THESE ARE THE RELIGIONS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS SEMESTERWORLD R

THESE ARE THE RELIGIONS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS
SEMESTER
WORLD RELIGIONS – REL 212 World Religions
HINDUISM & JAINISM
WEEK 2
Cosmogony - Origin of the Universe
No specific origin or founder
Nature of God/Creator
Gods are in male and female form and represent many
different things
View of Human Nature

Karma, what comes around goes around
View of Good & Evil
good actions have good effects, bad actions have bad effects
View of Salvation
Moksha is when an enlightened human being is freed from the
cycle of life-and-death (the endless cycle of death and
reincarnation) and comes into a state of completeness. He then
becomes one with God.
View of After Life
Samsara-reincarnation
Practices and Rituals
Sculptures;images;Home shrines;Meditation;Ayurveda;Hatha
Yoga;Kundalini Yoga;Puja (Pooja)

Celebrations & Festivals
Raksha Bandhan;Krishna Janmashthami;Ganesh Chaturthi;Shiv
Ratri;The Onam Carnival;Vasant Panchami;Guru
Purnima;Karwa Chauth;Bhai Dooj;Vasanta Navaratri;The
Kumbh & Ardhkumbh
Week 2 - Sources
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Cosmology.htm
BUDDHISM
WEEK 3

Beginning of this world and of life is inconceivable, since they
have neither beginning nor end
do not believe in the concept of a personal God
Dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a formulation
that is central to Buddhist philosophy
View of Good & Evil
Conditions which arise in the mind, producing results initially
in the mind, and from there to external actions and physical
features. Good and evil are innate, inseparable aspects of life.
View of Salvation
Salvation is liberation from such bondage through the
transformation of our consciousness and our awakening to our

true nature. The Buddhist path to salvation does not go
through prayers, but is rather based on deeds including mental
culture through meditation. For a Buddhist salvation is
reaching Nirvana.
View of After Life
The Buddhist view is that there is no soul, as it is understood
in the Judeo-Christian or scholastic philosophy traditions.
after death one is either reborn into another body (reincarnated)
or enters nirvana
Meditation;Mantras;Mudras;Prayer wheels
• Buddhist New Year
• Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja
• Songkran-(essentially a cleansing of life by cleaning homes
and washing clothes etc.)
• The Ploughing Festival(May, when the moon is half-full, two
white oxen pull a gold painted plough, followed by four girls

dressed in white who scatter rice seeds from gold and silver
baskets. This is to celebrate the Buddha's first moment of
enlightenment)
• Loy Krathong: When the rivers and canals are full of water,
this festival takes place in all parts of Thailand on the full
moon night of the twelfth lunar month. Bowls made with
leaves, candles, and incense sticks, are placed in the water,
and represent bad luck disappearing.
Week 3
- Sources
http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma5/goodevil.html
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism/Beliefs/Human-
Nature-and-the-Purpose-of-Existence
http://shindharmanet.com/salvation2/
DAOISM & CONFUCIANISM
WEEK 4

It makes some reference to the origin of the world through the
interaction of the forces of Ying and Yang. There are no
stories about the origin of human beings.
They believe that God is loving and benign
The purpose of existence is to reach one's highest potential as
a human being. Through a rigorous process of self-cultivation
that lasts a lifetime, one may eventually become a "perfected
person."
View of Good & Evil
Suffering and evil are inevitable in human life, and can
promote learning and growth. A mistake is not a "sin," but an
opportunity to learn and do better next time.

View of Salvation
Confucians don't ordinarily hold convictions about the
individual salvation or condemnation of persons past this life.
Death is neither dreaded nor desired in Daoism rather a person
appreciates living.
View of After Life
Confucianism regards both life and death as a responsibility to
society, while Daoism (Taoism) holds that both life and death
should be in conformity to nature.
Aside from its important ethical principles, Confucianism does
not prescribe any specific rituals or practices. These are filled
by the practices of Chinese religion, Taoism, Buddhism, or
other religion which Confucians follow.
· The 28th day of September is the birthday of Confucius.

· The Chinese Ching Ming Festival, also called, Ancestor Day
· The Qufu International Confucius Festival is celebrated
annually between September 26th and October 10
Week 4
- Sources
http://religions.findthebest.com/q/4/1464/What-is-the-nature-of-
god-according-to-Confucianism
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Confucianism/Beliefs/Human-
Nature-and-the-Purpose-of-Existence.html#ixzz38hI0maX2
http://www.crvp.org/book/series03/iii-
3/appendix_b_theories_of_life_and_.htm
WEEK 5
SHINTO

In the Kojiki it states: " At the time of the beginning of heaven
and earth" and does not refer to whatever may have preceded
the separation of Heaven and Earth, but simply suggests that
something already existed
Kami are the spirits or phenomena that are worshipped in the
religion of Shinto. They are elements in nature, animals,
creationary forces in the universe, as well as spirits of the
revered deceased. Many Kami are considered the ancient
ancestors of entire clans, and some ancestors became Kami
upon their death if they were able to embody the values and
virtues of Kami in life.
In Shintō it is commonly said that “man is kami’s child.”
View of Good & Evil
Purity is at the heart of Shinto's understanding of good and
evil.

View of Salvation
The concept of salvation is based on the belief that all living
things have an essence, soul or spirit known as "kami."
View of After Life
After death, a person becomes a spirit-deity, eventually
joining in a great ancestral collective which is the manifestation
of the great Divine. Shinto followers place little emphasis on
death and what happens after it
Shinto rituals are a central component of most of the national
festivals in Japan, as well as of the more specialized events at
particular shrines and other sacred sites. Most often they are
performed by male priests who are assisted by a female shrine
functionary called a miko, who often is a shaman.
The main Shintō rites and festivals are for celebrating the New
Year, child birth, coming of age, planting and havest,

weddings, and groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings
Week 5
- Sources
http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=
1319
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shinto-festivals.html
http://lifeafterdeath.com/life-after-death-shinto/
WEEK 6
JUDAISM
A Divine singular God made all that exists

He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. Judaism
completely rejects the dualistic notion that evil was created by
Satan or some other deity.
Humans were created in the image of God. People have the
ability to choose which impulse to follow: the good impulse or
the evil impulse. That is the heart of the Jewish understanding
of free will.
View of Good & Evil
In Judaism good and evil are spoken of as light and darkness.
View of Salvation
Salvation comes from the Lord and is a favor bestowed upon
the nation as a whole.

View of After Life
Jewish teachings on the subject of afterlife are sparse: The
Torah, the most important Jewish text, has no clear reference
to afterlife at all.
· Circumcision
· Havdalah (includes Havdalah service)
· Kashrut (dietary traditions: keeping kosher)
· Shabbat - considered the most important of all Jewish
holidays
· Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year
· Yom Kippur - Jewish Day of Atonement
· Sukkot - seven–day festival celebrates the fall harvest
· Shemini Atzeret - a festive day after the week-long festival
of Sukkot
· Hanukkah - 8–day Jewish winter festival

Week 6
- Sources
http://www.jewfaq.org/g-d.htm
http://scheinerman.net/judaism/Rituals/index.html
http://www.pjcc.org/jewishlife/holidays/jewish-holidays-
explained.html
WEEK 7
CHRISTIANITY
Christianity inherited the Jewish cosmology that God is the
creative force, or power, and created everything himself. God
created all things through a series of acts, or methodology,

described in the Bible.
God is unique, distinct, and unlike any other concept of God.
There is only one God, and God the Father, Jesus and the Holy
Spirit are all the same God.
Each person is a unique individual and has the power to act
under his/her own will. By design, human beings are in relation.
They are in relation to their environment, to God, to their
neighbors, and to the larger human community.
View of Good & Evil
All goodness flows from God's inherent character, and evil is
refusing to submit to His authority and love and serve Him.
Christians hold that moral evil stems from rebellion against
God, which results in injustice, vanity, pride, dishonesty,
aggression, violence, greed and more.
View of Salvation

Salvation is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus
Christ by crucifixion. As the judge of all, God will assess each
individual's relationship to Christ; people risk a sentence of
eternal punishment and spiritual death, forever separated from
God.
View of After Life
Majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven, in
which the deceased enjoy the presence of God and loved ones
for eternity. A small majority of Christians believe in hell, a
place of suffering where unbelievers or sinners are punished.
Catholic Christians also believe in purgatory, a temporary
place of punishment for Christians who have died with
unconfessed sins.
Nearly all Christians will have been baptized, either as an
infant or as an adult, and regularly participate in communion.
The cross is important to Christianity as well as Jesus Christ’s
depiction of being hung upon that cross.
Lent, Easter and Christmas are the main religious festivals of

the Christian Year. The most important Christian holiday is
Easter, a spring festival that celebrates Christ's resurrection
from the dead. The 40 days prior to Easter form the Lenten
season, a time of fasting and repentance. Christmas
commemorates the birth of Jesus on December 25.
Week 7 - Sources
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/c/cosmology_christ
ian.html
http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/what-does-christianity-say-
about-the-nature-of-god/
http://worldreligions2.tripod.com/id7.html
http://www.christinyou.net/pages/understandgod.html
http://people.opposingviews.com/christianity-beliefs-good-evil-
2926.html
WEEK

8
ISLAM
Allah, the supreme being created everything and everyone
Although the God of Islam has revealed his will through the
prophets, his actual nature remains ultimately unknowable. He
is transcendent and not a part of his creation, and is most often
referred to in terms and with names that emphasize his majesty
and superiority.
Muslims believe humans are the greatest of all creatures,
created with free will for the purpose of obeying and serving
Allah.
View of Good & Evil

The Islamic definitions of good and evil are based on the
purposes of creation and the meaning of human life. The
ultimate goal of human life is to become perfected spiritually
through belief in God, the knowledge of God, the love of God,
and the worship of God. Whatever brings a person closer to
God and will benefit him in the Next World is good, and
whatever takes a person away from God, and incur His anger is
evil.
View of Salvation
In Islam, the purpose of life is to live in a way that is pleasing
to Allah so that one may gain Paradise. Unbelievers ("those
who are ungrateful") and sinners will be condemned, but
genuine repentance results in Allah's forgiveness and entrance
into Paradise upon death. Islam teaches that no one can gain
salvation simply by virtue of their belief or deeds, instead it is
the Mercy of God, which merits them salvation.
View of After Life
Islamic doctrine holds that human existence continues after the
death of the human body in the form of spiritual and physical
resurrection. Faith in life after death is one of the six
fundamental beliefs required of a Muslim to complete his
faith. Rejecting it renders all other beliefs meaningless.

The Five Pillars of Islam (Arabic arkan ud-Din, "pillars of the
faith") are the five religious duties expected of every Muslim.
· Shahada – The first of the Five Pillars Shahada is the Muslim
profession of faith, expressing the two simple, fundamental
beliefs that make one a Muslim: There is no god but God and
Muhammad is the prophet of God.
· Salat - ritual prayer which is performed five times a day: at
dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset and evening.
· Alms tax (zakat)
· Sawm - fasting, commemorates the revelation of the Quran to
humanity during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic year.
· Hajj - At least once in his or her lifetime, each Muslim is
expected to undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, the sacred city
of Islam.
Before performing certain rituals, most importantly before
prayers, Muslims are expected to perform a form of
purification
Eid al-Fitr (1 Shawwal): The Celebration concluding Ramadan.
Ramadan, the month of fasting, ends with the festival of Eid
al-Fitr. Literally the "Festival of Breaking the Fast," Eid al-

Fitr is one of the two most important Islamic celebrations (Eid
al-Adha is the other). Al-Hijra, the Islamic New Year, is
celebrated on the first day of Muharram, the month in which
Muhammad emigrated from Mecca to Medina. Ashura is an
Islamic holiday observed on the 10th of Muharram, the first
month of the Islamic year.
Week 8
- Sources
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/human.htm
http://www.islamreligion.com/
http://www.questionsaboutislam.com/
http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/holidays
WEEK 9
SIKHISM

Sikhism teaches that only the creator knows the origin of the
universe.
Sikhism teaches the existence of one God, Ik Onkar. First
Guru Nanak taught that the creator and creation are inseparable
in the way that an ocean is made up of its individual drops.
Sikhs perceive human life as an opportunity to merge with the
divine will. However, the core problem is that human
judgment is occluded by a false sense of self.
View of Good & Evil
Only humans know the difference between right and wrong,
and can make moral choices

View of Salvation
In order to attain salvation one must live a honest life and
meditate on God. Sikhism shows the way to attain salvation
and become One with God. Sikhism instructs that you do not
have to fast, abstain, go on renunciation or enter a monastery
in order to meet God. All you have to do is have faith, recite
the Name of God and remember Him for each possible
moment.
View of After Life
Sikhs do not believe in an afterlife in either Heaven or Hell.
Sikhism teaches that the soul reincarnates when the body dies.
Sikhs believe that good or bad actions, in this life, determine
the life form into which a soul takes rebirth.
Baptism – Amrit; Marriage - Anand Karaj; Naming of Children
Guru Gobind Singh's Birthday; Maghi; Hola Maholla;

Vaisakhi; Martyrdom of Guru Arjan; Celebration of the Guru
Granth Sahib; Guru Nanak's Birthday; Martyrdom of Guru
Tegh Bahadur
Week 9
- Sources
http://sikhism.about.com/od/sikhism101/qt/Creation.htm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/god/sigoodandevil
rev2.shtml
http://sikhism.about.com/od/sikhism101/qt/Sikh_Afterlife.htm
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Sikhism/Beliefs/Human-
Nature-and-the-Purpose-of-Existence.html
http://www.realsikhism.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=
1248309169&ucat=7
http://www.sikhismguide.org/rites.aspx
WEEK 10

NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
There is a higher being of some form.
Most believe that God is a higher being that is benevolent and
all seeing
human nature is that of a multitude of choices in life and
choices are made based on one’s beliefs
View of Good & Evil
good and evil exist everywhere, and choices are where we
make the choice between good and evil based on our life’s
choices

View of Salvation
Salvation can be achieved by attempting to live a modest,
humble life and doing as much good as possible.
View of After Life
Afterlife is extremely varied. Some do not believe and others
believe in a place similar to the heaven described in
Christianity and some also believe in a hell.
Practices and rituals are very different from religion to
religion. Some believe in meditation, smoking marijuana,
wearing certain colors, etc.
The celebrations are small and commonly unheard of.
THIS IS THE ACTUAL ASSIGNMENT:

Choose ONE (1) category (origin of all things, nature of god,
view of human nature, view of good and evil, etc.) from the
chart to focus on for this assignment. Consider how the selected
category relates to all of the religions covered and to your own
social or work experiences.
Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
Select ONE (1) category from the completed World View Chart.
Provide a rationale for choosing this category. What is
compelling about this category? Why is it important in the study
of religion?
Describe the selected content and explain the significance of the
selected category across all of the religions studied. Show in
what ways the category is significant for each religion.
Give an example of how you have noticed this category in your
life, town or country. What impact does this category have in
the everyday lives of people who practice religion in your area?
(You do not have to give examples of all the religions in your
area, just one you have noticed besides any you practice). For
example, in Cincinnati, Ohio we have Hindu, Greek Orthodox,
Catholic festivals in the summer. So if my category were
"Festivals and Celebrations" I could use those events as my
example.
Use at least three (3) quality resources as references for the
assignment and document your sources using APA Style for in-
text citations and references. Note: Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources.

Write clearly and coherently using correct grammar,
punctuation, spelling, and mechanics.
.

THESE ARE THE RELIGIONS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS SEMESTERWORLD R

THESE ARE THE RELIGIONS WE TALKED ABOUT THIS SEMESTERWORLD R

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