Religion and Philosophy

Created by Syaira Azzhavira 8A

What is Religion ?
 Religion is the belief in gods and the activities that are connected with
this belief, such as rituals or prayers.
 In ancient India, China and Southeast Asia, religion was very important.
 The three religions had a great impact on life. The tree civilisations were
Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
 The well known religions in this world are, Buddhism, Hinduism,
Islam, Christian and Catholic.
What is Philosophy ?
 Other than religions, there are beliefs that do not involve a
god or gods, which also guide people in their lives. These
are called Philosophies.
 The three philosophies that had a great impact on life in
ancient China is Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism.
 These three philosophies continue to have an impact on
our lives today.
Hinduism in India...
 Hinduism was the first religion to appear in India.
 Historians don’t really know how or when Hinduism started.
However, by reading and understanding sacred Hindu texts.
 One of them was Vedas (collections of poems sung in praise of
Aryan gods) and Bhagavad Gita (‘Divine song of God’).
 Hinduism is at least 3000 years old and is the oldest religion in
India.
 Hinduism developed slowly over many countries through a mixing
of the beliefs of the Aryans and the Indus people.
The main features of Hinduism
1. The worship of many gods. The most impostant gods are
Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver), and Shiva
(the Destroyer).
2. The belief in non-violence. Hinduism teaches that all life is
sacred. Therefore, humans and animals should not be killed.
3. The belief in reincranation.The Hindus believe when a
person dies, his soul is reborn into a new body. This process
of rebirth is called reincarnation.
Impact of Hinduism
 The ancient Indians believed that the caste a person was born into was
the result of his actions during his previous life.
 He would then try his best to be a good person so that he would be
reborn into a higher caste.
 It was also believed that as divine rulers, Indian kings had to make sure
that everyone followed the rulers of the caste system.
Buddhism in India...
Ancient India was also the birthplace of another important
religion, Buddhism.
Unlike Hinduism, whose origins and founder aren’t known.
We know that Buddhism began over 2 000 years ago and
was developed from the teachings of a prince called
Gautama Siddharta.
Gautama Siddhartha
Gautama Siddhartha was born c.
566 BCE in North India. As a prince.
When he was 29 years old, Gautama
went outside the palace grounds and
into the neighboring villages. For the
first time in his life, he witnessed how
people had suffered from illness, old
age and death.
Siddhartha left the palace to search for
a way to end suffering and achive
everlasting happiness.
The moment that Gautama found the
answer to his questions is called
enlightment or true understanding.
Gautama became known as the
Buddha, which means ‘The
Enlightened One’.
Impact of Buddhism
1) Buddhism spread very quickly in ancient India.
2) Many Hinduism especially those from the lower castes,
converted to Buddhism because it taught that all men are equal.
3) Centuries later, several powerful Indian rulers converted to
Buddhism or were strongly influenced by Buddha’s teachings.
4) These rulers then helped to spread Buddhism throughout India
and The rest of Asia.
Confucianism...
Confucianism was a philosopher who lived from 551 BCE to 479 BCE,
during the period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (771-221 BCE).
During the later years of the Eastern Zhou dynasty, wars were fought
between the feudal lords as each tried to gain control over more land.
Confucius was deeply troubled by the destruction caused by the wars. He
wanted people to live in peace and harmony.
Confucius belived that if people lived by a code of conduct or a set of rules
in their relationships with others, there would be a peace and harmony.
Impact of Confucianism
1) During his time, Confucius
travelled to different parts of
China to persuade rulers to
practice his philosophy, but few
were convinced.
2) His teachings became more
widespread after his death.
3) Centuries after the death of
Confucius emperors saw the value
of his teachings and used his
philosophy as guide for ruling.
Legalism...
 Legalism is a philosophy of ‘good government’ rather than one that
guides people in their daily lives.
It was developed by some thinkers who believed that people are
naturally selfish and weak.
People who broke the law must be severely punished in order to
discourage others from committing the same crimes.
Qin Shihuang adopted Legalism during his reign.
He used it to strengthen his rule and unify his empire.
Under the influence of Legalism, people who broke law must
received harsh punishments such as execution and forced labour.
Taoism...
 Another philosophy that began during
the Zhou dynasty was Taoism.
An important Taoist thinker, Zhuang
Zi, also contributed many of his own
ideas to the teachings of Taoism.
The teachings of Taoism are found in
the Dao De Ching (‘Book of
changes’). They teaches that there can
be peace and harmony if people
follow the Tao (‘Way’) of nature.
Taoism also teaches that people can
achieve inner peace and harmony by
taking care of their health.
Islam in Southeast Asia...
The followers of Islam are known as Muslims.
Muslims believe that their religion was revealed by Allah
through the prophet Muhammad.
Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in Arabia in 570 CE.
Muslims believe that in 610 CE, Muhammad received the
first of several messages from Allah.
In Arabic, Allah means ‘the one true God’. These messages
were later written down to become the Qur’an, the holy book
of the Muslims. The Qur’an states how Allah wants Muslims
to live.
The five pillars of Islam
1) Muslims must declare ‘There is no God but Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is his
messenger’. This statement is also known as ‘Syahadat’.
2) Muslims must pray five times a day and when praying they must face the
direction of Mecca.
3) Muslims must give zakat, which is an obligatory contribution to the poor and
needy.
4) Muslims must fast between sunrise and sunset during the islamic month of
Ramadhan.
5) Muslims must go on a pilgrimage to Mecca if they can afford it. This pilgrimage is
called the haj.