1. World Religions

2. Religion-organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, practices, and worship that center around one or more gods. Monotheism-Belief in one god Polytheism-Belief in more than one god

3. Location: East Asia, SE Asia, Japan Place of Worship: home, temples Founder/ Important people or gods: – Siddhartha Guatama. He was known as Buddha, meaning “the enlightened one.” – Dalai Lama is head monk of Tibetan Buddhism. Usually believed to be reincarnated from Last Dalai Lama Sacred Text:Tripitaka is earliest collection of Buddhist texts Mono/Poly: neither Buddhism

4. East Asia, SE Asia, Japan

5. Beliefs: key to happiness was separation from worldly goods and desires. Buddha believed that this was achieved by understanding the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path.

6. Four Noble Truths 1 st Noble Truth – In every life there is suffering and sorrow 2 nd Noble Truth – Cause for suffering is because of people’s selfish desires 3 rd Noble Truth – The way to end suffering is end desires 4 th Noble Truth – The way to overcome desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path. Eightfold Path 1.Right views 2.Right aspirations 3.Right speech 4.Right conduct 5.Right livelihood 6.Right endeavor 7.Right mindfulness 8.Right meditation

7. Key Terms/Symbols: Meditation – practiced to reach enlightenment Karma – our actions decide our future. Buddhism uses an agricultural metaphor to explain how “sowing good or bad seeds will result in good or bad fruit” Wheel of Dharma- – Eight spokes of the wheel represent the Eightfold Path – Wheel also represents the endless cycle of rebirth

8. Location: Europe, North American, South America Place of worship: church Founder/Important people or gods: – Jesus Christ – The Pope – head of Roman Catholic Church Sacred Text: Bible, made up of two parts – Old Testament – focuses on Jewish history and religion – New Testament – describes the teachings of Jesus Christ Mono/Poly: Monotheistic Christianity

9. Europe, North & South America

10. Beliefs: Believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God Christians believe that Jesus died to save humanity from sin and in order to reach salvation they follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Believe in life after death.

11. Key Terms/Symbols The Cross is a Christian symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and represents his love for humanity.

12. Location: India but also can largely be found in Africa, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere. Place of Worship: home (shrines) or temple Founder/Important people or gods: – Gurus are spiritual Hindu leaders – Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva – No single founder Sacred Text: Vedas Mono/Poly: Polytheistic Hinduism

13. India

14. Beliefs: Many Hindus believe in a single Supreme Being whose qualities are represented through different deities (gods) Reincarnation is based on how your previous life was lived BrahmaVishnuShiva

15. Key Terms/Symbols Karma – our actions decide our future. Cycle of Rebirth –karma determines where a person will be reborn and their status in their next life. Om or Aum - Made up of three Sanskrit letters that represent the three worlds of earth, atmosphere, and heaven

16. Islam Location: Middle East, Africa, Asia Place of worship: mosque Founder/Important people or gods: – Mohammad – final prophet – Allah – Arabic for god – Jesus, Moses, Abraham – prophets of god Sacred Text: Qur'an (Koran) Mono/Poly: Monotheistic

17. Middle East, Africa, Asia

18. Beliefs: God sent prophets to mankind to teach them how to live according to his law Jesus, Moses, Abraham Muhammad-Final prophet, date their religion from the time of Muhammad. Five Pillars of Islam 1.Faith-There is no other god but Allah 2.Prayer-must pray 5x a day towards the holy city Mecca in Saudi Arabia 3.Alms-must give alms or money for the poor 4.Fasting- must fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan 5.Pilgrimage-must travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetime

19. Key Terms/Symbols Star and Crescent- Polytheistic symbol adopted during the spread of Islam

20. Judaism Location: Israel and North America Place of worship: synagogue Founder/Important people or gods: – Moses – founder – Rabbis – spiritual leader – Abraham – first teacher or Judaism ( monotheistic beliefs), date history back to Abraham Sacred Text: The Torah Mono/Poly: Monotheistic

21. Israel, North America

22. Beliefs Believe in covenant relationship with god meaning if Jews do as God asks, then God will take care of them Key Terms/Symbols Star of David