GLOBAL RELIGIONS

Religion

Sociologist Émile Durkheim described it with the statement that it consists of “things that surpass
the limits of our knowledge” (1915).

Durkheim would elaborate that: Religion is “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to
sacred things, that is to say set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite into one
single moral community, called a church, all those who adhere to them” (1915). Some people
associate religion with places of worship (a synagogue or church), others with a practice
(confession or meditation), and still others with a concept that guides their daily lives (like dharma
or sin).

As such, religion can be described as a system of beliefs, values, and practices concerning what
a person holds sacred or considers to be spiritually significant.

Major Religions

❖ Christianity

Christian Philosophy began as a Jewish Sect in Jerusalem proclaiming Jesus of Nazareth as the
Messiah. After Constantine came into power, he established Christianity as a quasi- official state
religion of the Roman Emprire in Ad 324.

Despite the many different divisions and sects of Christianity, most seem to agree, with some
variations on the following: God is the creator of all things; Jesus is the Messiah, Christ, son of
God; human being is a sinner who requires redemption; the Holy Trinity includes God the Father,
God the Son and the Holy Spirit; Christ came down to Earth to redeem mankind, the soul is
immortal.

❖ Hinduism

It is the major religion in India. Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, according to many scholars,
with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million
followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. The oldest religion
in the world, Hinduism originated in the Indus River Valley about 4,500 years ago in what is now
modern-day northwest India and Pakistan. It arose contemporaneously with ancient Egyptian and
Mesopotamian cultures. With roughly one billion followers, Hinduism is the third-largest of the
world’s religions. Hindus believe in a divine power that can manifest as different entities. Three
main incarnations—Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva—are sometimes compared to the manifestations
of the divine in the Christian Trinity.

Multiple sacred texts, collectively called the Vedas, contain hymns and rituals from ancient India
and are mostly written in Sanskrit. Hindus generally believe in a set of principles called dharma,
which refer to one’s duty in the world that corresponds with “right” actions. Hindus also believe in

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karma, or the notion that spiritual ramifications of one’s actions are balanced cyclically in this life
or a future life (reincarnation).

❖ Buddhism

Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) more than 2,500
years ago in India. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major
world religions. Its practice has historically been most prominent in East and Southeast Asia, but
its influence is growing in the West. Many Buddhist ideas and philosophies overlap with those of
other faiths.

▪ Followers of Buddhism don’t acknowledge a supreme god or deity. They instead focus
on achieving enlightenment—a state of inner peace and wisdom. When followers
reach this spiritual echelon, they’re said to have experienced nirvana.
▪ The religion’s founder, Buddha, is considered an extraordinary man, but not a god.
The word Buddha means “enlightened.”
▪ The path to enlightenment is attained by utilizing morality, meditation and wisdom.
Buddhists often meditate because they believe it helps awaken truth.
▪ Buddhists embrace the concepts of karma (the law of cause and effect) and
reincarnation (the continuous cycle of rebirth).
▪ Followers of Buddhism can worship in temples or in their own homes.
▪ Buddhist monks, or bhikkhus, follow a strict code of conduct, which includes celibacy.

❖ Islam

Muslims believe there is the one almighty God, named Allah, who is infinitely superior to and
transcendent from humankind. Allah is viewed as the creator of the universe and the source of all
good and all evil. Everything that happens is Allah's will. He is a powerful and strict judge, who
will be merciful toward followers depending on the sufficiency of their life's good works and
religious devotion. A follower's relationship with Allah is as a servant to Allah.

Though a Muslim honors several prophets, Muhammad is considered the last prophet and his
words and lifestyle are that person's authority. To be a Muslim, one must follow five religious
duties:

1. Repeat a creed about Allah and Muhammad;

2. Recite certain prayers in Arabic five times a day;
3. Give to the needy;
4. One month each year, fast from food, drink, sex and smoking from sunrise to sunset;
5. Pilgrimage once in one's lifetime to worship at a shrine in Mecca.

At death -- based on one's faithfulness to these duties -- a Muslim hopes to enter Paradise. If not,
they will be eternally punished in hell.

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For many people, Islam matches their expectations about religion and deity. Islam teaches that
there is one supreme deity, who is worshiped through good deeds and disciplined religious rituals.
After death a person is rewarded or punished according to their religious devotion. Muslims
believe that giving up one’s life for Allah is a sure way of entering Paradise.

❖ Confucianism

Confucianism was the official religion of China from 200 B.C.E. until it was officially abolished
when communist leadership discouraged religious practice in 1949. The religion was developed
by Kung Fu-Tzu (Confucius), who lived in the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. An extraordinary
teacher, his lessons—which were about self-discipline, respect for authority and tradition, and jen
(the kind treatment of every person)—were collected in a book called the Analects.

Some religious scholars consider Confucianism more of a social system than a religion because
it focuses on sharing wisdom about moral practices but doesn’t involve any type of specific
worship; nor does it have formal objects. In fact, its teachings were developed in context of
problems of social anarchy and a near-complete deterioration of social cohesion. Dissatisfied with
the social solutions put forth, Kung Fu-Tzu developed his own model of religious morality to help
guide society (Smith 1991).

❖ Taoism

In Taoism, the purpose of life is inner peace and harmony. Tao is usually translated as “way” or
“path.” The founder of the religion is generally recognized to be a man named Laozi, who lived
sometime in the sixth century B.C.E. in China. Taoist beliefs emphasize the virtues of compassion
and moderation.

The central concept of tao can be understood to describe a spiritual reality, the order of the
universe, or the way of modern life in harmony with the former two. The ying-yang symbol and
the concept of polar forces are central Taoist ideas (Smith 1991). Some scholars have compared
this Chinese tradition to its Confucian counterpart by saying that “whereas Confucianism is
concerned with day-to-day rules of conduct, Taoism is concerned with a more spiritual level of
being” (Feng and English 1972).

Globalization and Religious Pluralism

Globalization brings a culture of pluralism, meaning religions “with overlapping but distinctive
ethics and interests” interact with one another. Essentially, the world’s leading religious traditions
teach values such as human dignity, equality, freedom, peace, and solidarity. More specifically,
religions maintain the Golden Rule: “what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.”
Therefore, through such religious values, globalization engenders greater religious tolerance in
such areas as politics, economics, and society.

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In political areas, globalization has built global political forums that integrate cultural, ethnic, and
religious differences—ideologies that were once perceived as dividing the world—through a large
number of international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health
Organization (WHO), as well regional organizations like the European Union (EU), the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), or the African Union (AU). When discussing issues
such as international peace and security, health issues, poverty, and environment, these
organizations generally share many of the same basic commitments as religious traditions—
mainly peace, human dignity, and human equality, as well as conflict resolution in which they
actively engage in negotiation, mediation, and diplomacy (Golebiewski,2014)

Religions, conflict and Violence

Religious violence is a term that covers phenomena where religion is either the subject or the
object of violent behavior. Religious violence is violence that is motivated by, or in reaction to,
religious precepts, texts, or the doctrines of a target or an attacker. It includes violence against
religious institutions, people, objects, or events. Religious violence does not exclusively refer to
acts which are committed by religious groups, instead, includes acts which are committed against
religious groups.

"Violence" is a very broad concept that is difficult to define since it is used on both human and
non-human objects. Furthermore, the term can denote a wide variety of experiences such as
blood shedding, physical harm, forcing against personal freedom, passionate conduct or
language, or emotions such as fury and passion.

Although not necessarily so, there are some aspects of religion that make it susceptible to being
a latent source of conflict. All religions have their accepted dogma, or articles of belief, that
followers must accept without question. This can lead to inflexibility and intolerance in the face of
other beliefs. After all, if it is the word of God, how can one compromise it? At the same time,
scripture and dogma are often vague and open to interpretation. Therefore, conflict can arise over
whose interpretation is the correct one, a conflict that ultimately cannot be solved because there
is no arbiter. The winner generally is the interpretation that attracts the most followers. However,
those followers must also be motivated to action. Although, almost invariably, the majority of any
faith hold moderate views, they are often more complacent, whereas extremists are motivated to
bring their interpretation of God's will to fruition.

Religious extremists can contribute to conflict escalation. They see radical measures as
necessary to fulfilling God's wishes. Fundamentalists of any religion tend to take a Manichean
view of the world. If the world is a struggle between good and evil, it is hard to justify compromising
with the devil. Any sign of moderation can be decried as selling out, more importantly, of
abandoning God's will.

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References:

Orrù, M., & Wang, A. (1992). Durkheim, Religion, and Buddhism. Journal for the Scientific Study of
Religion, 31(1), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.2307/1386831 Orrù, M., & Wang, A. (1992). Durkheim,
Religion, and Buddhism. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31(1), 47–61.
https://doi.org/10.2307/1386831

De, Ocampo F., Ramos, B., Llonora, R., Macaraeg, A., & David, M.E. (2018). Introduction to
Contemporary World. St. Andrew Publishing House.

Other materials:

“5 Most Powerful Religions In The World” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mayXM4wSJhM

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