7.1.spi.

3 How do you compare and contrast

the tenets of the five major world religions?

WORLD
RELIGIONS
VOCABULARY
A child sits near idols 
of Hindu Goddess 
Lakshmi, the Goddess 
of wealth, on the eve 
of Diwali in Hyderabad, 
India.
 BELIEFS

• religion: relationship w/ a higher

power
• monotheism: belief in one god
• polytheism: belief in many gods
• atheists: people who do not
believe in a god or gods
 5 MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS

Christianity Judaism Islam

Hinduism Buddhism
 DEITY: HIGHER POWER

•God­Christian deity
•Yahweh­Jewish deity
•Allah­Islamic deity
•Brahman­Hindu universal spirit
translated as God
• goddesses­female gods
•Buddha­Buddhist deity
Buddhist monks and other devotees walk back to their camps 
through a field after attending a teaching session of Tibetan 
spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during the Kalachakra.
 FIGURES
•  Jesus Christ: believed by Christians to be the son of God
(Messiah), sent to save the Jewish people
•  Rabbi: Jewish teacher of the Torah
•  Hebrews: Jews that began praying to one God in 2000 BC that
speak Yiddish (Hebrew/Jewish language)
•  Abraham: Hebrew leader that made a covenant (holy
agreement) w/ God
•  Moses: Jewish man believed to have been given the 10
Commandments (instructions for holy living) directly from God
•  Muhammad: prophet that is believed by Muslims (people of
Islamic faith) to have received messages from Allah
•  guru: religious teacher that leads Hindu worship
•  Dalai Lama: spiritual leader of Tibet associated with Hindu
•  Siddhartha Gautama: Indian prince that witnessed ppl.
Suffering in India, became known as Buddha
•  monks: men responsible for preserving and teaching Buddhist
teachings/guiding lay followers
An elderly couple read from the Quran together near 
Orlando, Florida.
 HOLY BOOKS

•  Bible: Christian holy book, especially the New Testament

•  Gospels: first 4 books of the New Testament which tell the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ
•  Torah: Jewish holy book, first 5 books of the Old Testament
in the Bible
•  Koran/Quran: holy text of Islam, messages recorded by
Muhammad from Allah
•  The Vedas: Hindu holy book
•  Dhamma: Buddhist collection of sayings/teachings from
Buddha
Tens of thousands of Muslim 
pilgrims move around the Kaaba 
(center) inside the Grand 
Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
 RELIGIOUS PLACES

•  church: Christian place of worship, typically attended on

Sunday
•  synagogue: Jewish place of worship, also known as
temple, typically attended on Saturday
•  mosque: Islamic place of worship, often visited on Friday
by men for prayer
•  Mecca: holy city for followers of Islam
•  temple: Hindu place of worship in addition to shrines to
god/goddesses
 CEREMONIES/OBSERVANCES

•  Sabbath: Saturday, day of rest, day that Jews

attend synagogue to worship
•  Ramadan: fasting during daylight hours as
observance of month that Muhammad received
messages from Allah
•  pilgrimage: religious journey
Orthodox Christians immerse themselves in the Jordan 
River at a baptism ceremony, during Holy Week, in 
Jericho, where Jesus is believed to have been baptized.
 TEACHINGS
•  baptism: Christian teaching of being immersed in water for forgiveness of sins
•  crucifixion: death by being nailed to a cross; the way religious/political
leaders killed Jesus
•  resurrection: to raise from the dead; Christians believe that Jesus Christ was
resurrected after being crucified on the cross
•  Trinity: Christian belief in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit
•  Kosher: food that is fit or allowed to be eaten or used, according to the
Jewish dietary or ceremonial laws
•  covenant: religious promise or agreement
•  10 Commandments: instructions for Hebrew people on how to live/worship
•  Five Pillars of Islam: ways in which to worship and pray to Allah
•  reincarnation: rebirth in which a soul moves to another body depending on
how well a person lives his/her life
•  karma: actions that affect future lives
•  nirvana: an end to imperfection, state of perfect peace
•  meditation: the practice of training your mind to focus only on the important
things
•  Four noble truths: Buddhist teachings about suffering