Religion. Religious activities around the world Many religions may have organized behaviors, clergy, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, holy places, and scriptures. The practice of a religion may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of a deity, gods or goddesses), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service or other aspects of human culture. Religions may also contain mythology.[2] Etymology Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem (nom. religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods,"[11] "obligation, the bond between man and the gods"[12]) is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possibility is an interpretation traced to Cicero, connecting lego "read", i.e. re (again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully".
Definitions Theories. Flood myth. "The Deluge", frontispiece to Gustave Doré's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of Noah's Ark, this shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs. A flood myth or deluge myth is a symbolic narrative in which a great flood is sent by a deity, or deities, to destroy civilization in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primeval waters found in certain creation myths, as the flood waters are described as a measure for the cleansing of humanity, in preparation for rebirth.
Mythologies[edit] The Mesopotamian flood stories concern the epics of Ziusudra, Gilgamesh, and Atrahasis. In the Sumerian King List, it relies on the flood motif to divide its history into preflood and postflood periods. In the Genesis flood narrative, Yahweh decides to flood the earth because of the depth of the sinful state of mankind. Claims of historicity[edit] See also[edit]
Mesopotamian Religion. Spirituality. The term "spirituality" lacks a definitive definition, although social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for "the sacred," where "the sacred" is broadly defined as that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration. Definition[edit] There is no single, widely-agreed definition of spirituality.
[note 1] Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for the sacred, for that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration, "a transcendent dimension within human experience...discovered in moments in which the individual questions the meaning of personal existence and attempts to place the self within a broader ontological context.
" According to Waaijman, the traditional meaning of spirituality is a process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man, the image of God. Waaijman points out that "spirituality" is only one term of a range of words which denote the praxis of spirituality. Etymology[edit] Judaism[edit] Nondualism. Nondualism, also called non-duality, "points to the idea that the universe and all its multiplicity are ultimately expressions or appearances of one essential reality. " It is a term and concept used to define various strands of religious and spiritual thought. Its origins are situated within the Buddhist tradition with its teaching of the two truths doctrine, the nonduality of the absolute and the relative, and the Yogacara notion of "pure consciousness" or "representation-only" (vijñapti-mātra). The term has more commonly become associated with the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Adi Shankara, which took over the Buddhis notion of pure consciousness and provided an orthodox hermeneutical basis for heterodox Buddhist phenomology.
Advaita Vedanta states that there is no difference between Brahman and Ātman, a stance which is also reflected in other Indian traditions, such as Shiva Advaita and Kashmir Shaivism. Definitions[edit] Dictionary definitions of "nondualism" are scarce. Tantra[edit] 1. Hinduism. Indian religion Hinduism ()[1] is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide.
[note 1][note 2] As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus.[2][3][web 1][web 2] The word Hindu is an exonym,[note 3] and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world,[note 4] many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit. ''the Eternal Dharma''), a modern usage, which refers to the idea that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. [note 5] Another endonym is Vaidika Dharma,[10][14] the dharma related to the Vedas.[15] Etymology The word Hindū is derived from Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit root Sindhu, believed to be the name of the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Definitions Typology Hindu views Sanātana Dharma Vaidika dharma Hindu modernism Scholarly views. Buddhism. Indian religion or philosophy based on the Buddha's teachings Buddhism ( BUU-dih-zəm, BOOD-), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (transl. "doctrines and disciplines"), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha.[3] It originated in present-day North India as a śramaṇa–movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion,[4] with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population.[7] Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda (lit. 'School of the Elders') and Mahāyāna (lit. 'Great Vehicle').
Etymology Buddhism is an Indian religion[22] or philosophy. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan-s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India.[25][26] Buddhist scholar Donald S. The Buddha Worldview Four Noble Truths – dukkha and its ending. Taoism. Taoist rite at the Qingyanggong (Bronze Ram Temple) in Chengdu, Sichuan. Taoism, or Daoism, is a philosophical, ethical, and religious tradition of Chinese origin that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao (also romanized as Dao). The term Tao means "way", "path" or "principle", and can also be found in Chinese philosophies and religions other than Taoism.
In Taoism, however, Tao denotes something that is both the source and the driving force behind everything that exists. It is ultimately ineffable: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. "[1] While Taoism drew its cosmological notions from the tenets of the School of Yin Yang, the Tao Te Ching, a compact and ambiguous book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade–Giles: Lao Tzu), is widely considered its keystone work.
After Laozi and Zhuangzi, the literature of Taoism grew steadily and was compiled in form of a canon—the Daozang—which was published at the behest of the emperor. Chinese spiritual world concepts. Chinese spiritual world concepts are cultural practices or methods found in Chinese culture. Some fit in the realms of a particular religion, others do not. In general these concepts were uniquely evolved from the Chinese values of filial piety, tacit acknowledgment of the co-existence of the living and the deceased, and the belief in causality and reincarnation, with or without religious overtones. Practices and Beliefs[edit] Modes of Communication[edit] Figures[edit] Gwai ren (貴人) - Someone who can help you. Objects[edit] Peach wood sword (桃木劍) - the definitive weapon used for demon exorcism during Taoist exorcism.[8] The ones from Long Mountain in Jiangxi province are particularly valued as the premium quality peach wood swords.[8]Stone tablets (石敢當) - the tablets are placed at main doors, junctions of small avenues, three-way junctions, river banks or ponds to gather positive energy and ward off evil spirit.
Finance[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit] Chinese folk religion. Altar to the Five Officials worshipped inside the Temple of the Five Lords in Haikou, Hainan. The Chinese folk religion has a variety of sources, localised worship forms, ritual and philosophical traditions. Among the ritual traditions, notable examples includes Wuism and Nuoism. Chinese folk religion is sometimes categorized inadequately as "Taoism", since over the centuries institutional Taoism has been assimilating or administering local religions.
Zhengyi Taoism is especially intertwined with local cults, with Zhengyi daoshi often performing rituals for local temples and communities. Faism, the tradition of the fashi ("masters of rites"), inhabits the boundary between Taoism and folk religion. Overview[edit] Communal ceremony at the Temple of Shennong-Yandi in Suizhou, Hubei. The Temple of the Town God of Beijing. Philosophical framework[edit] Tian is usually translated as "Heaven", but a philological translation would be "Great One", "Great Whole", "Great All". Divine efficacy[edit] Zoroastrianism. Iranian religion founded by Zoroaster With possible roots dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE, Zoroastrianism enters recorded history around the middle of the 6th century BCE.[10] It served as the state religion of the ancient Iranian empires for more than a millennium (approximately from 600 BCE to 650 CE), but declined from the 7th century CE onwards as a direct result of the Arab-Muslim conquest of Persia (633–654 CE), which led to the large-scale persecution of the Zoroastrian people.
Recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians in the world at around 110,000–120,000[12] at most, with the majority of this figure living in India, Iran, and North America; their number has been thought to be declining.[13][14] Terminology The name Zoroaster (Ζωροάστηρ) is a Greek rendering of the Avestan name Zarathustra. Overview Theology Practices Ossuary with reliefs of Zoroastrian priests attending a fire, Mullakurgan (near Samarkand), Uzbekistan, 7-8th century CE.[52] History Conversion. Origins of Judaism. This article discusses the historical roots of Judaism throughout the 1st millennium BCE. For the origins of the modern-day religion of Judaism, see Origins of Rabbinic Judaism. From the 5th century BCE until 70 CE, Israelite religion developed into the various theological schools of Second Temple Judaism, besides Hellenistic Judaism in the diaspora.
The text of the Hebrew Bible was redacted into its extant form in this period and possibly also canonized as well. Rabbinic Judaism developed during Late Antiquity, during the 3rd to 6th centuries CE; the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible (the addition of vowels to the consonant text) and the Talmud were compiled in this period. The oldest manuscripts of the Masoretic Biblical tradition however come from the 10th and 11th centuries CE; in the form of the Aleppo Codex of the later portions of the 10th century CE and the Leningrad Codex dated to either 1008 CE or 1009 CE. Historical background[edit] Pre-monarchic (tribal religion)[edit] Judaism. Judaism (from the Latin Iudaismus, derived from the Greek Ἰουδαϊσμός, and ultimately from the Hebrew יהודה, Yehudah, "Judah";[1][2] in Hebrew: יהדות, Yahadut, the distinctive characteristics of the Judean ethnos)[3] is the religion, philosophy and way of life of the Jewish people.[4] Judaism is a monotheistic religion, with the Torah as its foundational text (part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible), and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Mishnah and the Talmud.
Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God established with the Children of Israel.[5] Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Judaism claims a historical continuity spanning more than 3,000 years. Defining character and principles of faith Defining character Glass platter inscribed with the Hebrew word zokhreinu - remember us Core tenets 13 Principles of Faith:
Jesus. Jesus (/ˈdʒiːzəs/; Greek: Ἰησοῦς Iesous; 7–2 BC to 30–33 AD), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity,[12] whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God. Christianity regards Jesus as the awaited Messiah (or "Christ") of the Old Testament and refers to him as Jesus Christ,[e] a name that is also used in non-Christian contexts.
Etymology of names Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as "Jesus Christ". The word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός (Christos),[28][37] which is a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Meshiakh), meaning the "anointed" and usually transliterated into English as "Messiah".[38] Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Chronology A number of approaches have been used to estimate the year of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Life and teachings in the New Testament. Christianity. Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Emperor Constantine the Great decriminalized Christianity in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan (313), later convening the Council of Nicaea (325) where Early Christianity was consolidated into what would become the State church of the Roman Empire (380).
The early history of Christianity's united church before major schisms is sometimes referred to as the "Great Church" (though divergent sects existed at the same time, including Gnostics, Marcionites, and Jewish Christians). The Church of the East split after the Council of Ephesus (431) and Oriental Orthodoxy split after the Council of Chalcedon (451) over differences in Christology,[6] while the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church separated in the East–West Schism (1054), mostly over the authority of the bishop of Rome. Etymology Beliefs Creeds Concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. Jesus.