Ancient Religions Chart

Religion or Belief System Hinduism

Civilization of Origin

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Religious Basic Beliefs Text Vedas Baghvad Gita Ramayana Caste-system- one is born into a role in society

Aryans in India Indus Valley

Dharma-duty: one must fulfill their role in their caste and do their duty to get closer to god Reincarnation- people are reincarnated into another lifedepending on their behavior (Karma) in their previous life

their rebirth will take them higher in the caste-system or lower Moksha- the ultimate rewardits like heaven- it is the escape from the cycle of reincarnation and joining with god. Gods- Even though there is ONE God- that god manifested into many other gods and came down to earth to teach people how to do their Dharma Some gods include: Brahma(Creator) Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer) Buddhism India China Japan Tripitaka; Mahayana sutras Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu Prince who traveled the world to discover why there was suffering in the world His answer became the

Judaism

Mesopotamia Diaspora Torah Talmud

teachings of Buddhism and he became known as the Buddha He believed that there were 4 Noble Truths- one of those truths was that there was suffering in the world To escape the suffering one must follow the 8 Fold Path Reincarnation- souls are reborn over and over to figure out how to reject desires in order to escape suffering Nirvana- Enlightenment- the end of the cycle of reincarnation when a soul finally figures it out Buddhism rejects the notion of caste- anyone at any level can reach Nirvana Abraham was the founding prophet and obeyed Gods order to worship only one god.

Confucianism China by Confucius

none

Analects

Abraham and god made a covenant: Abraham promised God to take Jews to Canaan and God promised to protect the Jews (they became known as the chosen ones) The Jews suffered a Diaspora and spread around the world many times as slaves Moses took the Jews out of Egypt to reestablish the promised land Moses received Gods laws in the 10 commandments and Jews must live by those and other laws. The commandments include living a moral life Society can be made perfect if everyone lives virtuous lives Part of living virtuous lives is by fulfilling your proper role in

Taosim/ Daoism

China by Lao none Tzu

Tao Te Ching, ChuangTzu

society according to the 5 major relationships: emperor subject; father and son- ; husband wife; elder brother younger brother ; friend and friend Being virtuous also means respecting others especially parents. A childs respect of their parents is called Filial Piety Confuciusts believe in reincarnation but there are no gods in this belief philosophy The natural world is perfect and is in harmony In order for humans to be a peace and happy they must also be in harmony with the world Living in harmony with the natural world means following

the Dao or The Way The Way is to try always to do only as much as their natural impulse requires, never straining for further achievement. Taoists relate to other people in a spirit of natural kindness, tolerance, and humility, never striving to dominate them.