WORLD RELIGIONS A Look at the Way the World Prays Richard ToddSocial Studies, 7A

PRIMARY WORLD RELIGIONS zISLAM zJUDAISM zHINDUISM z BUDDHISM z CHRISTIANIT Y

CHRISTIANITY zThe two main segments of Christianity are Catholics and Protestants.

CATHOLICS zCatholics worship God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. zThe Catholic religion has been around since the time of Christ.

CATHOLICS zCatholics are found primarily in Europe, North America and South America. zThe Greek Orthodox Church is a similar but separate religion.

CATHOLICS z Romans crucified Christ, but a few centuries later accepted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

PROTESTANTS and CATHOLICS z The big difference between Protestants and Catholics is how they INTERPRET the Bible.

PROTESTANTS zProtestant religions formed when people protested the actions of the Catholic Church.

PROTESTANTS zMany Protestant religions exist today, mostly in the U.S. They include Baptists, Methodists, Church of Christ, Mormons, Presbyterians, Pentecostals & Lutherans.

PROTESTANTS zLike Catholics, Protestants use the Old and New Testaments as their scripture.

JUDAISM zThe oldest faith among the major religions of the world is Judaism, or Jewish. The Hebrews have been around for thousands of years.

JUDAISM zThe menorah is a symbol of the Jewish religion. So is the star of David.

JUDAISM zA Jewish church is called a synagogue. zJewish ceremonies are often performed in Yiddish, or Hebrew. zAzA Jewish church leader is called a rabbi. zJzJ ews are broken down usually into three sects - Orthodox, Reformed and Traditional. A fourth is Reconstructionist.

JUDAISM zThe main difference between Christians and Jews is their belief regarding Jesus. Jews do not believe him to be the son of God. zJews’ sacred literature is the Torah, comprised mainly of the Old Testament. They do not use the New Testament.

ISLAM zMuslims worship the same God as Christians and Jews. They call him Allah, which is Arabic for “God”. zMuslims are located mostly in the Middle East in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

ISLAM zThe Muslim symbol is the crescent moon with a star.

ISLAM zA Muslim temple is called a mosque. A Muslim priest is called an imam.

ISLAM zLike Christians, Muslims are divided. The two main groups are Shi’a, (or Shi’ites), which make up about 90 percent of Muslims. The other sect is Sunni.

ISLAM zThe Sunni Muslims are found mostly in Iran. Meanwhile, Iraq is Shiite Muslim. The two countries hate each other.

ISLAM zLike Jews, Muslims do not believe Jesus is the Son of God. They believe him to be a great prophet, like Moses and Mohammed, the founder of Islam.

HINDUISM zHindus, on the other hand, have no problem with Jesus being the son of God. They believe in one God, but that he takes many forms.

HINDUISM zNzNote the circle around this Hindu god. Hindus believe in reincarnation. Life, to them, is circular.

zThis is symbol for Hinduism. Most Hindus live in India. The Hindu scripture is primarily the Upanishads and Vedas.

HINDUISM z Brahma is the senior God, and creator of the universe.

HINDUISM zAnother main form of God for Hindus is Shiva.

HINDUISM z Vishnu is another form of God in the Hindu religion.

HINDUISM The temple shown is representative of Hindu temples worldwide.

BUDDHISM The most different of the five major religions is Buddhism. It is more a lifestyle that focuses on ending desire, thus ending suffering.

BUDDHISM z Buddhists don’t really worship a god - they believe god is everywhere, and that when we end desire we are at peace with ourselves and nature.

BUDDHISM zMany people believe that Buddhists worship statues of Buddha, like the one at right. Not so.

BUDDHISM z Buddhist priests are called lamas or monks. The Buddhist scriptures are called the Tripatakas, or three baskets.

BUDDHISM zOne thing Buddhists and Hindus have in common is the belief in reincarnation. They believe you come back in a different form based on your actions in this life.

BUDDHISM z Most Buddhists live in Asian countries such as China.

What god does each religion believe in?

What is the scripture for each religion?

Match the religion with its place of worship zSynagogue zChurch zCathedral zMosque zTemple z Muslim z Protestant z Jewish z Catholic z Buddhist & Hindu

Match the term to the religion zPriest, Bishop zMonk, lama zImam zRabbi zMinister, Reverend zGuru z Judaism z Buddhism z Protestant z Hindu z Catholic z Muslim

Match the geographic location to the religion zMiddle East zIsrael, Europe, U.S. zN. & S. America, Europe zAsia zIndia zU.S., Australia z Protestant z Muslim z Jewish z Hindu z Catholic z Buddhist

What is the BIG difference between Christians and Jews and Muslims? HINT: J.C.

How was each religion created? zJudaismAbraham zCatholicismJesus’ teachings zHinduismunsure zProtestantProtesting Catholicism zBuddhistBuddha zIslamMohammed

How does each religion view the afterlife? Which religions believe in reincarnation?