SAMPLE - A Little Bit of World Religions

A little bit of World

Religions

Paul McAndrew SAMPLE

Section Editors and contributors – Daniel Caldwell, Kayla Golding, Suzanne Harris, Mohad Javed, Myozan Kodo, Charis Rowan, Matt Padwick and Chris Whiteside.

Contents.

Foreword page 2

General Advice page 2

Chapter 1 Origins of Religion page 3

Chapter 2 Comparative Religions; An Overview page 15

Chapter 3 Buddhism page 18

Chapter 4 Christianity page 31

Chapter 5 Islam page 39

Chapter 6 Judaism page 46

Chapter 7 The Relationship between Christian & Judaism page 55

Chapter 8 Interfaith dialogue page 59

Chapter 9 New Religious Movements page 36

Foreword.

The aim of this book is to set out a clear & straightforward manner of how to understand World Religions and to help students of Leaving Certificate Religious Education course in answering questions on this topic. This book should accompany the other text books available in this subject and each teacher’s notes.

I have tried to be as accurate as possible to each faith and concept but there is so much variation that it is difficult to fully explain the nuances of each faith. This is true for Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Latter day Saints and Scientology. So, I have endeavoured to find as much common ground to give students the information required to answer the questions in their Leaving Cert exam in this subject.

General advice.

The topic of World Religions is fascinating. It gives you a glimpse of how beliefs have been formed and how they continue to be formed. Ultimately, it is a snapshot of how humanity has developed to where we are today.

We can learn from our ancestors, their mistakes, their solutions and continue to progress as a species. Neglecting to know our past is one way to muddy the future and therefore the study of the origins of religion, today’s major world religions and new religious movements are essential to know where we have come from and to help us navigate the future.

The exam questions for this section of the course ask the student to bring together knowledge of many aspects of religious faith and to be comfortable in discussing their understanding of it.

Be question focused, not religious tradition focused. Some religions lend themselves to questions better than others.

- Understand how salvation or liberation is gained in a faith

- Understand that each faith sees a fallibility within the human soul

- Understand that each faith sees a solution to this problem

Showing an understanding of how a faith navigates the 3 points above is key to doing well in this subject.

Past exam questions are included at the end of relevant chapters.

The book follows the structure of the Leaving Cert Religion Syllabus and addresses each one in its content. Helpful links are also included at the end of each relevant section or chapter.

Chapter 1 – Origins of Religion

Edited with Charis Rowan

Different types of Religion.

Religion is a funny old thing and has been with us since the emergence of homo sapiens 75,000 years agoi, but as a species, humans are likely to have practiced religion in some form or other since the dawn of time.

It can be helpful to think that religions begin around everyday events like the following; say a tribe live in a forest and they eat their main meal before sunset each day. One day, the hunt does not go well and they are delayed arriving back a camp to eat. As a result, they eat after sunset. Due to the darkness, the meat is not cooked correctly and most of the tribe get food poisoning, resulting in an unpleasant night being spent in the forest. This results in a belief that eating after sunset offends the gods or spirits and therefore laws or rules are created to prevent that happening again.

It is a crude example but shows how religious beliefs are formed and might suggest why people of faith bless their food before eating it.

What follows are three different major types of religion. Monotheistic, Polytheistic and Pantheistic. There may be more but we’ll focus on these.

Monotheism: A monotheistic faith is one that believes in one god e.g. Islam, Christianity, Judaism. The origins of monotheism start with Abraham and developed over millennia to the monotheistic religions we have today. However, it is not the natural state for humans.

Most human societies over the last 75,000 years were polytheistic, meaning believing in many gods and therefore monotheism originates with Abraham are very interesting

and profound. Please see the concepts of God section in ‘The Search for Meaning and Values’ of the Leaving Cert Religion course for more details.

Polytheism: As previously stated, polytheism seems to be the natural state of human belief, with the emphasis on multiple gods. Hinduism and Shinto would be good examples of this, though some believe that Hinduism is really a monotheistic faith and the many gods worshipped are simply aspects of the one god Brahma. Many of what are called ‘primal religions’; that is the first religious groups to emerge were polytheistic. There is still a remanence of these groups in the world today, like the Native American, the Aboriginals in Australia and the Maori in New Zealand.

Pantheism: Is a form of religion where the worship or veneration of natural things, like trees and mountains occur. In some ways, they are much like polytheistic faiths; they believe in or worship multiple deities. Wicca would be an excellent example of a polytheistic faith that practices pantheism, as would Celtic pre-Christian religious practices. Most primal religious groups were both pantheistic and polytheistic.

The wonderful thing about religions is that no one group is the same as the other. Similar practices, yes, but unique ways of doing things which always makes them interesting to study. And when one is studying a religion, one is observing human life at its most foundational level. You can see its vulnerability, its need to worship something greater than oneself and its celebration of times, seasons and tradition.

Global distribution of Religion - with emphasis on Religion in Europe.

The religions discussed here are narrowed down to the what are considered the major world religions in this course i.e. Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.

So, what is the global distribution of these faiths?

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Buddhism is generally found in Southeast Asia. Nepal, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia are, considered to be, Buddhist countries. In much of China, Buddhism is practiced as it is in Japan where it is practiced alongside their indigenous faith of Shintoism. An educated percentage of the world’s population who are Buddhist would be 7% based on the findings of the Pew Research Center in 2010ii. For more up to date figures please go to reliable internet sources.

Christianity is considered a global faith and can be found in most countries. 2.2 billioniii humans identify as Christian. It’s predominantly in the Americas both North, South and Central, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Australasia. It is known by most as the largest religion in the world with nearly a third of the world’s inhabitants professing to follow this faith.

Hinduism is the major religion found in India and most of the inhabitants of this vast country are followers of the many gods of this faith. About 15%iv of the earth’s inhabitants call themselves Hindus.

Islam is the world’s second largest. It is, arguably, the fastest growing religious faith. It is generally found in North Africa, the Middle East and as far as Pakistan in Asia.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic country, with approximately 200 million inhabitants professing to follow this faith. Islam is now spreading rapidly across Europe and North America. Roughly 23%v of the world’s population call themselves Muslims.

Judaism is numerically a very small faith with between 15-20 million followers. But, as two of the world’s largest faiths have developed from it, it makes the faith highly influential. The state of Israel, in the Middle East, is where the majority of Jews dwell, though the Eastern seaboard of America does also have a large population.

Emphasis on Religion in Europe.

Europe’s main religion is Christianity and, historically, most countries fall into the Roman Catholic denomination or the Protestant denomination of the faith.

For example, Germany and Scandinavia are all presumed as Protestant countries and Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland are all Catholic.

However, the biggest trend occurring in Europe would be the secularisation of these states and the growing Islamic community. Secular states like France and the UK are becoming the norm across Europe. Eastern Europe, Romanian, Russia, Ukraine etc. are generally Orthodox in their Christian faith.

Past Exam Questions

2010vi

The results of the 2006 Irish Census show that members of a variety of different religions are living in Ireland. Compare the range of different religions that exist in Ireland today with the range of religions in another part of Europe. (40 marks)

2015vii

Describe the general worldwide distribution of member today in each of the following religions: Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism (40 marks)

Religion in Ireland as a whole; both North & South.

Ireland is a divided landmass and it can be argued that this is because of religion. The North of Ireland, the six counties of Armagh, Down, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Derry and Antrim, were historically Protestant in religious orientation and the other 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland Roman Catholic but this is only half of the story.

Northern Ireland has roughly the same number of Roman Catholics as it does Protestants with Protestants having the small majority. Over the centuries there has been a struggle between the two, which has become violent at times.

In the South, Protestants and Catholics do not share the same disharmony and live alongside each other peacefully, but the Protestant population is very small.

Both faiths are Christian and therefore they believe in most of the same things about Jesus, but with a few differences, like the number of sacraments recognised and understanding of what occurs during the celebration of communion. Both originate from Celtic Christianity and Christian pioneers like St Patrick, Colmcille and St Enda. The two (Roman Catholicism & Protestantism) were only separated from each other after Henry VIII changed faith to Protestantism.

Trends in Religion in Ireland.

Ireland is a changing place and some of the most significant changes have occurred within religion. One of these changes is that more people are turning away from traditional religious faiths and adopting a secular view of life.

Increasing Secularisation - Secular means non-religious and there are several reasons why Ireland becoming more secular. Firstly, in the 1990’s, scandals emerged from the Roman Catholic Church. Most centred on the abuse of children and how the church had sought to cover-up these incidents. Many could not believe what had occurred and how widespread it was. This resulted in many devoted Roman Catholics beginning to lose faith in the church.

Since this time, Ireland has become more secular in its focus. Examples of this can clearly be seen in the 2015 same-sex marriage and the 2018 of 8th Amendment referendums. The results from both went against the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church; abortion was fully legalised, as was marriage between people of the same sex. Many commentators suggest that neither result would have occurred, at least not as quickly, if it were not for the revelations of abuse and the cover up by the Church.

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There are many more examples of the increased secularisation of Irish society; like the number of Educate Together schools (secular schools) where every religion is taught with equal status and the removal of the baptism requirement for entry into schools governed by religious groups.

The latter will mean that people will not have to have their children baptised into a particular religious denomination in order for them to attend the school which is governed by that religious denomination.

Taken together, these occurrences make a strong case for the view that secularisation of Ireland is increasing.

Religious diversity - The Census is always a great source of information on change within Irish society and when examining the results of the 2016 Censusviii there are two major new religions emerging in this country.

One is Islam, the number of Muslims in the country went from close to 32,000 in 2006 to 63,000 in 2016. This is an increase of over 100% and if this trend continues would mean that Islam becomes the second most practiced faith in the land within the next 10 -15 years. As a result, more mosques need to be built, more places to buy halal meats established and it will mean that a greater knowledge of Islamic traditions and practices will be learnt by Irish people to accommodate and to cohabit with this faith.

The second major new religion emerging is Orthodox Christianity. Again, the 2016 census shows us that the number of Orthodox Christians in the country increased by 37.5% to over 62,000 believers since the 2011 Censusix. With the Church of Ireland numbers dwindling, these statistics would also suggest that Orthodox Christianity will be in line with Islam to become the second most practiced faith in the land.

Many of these new Orthodox Christian communities now use either discarded church buildings or share the use of church buildings with existing communities. On Leeson Street, Dublin the Methodist Church is used by the Methodist community for services but the Romanian Orthodox church also uses it for their services. Again, this is a very recent trend within religious communities in Ireland and is an example of religious diversity in the country.

In the cases of both Islam and Orthodox Christianity, the reasons of the increases are generally put down to economic immigration to Ireland over the last 20 years. These new arrivals have brought their faith with them and Ireland has never seen numbers of these faiths before.

And finally, Buddhism is also on the rise in the country and an example of this can be seen in the number of ‘Mindfulness’ classes in our schools and colleges. Mindfulness is one of the 8-fold paths laid out in the Dharma (teaching) of the Buddha. Ireland may also have its first Buddhist temple soon. At the time of writing the Dzogchen Beara Buddhist Retreat Centre is building a Temple.

The face of religion in Ireland in changing rapidly and religious diversity is increasing and looks like it is here to stay.

Primal Religions

When we think about the first religions to be practised on this planet, we are thinking of primal religious faiths. They developed out of the ‘hunter-gatherer’ communities of homo-sapiens over the last 75,000 years. These people group fostered superstitions and worshipped major natural elements of the world like the sun, moon, stars and the

seasons. The superstitions became established based on how best to protect the community.

In the different types of religions section, earlier in this chapter, an example of how a religious belief would start was suggested. It discussed the evening meal times of a pre-historic tribe. Let’s revisit that again.

Say an early homo-sapien grouping were to have their evening meal before sundown each day, but one day they had it after sundown. Due to the lack of light, the day’s kill was not cooked properly and all who ate it were sick. One could conclude that the group would not eat after sundown again, believing that they had upset the gods or spirits in some way, not that they had undercooked the food.

The practice of eating before sundown would then have been established as a religious practice based on a superstition. In ways much like this one, primal religions developed practices and patterns of practices which echo through the ages and are evident in contemporary religions.

These groups lived at the mercy of the natural world, so if there was a drought they would have nothing to drink and the trees they gathered from would not produce fruit and therefore they did not eat. The belief that the gods/goddesses/spirits were behind these natural occurrences like drought were very prevalent.

Beliefs or superstitions developed from ways to protect themselves from these natural forces or evil spirits, whether that be tattoos or poles with animal spirits carved into them placed in the middle of their encampment to ward off these spirits.

Pre-Christian Irish peoples believed that bonfires would ward off evil spirits on the Eve of Samhain, known today as Halloween. On Oiche Samhain, it was believed that the “veil” between the realm of the living and the dead was at its weakest. On this night, the spirits of the dead could pass through the “veil” and attack the living. Many would disguise themselves and would camp by bonfires throughout that night to protect themselves from the spirits of the dead. Today, the modern festival of Halloween incorporates many of these practices without the beliefs.

The Influence of Primal Religions on Today’s Religions

Simply put, primal religions set out the forms and patterns of practice that contemporary religions still follow and this is their major influence of today’s religions.

The naming of a child was an important event 75,000 years ago and special ceremonies were created. These practices can still be seen in today’s religions. Coming of age ceremonies like Confirmation in Christianity and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs in Judaism can be seen in the primal practices such as the Sioux Indians. It is important to note that the Sioux had no connection with either of these faiths and lived half way around the world.

For the Sioux when a male reached puberty, he had to go on a quest for a vision for which his new name would be based onx. This vision was given by the ‘Great Spirit’ or spirits of their ancestors. These “braves” would have to go through tasks that showed courage, maturity and endurance and could not return until they received a vision. The vision would be shared with the tribe and the “brave’s” new name given was based on the vision.

It is interesting to think that the Roman Catholic faith encourages people making their confirmation to take another name. The person going through the confirmation or Bar/Bat Mitzvah process must also perform tasks and make commitments that show a maturity of faith to complete the process.

The crossing of the threshold between childhood and adulthood is a period marked by all faiths and cultures in human history and like this example, there is no connection whatsoever between these groups and yet their practices are so similar. This is the case over the whole world.

Rituals like blood sacrifices which were very common in Primal Faiths and are evident in today’s religious traditions. One such example can be seen in Christianity. Jesus’ sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world and to allow humanity to be close to God is an example of a blood sacrifice.

His sacrifice reflects symbolically the Jewish Passover and their formal sacrificial practices. Before 70CE and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, a lamb, a goat or a dove had to be sacrificed to atone for sin. Jews would go to the temple to do so. Jesus’ sacrifice as God’s blameless lamb, Passover connection, was to end the sacrificial culture for once and for all. It is said that the curtain to the “holy of holies” was torn in two the moment that Jesus died; symbolically this allows everyone to access to God.

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In communion service or when the Eucharist is celebrated, Christian’s partake in remembering, giving thanks and praise for Jesus’ blood sacrifice. The Bible says his blood was shed to take away the sins of the world. The wine that is drank at communion symbolises/represents his blood and Christians drink it in the process of this ritual. In doing so they do what Jesus asked them to do and ultimately gain forgiveness.

The Mayan’s, an ancient culture from Central America, would sacrifice ‘willing’ warriors to gain favour from their godsxi. Candidates volunteered and had their hearts cut out on the threshold of the ‘next world”.

In doing so, the hope was that the gods would hear their cry for help, respond favourably and save them. The similarities between the two are striking and just like previous the coming of age example these practices emerged independently.

There are many more examples i.e. like the worship of divine beings, celebrating times and seasons and having places of worship, all originated with Primal Religions and have been continued by contemporary religions, but without the same gory details.

Past Exam Questions

2006xii

Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism

Discuss the influence of primal religion on one of the above world religions. (40 marks)

2019xiii

Describe two ideas that are particularly associated with primal religion. (20 marks)

Example how the influence of two ideas associated with primal religion can be seen in a major world religion that you have studied. (20 marks)

Helpful links

Film - Avatarxiv

Film – Apocalyptoxv

Primal Religious concepts

There are several concepts that have originated from primal religious cultures and most of them can also be seen in the contemporary faiths today.

Mana - Melanesian in origin, refers to the power embedded in an object, person or place.

Ayres Rock, or to give it its primal religious and correct name “Uluru” is considered sacred by the aboriginals, a primal religious people group living in Australia. It is said to have a power within it and many mythical tales are told about its creation.

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One of the main reasons that it is considered a place of sacred power or “mana” is due to it water sources in the middle of the desert. Imagine for a moment that you are travelling through the “red centre” of Australia thousands of years ago, thirsty, with no sign of water anywhere and you see this huge rock in the middle of the desert and at its base water. Lifesaving and miraculous water. It is not hard to see why this place is sacred and why the aboriginals want to protect its mana.

Mana can often have developed from kinship with gods & ancestors is where the Mana’s power came from. Her/his mana will generally have been passed down over generations to them from their descendants who at some point encountered by the divine and thus received their power or mana. Some have a more powerful Mana than others, for example a tribal Chief may embody the Mana of his/her people, his/her ancestors and their land. These forces were believed to be very strong & dangerous, so social restrictions & boundaries were drawn up; these are known as “Tabu”.

Tabu - Polynesian in origin and where we derive the term “taboo”, which can be understood as something that is considered improper or unacceptable by society, particular relevant regarding topics of conversation.

Among the Polynesians and other peoples of the South Pacific things/people/places that were considered sacred were separated or set apart from general use; placed under a prohibition or ban except for use in religious matters and under certain rules.

The general rule is that “tabu” restriction preserve the power and sacredness of the Mana. One example of this can be seen in with Uluru. For centuries, visitors to Uluru would climb it, much to the dislike and protest of the aboriginals. They believed that this practice damaged the sacredness or mana of the place, in the same way that a Roman Catholic would view someone climbing on the altar where the Eucharist is celebrated.

The tabu rules instruct you not climb the Uluru, and thus to preserve the sacredness and mana of it.

Other associated practices regarding Tabu include…

1) Places and items being set apart. To further explain, in some primal religions only a Mana filled person who was ritually consecrated & pure could use such items or places. A “pop-culture” reference of this can be seen in film “Moana”xvi, where only the Chief or the next in line can go and place a rock on top of all the rocks placed by previous chiefs at the highest point of the island.

2) To prepare oneself for using a mana filled item or place one is generally expected to wash to purify oneself. This is known as Ablution and the understanding is that performing this ritual washing maintains the sacredness of the Mana.

3) If the rules of tabu are broken, reparation (making amends) or sacrifices must occur to avoid illness or curse.

Totem - Originated with the Ojibwa Indians of Canada and Dotem/Oteman meaning “the person is a relative of mine”. When a tribal member dies, their spirit animal’s depiction is carved into a wooden pole, along with other dead tribe members spirit animals to create a totem pole. This pole is then placed in the centre of the camp, with the belief that the spirits of these people will guard the tribe against evil spirits and other harmful forces.

They are the equivalent to a modern security system protecting a home, they relied on their ancestors to protect them from harm; harm of a spiritual nature.

Native Americans and Aborigines believed such entities had deep significance and the practices/ritual of worship which indicated the sacredness of the Totem often arose