Religious Diversity

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Religious Diversity

• ByAndrew Johnson andJosh Ischy

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Major Religions of the World
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Major Religious Affiliations of the World
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Diversity Among U.S. Population

• Christianity
• 76.5
• Nonreligious/Secular
• 13.2
• Judaism
• 1.3
• Islam
• .5
• http//www.adherents.com/rel_USA.htmlreligions

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Christianity

• Based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
• Relatively young. (LaTourette, 3) Originated in
  Palestine in the 1st century AD
• Belief in Jesus Christ as redeemer ensures
  everlasting life. (Ferguson, 66)
• Believe in one God (monotheistic) who created the
  universe and all things in it
• Christianity originally developed as a part of
  Judaism

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Christian Way of Life

• What guides Christian decision-making
• Fellowship with God
• Nurture relationships with others
• Obedience to God's commands
• Discipline

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Judaism

• Is a monotheistic religion
• Judaism is the oldest and smallest of the world's
  five great religions
• Being a part of a Jewish community and living
  one's life according to Jewish law and traditions
  is very important.

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Judaism (continued)

• -There is a single, all-powerful God, who created
  the universe and everything in it.
• God has a special relationship with the Jewish
  people due to covenant that God made with Moses
  on Mount Sinai, 3500 years ago

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More Jewish Facts

• The Jewish place of worship is called a Synagogue
• The religious leader of a Jewish community is
  called a Rabbi
• Unlike leaders in many other faiths, a rabbi is
  not a priest and has no special religious status
• Sabbath(Shabbat), starts at sunset on Friday and
  continues until sunset on Saturday. (Stuart, 245)
• During the Sabbath, Jews do not work (drive,
  cook, etc.)

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What guides Jewish lives

• The 613 Mitzvots
• http//www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

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Islam

• Islam is the world's second most followed
  religion
• Began around 1400 years ago in Arabia, but
  swiftly become a world faith, and now has around
  1.2 billion followers.

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Islam guiding life

• Islam is more than a system of beliefs. The faith
  provides a social and legal system and governs
  things like family life, law and order, ethics,
  dress, and cleanliness, as well as religious
  ritual and observance.

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Where is Islam practiced?

• The countries with the largest Islamic
  populations are in Asia rather than the
  Middle-East
• These are Indonesia (170 million), Pakistan (136
  million), Bangladesh (105 million), and India
  (103 million)
• Islam's three holiest places, the cities of
  Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, all in the Middle
  East

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Pilgrimage to Mecca
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• The Qur'an is the actual word of God, and
  contains the fundamental beliefs of Islam
• Given to Muhammad the prophet of His people.
  (Farah, 61)
• According to tradition, the Qur'an was dictated
  to Muhammad
• Two major sects
• Sunni-920 million people(everywhere else)
• Shiite-120 million people(Iran)

• Comparing the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam

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Atheist/Nonsecular

• 2nd only to Christianity in members of U.S. top
  20 religions
• Video explaining the agnostic point of view
• http//youtube.com/watch?vV91IoRH8bAY
• No evidence that God is a necessity
• Morality cannot be grounded into religion
  (Nielsen, 129)

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Religion and Conflict

• Religious differences lead to prejudice and
  violence
• Different religious views have lead to global
  conflict
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vdj9dHRqCPw8

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References

• Latourette, Kenneth. A History of Christianity
  Volume 1 Beginnings to 1500. 1953 San Francisco,
  Ca Harper San Francisco.
• Farah, Caesar E. Islam Beliefs and Observances.
  2003. Woodburg, NY. Barons Educational Series.
• Chapin, Stuart. Rest Days, A Study in Early Law
  and Morality. 1917. Chicago, IL. The University
  of Chicago Press.
• Nielsen, Kai. (April 1962) Morality and God Some
  Questions for Mr. MacIntyre. The Philosophical
  Quarterly, 12. Retrieved April 1 from
  lthttp//links.jstor.org/sici
• Ferguson, Everett. The Church of Christ A
  Biblical Ecclesiology for Today. 1996. Grande
  Rapids, MI. Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing
  Company.