Explain The Five Famous Religions
Five Famous Religions
Throughout a person’s life they are faced with several decisions. These choices range from picking out a dinner meal to making a life altering commitment. A person’s belief system is the most important decision he or she will ever make in their lifetime. A belief system is the basis in which a person stores their values, morals, and religious standpoints. The world has several religions. Among these religions there are five that are widely practiced throughout the world.
The first religion practiced is Hinduism. The term "Hinduism" includes numerous traditions, which are closely related and share common themes but it does not constitute a unified set of beliefs or practices. Hinduism is thought to have gotten its name …show more content…
Sruti scriptures are considered divinely inspired and fully authoritative for belief and practice, while smruti are recognized as the products of the minds of the great sages. However, smruti texts often carry almost as much authority as sruti, and the religion of the older sruti texts bears little resemblance to modern Hinduism and is largely unknown to the average Hindu. Nevertheless, the sruti are still held in very high regard and portions are still memorized for religious merit. The only texts regarded as sruti are the Vedas, which include both ancient sacrificial formulas and the more philosophical Upanishads. The most sacred scriptures of Hinduism are the Vedas or the "Books of Knowledge", a collection of texts written in Sanskrit from about 1200 BCE to 100 CE. As sruti, the Vedas are regarded as the absolute authority for religious knowledge and a test of Hindu orthodoxy, both Jains and Buddhists reject the Vedas. For Hindus, the Veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and tradition. Selections from the Vedas are still memorized and recited for religious merit today. Yet, much of the religion presented in the Vedas is unknown today and plays little to no role in modern Hinduism. As historical and religious literature often is, the text is written from the perspective of the most powerful groups, priests and warrior kings. Scholars say it is therefore unlikely that it represents the totality of religious belief and practice in India in the first millennium BCE. This perspective is especially evident in the earlier parts of the Vedas, in which the primary concerns are war, rain, and dealing with the "slaves," or native inhabitants of
Throughout a person’s life they are faced with several decisions. These choices range from picking out a dinner meal to making a life altering commitment. A person’s belief system is the most important decision he or she will ever make in their lifetime. A belief system is the basis in which a person stores their values, morals, and religious standpoints. The world has several religions. Among these religions there are five that are widely practiced throughout the world.
The first religion practiced is Hinduism. The term "Hinduism" includes numerous traditions, which are closely related and share common themes but it does not constitute a unified set of beliefs or practices. Hinduism is thought to have gotten its name …show more content…
Sruti scriptures are considered divinely inspired and fully authoritative for belief and practice, while smruti are recognized as the products of the minds of the great sages. However, smruti texts often carry almost as much authority as sruti, and the religion of the older sruti texts bears little resemblance to modern Hinduism and is largely unknown to the average Hindu. Nevertheless, the sruti are still held in very high regard and portions are still memorized for religious merit. The only texts regarded as sruti are the Vedas, which include both ancient sacrificial formulas and the more philosophical Upanishads. The most sacred scriptures of Hinduism are the Vedas or the "Books of Knowledge", a collection of texts written in Sanskrit from about 1200 BCE to 100 CE. As sruti, the Vedas are regarded as the absolute authority for religious knowledge and a test of Hindu orthodoxy, both Jains and Buddhists reject the Vedas. For Hindus, the Veda is a symbol of unchallenged authority and tradition. Selections from the Vedas are still memorized and recited for religious merit today. Yet, much of the religion presented in the Vedas is unknown today and plays little to no role in modern Hinduism. As historical and religious literature often is, the text is written from the perspective of the most powerful groups, priests and warrior kings. Scholars say it is therefore unlikely that it represents the totality of religious belief and practice in India in the first millennium BCE. This perspective is especially evident in the earlier parts of the Vedas, in which the primary concerns are war, rain, and dealing with the "slaves," or native inhabitants of