established by 1000 c.e
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Established by 1000 C.E. Polytheism: origins. Earliest religions across all cultural regions Sumerian, Shang, Greek, Roman, Germanic, Mayan, Aztec, and African. Polytheism: Tenets. Belief in many gods/ spirits Gods as personification of nature animism. Hinduism: Origin & Spread. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Established by 1000 C.E.
Polytheism: origins
•Earliest religions across all cultural regions
•Sumerian, Shang, Greek, Roman, Germanic, Mayan, Aztec, and African
Polytheism: Tenets
•Belief in many gods/ spirits•Gods as personification of
nature•animism
Hinduism: Origin & Spread
• Began with the Aryan invaders– vedas
• 1700-1500 B.C.E.• Later groups added to ideas• Spread thru Indian
Subcontinent
Hinduism: Major Tenets
• One ultimate reality: Brahma• Rebirth for spiritual progress,
determined by karma• Release for cycle of rebirth (moshka) • Dharma, duties and rules of conduct to
be followed to achieve release from reincarnation
Hinduism: Significance
• No founder, no specific date• Tolerant of other religions• Adaptable; offers both meditation
and ritual• Varna, division of people into 4
classes, beginnings of caste, as a measure of one’s spiritual progress
Judaism: Origins/Spread
• Hebrews, ancient Israelites• First writings between 1000 and
800 B.C.E.• Began in ancient Palestine spread
into land of Canaan to Egypt (Exodus) and back to Canaan.
• 130s C.E. into the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe
Judaism: Tenets• Monotheistic• Chosen people through a special
relationship with God (covenant) • Messiah to come• Beliefs set forth in the Torah and
the Talmud (collection of oral laws)
Judaism: Significance
• First monotheistic religion• Greatly influenced both
Christianity and Islam• No widespread hierarchical
structure• No missionary movement
• Grew from protest of Brahman (highest caste) practices
• Siddhartha Gautama 500s B.C.E.• Spread from Northern India, Asia
and Southeast Asia as far as Japan by the 700s C.E.
Buddhism: origins and spread
• Siddhartha Gautama- 500 BCE• Buddha is not a god (allows for
spirits)• Northern India- Nepal• Spread along trade and travel
routes into China, Japan, Southeast Asia
Buddhism: Tenets
• Four Noble truths– Universality of Suffering– Desire causes suffering– Nirvana is the cessation of desire– Eightfold path is guide to entering
NirvanaRightness of : Knowledge, thought,
speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mind, and meditation
Buddhism: Significance
• Strong monastic tradition; monks helped to spread
• Revival of Hinduism and Islamic invasions wipe out of India by 1000 ce
• Different forms emerge- – Theraveda: oldest (Southeast Asia()– Mahyaha: emphasis on the bodhisattva
Confucianism: Origins
• Confucius began teaching in 500s BCE
• Developed an ethical philosophy
• Never spread from China or regions dominated by China (Japan, Korea, Taiwan)
Confucianism: Tenets
• Based on five basic relationships; ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brothers, and friends
• Filial piety(honor to one’s elders/betters); family as the extension of the state
• Superior man; only the educated should govern
Confucianism: Significance
• Philosophical and ethical system of conduct
• Dominant in government, education, and scholarship for 2000 years
• Basis for civil service• Conservative influence: status quo• Mandate from heaven• Ancestor worship
Daoism: Origin/spread
• Attributed to Lao-tzu 400s and 300s BCE
• Spread through China has become popular in some Western thought
• 2nd most influential thought system
Lao Tze
Daoism: Tenets
• Tao “The Way”• Live in accord with one’s nature• Balance• Oneness with everything thru the
tao, meditation• Yin and yang; passive and active
principles• Borrowed Buddhist practices
Daoism: Significance
• Social conventions such as Confucian rituals are unnatural
• Mixed with peasant belief in spirits (animism)
• Interest in nature greatly influenced Chinese arts
Christianity: Origins/Spread
• Originated with the teachings of Jesus 30s CE
• Spread from Palestine throughout the Roman world, including the Byzantine Empire and northern Europe
• Three major sects: Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant found in all continents
Christianity: Tenets
• Monotheism; Jesus as the Messiah• Thru God’s grace and the gift of
faith people are “saved” • Gospels as main source of early
teachings of Jesus• Large body of later writings
developed to interpret and build on original teachings
Christianity: Significance
• Legalized by Constantine in the late 300s• Monastic element preserved much of
Greek and Roman learning after Roman Empire
• Missionary outreach• Strong, universal hierarchial structure and
discipline• As RCC, papacy rivaled that of European
emperors and kings
Islam: origins/Spread
• Muhammad, Early 600s CE• From Arabian peninsula through middle
East to Western India, Western China, sub-Saharan Africa, and Moorish enclaves in Spain
• Easy to learn and practice and teaches equality.
• Non-Muslims, who were “Peoples of the Book,” were allowed religious freedom, but paid additional taxes.
Islam: Tenets• One God, Allah• Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets• 5 pillars
– No god but Allah, Muhammad is his prophet
– Prayer facing Mecca five times a day– Charity– Fasting during Ramadan– pilgrimage
The Ka’ba
Islam: Significance
• Split into sects: argued over who would lead the faith after the death of the prophet– Sunni: modern majority originally
adherents of the Umayyad– Shi’is: originally followers of Ali
• Developed the Sharia, a legal code for many Islamic Nations