RELIGION
THE BIG 5
WHAT ARE THE BIG FIVE RELIGIONS?
•
•
•
•
•
Judaism – 14 million - .2%
Buddhism – 500 million – 7%
Hinduism – 1 billion – 15%
Christianity – 2.2 billion – 32%
Islam – 1.6 billion – 23%
JUDAISM
• Judaism is the oldest of the monotheistic faiths. It
affirms the existence of one God, Yahweh, who
entered into covenant with the descendants of
Abraham, God's chosen people.
• These holy writings are known as the Torah,
specifically the five books of Moses, but most
broadly conceived as the Hebrew Scriptures
(traditionally called the Old Testament by Christians)
and the compilation of oral tradition known as the
Talmud (which includes the Mishnah, the oral law).
HEBREWS AND JUDAISM
• Hebrews lived in a region between the Jordan River
and the Mediterranean Sea called Canaan
(modern day – Palestine)
• Majority of Hebrew history comes from the first five
books of the Bible, the Torah according to Jews and
the most sacred of Judaism
• Abraham was the leader of the Hebrews and they
believed in monotheism, a belief in a single god
whom they called Yahweh
• This was in direct contrast to all other groups in the
region who were polytheists, worshipping many
gods usually referring to a specific place they lived
• Hebrews proclaimed Yahweh was the one and only
God, who had power over all people everywhere –
there were no images created of God because
Hebrews did not believe he was a physical being
• Abraham established a covenant with Yahweh –
Abraham promised to obey Yahweh and Yahweh
promised to protect Abraham and his descendants
MOSES AND THE EXODUS
• According to the Bible, Hebrews migrated to Egypt
because of drought and famine
• Although they were welcomed at first, eventually the
Hebrews were forced into slavery
• Moses lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt between
1200 and 1300 BC because God commanded him to –
this time is called “the Exodus” and remembered during
the festival of Passover
• When the Hebrews were crossing the Sinai Peninsula,
Moses climbed Mount Sinai to pray and returned with
two stone tablets on which Yahweh had written the Ten
Commandments
• The Ten Commandments were the basis for civil and
religious laws of Judaism
• Religious teachers called prophets taught that
Hebrews had a duty to worship God and live justly
with one another
• Hebrews were eventually became the Jews and
their religion was Judaism
• This emphasis on right conduct and the worship of
one God is called ethical monotheism—a Hebrew
idea that has influenced human behavior for
thousands of years through Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity
ZOROASTRIANISM
• Empires will conquer Israel, the Kingdom of the Jews
throughout history including the Assyrians,
Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans
• During the reign of the Persian Empire around 600
BC, a prophet by the name of Zoroaster appeared
• Zoroastrianism taught earth was a battle between
good and evil, all humans have a part in this
struggle
• He said there was only one god and he would
judge each individual and their part in this struggle
• This religion mostly died out after Muslims
conquered the region in the 600s, but important
elements including the concept of Satan and
angels can be traced to Zoroaster which are found
in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
• Avesta– Ancient Scriptures of Zoroastrianism
• Led by priests
BUDDHISM
• After living a life of isolation, wandering in the forests
for six years, Siddhartha Gautama (b. 563 – 483 BC)
found enlightenment by meditating under a fig tree
for 49 days
• He took the name Buddha for “enlightened one”
and explained the four main ideas of his
enlightenment called, The Four Noble Truths
• He accepted the ideas of reincarnation, but
rejected the idea of polytheism and the caste
system
CONT’D
• The ultimate goal for Hindus and Buddhists is a
perfect state of understanding and a break from
the chain of reincarnation
• A turning point in the establishment of Buddhism
was when Ashoka a great ruler during the Mauryan
dynasty converted to Buddhism, he built stupas or
shrines for the life of Buddha and he sent
missionaries throughout the Mediterranean world.
DIFFUSION OF BUDDHISM
• Despite Buddhism origins in India, not many solely
practiced Buddhism because the ideas between
Buddhism and Hinduism were so similar
• Missionaries began travelling throughout Asia after
Buddha’s death to spread his faith
• Also, many of the converts to Buddhism were
laborers and crafts people, these merchants were
critical in carrying Buddhism to Sri Lanka, Burma,
Thailand, island of Sumatra and following the Silk
Road to China, from China or Korea and Japan.
CONT’D
• Trade made Buddhism the most widespread religion
of East Asia
• Trade was the key element in not only the spread of
goods across the known world, but also essential in
the cultural diffusion of ideas
HINDUISM
• Aryans and non-Aryans in India blended their beliefs
and gods until sometime between 750 and 550 BC
• Hinduism has no specific founder nor a single set of
ideas
• Hinduism strengthened the caste system—if you
were a upper-class male (Brahmin, warrior, or
merchant) it was good karma earned in a former
life
• Being born a women, a laborer, or an untouchable
was bad karma or results of bad deeds in a former
life
CONT’D
• The beliefs of Hinduism and the caste system dominated
life—food, dress, associations
• The Golden Age of India was from 320-550 AD, this was
the reign of the Gupta Empire
• Strong central government fostering peace and prosperity
within the strict caste system
• Math & Science achievements – concept of zero, decimal
system based on the number 10, created number writing
system which became Arabic numbers
• Medicine – Herbal remedies for illness, form of plastic surgery
for facial injuries, vaccination for small pox (China – 10th c,
Europe – 17th c)
• Art & Literature – built stone temples to Hindu gods, Buddhist
shrines called stupas, fables and folktales written in Sanskrit,
became the basis of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and
Aladdin and his Magic Lamp
CHRISTIANITY
• Around 63 B.C. the Roman Empire took control of
Judea, the home of the Jews
• A Jew named Jesus was born around 4 to 6 B.C.—
around the age of 30 he began his ministry and
people believed him to be the Messiah or savior of
the Jewish people
• His influence and following threatened the Roman
and Jewish authorities, Jesus was sentenced to be
crucified for defying Roman authority
• After his death, Jesus’ followers continued to
practice and spread his teachings throughout the
Roman Empire
CONT’D
• From 70 A.D. to 135 A.D.—Judea consistently
rebelled against Roman authority until the Jews lost
and most were driven into exile
• The dispersal of the Jews was known as the
Diaspora
• As the Roman Empire began to decline Christians
were persecuted as scapegoats for economic and
political problems
• Christians were sacrificed as martyrs, people who
are willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a
belief or a cause
A WORLD RELIGION
• By the 3rd century there were millions of Christian
followers in the Roman Empire
• In 312 A.D. the Roman Emperor, Constantine
converted to Christianity an ended the persecution
of Christians
• By 380 A.D.—Theodosius made Christianity the
official religion of the Roman Empire
ISLAM
• TO BE CONTINUED…