Religious Groups
of Southern and Eastern Asia
Hinduism Part 1
Buddhism
Shinto
Confucianism
Islam
Religion Members by Percentage Worldwide
Christianity 2.1 billion 33.0%
Islam 1.5 billion 22%
Hinduism 900 million 14%
Buddhism 376 million 6%
Sikhism 23 million 0.36%
Judaism 14 million 0.22%
Bahaism 7 million 0.1%
Confucianism 6.3 million 0.1%
Jainism 4.2 million 0.1%
Shintoism 4 million 0.1%
NOTES: As of 2005
Culture and Religion in Southern
and Eastern Asia
Ethnic Groups
Chams from Vietnam
Religious Groups
Hindus
Tagalog from the
Phillippines
Muslims
Buddhists
Javanese from
Indonesia
Culture and Religion in Southern
and Eastern Asia
Religious Group
People who have a common
belief in a religious claim.
Members can have different
cultures, languages, and
races.
Usually widespread over an
entire region or many
countries.
Ethnic Group
People who have similar
language and culture.
Often share common
values and religion.
Can be made up of members
of the same race or people
with common ancestors.
Ethnic or Religious Group?
“I am an Hispanic woman who speaks
Spanish, is a Catholic, and has a siesta
every afternoon.”
“I am a Muslim man from New York who
reads the Quran and prays five times a day.”
“I am a Christian woman from Africa who
reads the Bible and believes in Jesus
Christ.”
Religious or Ethnic Group?
“I am a Jewish boy who speaks Hebrew, has
Jewish parents, and celebrates the
Passover.”
“I am a Cham boy from Vietnam who likes
to play soccer.”
“I am a teacher at Gardner Newman who
goes to church every Wednesday and
Sunday, sings in the choir, and celebrates
Christmas and Easter.”
Show Me What You “Might”
Know
On a sheet of paper, write the word “Hinduism”
going down as for an acrostic.
Ex:
H
I
N
D
U
I
S
M
Now for each letter, write the words that you
think of when you think of Hinduism and fit
them into your acrostic. Oh, did I mention
that the words have to start with each letter?
To get us started…
Om / Aum
HINDUISM
"Truth is one, paths are many"
Hinduism
In short:
Hinduism is largely practiced in India
where over 80 percent of the Indians claim
to be Hindu. Hinduism does not come
from the teachings of one man. Hindus
believe in many gods and goddess who are
images of a single god.
When founded
4000-5000 years ago,
(around 3000-2000 BC)
3000 BC
2010 AD
2000
BC
1000
BC
1 AD
1000
AD
Where
founded?
India
Holy People
No known founder
Sacred Texts
There is not one text Hindus consider sacred,
rather there are many texts like the Vedas that teach
Hindus proper behavior.
Four
Vedas (“truth”) – myths, rituals,
chants
Shruti (“heard”) – oldest, most authoritative:
Upanishads - metaphysical speculation
Smriti (“remembered”) – the Great Indian Epics
includes Bhagavadvita
MONO or POLYTHEISTIC
Here is the confusing part!
Monotheistic (one god)
All parts of life (living &
nonliving) are thought to be
part of Brahman
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods
Brahman, the creator god
All these gods are but
different forms of the
Brahman
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Christianity is older than
Hinduism.
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Hinduism believes in many
gods and
is polytheistic
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Brahman is the founder of
Hinduism
Jeremy Lin
Peter Parker
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Vishnu, the preserver god
Incarnates as ten avatars (descents) including:
Rama (featured in the Ramayana)
Krishna (featured in the Mahabharata)
(Each shown with his consort, Sita and Radha, respectively)
Who do Hindus worship? –
the major gods of the Hindu Pantheon
Shiva
Nataraj
god of destruction
(the transformer)
lord of the dance of
creation…
and with his wife, Parvati, and
son Ganesha (the elephant headed
remover of obstacles)
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Saraswati
goddess of wisdom, consort
of Brahman
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Lakshmi, goddess of good
fortune, consort
of Vishnu
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Parvati
divine mother, wife of
Shiva
What about the goddesses?
Devi – the feminine divine
Durga, protectress
Kali, destroyer of demons
Plus about 330 million other deities
What do Hindus believe?
Samsara- process of death, life, and
rebirth
Reincarnation – soul is reborn
into another body after death
(until the soul lives a life good
enough to be united with Brahman)
Karma – good and bad actions
done during one’s life (affect you
life after death)
● The ultimate goal of Hindus is to achieve
Moksha, which is freedom from the cycle of
reincarnation
Birth samsara Life
Moksha
Death
What do Hindus believe?
CASTE SYSTEM -
social
classes
inherited
Hinduism
Hindus live by a caste system that divides
people into social classes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Brahmans (priests)
Kashatriyas (soliders)
Vaishyas (merchants)
Shudras (laborers)
HOLY PLACES:
All rivers especially the GANGES river
Falling from its source
of Vishnu’s feet onto
Shiva’s head and out
from his hair, the water
of the Ganges is sacred
enough to purify all
sins.
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Hindus believe in salvation
after death.
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Hindus worship in churches.
Quick Check…
Thumbs Up or Down?
Hindus believe that you can
be anything you want in life if
you work hard enough.
Countries where Hinduism is
practiced…
India
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Now “tell” me what you know.
On a sheet of paper, write the following
sentence:
What I think I learned about Hinduism is…
Make a quick list (10?) of words that you think
of when you think of the lesson on Hinduism.
Now, use those words to write a paragraph
explaining what you learned about Hinduism.
Make sure you use the topic sentence above to
start your paragraph.
Have you included all of the words from your
list? Give it to your elbow partner to have
them circle the words.
Care to share?