World Religions 101
Class is in session...
World Religions 101 is a response to many of you, our listeners, who tell us you want to know the basics of the great religions of the world, but don't have time to study them in depth. We've invited one of our favorite religion professors, Boston University's Stephen Prothero, for a crash course on what you need to know. Check back each week to find out what the adherents of the most influential religions believe, and how they’re different from each other. Think of it as a free enrollment in Prothero’s popular religion class…minus the test at the end.
For Prothero, all religions agree that there's "something rotten" with the human condition. But as soon as they start to diagnose the predicament, they go off in their own directions. Prothero breaks down each tradition into four questions: What is the problem that religion is trying to solve? What is the solution? How do we get there? And which exemplars should we use as guides?
Stephen Prothero is the author of God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Rule the World and Why Their Differences Matter. He is also a regular contributor to the new CNN Belief Blog.
Islam: The Way of Submission
The word "Islam" in Arabic means both "peace" and "submission." The problem that Islam wants to solve is pride - the sense that we can get along just fine without God. The solution is submission to Allah, through techniques like praying 5 times a day, and saying the Shahada, the testimony of faith that "there is no God but God."
Pictured: The first chapter of the Koran, the holy book Muslims consider the final revelation of God.
Judaism: The Way of Exile and Return
Judaism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic traditions, tracing its beginnings to more than three thousand years ago. For Jews, humanity's great problem is exile - we have become distant from God, and distant from our community. The solution is return, through storytelling and law.
Pictured: The Star of David, which represents the shape of King David's shield. In the Torah, King David was the second king of Israel.
Buddhism: The Way of Awakening
Buddhism says we can solve the problems of humanity on our own, through our minds, without calling on a God. For Buddhists, life is plagued by suffering, but since it has an origin (attachment), it can be eliminated - through a teaching known as the Noble Eightfold Path.
Christianity: The Way of Salvation
You might think you already know what Stephen Prothero is going to say in the fourth part of our series on the world's major religions. But if you think you know the most popular religion in the United States, think again. It's always changing, expressed in a "dizzying diversity" of interpretations and practices. For Christians, the problem is sin, and the solution is salvation.
Yoruba Religion: The Way of Connection
The Yoruba religion a is a tapestry of myths, magic, spirits, and secrets. Prothero calls it "a tradition about hanging onto tradition," a way for people scattered by the African diaspora to connect to their common origins. The gods of Yoruba are more like super-powerful humans, with their own personalities, stories, and tastes in music. And they're often wonderfully mischievous. Yoruba religion teaches that our problem is disconnection; the solution is to reconnect ourselves to a larger divine power, through fortune telling, sacrifice, and spirit/body posession.
Pictured: Babalu Aye, the Orisha of illness.
Confucianism: The Way of Propriety
Confucians aren't particularly interested in the divine or the afterlife. They are more concerned with the here and now- with cultivating harmony and virtue. The problem Confucianism is trying to solve is lack of social order. The answer is to be kind and honorable to each other, through rituals and etiquette.
Pictured: A statue of Confucius, who was born in 551 BCE.
Daoism: The Way of Flourishing
Confucianism stresses decorum, learning and proper behavior. Daoism, one of the other popular religions in China, emphasizes nearly the opposite. Daoism says we should be spontaneous, natural and unconstrained - like water flowing down a river. The problem is lifelessness, which is pushed onto us by social conventions. The goal, then, is flourishing: living life to the full.
Hinduism: The Way of Devotion
Stephen Prothero calls Hindusim an “over-the-top religion of big ideas, bright colors, soulful mantras, spicy foods, complex rituals and wild stories.” The world’s oldest living religion, Hinduism is an attempt to escape the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth. The goal is to free the soul from bondage, a path known as moksha, or release.
Pictured: An 18th century depiction of Ganesha, one of the most beloved deities in the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses.
