Assignment 1: World View Chart Writing Assignment

Religion	Origin of All Things	Nature of God	View of Human Nature	View of Good and Evil	View of “Salvation”	View of After Life	Practices and Rituals	Celebrations and Festivals
Week 1 Indigenous Peoples	Spiritual beings formed the land and gave it to people as a gift to take care of	Believe that everything has a spirit. Live in harmony with everything around you	Everything is related and must be treated with respect. Life is like a circle. Never ending.	View themselves as equal halves of good and evil. Nothing is purely good except the spiritual beings	Vision quest help to bring the individual closer to the spirt world. The vision is not for the individual but for the group.	No one truly dies. They are reborn into another aspect of life. Reincarnation	Ritual dramas are used in order to tell the history. Honor stages of life (birth, Puberty, marriage, and death.	Festivals are used to contribute to the wellbeing of the community.
Week 2 Hinduism and Jainism	Janism – The universe is without beginning. Our lives are the cause of our own choices. Hinduism – Believe in a cyclical notion of time. The universe is created over and over again. Many different beginning to the universe.	Janism – Becoming a god or a demon (liberation) is the end result of clearing away karmic accumulations from the soul. Hinduism – There are currently 330 million gods called shaktas that are worshiped. Many of them ah different forms so they can be counted different times. There are 2 levels of the gods. The local goddesses tend to the everyday life of the people and the great goddess that have huge temples that are barred from the average local.	Janism – Being born as a human is the 2nd highest achievement besides liberation. During life one must do their best to clear away any impurities from this life and the life before. Human life is not more important than any other form of life. Hinduism – Each person has a soul when we die if we did not reach Moksha then we are born again. The Karma we gained in our past life is carried over to the new life.	Janism – The better you live your life the better chance you will reach liberation upon death. Hinduism - Good and evil are relative terms, you cannot have one without the other.	Janism – The highest form of salvation is liberation. Before that would be being born as a human. This will allow the person to perform good deeds to hopefully reach liberation Hinduism - salvation is called Moksha. This is when an enlightened human being is freed from the cycle of life and death. There are 4 ways this is done. 1. Way of action. The individual must perform certain religious ceremonies without any type of personal gain 2. Way of Knowledge. The individual must have a complete understanding of the universe. 3. Way of devotion. Reached through acts of worship, based upon the love for a god. 4. The royal road. meditation and yoga techniques	Janism – The soul wonders endless transporting to another form upon death. Hinduism – Attaining spiritual realization or liberation take many life times. Until then reincarnation as a human is the best chance to reach that point.	Janism – The monks and nun live a life of absolute purity. Since every aspect of life is living the activities they can perform are very limited. Meaning no digging in the ground, bathing, swimming, lighting or putting put out fires. During the initiation the hair is pulled from their heads. Pilgrimages to sacred sits is often done by families or individuals in order to worship. Hinduism – Dangerous pilgrimages are taken every year. This allows the individual to reach personal purification and spiritual elevation.	Janism – Since their live are built on self-discipline and self-perfection during their holy days they fast and read hymns all night. Divali is a day of worship and cleaning of the religious books. During the festival of Paryushan Mahaparva the Jains begin an 8 day fast in which the listen to lectures centered on forgiveness. Hinduism – Since there are so many different gods almost every day is a religious holiday. There are 16 holidays that are regulated by the government so everyone can have the day off of work. One of those holidays being Holi. Holi is the one day of the year that social standards are put to the side and everyone is equal.
Week 3 Buddhism	Origin of life is unknowable. The earth is on the same cycle we are. The earth came to be following the destruction of another.	There is no personal God that people can direct their prayers to.	Human nature is due to causes and conditions. The karma from the person’s first life coms over to the next.	Good and evil go together. They are inside everyone. Evil is based on our own selfishness. This disconnects us from others. Good in a part of enlightenment and connects us with others.	One must attain Enlightenment through meditation and the removal of defilements and delusion.	Upon death we are either reincarnated into another body (cycle of suffering) or they enter Nirvana.	Mediation aids the person if finding enlightenment. Prayer wheels help the person in reciting mantras.	Since there are so many different types Buddhism they all have their different festivals. The main festival is called the Vesak; The Vesak marks the life of Buddha
Week 4 Daoism and Confucianism	Daoism - Dao represents Heaven, Earth and Humanity. Dao is the origin of life Confucianism – Created by Dao (the force). However since Dao could never be fully understood we are better off not thinking about it.	Daoism – Their Gods exist higher than other religions. Confucianism – There is no god, however there is a force that the people believe in called Tao (Great Ultimate). This force flows through all of life. Heaven is a guiding force for right and wrong.	Daoism- People live a care free life. Living with nature. People should live in a way to disregard selfishness and become a model of virtue. Confucianism –The reason we exist is reach one's highest potential. Live by a moral code based on ethics, humanity and love. The Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.”	Daoism – The world is neither good nor evil. It is humans that place that label on things. Events in life are neutral. Confucianism – There is a unity of good and evil. A persons mind is originally good. It is when the mind deviates that it becomes evil.	Daoism – One must experience unity in all thing. To get to this point one must cease to feel any personal preferences. Confucianism – People should live in a way that generates proper social reactions	Daoism – Tend to focus on life rather than death Confucianism – What happens after a person dies is not important their life is.	Daoism – Celestial Master practiced healing by faith. Highest Purity Daoism focused on meditations for purifying the body. Complete Perfection unites alchemy, Chan Buddhist meditation and Confucian social morality. Confucianism – United people. Ancestor Worship is a part of Chinese life. Communication and sacrifice to ones deceased family.	Daoism – Seven-Day-and-Night Rituals celebrated for prosperity and peace for the world. Since the 20th century the West has boomed with Daoism. Taiji quan practice to control blood pressure, muscular coordination and balance. Confucianism – The Confucius Festival is a celebration of Confucius’s birthday occurs from Sep 26th – Oct 10th. During this time festivals are held throughout China.
Week 5 Shinto	Kami was born on his own. The kami began to form the earth. To rule the Earth the kami created the sun. Once the earth was finished forming the kami gave birth to the people of the world	Called Kami. They are close to humans and listen and answer their prayers. They live in beautiful places, can be singular or plural. There are roughly eight hundred different kami beings	Humans are born innocent, and essentially good. However the weaker a person in the more likely they will commit a crime.	The world and humans are naturally good. Evil spirits bring evil in to the world. They effect human like a sickness and cause them to do evil things.	Comes from living a life of purity, virtue and fulfillment. Salvation is obtained in the harmonious and progressive development of this world. One must purify themselves before entering a Shinto or beginning to worship.	All living things have a kami (soul). Upon death the kami do not go to a heaven they stay on earth. The ones that lived a life of purity, virtue and fulfillment will be honored after death and their kami will be in state of peace.	Before many the Oshogatsu (New Year) celebration a Kadomatsu) entrance pine) is placed in the home in order to invite the kami to have them bring in goodwill and blessings. This lasts until January 15th. Seijin-no-hi (coming of age day) Occurs on January 15. When all of the teenagers turn 20 years old they are celebrated as becoming adults. This is also to time when the Girls will be introduced to their future husbands.	Celebrations and Festivals the shanti will be moved from the shrine and brought around town to bring blessings to everyone. The Oshogatsu (New Year) is very important because it symbolizes the washing away other problem, irritations and frustrations of the old year and starting fresh the net year.
Week 6 Judaism	God created the Earth and everything living on it in 5 days. On the 6th day he created Man and then Woman	God is everywhere. He watches over his people. The People develop a personal relationship with Him. He is the beginning of all things.	Humans are created in the image of God. Because of freewill we have the option to live a life that is dedicated to God or a life that is dedicated to the world.	Humans have the choice to pick good or evil. When you disobey God and follow the life of this world you are living a file of sin (evil). Sin keeps you away from a life with God	If humans live a good life then they will get in to heaven. One must honor God by following his commandments	Unlike most religions there is not a heavy focus on the afterlife. Live a good life and you will be ok. The term Olam Ha-Ba means world to come. The place we live in is not our home it is like a hotel.	The Torah has 613 commandments which the Jewish people must follow. Kosher food laws stating which food it is ok to eat and the ones that are not good to eat. The 7th day is called the Shabbat. This is a day of rest. Fasting is a religious practice in which the person gives up something (normally food) in order to focus of their spiritual life with god. During this time the person will spend their time in prayer.	Passover a celebration for the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Hanukkah is called the Jewish festival of lights celebrates the victory over religious persecution in the Holy Land. Yon Kippur is called the Day of Atonement. The Jewish people fast for 25 days and spending their time in prayer
Week 7 Christianity	God created the Earth and everything living on it in 5 days. On the 6th day he created Man and then Woman.	The Holy Trinity. God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. Three different identity’s but still one being. God sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Three days later he rose from the dead. In the beginning was the Word (Jesus). And Word was with God. And the Word was God.	Though we are made in the image of God humans are born in to sin. It is by accepting Jesus in to our hearts that we are free from Sin	Evil occurs when we live outside the will of God. All that is good comes from God. The devil takes the things of God and corrupts them.	One must accept Jesus in to their heart and renounce sin full ways and live a life that is Christ like. Meaning they repented from the sins of their past and brought the message of Jesus to all people.	After life consists of two places Heaven and hell. The ones that have accepted Jesus in to their hearts and lived Christ like will enter in to Heaven. The ones that did not accept Jesus in to their hearts or did not live a Christ like life will be cast in to hell.	Baptism is an outward symbol of the commitment in accepting Jesus in to one’s heart. Communion is a representation of the last supper. This is typically done with Bread and wine or juice. The bread represents the body of Christ and the wine or juice represent the blood of Christ. Fasting is the time when one will give up something that means a lot in order to spend more time in prayer and reading the Bible.	Christmas though debated this is the day that Jesus was born. Just as the 3 wise men gave gifts to Jesus we to give gifts to our family and friends. Good Friday this is the day that Jesus was crucified for our sins. Easter (Resurrection Sunday) this was the day that Jesus rose from the dead and sat at the right hand of God.
Week 8 Islam	Allah created all living things from water. Allah created the sun, the moon, and the planets, each with their own individual courses or orbits	God is oneness. They believe in one god. Humans are unable to grasp the full divine essence of god. They can only know parts of him. Allah watches over the people and answers their prayers.	All humans were created with three gifts speech, free will, and intelligence. Humans are not sinful by nature. Yet we are vulnerable to temptation because of our rebellious life and pride.	The goal of human life is to get closer to Allah. If something bring that individual closer to God then it is good. Anything that takes a person away from God is considered evil.	Gained by worship of God. Since Humans are born without sin we are more inclined to worship God. Only occurs when the person is a member of the Islamic faith and achieved only through submission to the teachings of Islam	Believe in a heaven and a hell. The people that have submitted to Allah will make it in to heaven the rest will sent to hell.	A minimum of 5 prayers a day. They are at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset and at night. Fasting from any type of food drink and sexual activity. The month of Ramadan all Muslims are required to fast. This reminds them of life as someone that is poop living with our food. The Hajj, which is a pilgrimage that is required at least once in a lifetime. Traveling to the Holy City of Makkah, Muslims spend all day in complete devotion to worship and to asking God for forgiveness	Eid al-Fitr is the “Feast of Breaking of the Fast” which marks the end of Ramadan. Kheer Puri Niyaaz is only a Shia tradition, that Sunnis are not able to celebrate. It is a fake story of a wood cutters wife that prayed on the 22nd of Rajab because of economical hardship and her husband being away. Laylat al Raghaib is celebrated as the day that the Prophet Muhammad’s mother realized she was pregnant
Week 9 Sikhism	Believe that the Earth was created Billions of years ago. God created the universe and it has been evolving ever since. Creation and/or Evolution dose not matter.	There is only one god and he is the same for all of the people. His and is Waheguru God is endless. All goodness, mercy and love are found within him. Exists without creation	Human life is a chance to become one with Waheguru. Human nature is plagued by a false sense of self. When this happens the individual is easily enticed with lust, anger, greed, clinging, and pride.	With free will people have a choice to either do good or evil. Evil occurs when one breaks from oneness with Waheguru.	Living a life that is free of temptations and sins. Living a honest life. Then you will be able to merge with god	The soul is reincarnated at death. The good and bad actions one did upon the previous life determine the next life. If the soul has lived enough good lives it will attain freedom from the cycle of reincarnation and become one with Waheguru.	Worn by the stricter Sikhs is the Five K’s. Amrit Sanskar is a ceremony to initiate someone in to the Khalsa brotherhood. In order to be initiated one must have their head covered, wear clean clothes, hair must be washed, and the Five Ks must be completed. Still today many of the marriages are arranged	The birth and death of one of the ten gurus. During this time a full reading of the Guru Granth Sahib with in a 48 hour time frame. The 13th of April is a celebration of the Khalsa Order and Sikh nation. Maghi is when the 40 Sikhs that sacrificed their lives in the fight for Guru Gobind Singh are honoured.
Week 10 Modern Religions