5 major religion
1. Hinduism- oldest religion in the world
2major cities
-harappa
-Mohenjodaro
Hinduism also known as exonym- a name given
by the others to people, place or concepts
Persian term “Sindus” lived across the indus
river
“hindu” originated from the sunskrit worlf for
river “sindhu”
3 trimurti or triumvirate meaning 3 forms
3 forms or God are responsible for the creation,
upkeep and destruction of the world.
3 most powerful god
1. Brahma the creator
- 4 heads 4 arms- power
- Rosary- time
- Waterpot- potentential for creation
- Sceptre- pouring of holy oil
- Vedas- knowledge
2. Vishnu the preserver
- God of light, preserver and
protector of the universe and his
role is to have balance.
- Krishna- avatarus of vishnu
- 4 arms- power
- discus- meaning the mind
- Lotus flower- a glorious existence
and liberation
- Conch- god of sound
- Mace- mental and physical strength
3. Shiva the destroyer
- Vasuki or the cobra on his neck-
power
- Pen- fear not
3 Major Goddesses
1. Saraswati- Wife of Brahma
- Education, creativity and music
- Saras- that which is fluid
- Bring order out of chaos and has a
calming and centering personality
2. Lakshmi- wife of Vishnu
- Goddess of wealth and good
fortune
3. Parvati- wife of shiva
- The archetypal mother goddess and
fertility image
- She benevolently mediates
between the worshipper and the
divine.
Interpret Hinduism as:
Monotheistic- one god
Polytheistic- many avatars of the
one god
Henotheistic- avatars to supremacy
Pantheistic- interpreted as
representing aspects of natural
world
Atheistic- replace the concept of
brahman.
BELIEFS:
• Hindus believe in the doctrines of
Samsara.
• “Atman” key thoughts of hinduism or
the belief in soul.
• One fundamental principle of the
religion is the idea that people’s action
and thoughts directly determine their
current life and future lives.
• Hindus strives to achieve dharma.
• Hindus revere all living creatures and
consider the cow the sacred animals.
• Food is an important part of life for
Hindus
• Hinduism is closely related to other
Indian religions, including Buddhism,
Sikhism, and Janism.
• The purpose of life for Hindus is to
achieve four aims called Purusharthas.
• Dharma - righteousness
• Kama - desire
• Artha - wealth
• Moksha - liberation
2. Buddhism- Originated in India
- Siddhartha Gautama the founder
- One of their beliefs were nirvana
- Do not believe in any kind of deity
or god.
Four noble truths:
• Dukkha - everyone in life is suffering in
someway
• Samudāya- all suffering comes from
desire
• Nirodha – it is possible to stop suffering
• Magga – steps to achieve
enlightenment
• Wheel of rebirth- Born again into
different bodies depending on how they
conducted themselves in their previous
lives.
• Karma
The Eightfold Path
• Right of faith or belief
• Right resolve or aspiration
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right living
• Right effort
• Right thought
• Right concentration
3. Judaism
The origins of Jewish faith are explained
throughout the Torah. According to the text,
God first revealed himself to a Hebrew man
named Abraham, who became known as the
founder of Judaism.
- Hebrews- refers to those accepted
Yahweh as their God and much of
their history is written on Hebrew
- Israelite- refers to the descendants
of the Hebrew, which is originated
form Abraham.
- Jew- comes from Yehudah or Judah,
the southern kingdom of israel
DENOMINATIONS OF JUDAISM
- Reform Judaism - traces it to either
a Jewish Father or Mother
- Conservative Judaism - define jews
as being born of a Jewish Mother
- Orthodox Judaism - mainstream
judaism (traditional teaching)
BELIEFS
Focus on relationships between: – God and
mankind
– God and Jewish people
– Jews and Land of Israel
– Man and Man
People of all religions are Children of God and
equal before God
• All people have God’s love, mercy and help
• Do not require a conversion to Judaism for
Salvation
No clear sense of heaven or hell
• God filled with love and mercy so punishment
not eternal
4. Christianity
- Christianity originated with the
ministry of JESUS CHRIST in the 1ST
CENTURY ROMAN PROVINCE OF
JUDEA.
- is an Abrahamic monotheistic
religion based on the life and
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
- Believers = Christians
- Holy Scripture: Bible (Old and New
Testament)
- Christianity is a religion that
developed from Judaism; some of
its first followers were originally
Jews.
- Christians accepts Jesus Christ as
the Messiah, or the Savior.
- Jews considers Jesus as just another
prophet of God, and the real
Messiah is yet to come.
- Christianity believes in the Holy
Trinity.
1. God the Father, the creator
2. God the Son, the savior
3. God the Holy Spirit, the guide
Two Great Commandments:
1. “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and all your soul and with all your
mind”
2. “Love your neighbor as you love
yourself” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Christians also believe in the life after death.
There is also a belief in Purgatory.
Brief Summarization of Beliefs in Christianity
1. There is only one God.
2. God is all-knowing.
3. Jesus is the son of God.
4. The Bible contains the stories of God.
5. God is the father and creator.
6. One must follow all laws of God.
7. He died to save humanity from His sin.
8. One God but three person.
5. Islam
- Islam is a one of the world's major
monotheistic religions.
- Islam comes from the word "al-
silm" and "istaslama" which means
peace and surrender.
- The god in Islam is referred to as
Allah, which in Arabic means "the
god" or "the deity".
The founder of Islam
The prophet Muhammad
He was Born in the city of Mecca
He was a messenger sent from Allah
He was Allah’s most important prophet
Where Islam Originated
Islam started in Mecca and Medina
In the middle east
Islam spread to places like; Arabia, Asia, and
Egypt.
Then continued to expand
Then Muslims were almost every country.
QURAN- Means "recitation" in Arabic
The holy book of Muslim
The sacred text of Islam and the highest
authority in both religious and legal matters.
The Quran consists of 114 Chapters (suras) of
different lengths, with a total of 6236 ayat
(verses). It provides detailed guidelines on the
day-to- day living of a Muslim.
MOSQUE- place of worship of the muslims
The five pillars of islam
The Testimony of Faith: Shahada- Saying the
Shahada throughout the day
"There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is
his messenger."
Prayer: Salat- raying five times a day facing
Mecca: Dawn, noon ,mid-afternoon ,sunset
,nightfall
Muslim communities gather for collective
prayer mostly on Fridays.
Charity: Zakat- Alms giving
Muslims believe that what they have are Allah’s
belongings
Muslims are required to give 2.5% of their
income to the poor or needy
Fasting: Sawm- During Ramadan, Muslims
cannot eat or drink anything during the daylight
hours
Hajji- Once in their lives, Muslims make a
pilgrimage to Mecca
What will they be doing?
3-6 days of rituals or prayer
Focus is on the Ka’ba, the holiest shrine and
supposed first house of mankind.
SPIRITUALITY VS RELIGION
Spirituality- Not a set of defined beliefs. It’s a
focus on your human spirit and soul. It’s not
about the way you look or the health of your
physical body.
-Spirituality is your personal relationship with
the God of your own understanding. As I teach
in my manifestation course, God is just a name
for a higher power. Some people call it the
Universe, some people call it Source, while
others call it Consciousness. Everyone will have
different definitions of God.
- experience
-Spirituality is something that you discover and
learn on your own. There are no rules when it
comes to connecting to spirit. Some people
connect with their God through books, others
through meditation, and some discover their
highest truth by healing from traumatic events.
-Spirituality is who you are because, at your
core, you are a spirit having a human
experience.
Religion- A belief system that’s clearly defined,
including what you should believe, why and
how to do so. It may have a specific God or
numerous Gods. It may include worship,
teachings, theology and strong beliefs.
-is a group of people who worship the same
God. Everyone shares the same definition of
God, which is usually described in historical
doctrine or holy text.
- group of people comes together to study
doctrines
-Religion is pointing at the moon. Religion is not
the ultimate. Religion is not, itself, the moon,
but it is meant to help us see the moon and to
require us to reach for it.
- Religion is something that points toward who
you are. Through religion, you can discover the
truth of who you are which is a spirit having a
human experience.
- Religion only accepts one truth. This truth
usually refers to a doctrine or holy text that has
been passed down through generations.
Deviating from the truth is frowned upon and
not tolerated.
Religious experience
In general is defined by:
1. A sense of wonder
2. A sense of new insight and
values
3. A sense of holiness and
profundity
It involves the whole person- mind, emotions,
values and relationships. William james states
the a religious experience is the feelings, acts,
experience of individual men in their solitude.
Religious experience
1. The experiential- concerned with the
experience itself- it allows the
experience to speak for itself trying to
define exactly what is experienced
2. The proposition- extracts experiences
form certain definite propositions which
are claimed to be religious truth.
Rudolph- stated that a religious experience may
be an encounter with something=ng powerful,
uncanny, weird, awesome but also attractive
fascinating.
- He also pointed out that religious
experience cannot be described in
ordinary language.
Types of religious experiences
1. Near death experiences
2. Conversion
3. Group experiences
4. Mysticism
5. Meditation
Williams james- he points to religious
experience as a phenomenon that can have
profound effects.
Richard Swinburne- offers a wa to classify
religious experiences
1. Public experiences
2. Private experiences
Kant- took the view that human beings have
only five senses and that all they know comes
through one or more of them.
Role and impact of religions and spirituality on
human history and personal life
Positive impact
Promotes social harmony- Religions provides
divine authority to ethical and moral principles
which also help promote unity among people.
Provides moral value- It provides a systematic
model of universe, which in effect determines
organized human behavior.
Provide social change- Very effective in urging
and campaigning for certain social issues using
its own moral teaching as the basis of
argument.
Reduces the fear of unknown- Religions
provides answers for phenomena and questions
that science and reason cannot explain.
Gives positive goals in life- Narrative
perpetuated through religion give people a
sense of meaning in life.
Gives people a sense of belonging- Assurance
that a person can rely on other people’s help in
times of need.
Negative impact
Causes discrimination- Religious fanaticism can
lead to feelings of hatred which could lead to
racism , and eventually violence.

Religions trigger conflicts and fights- Religions

has some aspects which make it susceptible to
be a source of conflicts and war.

Affirms social hierarchy- Perpetuate the nations

of class or gender discrimination and operation.

Role of Religions and Spirituality in Personal Life

Agent of socialization- Religion helps in creating

an ethical framework and also a regulator for
values in day to day life

Encourages us to take care of ourselves-

Religion makes us believe that our body and our
life are a gift from God

Influences our health- When you pray and

meditate you activate the brain and stimulate
clarity as you do your thinking.

Gives us a sense of purpose

Religion helps us to define our lives, and thus

we can say it gives meaning to our lives.

Influences our health

Provides mental peace

Compassion, forgiveness,
gratefulness,connectedness, hope, optimism,
trust and purpose are qualities that are strongly
associated with individuals who are spiritual
and religious.

Affects our physical health

Our belief system drives the way we think and

behave, which in turn impact our health related
actions.