Judaism and Buddhism
Founded: 1300 B.C. in
Mesopotamia by Abraham
Population: 14 million,
mostly in Israel, Europe, and USA
Spiritual Leader: Rabbi
Place of Worship: Synagogue
Basis for: Christianity & Islam
Worshippers: Jewish, Hebrews
Afterlife: Gan Eden, nonexistence, or reincarnation
Holidays: Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Yom
Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Hannukah
Beliefs: Monotheistic
Sacred Texts: Tanakh with the Talmud
For more facts, go to the website below.

http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism
/fastfacts.htm
Go to the following website to listen to an
audio clip of the day in the life of a Rabbi.
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/di
splay/web/2004/09/18/ditwl_rabbi/
Judaism
Islam
Christianity
Population
13.4 million
1 billion
1.9 billion
Originated
Middle East
Jerusalem
Middle East
Mecca
Middle East
Bethlehem
Leaders
Abraham
Muhammad
Jesus Christ
Beliefs
-One God
-People accountable
for their sins
-Follow the ten
commandments
5 Pillars of Islam:
-profession of faith
(shahada)
-prayer (salat)
-almsgiving (zakat)
-fasting (sawm)
-pilgrimage (hajj)
-One God
-Jesus died to save
humanity from sin
-Jesus is the Son of
God
Texts
Torah
Old Testament
Koran (Qur’an)
Bible: Old and
New Testaments
Similarities in all three religions include the belief in only one God, prayer,
Abraham, life after death, heaven and hell.
Similarities in all three religions
include the belief in:





One God
Prayer
Abraham
Life after death
Heaven and Hell
Go to the following website to
view the city of Jerusalem from
the perspective of a Jew, a
Christian, and a Muslim.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
xpeditions/hall/index.html?node=27
Founded: 520 B.C. in India by Buddha
Population: 360 million, mostly in Asia,
4th largest in world
Spiritual Leader: Monk
(Lama in Tibet)
Place of Worship: Temple
Beliefs: Polytheistic mainly, but some are Atheistic
Afterlife: Rebirth or Nirvana (heavenly paradise)
Sacred Texts: Tripitaka
Holidays: Buddha’s birthday
For more facts, go to the
websites below.
• http://java.nationalgeographic.com/studentatlas/clickup/buddhism.html
• http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/fastfacts.htm
Look at the following website
to view video clips and images
from a Buddhist monastery.
You can also listen to audio
clips of the monks at prayer.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/n
gm/0401/feature5/index.html
To take a look at all of the world’s religions throughout time, go to
http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
Bloom, M. “Day in the Life: Rabbi..” Marketplace American Public
Media Podcast. Sept 18, 2004.
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2004/09/18/ditwl_
rabbi/
Lange, K. “In Their Own World: India’s Forbidden Hanle Valley,”
Jan. 2004. National Geographic Magazine.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0401/feature5/index.html
National Geographic Xpedition hall, 2008, National Geographic Society.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/hall/index.html?no
de=27
Religion Facts: Just the Facts on the World’s Religions. 2008.
http://www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
Social Studies – 9th Grade

SS.O.9.5.7 - explain the basic tenets of major
world religions and philosophies, their places of
origin and the status of those religions today.