1. Comparative Religions
AP World History

2. Islam

3. Islam How It Began: Point of Origin: Where It Spread:
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.

4. Islam [cont.] How It Spread: Where Most Influential Today:
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.

5. Islam [cont.] Holy Book: Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs:
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.

6. Islam [cont.] Religious Leader Organization: Sects Evolved Overtime:
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.

7. Buddhism

8. Buddhism How It Began: Point of Origin: Where It Spread:
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.

9. Buddhism [cont.]
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.

10. Buddhism [cont.] Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs: no divine being
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.

11. Buddhism [cont.] 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.

12. Christianity

13. Christianity How It Began: Point of Origin: Where It Spread:
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.

14. Christianity [cont.] How It Spread: Where Most Influential Today:
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.

15. Christianity [cont.] Holy Book: Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs:
The Bible
Main God/gods/deities:
God
Basic Beliefs:
Monotheistic
Jesus died on the cross to forgive everyone's sins
The Bible (New Testament) tells the life of Jesus
Heaven and Hell

16. Christianity [cont.] 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.

17. Hinduism

18. Hinduism How It Began: Point of Origin: Where It Spread:
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.

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

20. Hinduism [cont.] Holy Book: Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs:
Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita
Main God/gods/deities:
Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Devi
Basic Beliefs:
Four Vedas
Karma
Reincarnation
Reincarnation is based on a class system.

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

22. Judaism

23. Judaism How It Began: Point of Origin: Where It Spread:
Founded: c B.C.E.
Founder: 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.

24. Judaism [cont.] How It Spread: Where Most Influential Today:
Started by passing down through families.
Where Most Influential Today:
Israel
Followers, worldwide:
14,956,000

25. Judaism [cont.] Holy Book: Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs:
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.

26. Judaism [cont.] Religious Leader Organization: Sects Evolved Overtime:
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.

27. Confucianism

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

29. Confucianism [cont.] How It Spread: Where Most Influential Today:
Military Conquest
Where Most Influential Today:
China
Followers, worldwide:
6,111,100
An analect of Confucianism.

30. Confucianism [cont.] Holy Book: Main God/gods/deities: Basic Beliefs:
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.

31. Confucianism [cont.] 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.