Component 2

Some scholars divide the different belief systems by what it is they believe. The different religions categorized this way include these:

 Monotheistic religions – these include Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. They define a single god or deity and do not necessarily name him.

 Polytheistic religions – these include Hinduism, the Ancient Romans, and the

Ancient Greeks. The idea is that there is more than one god, most of whom are named.

 Atheistic religions – there are even religions in which no specific deity is named or identified. Buddhism, Atheism, and Taoism are practiced belief systems with no divine being.

 Animism – these are religions where the practitioners recognize the divine in nonhuman beings. These include indigenous peoples, those who see the divine in natural things, and Shintoism. In Shintoism, the belief is in the kami, which is divine power in all living things. In that sense, it could be polytheistic but there are no named gods.

COMPONENT 2

Besides belief alone, a good and stable religion needs to be organized. The beliefs need to be stable over time and organized into a pattern that followers can recognize. Structure can be built around specific beliefs, emotions, or rituals that are part of an entire system. As we study further, you will see how the belief and rituals are organized in the different religions.

The organization in religions is often centered around the religious leaders. Priests are seen in Catholicism; you would call the priest Father. Imams are seen in Islam and Shaman are seen in the Shinto religion. Ministers are the religious leaders of most protestant faiths and Rabbis are the leaders in the Jewish faith.

Most religions have a creed, which is their belief system or set of beliefs. In Christianity, for example, there are three separate creeds. Not all of these are accepted by the different Christian churches. These are the Nicene Creed, the Apostle's creed, and the