Definition of Religion:
• Set of beliefs concerning the cause,
nature, and purpose of the universe.
Religious symbols, Left to right:
Row 1. Christian, Jewish, Hindu
Row 2. Islamic, Buddhist, Shinto
Row 3. Sikh, Baha'i, Jain
• Monotheism • One God
• Polytheism • Many Gods
• Theocracy • Rule by Religion
• Modern Theocracy • Vatican City/Saudi
Religions of the World
• What does it mean to be spiritual?
• Do you have to belong to a religion
to be spiritual? Why?
• Spiritual- concerned with matters of
• The state of being divine; the nature
or essence of God; deity
3 Major Religions
• Judaism 2000 BCE
• Christianity began in the 1st century
AD as a Jewish sect and spread
throughout the Roman Empire.
• Islam began in Arabia with
Muhammad's first recitations of the
Qur'an in the 7th century.
Modern Day Western
• How has religion contributed to
western political thought?