Navarro, Duran, Patton

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National Geographic For Teens Editors: Evelyn Duran Austen Patton Yazmin Navarro Inside: * Christianity, the largest religion in the world. * Hinduism: One or many gods? Find out know! WORLD RELIGIONS

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Page 1: Navarro, Duran, Patton

National Geographic For Teens

Editors:

Evelyn Duran

Austen Patton

Yazmin Navarro

Inside:

* Christianity, the largest religion in the world. * Hinduism: One or many gods? Find out know!

WORLD RELIGIONS

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Inside The Issue Page. 4 __ Buddhism

Page. 6 __ Hinduism

Page. 8 __ Islam

Page. 10 __ Christianity

Page. 12 __ Judaism

Top: Statue of Buddha.

Bottom: Man reading the Qur’an.

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Top: A Mosque where Islam believers

worship.

Top Left: The Eucharist taken by Christians.

Top Right: Young Jew-ish boy preparing for his Bar-Mitzvah.

Bottom: One of the gods of Hinduism.

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Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the major religions that exists in our world today. It has existed for many years. This religion was founded by a man who went a journey to find the path to Enlightenment. Buddhism was founded in Nepal, located near the border of India. It later spread to other parts in the world. This religion is about following a spiritual path. This path is reached by mediation, worships, and many other practices. Buddhism is an important religion, and will continue to be important to people throughout time.

Siddhartha Gautama is a very important part of Buddhism’s history. Gautama was born in 500 BCE, in Nepal, to a very wealthy family. He was the founder of the Buddhist religion. During his life, Siddhartha was kept inside the palace by his father. His father gave him everything he wanted so that he wouldn’t have to suffer. One day though, Gautama went outside his palace and discovered the suffering others went through. After seeing this, he went on a journey to find the path to Enlightenment. During his journey, he discov-ered the 4 Noble Truths, which lead to less suffering. This discovery led too the begin-ning of Buddhism, which has existed for about 2,500 years. Even though Gautama is a very important part of the religion, he is not worshiped, or considered as a God. There-fore, Gautama is very important in Bud-dhism, and will always be an important part of the religion.

Nepal is the place where Buddhism was founded. Nepal is divided into three sections;

northern snow mountains, a hilly region, and a southern terrain. It lies 500 miles along the Himalayas, bordered by Tibet and India. In Nepal, about 26% of its population practices Buddhism. Believers of Buddhism mostly used to live in Nepal, but today it has spread all over the world and has expanded into other parts in Asia. There are 376 million Buddhist followers in the world today. More people will probably continue to join this religion through time. Just like Siddhartha, Nepal is also an important part of the relig-ion, because it is where Buddhism began.

The Buddhist religion does not believe in any god. This religion is not centered on a relationship between God and humans. It is centered more around an energy called karma. Karma is an energy that can affect you in a positive or negative way in the fu-ture, due to the actions you make through-out your life. People who believe this try hard to live good, moral lives in order to re-ceive positive things from karma. Buddhist people also believe that they are reincar-nated again and again. The way you acted in your past life decides who you will be in your next life. Buddhism is a very unique re-ligion and is like no other.

Buddhists worship in ancient temples, or in their homes. Going to temples is not re-quired. Worships consist of meditation, chanting, playing music, and mantra. Buddhist people believe that by meditation and wor-ship, they can reach the path to Enlighten-ment. As stated before, the 4 Noble Truths

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are very important in Buddhism. These truths consist of Dukkah (the truth of suffering), Samu-dāya (the truth of the origin of suffering), Nirodha (the truth of the cessation of suffering), and Magga (the truth of the path to the cessation of suffering). This is one of the important key be-liefs in the religion. Just like any other religion, Buddhism has many festivals and celebrations throughout the year. One of the most important festivals is Wesak. It takes place on the full moon of May, which marks the birth of Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. As you can clearly see, worshiping and celebrations are an important part of this religion.

Buddhism is clearly a religion in its own way. Buddhism is not just practiced in Nepal anymore. This religion grew and spread to new places where it wasn’t practiced. Siddhartha is still an important part of the Buddhist religion. It is said the founding of Buddhism dates back to his birth. Today, those who practice Buddhism still carry on with their beliefs and practices. Their beliefs and practices may be old, but they are still important to them. We can see that Bud-dhism is an important part of Nepal’s history.

Left: Siddhartha Gautama, founder of the Buddhist religion.

Right: Procession to the temple on Wesak.

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Hinduism

Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in our world today, and is the third largest religion. No one really knows when this religion began. Some claim that it has always existed, but no one really known for sure. Hinduism began in an ancient civilization called the Indus Valley. This civilization no longer exists. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, meaning that there is more than one god that is worshiped. Hindu people perform many different practices throughout their life, and they have many festivals during the year. One will know what the religion of Hin-duism is about while reading this passage.

Hinduism has existed for a very long time. There is no definite point of when this religion be-gan, but some people believe that it began around 600 BCE – 800 AD. Hindus on the other hand believe that it has always existed. Hinduism has no single founder. Hinduism is a variety of religious traditions and philosophies that have developed over time. There have been many important people throughout this religion. One important figure of Hinduism is Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi, who promoted peace and tolerance among people of all religions. Clearly Hinduism has had no single founder, but many of its believers have contributed to its long his-tory.

Left: Brahman, the absolute God of Hindu-

Right: The Vedas, Hindus holy book.

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Hinduism was founded in the ancient civiliza-tion of the Indus Valley. This valley used to be located near the river of Indus, in modern day Pakistan. This valley was very extensive, but it faded away throughout the years. Hinduism has over 9 million followers. Most of the followers today live in India. About 80.5% of people living in India are Hindu. Most of the believers of Hinduism lived around the Indus Valley during its formation. Through time, this religion spread to other places in Asia, and other places around the world. One can see that the Indus Valley is an important part of Hinduism, al-though it no longer exists.

Hindu people believe in one God, who they re-fer to as Brahman. Brahman is made up of other gods who represent different expres-sions of him. The 3 main gods are Brahma who creates the universe, Vishnu who preserves the universe, and Shiva who destroys the universe. There are also many other gods and goddesses. When Hindus worship the god or goddesses, they perform mantras, which is when they re-cite the name of a god over and over again. They also give offerings to images that repre-sent their gods. This religion is based on an in-dividual relationship between gods and the be-liever. It involves a lot of personal sacrifice from the follower. Clearly Hinduism is a very individ-ual religion that requires a lot of faith from the believer.

Hindus worship either in temples or in a home shrine. They perform all their worships here, which include a lot of prayer. They have many different rituals they perform, including wed-dings and baby rites. Pilgrimage is also very im-portant in Hinduism. Pilgrimages can be done in rivers, temples, mountains, and other places where gods may have been once. Some of the

most important places are the River of Ganges and Varanasi, which are considered very holy places. One of the most impor-tant scriptures of Hinduism is the Vedas. They believe that these texts were re-ceived directly by gods, and passed down by word. Hinduism has many celebrations. One very important celebration is Diwali, which is the festival of lights. It goes on for 5 days and includes lights, fireworks, and sweets. Hinduism has many festivals and rituals that go according to the cycle of nature.

Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world. It was founded by many groups of people, not just by one single person. Hindus will probably continue with their belief that Hinduism has always existed, but no one will really know for sure. There are many believers around the world today, and the number of believers will grow as time goes by. Although the Indus Valley no longer exists, it will con-tinue to be an important part of Hinduism. Hinduism has many rituals, and people have many beliefs. These rituals and prac-tices will continue to be passed on to fu-ture generations. One can see how impor-tant Hinduism and its history are to some people of the world.

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Islam Islam is the second largest religion in the world. It began in Mecca, and has existed for thousands of years. The beginning of Islam is dated on Muhammad’s birth. Mecca, where Is-lam began, is located in Saudi Arabia, a place with many mountains. Mecca is Muhammad’s place of birth. There still many believers of Is-lam who live here. Believers of Islam are called Muslims. They believe in only one God, which they refer to as Allah. Their place of worship is called a Mosque. They also have many different practices, one of them being the 5 Basic Pillars of Israel. Throughout this passage you will clearly learn many things about the religion of Islam.

Islam has existed for more then 1440 years. Although Muslims, Islam followers, believe that Islam has always existed, they have decided to date the beginning of it on Muhammad’s birth. Muhammad is an important part of Islam. Fol-lowers believe Muhammad was one of the last prophets sent by God. It is said that he re-ceived revelations from the Angel Gabriel, at the age of 40. He continued to get more reve-lations throughout his life. He later wrote down all of his revelations in a writing which became known as the Qur’an. Islam then be-gan to spread, and the writings of the Qur’an were learned by many people. One hundred years later, after the birth of Islam, it expanded into Spain, and other part of India and China. There is no doubt that Muhammad is an im-portant part of Islam’s beliefs.

Islam began in Mecca, a place in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest countries in the Middle East. Mecca, which is located in Saudi Arabia, is a desert with only a few rocky

hills. There is no vegetation in Mecca, ex-cept a few cactuses. There are approxi-mately 4,000,000 believers of the Islamic religion worldwide. Most of the believers live in Saudi Arabia. During the formation of the religion, most Muslims lived in Mecca. Today Islam believers live all over the world, in many different places. There is no one set location for Islam believers to live in. Islam is a very large religion and it will probably continue to grow as years go by.

Muslims believe that there is only one God, which they call Allah. They also believe that Allah knows everything that will happen, but he does not stop them from making their own choices. Muslims believe that God has no body, and that he is neither male nor female. They think that by praying and reading the Qur’an they can get closer to God. People who memorize the Qur’an are known as hafiz. Muslims follow the 5 Basic Pillars of Islam. They include the dec-laration of faith, praying 5 times each day, fasting, giving charity, and going to Mecca for pilgrimage. These are very important rules Islam believers have to follow. There are many other practices and rules that Muslims follow.

People who follow Islamic religion worship in places called Mosques. Mosques are places that don’t contain furniture, statues, and many other things. Before a person en-ters a Mosque they have to remove their shoes and clean themselves off. There is really no leader in this religion. Any one can lead a prayer or worship. As stated before

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Muslim people have to pray 5 times each day. They pray at specific times and they have to do this no matter where they are. Islamic people have 5 major holidays that they celebrate every year. One important holiday they have is Ramadan. The Ramadan goes on for an entire month, and during this time they have to fast the whole time. It is clear that Islamic people stick to their beliefs and practices no matter what.

In summary, Islam is a very popular religion. They’ve had many believers in this religion, and still have many more to come. There are a lot of people in the world right now who think about the teachings of the Islamic religion. Mecca was where the religion was founded. Many people see this place as an important aspect of the religion. It’s important to them even though they don’t really travel there a lot. Islamic people perform many rituals, and have many holidays. They celebrate these holidays, and sometimes they bring the community together by doing so. Islam is important, because it helps bring people of the same religion together.

Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca.

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Christianity

Christianity is the most popular religion in the world. It has existed for about 2000 years. This religion was founded after the son of God was put to death. Christianity was founded in the town of Judea. Some believers of the religion still continue to live there. Christians believe in only one God, who is made up of three separate elements. Followers worship this God in temples and churches. Christianity is an important part of our world, and will keep growing throughout the years.

Jesus’ disciples were the founders of Christi-anity. The religion began after the death of Je-sus Christ. He was sentenced to death and crucified after being accused for heresy. The disciples of Jesus began to spread the word of Gods teachings after Jesus was crucified. The theory of the religion is that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins. All who believe this will have eternal life in heaven. As you can clearly see Jesus, the Son of God, is an important part of Christianity.

Christianity was founded in the city of Judea. In Judea there are many believers of Christian-ity. There are approximately 2.5 million people that follow this religion today. Some of the people still live in Judea today. Christianity has expanded, but some believers do still live in Judea. There are many believers worldwide fol-lowing the religion of Christianity. So they are not just in one specific location. Today, al-though other religions have grown, Christian-ity is still the largest religion.

Jesus plays the role of God. Jesus was born

2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem. He was with his mother, Mary, and his stepfa-ther, Joseph. Jesus played the role of being the Messiah who performed his first mira-cle at the age of twelve. The role of the Christians/ believers is to believe in him, that he died for us to protect us from our sins. Jesus did so many things, it is impossi-ble to explain through this whole essay. The believers and God speak with each other through prayer or reading the Bible. The believers have to believe in Jesus Christ for all he has done. Christians ask him to come into their lives and accept them.

Christians have and still have many beliefs and practices. A belief Christians have is that, God created everything. It is written in the Bible. Christians don’t have one place of worship, they have many. Some places include the church, a temple, and a cathedral. There are many other places they worship at. Christians have had many holidays throughout history. One of them would be, Ash Wednesday. It means that Christians fast until the beginning of Easter. Probably most important to them would be Christmas because that is when they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. One can clearly see that Christianity will continue to have its practices.

Christianity is definitely the most wide spread religion. It has expanded throughout time to new places. Those places probably never heard of Christianity until someone introduced it to them. It has had many be-

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lievers and will continue to have them. There are still future generations to come and Christi-anity will be passed on to them. Although no religion is more important than the other, there is still the fact that Christianity is the largest religion. It expanded and will continue to expand. There is no doubt that Christianity is the largest religion in the world.

Top: God as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Bottom Left: Jesus Christ and his fol-lowers.

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Judaism

Judaism is one of the major religions in Is-rael. Judaism has existed over many years. It was founded by many groups of people. Is-rael, “The Land of the Jews”, was a deserted, sandy land, with a few plants when the Jews arrived there. The Jewish practice their be-liefs in temples, where they pray and honor their God. The Rabbi is in charge of perform-ing ceremonies. Summing this whole thing up, Judaism is a very faithful religion where Jews honor their God greatly.

As stated before, Judaism has existed for a very long time. This religion has existed for about 3,500 years. The Jewish religion is said to have been founded by Moses, but there are also beliefs that Abraham found it first. Judaism is said to have started when God chose Abraham to be the “father” of the “special people”. Moses, one of the Prophets sent by God, freed all the Hebrew people from Egypt. He was given 10 Command-ments, which the people were to follow. Af-ter Moses freed them, he took them to the Land of Israel, which was said to be their land. As a result the religion of Judaism be-gan, and spread throughout the world.

The Land of Israel was claimed as the land of the Jewish people, when they were freed. It is located in the Middle East. The size of Is-rael is approximately 20,770 sq. kilometers. It is about the size of Massachusetts or New Jersey. Judaism is Israel’s main religion with the population of 76.490 of the Israeli popu-lation following it. There are about 14 million people who identify themselves as Jews, and nearly 3.5 billion other people follow belief

systems influenced by Judaism. During the formation of this religion, Judaists mostly lived in Israel. Now there are Judaists living all over the world. One can see that Israel is a very important part of the Judaist relig-ion.

Jews believe that there is only one God for them to honor. They believe that they are the chosen people by God. Their role as Jewish people is to live holy and faithful lives as God meant for it to be. By living this way they receive gifts from God. Fami-lies will take time out of their everyday lives to focus on God. They consider Him the most important person in their lives. Their saying is “Love the Lord dear with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” One other belief they have is that God continues to work in the world, affecting peoples’ lives. God’s role is to es-tablish successive covenants with humanity and an extensive set of laws. Clearly the Jewish people and God have a very close relationship with each other.

Jewish people practice the beliefs in places called synagogues. One of the leaders of the Jewish religion is the Rabbi. They are in charge of performing the ceremonies. Dur-ing the ceremonies in the synagogues, they pray and honor their God. They have dances that go along with their prayers too. Their beliefs are found in the Torah. Jews have many rituals they perform and go through, throughout their lives. One of them includes the Bar-Mitzvah, which wel-comes a young man into adulthood in the

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community. Judaist people also keep every Sabbath holy. They have many celebrations and holi-days, including Hanukah. During Hanukah they fast and they celebrate for 7 days, to com-memorate the 7 days God took to create the earth.

Judaism is clearly an important religion to the Jewish people. It has existed for many years, and will probably continue to exist in any part of the world, in the future. There are many believers of Judaism today, and the population will continue to grow throughout time. Also, Israel will always be an important part of the Jewish religion and its creation. The Jewish community has always believed in their close relation with God. They believe he is their one and only God. Prayer and special celebrations will also continue to be an important role in the Judaist com-munity. Indeed this religion is an important aspect of the Jewish life.

Young Jewish kids celebrating Hanukkah

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