RELIGION

god meaning of god God : Spirit or being who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the world Someone very much admired by a group of people and who influences them a lot is sometimes referred to as a god Deity : Another word for god or goddess

philosophy vs religion philosophy Here, a philosophy is a particular theory that someone has about how to live Sometimes it refers to a study of how people should live religion A religion is a belief in a god or gods and the activities that are connected with this belief

h i n d u i s m founder No single founder place of origin India about 2500 B.C. religious books/writings Vedas BOOKS OF KNOWLEDGE written by the Brahmins or priests Upanishads religious teachings on the human spirit The Epics RAMAYANA & MAHABHARATA

h i n d u i s m key ideas/beliefs Hindu deities EG Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva Karma Sum of total deeds, thoughts and actions from a previous life Reincarnation When people die, their souls are reborn into the bodies of people or animals Caste system People are divided into social classes by birth

b u d d h i s m founder Siddharta Gautama place of origin Nepal, India 6th century B.C. religious books/writings Tripitakas

b u d d h i s m key ideas/beliefs Karma Reincarnation Life of every living thing is important Enlightenment Aim of Buddhism is to achieve Enlightenment Four Noble Truths Eight-Fold Noble Paths

t a o i s m founder Laozi place of origin China 6 th century B.C. religious books/writings Daodejing

t a o i s m key ideas/beliefs Live simply Work closely with nature Do not pursue wealth and power

t a o i s m Taoism - origins traced to Laozi ie "elder master." Early historical sources : Laozi was a royal scholar in the sixth century B.C. However, sources probably based on legends Possible that Laozi may not have existed as a historical figure

t a o i s m The philosophical text attributed to him was the Classic of the Way and Its Power The text is actually a compilation of various writings collected over the course of generations Compiled around the third century B.C. Some of its ideas may have been more than a century old by that time

t a o i s m Historians now agree that Laozi was a legendary figure developed to provide an author for the Daode jing Daode jing believed to be compiled by a group of scholars in the third century B.C. served as the foundation for both philosophical and religious Taoism During the Han dynasty, Laozi was deified Laozi remains one of the most important deities in religious Taoism

t a o i s m

c o n f u c i a n i s m founder Confucius place of origin China 6th century B.C. religious books/writings Analects

c o n f u c i a n i s m key ideas/beliefs Family as the unit of society King should think of his people as a family Rules for right behaviour Importance of education

i s l a m founder Prophet Muhammad place of origin Middle East 7th century A.D. religious books/writings Koran

i s l a m key ideas/beliefs Brotherhood of believers Five pillars of faith