World Religions Booklet

by Charlie Eastin
 Hinduism
Hinduism is a religion that originated in India. It is a very complicated

religion that involves many gods. They believe in a caste system which

involves reincarnation. Every Hindu believes in a code called Dharma,

which is their basic rules. These rules include: don’t touch bodily fluids, be

nice to cows as they are a sacred animal, follow the rules of the caste, and

respect the caste above you. The caste system is a system based on

reincarnation, where if you have good karma you can move into the next

caste. Once you reach the highest caste you reach Moksha. Moksha is

more of a feeling then a place; it is the feeling of completion.

 Hinduism originated about 3000 years ago and can’t be traced back

to a single creator. It is a polytheistic religion. Its sacred texts include

Vedas and Upanishads.The Vedas are the most ancient Hindu scriptures,

written in early Sanskrit and containing hymns and guidance on rituals for

priests. The Upanishads are a series of Hindu sacred treaties written in

Sanskrit, expounding the Vedas in mystic and monistic terms. Currently

there are 950 million followers of the Hindu religion. The main days of

worship are Holi, Diwali, Dussehra, and Navratri. Holi is a spring festival

celebrated in February or March in honor of Krishna, Diwali is a Hindu

festival of lights, held in the period October to November. It is particularly

associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the

beginning of the fiscal year of India. Their laws are don’t hurt the cow (as it

is sacred), don’t eat meat, and don’t touch body fluids.

 Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion that originated in India. It was founded in the

5-6 century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama. It is very similar to the Hindu

religion, as it shares reincarnation and many gods. In fact Buddha is now

considered a god in the Hindu religion. Its sacred texts are the Four Noble

Truths and sutras.

The Four Noble Truths include four steps which are Suffering, The

Cause of Suffering, The End of Suffering, and The Path. The first step,

Suffering, explains that life is full of suffering in obvious and subtle forms.

Even when things seem good, we always feel anxiety even if it’s deep
inside. The second step, The Cause of Suffering, explains that the cause of

suffering is wanting something we don’t have for our ego. This is known as

samsara, or cyclic existence. The third step, The End of Suffering, explains

that our wantings are temporary, they are like passing clouds that obscure

the sun of our enlightened nature. The final step, The Path, explains that by

living ethically, practicing meditation, and developing wisdom, we can take

exactly the same journey to enlightenment and freedom that the buddhas

do. The Sutras are Buddha's teachings. A way to follow the Four Noble

Truths is the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is the right understanding,

right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right

mindfulness, and right concentration.

Buddhism is a polytheistic religion. In your life, you can achieve

enlightenment which is letting go of all desire. Once you achieve this, you

will go to Nirvana which is very similar to Moksha as it is more of a feeling

of completion then a place. Buddhism is very popular in Asia. It currently

contains about 500 million people. Its main day of worship is Diwali. Diwali

is a Hindu festival of lights (is also celebrated by Buddhists) held in the

period October to November. Many of these people are vegetarians since

they don’t want to harm animals.

 Judaism

Judaism is a religion created by Abraham in 1812 BC. Judaism was

created in Mesopotamia. Its main sacred text is the Hebrew bible (Torah).
The Torah contains Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and

Deuteronomy.

Genesis explains the beginning of the world and God’s plan for all of

existence. Exodus is when we see God beginning to fulfill His promises to

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though the children of Israel were enslaved in

a foreign land, God managed to deliver them to freedom. Then he created

a theocratic nation under his covenant with Moses. Leviticus was written to

help the Israelites understand the infinite holiness of God, and that He

desires them to act in a holy manner toward Himself. The book of Numbers

is to tell how Israel prepared to enter the promised land, but sinned and

was punished. It describes Moses taking two population censuses, hence

the name Numbers. The book of Deuteronomy was written to remind

Israelites of what God had done and to remind them of what God expects

of them. In the Judaism religion, if you die you can go to heaven or hell.

You go to heaven if you follow the Ten Commandments and The Golden

Rule. It is a monotheistic Religion with 17 million followers. Their main day

of worships is Shabbat. Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath (celebrates how

God rescued the israelites from Egypt). Their place of worship is a

synagogue. Judaism is very similar to Catholicism, as they share their God

and many holidays.

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion that originated in the first

century by Jesus. Its main sacred text is the Bible, which contains two

Testaments, the Old and New. The Old is before Jesus’ birth and the New
is after. Its rules are to live by are the Ten Commandments and The

Golden Rule.

The first commandment is you shall have no other gods before me,

which basically means that you shall not worship other gods. The second

commandment is you shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of

anything, which basically means don’t want anything more than him. The

third commandment is you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,

which means don’t insult people with his name. The fourth is remember the

Sabbath day, to keep it holy, which means to keep the Sabbath day special

to you. The fifth commandment is honor your father and your mother, which

means to respect your parents. The sixth commandment is you shall not

murder which means do not kill. The seventh commandment is you shall

not commit adultery which means do not cheat on your spouse. The eighth

commandment is do not steal, which is self explanatory. The ninth

commandment is you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,

which means do not lie. The tenth commandment is you shall not covet,
which means don’t want something you don’t have. The Golden Rule is do

to others what you want them to do to you. Similar to Judaism, if you die

you go to heaven or hell. This religion is especially popular in the US,

Australia, and the UK. The main place of worship is the church. It currently

has over a billion followers. The main day of worship is Christmas, the birth

of Jesus.

Islam

Islam is a religion created by Muhammad in Mecca. The religion was

created in the 7th century. It currently has over 1 billion followers. Islam

believes that Muhammad went to pray in a cave for a month and, while in
the cave, the angel Gabriel spoke to him. After this, he left and proclaimed

himself as the final prophet. Mecca leaders felt threatened and tried to kill

him. Muhammad fled to Medina and became their leader. Then enemies

from Mecca attacked and Muhammad defeated them. When Muhammad

died in 632; His followers fought over who should be the leader. This split

them into two denominations: Sunni and Shia. The Sunni believed that the

right of leadership went to the best scholar of Islam. The Shia believed that

it should stay in Muhammad's family. Their sacred law is the Five Pillars of

Islam.

The first pillar is proclaim belief in God. The second pillar is pray

facing Mecca five times a day. The third pillar is fast during Ramadan. The

fourth pillar is give to the poor. The fifth is go on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

The Muslims believe in the same God as Catholics and Jews, which

makes them monotheistic. The main sacred text is the Quran. Their main

days of worship are the pilgrimage to Mecca and Ramadan. Romodan is

the month Muhammad spent in the cave. It is the most holy time in Islam, in
which they fast and pray. The pilgrimage to Mecca is self explanatory, they

basically take a pilgrimage to Mecca as it is their holiest city. Similar to

Catholicism and Judaism, Muslims believe in Moses and a lot of earlier

prophets. The place of worship for Muslims is the mosque.