Types of Religion
Religion: Set of beliefs
MONOTHEISM: belief in one god
POLYTHEISM: belief in many gods
ATHEISM: believe there is no god
Judaism
• Judaism began about 4000
years ago
• Only worshiped one god—
monotheistic
• wrote down beliefs and history
in the Hebrew Bible
• Believed they were descended
from Abraham
• Began in the Middle East
Judaism
• Israelites enslaved in
Egypt
• Moses was told by God
to lead the people from
Egypt
• Moses received the
Torah from God which
included the Ten
Commandments at Mt.
Sinai
• Torah—Judaism’s Holy
Book
Judaism—Major Beliefs
Judaism-major beliefs
• Believe in the Torah
• They believe they must
follow God’s laws
• Religion gave them
hope
• goodness would replace
suffering and evil
Synagogue—Jewish
•church
Rabbi—a Jewish minister
Sabbath—day of rest and
worship
Exile—forced to live in a
foreign land
Diaspora—Jews living
outside Judaea
Jewish Vocab
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Synagogue—Jewish church
Rabbi—a Jewish minister
Sabbath—day of rest and worship
Exile—forced to live in a foreign land
Diaspora—Jews living outside Judaea
Buddhism--Origins
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Started in India
Started around 600 BC by Siddhartha Gautama
Wealthy prince who gave up everything
Wanted to find out why people suffered and how
he could end suffering
• Called Buddha—”the Enlightened One”
Buddhism—Beliefs
• Nirvana—state of
wisdom (give up
worldly desires)
• Only way to end
suffering is to stop
wanting things
• Four Noble Truths
• Eightfold Path
Four Noble Truths
1. Life is full of pain & suffering
2. Wanting things causes suffering
3. Stop wanting things=stop suffering
4. Stop wanting things by following the Eightfold Path
Eightfold Path
• Made of three parts:
1. morality—doing the right thing
2. control of one’s mind—meditation
3. wisdom—wisdom & understanding
Eightfold Path
1.Understand the Four Noble Truths
2.Give up worldly things; don’t harm others
3.Tell the truth, don’t lie or gossip
4.Don’t kill or steal
5.Do good works
6.Work for good, oppose evil
7.Be aware of your actions, thoughts, and words
8.Practice meditation
* Which part would each of these statements fit
under?
Hinduism--Origins
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World’s oldest polytheistic religion
Started over 3500 years ago (about 5000 BC)
Not founded by any one person
Began with the Aryans who had many gods and
goddesses
• Grew out of the religious customs of many people
over thousands of years
Hinduism--Beliefs
• Brahman—the universal spirit
• Karma—how a person lives
• Reincarnation—live more than one life to reach the
Brahman
• Dharma—divine law; people must perform the
duties of their caste
• Vedas—ancient hymns and prayers for religious
ceremonies
• Helped create Caste System
Confucianism--Origins
• Began during Zhou Dynasty
• Confucius 551-479 BC
• His sayings are still taught
today
Confucianism—Beliefs
• Not a religion— an ethical
code
• Goals—order, harmony,
peace, & happiness on
earth
• Treat others the way you
want to be treated
Daoism--Origins
• Began in China from
Chinese philosophies
• Founder– Lao Tse
Daoism--Beliefs
• The Dao– “the way”
• Daoists think people
should stop wanting
worldly things like fame or
money
• Nature is a good example
of harmony & how
humans should live
Daoism—beliefs
• Yin/Yang—reflects ideals of harmony and
balance
• The Three Jewels—compassion, moderation,
and balance
• Tao Te—most important text
Diffusion
• Diffusion—means spread
• Spread to Southeast and Eastern Asia