Comparative Religions Elizabeth Pham

How It Began: Founder: Muhammed Founded: 610 C.E. (Muhammed received first revelation) Point of Origin: Mecca Where It Spread: West and East Africa, Philippines, Central Asia, Western China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, North America, and Europe. A Muslim must make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their life. In the heart of Mecca, lays the Ka’aba. He/she must walk around the Ka’aba seven times and then, the Black Stone.

How It Spread: Trade Where Most Influential Today: India and Indonesia, however being the fastest growing religion, North America is giving way to many Muslims. Followers, worldwide: 1,387,454,500 Prayer 5 times a day is part of the Five Pillars. When praying it is important to face the direction of Mecca, thus, everyone in the above picture is facing the same direction.

Holy Book: The Qur'an (or Koran) Main God/gods/deities: Allah Basic Beliefs: Strictly monotheistic; Allah is the Muslims must practice 5 Pillars of Islam Submission to Allah Fasting during Ramadan Prayer 5 times a day Pilgrimage to Mecca Zakat (pay alms to needy) The sacred text of Islam is the Qur’an, which is shown in the above picture.

Religious Leader Organization: Caliph is Islamic leader. Sects Evolved Overtime: Shiites Sunnis The Holy Mosque (Masjid Al-Haram) in Mecca is the most famous Mosque in the world and holds the holy Black Stone, the Ka’aba.

 How It Began:  Founder: Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)  Founded: c. 525 B.C.E.  Point of Origin:  near present-day Benares, India  Where It Spread:  Mainly throughout Asia and North America. The Life of a Buddhist Monk is meant to be simplistic. Thus, the shave their heads and wear robes in order to rid themselves of vanity.

 How It Spread: By Trade and as Ashoka the Great spread the word throughout his Mauryan Dynasty  Where Most Influential: Buddhism is predominately practiced in Asia  Followers, worldwide: 385,609,000  Holy Book: The Tripitaka and Mahayana Sutras The Dharmashakra represents the Eightfold Path.

 Main God/gods/deities:  no divine being  Basic Beliefs:  Karma  Reincarnation  Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth  Four Noble Truths  Life means suffering  Origin of suffering is desire.  The stopping of all suffering is possible  By following the correct path, one can achieve Nirvana (the state of no suffering).  The Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of suffering.

 Religious Leader Organization:  Monastic order where traditions passed down between monks and nuns  Sects Evolved Overtime:  Mahayana (Zen & Sokagakkai)  Theravada  Vajrayana (Tantrism) One of the eight auspicious symbols for Buddhism, the white lotus represents the state of spiritual perfection.

 How It Began: › Founder: Jesus (of Nazareth) › Founded: c. 33 C.E.  Point of Origin: › Palestine  Where It Spread: › Europe, North America, and South America A painting of Jesus Christ.

 How It Spread: › Constantine made it the official religion of the Roman Empire.  Where Most Influential Today: › Europe, North America, and South America  Followers, worldwide: › 2,199, 817,400 Jesus Christ died on the Cross in order to forgive everyone’s sins, thus, the cross is a symbol to represent Christianity.

 Holy Book: › The Bible  Main God/gods/deities: › God  Basic Beliefs: › Monotheistic › Jesus died on the cross to forgive everyone's sins › The Bible tells the life of Jesus › Heaven and Hell

 Religious Leader Organization: › The Pope is head of the church.  Sects Evolved Overtime: › Main sects include  Roman Catholic  Eastern Orthodox  Protestant A church of Eastern Orthodox, one sect of Christianity.

Hinduism How It Began: ◦ Founder: Not Specified ◦ Founded: c B.C.E. Point of Origin: ◦ India Where It Spread: ◦ Mainly India, Nepal, Malaysia, Guyana, Suriname, and Sri Lanka. Symbol for Hinduism.

Hinduism [cont.] How It Spread: ◦ Trade Where Most Influential Today: ◦ India and Nepal Followers, worldwide: ◦ 875,726,000 A statue of Shiva, a Hindu trinity God.

Hinduism [cont.] Holy Book: ◦ Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita Main God/gods/deities: ◦ Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Devi Basic Beliefs: ◦ Four Vedas ◦ Karma ◦ Reincarnation

Hinduism [cont.] Religious Leader ◦ Organization: Spiritual leaders known as gurus and sages. Sects Evolved Overtime: ◦ Shaivism ◦ Vaishnavism Vishnu, a Hindu trinity God.

 How It Began: Founder: c B.C.E. Founded: Abraham  Point of Origin: Israel  Where It Spread: Mainly across Israel and United States For each night of Hanukah, a Jewish holiday, one candle is lit on the menorah.

 How It Spread: Started by passing down through families.  Where Most Influential Today: Israel  Followers, worldwide: 14,956,000

 Holy Book: The Torah  Main God/gods/deities: God  Basic Beliefs: Monotheistic Stresses ethical behavior God has special relationship with Hebrews; they shall bear witness to God’s mercy. The Holy Book of Judaism, the Torah.

 Religious Leader Organization: Other than the Rabbi, who teaches and preaches Judaism, there is no overall religious leader.  Sects Evolved Overtime: Orthodox Conservative Reform Reconstructionist Humanist The Star of David.

 How It Began:  Founder: Confucius  Founded: 6 th -5 th Century C.E.  Point of Origin:  China  Where It Spread:  Koreans, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. The Chinese symbol for Confucianism.

 How It Spread:  Chinese tradition; Became state doctrine for the Han Dynasty  Where Most Influential Today:  China  Followers, worldwide:  6,111,100 An analect of Confucianism.

 Holy Book:  Confucianism followed many different documents as sacred text, including, but not limited to: The Confucian Analects, The Doctrine of The Mean, The Book of Odes, The Book of Changes, The Book of Rites, and The Book of Filial Piety  Main God/gods/deities:  God  Basic Beliefs:  Because Confucianism was more of a moral code, the basic beliefs were simply the stressing of certain values: ▪ Li: ritual, propriety, etiquette, etc. ▪ Hsiao: love among family members ▪ Yi: righteousness ▪ Xin: honesty and trustworthiness ▪ Jen: benevolence towards others; the highest Confucian virtue ▪ Chung: loyalty to the state, etc.

 Religious Leader Organization:  There’s no set religious leader for Confucianism.  Sects Evolved Overtime:  There are no formal sects of Confucianism, however Neo-Confucianism could be considered as Confucianism evolving over time, as it incorporates ideas from Buddhism and Daoism to form. A depiction of the founder of Confucianism, Confucius.