Chapter 6 Section 0 Introduction to Religion

Key Terms Folk Religions Atheist Agnostic Universalizing Religions Ethnic Religions

Introducing Religions Religion is almost universal among all cultures now and throughout history Worshipping of God or the gods has provided humans with purpose, guidance, and answers to big life questions since the beginning of human existence

Introducing Religions Neanderthal cave paintings, Native American totem poles, Christian crosses, Yinyang symbols in Taoism and many more are evidence of religions cultural importance throughout history and across the world Religious traditions and practices are passed down orally or by written texts such as Hindu Vedas, the Islamic Quran, or the Jewish Talmud

Introducing Religions Religion, like language, clothing style, eating habits, and music, is very much a part of a person’s cultural identity Although other parts of culture change throughout one’s life, religion typically does not There are roughly 4,300 documented religions in the world, but 4 religions count for 77% of the world’s population

Introducing Religions Christianity (2.2 billion), Islam (1.6 billion), Hinduism (1 billion), and Buddhism (500 million) make up the 4 largest religions in the world Folk Religions include Chinese traditional, primal-indigenous, and African traditional and make up about 6% of world pop

Introducing Religions Other religions include smaller religions that can have only a few followers or between millions such as Judaism, Sikhism, Jainism, Rastafarianism, or Zoroastrianism…all of these combine to make up less than 1% of the world’s pop The remaining 16% of the world’s pop (1.2 billion) have no formal association with a religion. Some are atheist and do not believe in God or are agnostic (belief that God cannot be proven)

Introducing Religions Religions can be classified into two types: Universalizing Religions attempt to be global and appeal to all people Ethnic Religions appeal to one group of people living in one place It is not always clear which religions are universalizing and which are ethnic, but the distinction has a big effect on understanding origin, diffusion, and distribution of different religions Number of adherents is also not a determinate in whether a religion is universalizing or ethnic…Christianity and Islam are universalizing but Hinduism (1 billion people) is considered Ethnic