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=This page will hold the religion review documents you produced in AHR.=


 * Judaism**

Megan Cahillane, Nichole Murdock, Mary-Mac Hailey AHR Judaism White Paper November 29th 2011

• The major deities in Judaism religion o Judaism is monotheistic so they believe in one god. They do not say his name because they believe it is sacred. The name is translated as Yaweh. • Jews relationship between humanity and the divine o Jewish people don’t speak or write Gods name, Yaweh, instead they say Adonai, which is translated into as “The Lord”. They believed that Yaweh had no physical form, an all-encompassing spiritual force. Yaweh believes in humanity and free will. • What should a good person do in a difficult world? o Jews are taught by the Torah to pray to Hashem (the Creator) during suffering because suffering comes from the broken world we live in and the Creator is perfect does not change and cherishes every prayer and is merciful. • Major beliefs of Judaism Belief o Jews believe in the laws of God and the words of the prophets. In Judaism, however, actions are more important than beliefs. • Beliefs on the afterlife of the Judaism Religion o They are uncertain about their afterlife, so they don’t believe in haven or hell.

**Hinduism** Alex Robitaille and Jeremy Waldron

• Karma is the “dust” of Hinduism. A person who has a lot of Karma will not achieve Moksha, and will be reborn in a worse life they were previously in. You receive more Karma when you do not perform your Dharma. • Moksha happens when you have no Karma. Your soul is released from the endless cycle of reincarnation and you are now at peace. • You can achieve Moksha by fulfilling your Dharma (The job you were born to do in life), but you can also achieve it through meditation and yoga. Holding your breath and not eating may also increase your chances of achieving eternal peace. • The Rig Veda is a story of Hinduism. It is a huge hero story based around all of Hinduism. • Your Dharma is the job you are determined to do in the Hinduism community. • In the Caste System, there are 4 official and 1 unofficial branches of Dharma’s, and everyone has a job. The highest branch are the Brahmans (The Hindu Priests), the Kshatriyas (The nobility, warriors, and soldiers), Vaisyas (merchants and professionals), and the Sudras (the farm workers and servants). The last and unofficial Caste is the Untouchables (prostitutes, leather workers, hard laborers). Your parents determine your Dharma and you have to do what they did in life. • Cows are the substance in Hindu culture that is quite holy. They give the people milk and help them raise their crops. It is considered un-holy to deal with leather. • Hindu people always try and achieve eternal peace by doing whatever they can to rid themselves of bad Karma. Everyone wants to stay in the after life, and stop the eternal wheel of reincarnation.
 * · Hinduism was established in 1500 BC or earlier and it was established in India.
 * · The Hindu religion is in the top 5 most worshiped religions of the world, just shy of a billion.
 * · The majority of Hinduism worshipers live in India and it is the third largest religion in the world
 * · Hindu gods:
 * o Shiva- the god of destruction
 * o Brahama- the god of creation
 * o Vishnu- the god of order and balance
 * · Reincarnation is when you die and come back the earth in a different body based on your karma.
 * · The Hindu religion was not only for the people that worshiped inside of temples. You could worship Hinduism outside of temples as well.
 * · The oldest hindu temples we know of date back to the fifteenth century of the common era.

Zoroastrianism

1. Early Zoroastrianism- 2. Zarathustra- 3. Muslim Invasion- 4. Where are Zoroastrians now? 5. Zoroastrianism Beliefs 6. Zoroastrianism Connections to Judaism: 7. Zoroastrianism Connections to Christianity: 8. Zoroastrianism Connections to Buddhism: 9. How Zoroastrianism may have influenced Judaism:
 * The Religion was founded by Zarathustra in Persia
 * The exact date when the religion was founded has not been confirmed, some Zoroastrians say it was founded in 6000 BCE, others say 600 BCE.
 * According to historians, the religion was founded around 1500 to 1000 BCE
 * May be the world’s first monotheistic faith-driven religion
 * Zarathustra lived in Persia, and he preached monotheism in it
 * He was attacked for his teachings, but he eventually won support and Zoroastrianism became the dominate religion in many Persian states
 * When the Muslim Arabs invaded Persia around 650 CE, Zoroastrians scattered
 * Some of them fled to India, which today has the largest concentration of Zoroastrians, now called Parsees
 * Zoroastrians who stayed in Persia/Iran survived throughout the centuries and about 18,000 are still in Iran.
 * Today there are 18,000 Zoroastrians in Iran, and their numbers are steadily declining
 * Most of them are in India, and there are many in them are in North America
 * There are around 200,000 Zoroastrians in the world today
 * There major beliefs were to a translucent god named Ahura Mazda.
 * All worship is ultimately direct towards him
 * Ahura Mazda
 * He is the antithesis of chaos
 * The religion states that active participation in life through good thoughts, good words, good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep chaos at bay
 * Along with //Ahura Mazda// is his retinue of immortals; //Amesha Spentas//who are also his divine attributes. By knowing them, man can know God. They are:
 * Vohu Manah - Good mind and good purpose.
 * Asha Vahishta - Truth and righteousness.
 * Spenta Ameraiti - Holy devotion, serenity and loving kindness.
 * Khashathra Vairya - Power and just rule.
 * Hauravatat - Wholeness and health.
 * Ameretat - Long life and immortality.
 * Code of Ethics- Preserve Life and Fight for Justice
 * This is like a law
 * Threefold Path- Thought Right, Piety
 * Opposition- Lie Falsehood, Death
 * Both are Law-based
 * Both religions have a holy spirit
 * Both religions are apocalyptic, which means they both have a creation story and a destruction story of the earth
 * Both religions are messianic, which means they both have a holy prophet or messiah
 * And both religions have eternal judgment, Heaven and Hell
 * Both religions have salvation through faith and inner struggle
 * Both religions have eternal judgment, Heaven and Hell
 * Both are Law-based
 * Both religions have a holy spirit
 * Both religions are apocalyptic, which means they both have a creation story and a destruction story of the earth
 * Both religions are messianic, which means they both have a holy prophet or messiah
 * Both religions have salvation through faith and inner struggle
 * Both have mental training to follow the path to enlightenment
 * The Hebrews were released from Babylonian captivity by the Persians
 * The Persians sent the Babylonian Ezra to bring the law
 * Many of the laws were identical to the Vendidad, which is a Zoroastrianism text
 * Judaism has clean and unclean animals, similar to Zoroastrianism


 * Works Cited-**

Class Notes

"An Introduction to Zoroastrianism: Beliefs, Religion, Sects." Professional Translation Services | Interpreters | Intercultural Communication & Training. Kwintessential Ltd 2008. Web. 29 Nov. 2011

Robinson, B. A. "Zorastrianism: Introduction, Membership, Future Survival." //Religioustolerance.org//. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 11 July 2007. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. .


 * __Buddhism__**

1. Life is suffering 2. Reason for is desire 3. Ending suffering be achieving Nirvana 4. Eightfold path to Nirvana -1. Right Views- to know and understand the truth -2. Right Aspiration- rid of all desire in your life -3. Right Speech- be compassionate, do not lie, and do not harm anything -4. Right Conduct- do not take anything, do not harm anything, and no sexual misconduct -5. Right Livelihood- do your work, do not trade weapons, animals, humans, or drugs/alcohol -6. Right Effort- always be positive and avoid negative states of mind -7. Right Mindedness- deal with things as they are, and be aware of yourself/surroundings -8. Right Rapture- practice meditation Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
 * __Founder__**
 * Ø Prince Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha is the founder and creator of the religion
 * __Location and Areas of Worship__**
 * Ø Location of Buddhism is South and South East Asia, China, Korea, Tibet, and Japan
 * Ø Also, these are the places where Buddhism is practiced and worshipped
 * __Number of Current Believers__**
 * Ø There are 376 Million total people in the world that follow Buddhism
 * __Major Deities__**
 * Ø Buddha is the main person that is respected but he is not worshipped
 * Ø He is loved because of his teachings and
 * Ø There is a statue of him that people bow to show gratitude for his teachings
 * Ø Also there are two different types of Buddhism; Theravada and Mahayana
 * Ø In Theravada he is viewed as not divine
 * Ø In Mahayana he is viewed as divine
 * __Major Beliefs__**
 * Ø The believe in Four Noble which are:
 * __Believes of Afterlife__**
 * Ø They believe that you are reincarnated after death
 * Ø You are always reincarnated in less you achieve ultimate enlightenment or Nirvana
 * Ø You are also reincarnated according to your karma
 * __Relationship Between Humanity and the Divine__**
 * Ø The relationship of humanity and the divine is different between the two modern types of Buddhism discussed above
 * Ø In Theravada only certain people like the monks can achieve enlightenment they do not have a divine God but they follow the everyone that has achieve enlightenment like Buddha
 * Ø In Mahayana everyone can achieve enlightenment and they worship Buddha as a God
 * __What a Good Person does in a Difficult World__**
 * Ø They follow the Eightfold path to enlightenment which is:
 * __Work Cited Pages__**
 * Ø

Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
 * Ø

Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
 * Ø

Meditation Practice." Thebigview.com - Pondering the Big Questions. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
 * Ø "Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, Karma and

Geography Church Statistics. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.
 * Ø