Religion Comparison Matrix



Comparison of Belief Systems

|Religion |Branches of Religion|Founder |Origins: Location & Date |Holy Book |Holy Site(s) |Holy Days |Key Beliefs/Practices |

| | |Kung Chiu |551-479 BC |Confucius’ writings- |N/A |N/A |li-correct behavior; ethical principles for daily living –follow |

| | |aka Kung Fu Tzu aka |Province of Lu, China |-Analects (Lunyu), the| | |traditions, fulfill obligations, have sympathy & respect for |

|Confucianism |N/A |Confucius | |Five Classics | | |rulers and subjects |

| | |aka Kong Fu Zi |pg 189 |(Wujing), | | | |

| | | | |the Four Books (Sishu)| | |pg 189 |

| | |pg 189 | | | | |public service; return to past=peace |

| | | | | | | |5 key relationships |

| | |Lao Tse |604-531 BC |Tao Te Ching |N/A |N/A |Mystical/magical aspects of life rather than public service |

| | |Aka Lao Zi |China (north & Central) | | | |Pg 189 |

|Taoism |N/A | |pg 189 |Web-BBC | | |unity & opposites (yin & yang); many deities; harmony with nature|

| | |pg 189 | | | | |(Dao), be virtuous; meditation, feng shui, fortune telling |

| | | | | | | |Web-BBC |

| | |N/A |500 CE |N/A |Local Shrines |Visiting shrines at |Devotion to kami spirits; rituals are key element to religion; |

| | | |Web- | | |New Year |humans are basically good; doesn’t have to be only religion |

|Shintoism |N/A |Web-BBC | | |Web-BBC | |practiced |

| | | | | | |Web-BBC |Web-BBC |

| | | |563 BC |The Tripitaka |Locations |Buddha’s birth, |Four Noble Truths: 1-all have suffering, 2-suffering leads to |

| |1 Mahayana | |Nepal |Web-religioustolerance|associated with |enlightenment & |reincarnation, 3-goal to move beyond reincarnation into nirvana, |

|Buddhism | |Siddhartha Gautama |India |org |Buddha’s life; |death |4-Nirvana through 8 Fold Path |

| |2 Theravada |Aka Buddha | | |Lumbini-birthplace | |Pg 187 |

| | | |Pg 191 | |Bodh Gaya-reach |Pg 201 | |

| |3 Tantrayana |Pg 187, 191 | | |wisdom | |Do not worship gods; enlightenment through morality, meditation &|

| | | | | |Bo tree- | |wisdom; change is always possible |

| |Pg 187 | | | |enlightenment | |Web-BBC |

| | | | | |Deer Park-sermon | | |

| | | | | |Kusinagara-death | | |

| | | | | |Pg 196-197 | | |

| | |N/A |2000 BC? |Veda-sacred scripture |Natural environment|Diwali-festival of |You decide best way to worship God-use knowledge renunciation, |

| | |Web-BBC |India |Web-BBC |–Ganges River for |lights |devotion, action; allegiance to gods: Vishnu, Shiva |

|Hinduism |N/A | |Web- | |purification |Web-BBC |Pg 188 |

| | | | | | |Holi |Called a way of life or family of religions; some claim |

| | | | | |Pg 199 | |monotheism-some polytheism; dharma; birth, death, rebirth |

| | | | | | | |governed by karma |

| | | | | | | |Web-BBC |

| | |Mahavira |570 BC |Agamas |N/A |N/A |Liberation of the soul through harmlessness & renunciation; |

| | |Web-BBC |Web-religioustolerance org |Web-BBC | | |vegetarians; no harm to universe; reincarnation; right belief, |

|Jainism |N/A | | | | | |right knowledge, right conduct; no gods |

|Religion |Universalizing or Ethnic? |Pattern of Diffusion |Hierarchical or |Current Spatial |Ways in which this|Conflicts: Who/Where| |

| | | |Autonomous? |Distribution |religion has | | |

| | | | |& # Practicing |created a | | |

| | | | | |distinctive | | |

| | | | | |cultural landscape| | |

| | | |4 BC-30 AD | | |Easter (Christ |Coming of the Kingdom of God; Adam was 1st man & Abraham was |

| |1 Roman Catholic |Jesus |Jerusalem, Israel | | |resurrection) |one of his descendants |

|Christianity |2 Protestant |Aka Christ |Pg 190 |Bible |Jerusalem |Christmas (Christ |Pg 190 |

| |3 Eastern Orthodox |Aka Messiah | | | |birth) |One God; Jesus is son of God |

| | | | |Pg 190 |Pg 190 |Pg 201 |"original sin" - tendency towards evil |

| |Pg 183 |Pg 190 | | | | |Immaculate conception; The trinity |

| | | | | | | |Saints; Life after death |

| | | |~3000 BC | | |Rosh Hashana (New |One all-powerful God; Jews as God’s chosen people; first |

| | | |Middle East | | |Year) & Yom Kippur |monotheistic religion; Adam was 1st man & Abraham was one of |

|Judaism | |Abraham | |Torah |Jerusalem |(Atonement) |his descendants |

| |N/A | | | | |Pg 200 |Pg 189-190 |

| | |Pg 189 | | | | |One God –covenant relationship |

| | | | | | | |living the faith |

| | | | | | | |Child of Jewish mother=Jewish |

| | | | | | | |Community of Faith-set an example of holiness and ethical |

| | | | | | | |behaviour to the world |

| | | |622 CE | |cities associated |Ramadan (fast & |5 Pillars of Faith: 1-one God, 2-pray toward Mecca 5x/day, |

| |1 Shiite | |Mecca & Medina, |Quran (Koran) |with Prophet |pilgrimage) |3-charity, 4-fast during Ramadan, 5-pilgrimmage to Mecca (if |

|Islam | |Muhammad |Saudi Arabia | |Muhammad; |Pg 201 |able); Adam was 1st man & Abraham was one of his descendants |

| | | | | |Mecca-birthplace | |Pg 184-185, 190 |

| |2 Sunni |Pg 184-185, 191 |Pg 191 | |(has Ka’ba) | |One God |

| | | | | |Medina-tomb | |to attain salvation=correct belief, good deeds, Five Pillars |

| |Pg 184-185 | | | |Jerusalem | |Paradise/hell |

| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | |Pg 198 | | |

| | | |1469-1538 CE |Guru Granth Sahih |Golden Temple in |Births/deaths of 10 |One supreme being who rules by divine will; people can move |

| | | |(~500 yrs ago) |Aka |Punjab |Gurus; day when Guru|toward perfection through deeds & actions; Amrit (baptism); |

|Sikhism |N/A |Guru Nanak |Pakistan |Holy Granth of | |Granth became |men wear turbans & never cut hair |

| | | | |Enlightenment |Pg 198 |spiritual guide |Pg 188 |

| | |Pg 188 |Pg 188, 191 | | |Pg 201 |Karma-the only way out of this cycle is to eventually become |

| | | | |Pg 191 | | |one with God, which is called mukti (liberation). This is |

| | | | | | | |achieved through grace (it’s not something that human beings |

| | | | | | | |can earn. ) |

| | | | | | | |The three duties |

| | | | | | | |The three duties that a Sikh must carry out can be summed up |

| | | | | | | |in three words; Pray, Work, Give. |

| | | | | | | |The Five vices: Lust; Covetousness and greed; Attachment|

| | | | | | | |to things of this world; Anger; Pride |

| | | | | | | |If a person can overcome these vices they are on the road to |

| | | | | | | |liberation. |

| | |Bahá'u'lláh |1863 CE |Alkitab Alaqdas |Lotus temples |19 Day Feast |Bab’s disciple, Husayn Ali Nuri (Baha u llah) was God’s |

| | |Pg 188 |Shiraz, Iran |Web-religioustolerance.| |May 22-Declaration |prophet; goal to overcome disunity of religions & est a |

|Baha’i |N/A | | |org | |of the Bab |universal faith through abolishing prejudices |

| | | |Pg 188, 191 | | | |Siyyid Ali Muhammad (Bab) |

| | | | | | |Pg 201 |Pg 188 |

| | | | | | | |Unity (of mankind & the world’s religions) |

| | | | | | | |(believe that people should work together for the common |

| | | | | | | |benefit of humanity) |

| | | | | | | |progressive revelation of God to humanity |

| | | | | | | |(religious truth is revealed by God progressively and |

| | | | | | | |cyclically over time through a series of divine Messengers, |

| | | | | | | |and that the teachings are tailored to suit the needs of the |

| | | | | | | |time and place of their appearance) |

Religion |Universalizing or Ethnic? |Pattern of Diffusion |Hierarchical or Autonomous? |Current Spatial Distribution

& # Practicing |Ways in which this religion has created a distinctive cultural landscape |Conflicts: Who/Where | |

Christianity |

Universalizing |All forms of diffusion;

SW Asia through N Africa & Europe to North & South America

Pg 192-193 |Hierarchical-Roman Catholic

Autonomous – Protestant, Presbyterian

Pg 205-206 |2 billion

North America, Latin America, Europe

Pg 183 |Crosses, rosaries, churches with steeples & domes, Jesus image, nativity scenes, dove, ichthus; ten commandments |Eastern Orthodox vs Communism

Pg 208

Roman Catholic vs Protestant

Pg 208

Crusades against Muslims

Pg 209

Claim of Israel

Pg 209 | |

Judaism |

Ethnic |From Mediterranean to Europe, North Africa, and Asia; to Israel

Pg 196 |Autonomous

Pg 206 |15 million

United States & Israel |Menorah, star of david; ram’s horn of plenty; chalice; mezuzah; yarmulke; ten commandments |Claim of Israel

Pg 209 | |

Islam |

Universalizing |SW Asia through Africa, Europe, & Asia

Relocation-missionaries to sub-Saharan Africa & SE Asia, traders to Indonesia

Pg 194 |Autonomous

Sunni

Pg 206

Hierarchical

Shiite |1.5 billion

North Africa, SW Asia, Central Asia – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India

Pg 184-185 |Kabba; crescent moon and star symbol (often on flags); color green used in flags; hijab |Taliban vs Western values

Pg 207

Islam vs Communism

Pg 208

Crusades by Christians

Pg 209

Claim of Israel

Pg 209 | |

Sikhism |

Universalizing |Stayed in Punjab region

Pg 194 |Autonomous |25 million

Punjab region of India

United Kingdom

Pg 188 |Turban worn on head; kirpan (sword worn for ceremony) |

N/A | |

Baha’i |

Universalizing |From Iran to Africa & Asia |Autonomous |8 million

Africa & Asia

Pg 188 |9 point star with religious symbols surrounding edges; lotus temple |

N/A | |

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