Ethnic Religions Hinduism Largest Ethnic religion 900 million

Ethnic Religions

Hinduism ¡Largest Ethnic religion ¡ 900 million adherents ¡ 3 rd largest religion worldwide ¡Localized in India and Nepal ¡Polytheistic ¡Contributed to Buddhism and Sikhism

Doctrine ¡ Up to individual to decide the best way to worship God ¡ There are various paths to reach God including: path of knowledge, path of renunciation, path of devotion, or path of action ¡ You can pursue your own path and follow your own convictions as long as they are in harmony with your true nature ¡ Hindus see the divine in everything and are tolerant of all doctrines ¡ You are responsible for your own actions and you alone suffer the consequences ¡ No central authority or a single holy book

Beliefs ¡ Law of Karma: all actions produce effects in the future ¡ Dharma: one’s duty of station in this life, strive for harmonious and eternal truth within ¡ Reincarnation: previous acts determine the condition into which a being is reborn in one form or another ¡ Must attain atman to break cycle of reincarnation ¡ Liberation of the soul (moksha) ¡ Nonviolence, veneration of all forms of life (Ahimsa)

Gods ¡ Believe in a supreme being who has unlimited forms * Brahman ¡ His manifestations are worshipped ¡ The manifestation of God with the largest # of adherents is Vaishnavism (70%) ¡ Worships the God Vishnu ¡ A loving god incarnated as Krishna ¡ Sivaism is dedicated to Siva (26%) ¡ Often presented in narratives: ¡ Ramayana: Havana kidnaps Sita. Rama rescues Sita and kills Havana but the lovers are forced to separate. ¡ Represents the tragedy in life in the real world where love of the soul for god is constantly being tested

Origins ¡ No specific founder, no single theology, no agreement on origins ¡ Word Hinduism sixth century B. C. to refer to people living in the area ¡ Hinduism existed long before recorded history ¡ Earliest surviving documents written in 1500 B. C. ¡ Objects related to Hinduism date back to 2500 B. C. ¡ Aryan tribes from Central Asia invaded India around 1400 B. C. brought Indo-European language and religion ¡ Aryans first settled in Punjab (Northern India) ¡ Migrated later to Ganges River Valley ¡ Centuries of intermingling with the Dravidians already living in the area modified their religious beliefs

Writings ¡ Hindu’s prefer term Vedic ¡ Veda are Vedic text that provide the only written source for understanding religious life in ancient India ¡ Vedas compromised of 1, 000 hymns followed by chants and prose works ¡ Over time only highly-trained priest could perform the complicated Vedic rituals ¡ Upanishads ¡ Record wisdom of Hindu teachers and sages as far back at 1000 B. C. E. ¡ Nature of morality and eternal life ¡ Transmigration of souls ¡ Causality in creation ¡ Bhagavad-Gita ¡ Part of the Mahabharata- one of the longest books in the world ¡ Dialogue between Arjuna (hero) and Krishna ¡ Incredibly important cultural text

Holy Places of Hinduism ¡ Hinduism closely tied to geography of India ¡ Natural features rank among holiest shrines (riverbanks ad coastlines) ¡ Pilgrimage (tirtha) an act of purification ¡ Act of receiving redemption ¡ Holy Places organized into a hierarchy ¡ Importance of shrines are established through tradition ¡ Example: Mount Kailash ¡ Base of Himalayas ¡ Holy because Siva lives there ¡ Many travel despite long distance ¡ Purification can be attained by bathing in holy rivers. ¡ Ganges is holiest river in India ¡ Sprung forth from the hair of Siva ¡ Hardwar the most popular site for “purification” ¡ Recent improvements in transportation have increased accessibility to shrines

Ganges River

Places of Worship ¡Hindu Temples ¡ Serves as home to one or more gods ¡ Not for congregational worship ¡ important religious functions take place in the home ¡ Wealthy individuals or groups maintain temple ¡ Size and frequency determined by locals ¡ Usually contains symbolic artifact or image of the god ¡ Contains pool for ritual baths

Worship and Practices ¡ Worship called Puja ¡ Worship often takes place in home ¡ No particular day or time ¡ No religious hierarchy ¡ Rituals ¡ Marriage: match must be approved by both parents, usually arranged, horoscopes drawn up, bride’s family pays dowry ¡ http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=9 b. Hv. Gc. Wzdr. M&feature=related&saf ety_mode=true&persist_safety_mo de=1&safe=activebody cremated, body not required after death due to reincarnation

Conflict ¡ Hinduism vs. Social Equality ¡ Four Castes ¡ Strongly challenged since 1800 since ¡ Brahmans: priests British colonialism ¡ Kshatriyas: warriors ¡ Hinduism has rigid caste system ¡ Vaisyas: merchants ¡ The class or distinct hereditary ¡ Shudras: agricultural order into which a Hindu is workers or artisans assigned according to religious law. ¡ Distinctively lower caste ¡ Each individual should belong to a ¡ Untouchables were the outcastes, caste in the social order lowest of all. ¡ Caste system originated around 1500 did work considered too dirty for B. C. other ¡ Brought by Aryan invaders descended from indigenous peoples ¡ Castes split into thousands of subcastes throughout centuries ¡ Type of Hinduism practiced, depends on caste

Gandhi ¡British pointed out problems with system ¡Neglect of the health of untouchables ¡Economic problems ¡System has relaxed in recent years ¡Indian government has legally abolished the untouchable caste ¡Now have equal rights ¡Quota system to give untouchables places in universities

Judaism ¡Some believe it’s the first monotheistic religion ¡ 14 million Jews today ¡- Considered “parent” religion of Christianity and related to Islam ¡Unique ethnic religion because it’s not clustered geographically

Judaism - An ethnic religion based in the lands bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea -Called Canaan in the Bible Palestine by the Romans Israel since 1948 - 4, 000 years ago Abraham, the patriarch or Judaism, migrated from present-day Iraq to Canaan. - Abraham and God have a covenant in which the Jews agree to worship one God and God agrees to protect his “chosen” people, the Jews - Name Judaism derives from Judah, one of Abraham’s sons. Israel is another biblical name for Jacob

History continued. ¡Moses led the Jews from Egypt, where they had been enslaved, to Canaan, where an internal conflict split the nation into two branches, Israel and Judah. ¡Israel’s tribes were “lost” to the conquerors ¡Judah survived longer, but were also conquered by Babylonians and Assyrians. ¡Jews regrouped and rebuilt Jerusalem ¡Romans conquered in 70 CE and drove the Jews out ¡A resurgence movement in 19 th century divided Jews into Orthodox Jews and Conservative Jews

Doctrine ¡ Fundamental to Judaism is the belief in one powerful God ¡ Called themselves the “chosen” people, because God had selected them to live according to his ethical and moral principles ¡ Believe in one God who created humankind for the purpose of bestowing kindness upon them ¡ People are rewarded for faith and are punished for sins, but they can atone ¡ 10 commandments

Holy book ¡ The Torah is comprised on the first five chapters of the Hebrew Bible ¡ Contains Old Testament and the Talmud ¡ Collection of rabbinical and historical teachings passed down from one generation to the next

Sacred Places and symbols ¡ Most prominent feature of the Jewishinfluenced cultural landscape is the synagogue ¡ House of Jewish worship ¡ Architecturally varied ¡ All have an ark housing the Torah, written in Hebrew ¡ The six-pointed star is an important symbol

Sacred Sites ¡ Most important site is Wailing Wall ¡ It is at the edge of the Temple Mount ¡ Temple Mount was once the site of two great Jewish Temples ¡ Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac ¡ Dome of the Rock ¡ The western wall is all that is left of the temples ¡ Jews gathere to remember the destruction of the temples and to offer prayers ¡ called” “Wailing Wall” to depict the suffering of the Jews over time

Diffusion ¡Different from other ethnic religions ¡ it is practiced in places other than just the place of origin ¡Most Jews do not live in Israel due to the forced Diaspora of the Jews by the Romans in A. D. 70 ¡ Most migrated to Europe ¡ Into Iberian peninsula ¡Often Jews were persecuted by other nationalities ¡Example: Holocaust ¡Forced to live in Ghettos ¡Most Jews now live in Israel ¡Largest population of Jews live in the U. S. ¡Northeast, NY ¡Prominent in major cities in Western Europe

Primary Branches of Judaism ¡ Orthodox Judaism ¡ Seeks to retain the original teachings of the faith ¡ Reform Judaism ¡ Developed in the 1800 s as a branch attempting to adjust the religion to fit more modern times ¡ Conservative Judaism ¡ Most recent branch and is most moderate branch

Subgroups ¡Because of Diaspora, Jews were separated into Subgroups ¡Ashkenazim: Jews that lived in Germany and France before migrating to Eastern Europe ¡Mizrachim: Jews that never left North Africa or Middle East ¡Sephardim: Jews from Spain or Portugal ¡Large scale migration of Ashkenazim from Europe to America in 19 th century ¡Today 13 million Jews in the world ¡ 6 million live in North America ¡ 5 million live in Israel

Jewish Calendar ¡ classified as an ethnic religion because its major holidays are based on events in the agricultural calendar ¡ Examples: Fall is a time of hope. Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Atonement) are in the fall ¡ Other important holidays: Pesach (Passover), Sukkot, and Shavnot (Feast of Weeks) ¡ Today, Israel follows the lunar calendar rather than the solar calendar

Hierarchy ¡ no centralized structure of religious control. ¡ To conduct a full service, 10 adult males must be present

Other Ethnic Religions

East Asian Ethnic Religions ¡ Taoism (Daoism) ¡ Linked to philosopher Laozi, lived around 6 th century C. E. ¡ Laozi taught that people should live in harmony with nature and all aspects of their lives ¡ Seek the “way” ¡ Yin and yang ¡ Created feng shui ¡ Confucianism ¡ Linked to Confucius, lived around 6 th century C. E. ¡ Built system of morals and a way of life for the Chinese ¡ Focuses more on the worldly life than rather the ideas of heaven and hell ¡ Shintoism ¡ Syncretic, ethnic religion ¡ Blends principles of Buddhism with a local religion of Japan ¡ Forces of nature considered divine ¡ Emperors become deities ¡ From the 1800 s until after WWII, Shintoism was the state religion of Japan ¡ Emperor forced to renounce his divinity

Shamanism ¡ Term given to any ethnic religion in which a community follows its shaman ¡ religious leader, healer, or truth knower ¡ Strongest presence in Africa ¡ but has historically existed in North America, Southeast Asia, and East Asia ¡ Still important in parts of Mexico and Guatemala ¡ Shamans teach animism ¡ A belief that objects such as trees, mountains, and rivers have divine spirits in them ¡ They are “animated” ¡ Native American religious beliefs often have animistic traits, finding spiritual and religious significance in features of the landscape ¡ 100 million people in Africa follow animistic religions

Issues with Ethnic Religions ¡ Universalizing religions often supplant ethnic religions ¡ East Asia ¡ Buddhism can “mingle” with other religions ¡ Embraced by Shintoists in Japan ¡ Mauritius ¡ Unihabited until 1638 ¡ Dutch settlers arrived ¡ Brought Christianity ¡ Controlled by French in 1721 who brought in African slaves ¡ Brought Islam ¡ Later Indian workers brought in by British ¡ Brought Hinduism ¡ Became independent in 1992 ¡ All religions diffused by migration ¡ Africa ¡ Less animists due to increase in Christians and Muslims ¡ 46% of Africa is Christian ¡ Can create “merged” religions ¡ Led to creation of Christian churches not formally recognized