• baptism: Christian teaching of being immersed in water for forgiveness of sins
• crucifixion: death by being nailed to a cross; the way religious/political
leaders killed Jesus
• resurrection: to raise from the dead; Christians believe that Jesus Christ was
resurrected after being crucified on the cross
• Trinity: Christian belief in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
• Kosher: food that is fit or allowed to be eaten or used, according to the
Jewish dietary or ceremonial laws
• covenant: religious promise or agreement
• 10 Commandments: instructions for Hebrew people on how to live/worship
• Five Pillars of Islam: ways in which to worship and pray to Allah
• reincarnation: rebirth in which a soul moves to another body depending on
how well a person lives his/her life
• karma: actions that affect future lives
• nirvana: an end to imperfection, state of perfect peace
• meditation: the practice of training your mind to focus only on the important
things
• Four noble truths: Buddhist teachings about suffering