Religion

Religion is man's belief in a supernatural being. This being is always more powerful than man and is often called a god. In some religions there are more than one god with each god being responsible for one or more aspects of life. For example, some religions have gods that are responsible for creation, love, war, peace, destruction, etc.

Man believes that he owes a lot to his god for providing him with all his needs. Therefore, he shows his gratitude by worshiping his god through singing, clapping, dancing, preaching, praying, etc.

Because religion is a belief and different people believe in different things, there are many different religions around the world. Some of the major world religions are Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Rastafarianism and Sikhism.

Rituals

A ritual is a sequence of activities done at a specific place by a religious group. They are a specific ways of doing certain things as outlined by the religion, for example, communion. All religions carry out rituals for birth, marriage, funeral, rites of passage, etc. A rite of passage is a ceremony for when a person moves from one stage of life to another. For example, in many religions, there is a ceremony at the age when a boy becomes a man and a girl a woman.

Christianity

Christianity is the religion practised by the people who are the followers of Jesus Christ and his teachings. These persons are known as Christians. They firmly believe that Jesus died for their sins and when he returns, they will live forever with him in heaven.

Christians worship in a church where they read their holy book called a Bible. All the worship they do is dedicated to Jehovah their god and Jesus his son. Some Christians worship on a Sunday while others worship on Saturday (Sabbath).

Those who worship on a Saturday are known as Seventh Day Adventists. Seventh Day Adventist is one Christian denomination. A denomination refers to the different churches that practise Christianity. Some other denominations are Baptist, Anglican, Catholic, Methodist, Pentecostal and Church of God just to name a few.

Christian Rituals

Holy Communion (Lord’s Supper) - Christians eat bread and drink wine which represents the body and blood of Jesus.

Baptism - a sign that one is born again and ready to follow Jesus.

Marriage - the joining of a man and a woman as one family with God’s blessing.

Funeral - ceremony highlighting the death and burial of a person.

Confession - the admission of one’s sins.

Christening - infant (baby) baptism.

Fasting - a period during which one doesn’t eat and use the time to pray and worship.

Christian Celebrations

Christmas - Jesus’ birth

Easter - Jesus’ death and resurrection

Lent - a period of fasting lasting six weeks starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday.

Pentecost - the descent of the holy spirit on the church and the apostles. It takes place fifty days after Easter Sunday.

Christian Symbols

Islam

Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity, with about 1.8 billion followers worldwide. Islam started in Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia, during the time of the prophet Muhammad’s life. Followers of Islam are called Muslims who aim to live a life of complete submission to Allah. They believe that nothing can happen without Allah’s permission, but humans have free will.Some important Islamic holy places include the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the Prophet Muhammad’s mosque in Medina.

The word “Islam” means “submission to the will of God.” Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims worship one God who is known as Allah. Islam teaches that Allah’s word was revealed to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Followers worship Allah in a mosque where they pray and recite the Quran (or Koran), their holy book. Muslims believe several prophets were sent to teach Allah’s law. They respect some of the same prophets as Jews and Christians, including Abraham, Moses, Noah and Jesus. Muslims contend that Muhammad was the final prophet. Worship ceremonies is led by a Imam who is the spiritual leader.

Five Pillars of Islam

Muslims follow five basic pillars that are essential to their faith. These include:

Shahada: to declare one’s faith in God and belief in Muhammad
Salat: to pray five times a day (at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening)
Zakat: to give to those in need
Sawm: to fast during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting
Hajj: to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during a person’s lifetime if the person is able

Muslim Festivals/Holidays

The two major Muslim holidays are:

Eid al-Adha: celebrates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for Allah.

Eid al-Fitr: marks the end of Ramadan—the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Muslims also celebrate other holidays, such as the Islamic New Year and the birth of Muhammad.

Crescent Moon and Star

Types of Love

The term love refers to an emotion of strong affection felt for someone, one's god or and object. Over time, love may develop into a feeling of warm personal attachment. There are four main types of love. They are as follows:

Agape: Godly love; This is the love of giving without asking anything in return. Many would consider it to be the purest form of love.
Philia: brotherly love; This is the love between friends.
Eros: love between husband and wife. Eros refers to the romantic love that has tremendous passion, physical longing, deep intensity, and intimacy.
Storage: A natural, instinctive love or a parental love‟ Storage is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.

Write 4 scenarios in which the different types of love are expressed.