Major Religions Of The World
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Major Religions of the World
Religions throughout the world are a necessary part of cultures of different peoples. Religions are cultural complexes that effect so much of a persons everyday life – religion not only deals with worship, but also encompasses clothing style, morality, eating habits, language, and so much more, some of which that vary depending on the religion. Each religions origins, along with their creation myths, differentiate them from other religions, some of which are very similar.
In Buddhism, followers put their beliefs into the Buddha, or “the enlightened one.” Buddha was born Siddhartha Guatama in Nepal in 566 B.C. He was the prince of the small Sakya tribe at a young age, and was raised by Mahaprajapati, his mothers kind sister, when his mother died just seven days after he was born. Guatama married Yashodhara at the age of 16, but was unhappy with his life – his father kept him in palaces, and he was never allowed to see the outside world. Guatama insisted, and his father let him, showing Guatama his first views of death, of elderly, of pain and sickness. When Guatama realized that he was not receiving fulfillment from his life, and began to look for peace and understanding at the age of 29, he left his tribe and the comforts of his upper-class home to seek the meaning of the suffering that was hidden from him for so long. Guatama tortured himself, through starvation and self-mutilation, for six years. After realizing that it was solving none of the problems in his life, Guatama instead took food offered from a young girl and sat under a bodhi tree until he understood. He saw into his past lives, he saw the meaning of everything, and became the Buddha in the full moon of May with the rising of the morning star. The king of gods, Brahma, encouraged Buddha to spread his knowledge, so he taught in the N.E. Indian plains the path of righteousness, or Dharma that he realized when he became enlightened. Buddha also acquired a Sangha, or community of followers.
The Buddhist religion does not have a creationism myth/theory. Buddha taught that all things in life were constantly changing, impermanent, becoming new. There is nothing about Buddhism that contradicts and scientific theories of creation, but the Buddha taught to focus life on not on the past, but instead, how one can overcome suffering in their lives.
Hinduism is another religious belief, and is actually considered to be the oldest organized religion in history. Differing from Western religions, Hinduism is polytheistic, meaning followers believe in many gods, not just one supreme God. The classical view of Hinduism, also called Sanatana Dharma or Vaidika Dharma, states that Hinduism began between 4,000 and 2,200 B.C.E. in the early Indus civilizations. The development of Hinduism was caused mainly by invasions from Aryans, who brought new ideas and theories with them as they conquered many Indus civilizations. The “Vedist” beliefs of the Aryans mingled with the advanced Indus beliefs, creating Hinduism. This classical belief is now being doubted – the Christians who theorized the dates of Hinduism were biased, and based the times around when they believed the world was created and Noahs flood occurred. Many archeologists are finding out that the Indus civilizations only lasted from 3,500 to 1,800 B.C.E., and was not destroyed by Aryan invasions, but instead, natural disasters.
Hindus actually have several creation myths. They believe in one ultimate god, Brahman, which is a trinity, who leads all other minor gods. In the Chandogya Upanishad, or a sect of Hindu, creation myth, the creation of the earth is described as the breaking an egg. In the Vedas, or one Hindu sacred text, Brahman, or the creator, built the universe with timber, as simply as a carpenter would build a house. A different sacred text, the Rig Veda, said that the universe was created out of one sacrificed cosmic man, and that the different sects of Hindu come from the different part of the cosmic mans body.
Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion, and almost nearly completely Japanese – other cultures have a hard time adjusting to it, since it is brought from older generations, and one must be immersed in a Shinto society to truly understand the religion. Shintos history is extremely vague. Unlike nearly every other religion, there are no religious texts in Shinto, nor is there a founder, any sort of religious law, or an organized priesthood. Shintos believe in Kami, or deities of every sort, and the Shinto history simply tells details of the lives of the Kami. Kami are actually incomparable to “gods” or “goddesses” in a Christian, monotheistic sense – they are considered very kind, and sustain and protect their people. Because of the lack of written moral code, Shintoists generally just follow the moral code of Confucianism.
Shinto, like some other beliefs and religions, does not have a single creation myth. In fact, because of Shintos loose organization, and complete lack of historical religious texts (no one even knows when Shinto began, or who founded it!), there is no single unified belief about creationism in Shinto. Each follower has their own beliefs, and the unifying factor in their religion is not focused on creation, but instead, on the worship of Kami and living life with a strong moral code. Physical acts to support the religion are much more important than ancient beliefs, and Shintoists value of plants, animals, and nature, as well as all life, is one of the main focuses of the religion.
Taoism is a famous Chinese religious philosophy, a way of life for all believers. The focus of Tao lies in balance, something that all of the followers respect and strive for throughout their lives. The balance is expressed through the Yin and Yang symbol, or the Tai Chi disk, which depicts the roots of the beliefs of Taoism. Some other themes, or ideas, of Taoism include simplicity, intuition, spontaneity, and the way of nature. The philosophers that created Taoism are Lao Tzu, the creator of the foundation of Taoism (see Figure 1), and Shemanism, which is a group of unknown philosophers. The Shemans are religious people associated with Taoism that perform varied services, such as spiritual healers or exorcists. Shemans are credited with turning Taoism into a religion, as opposed to simply a philosophy.
Taoism, like many of the other religious philosophies, does not have specific creation myths. When Lao Tzu created Taoism, he was forced to write the wisdom of his life, he was forced to NOT retire. As opposed to believing in deities or gods or a God, Taoists focus on the balance of their lives as is. Creation