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My name is Nirvair Kaur and I'm a Sikh. My religion is often called Sikhism, but I usually call it Sikhi. I believe in one God called Waheguru which means wonderful Lord or wonderful teacher. Waheguru gives life to everything, and all life is a part of Waheguru. I follow the teachings of the Ten Gurus, who were special religious teachers who led the Sikh people - one after the other - for about 200 years.

We say five prayers in the morning, another one in the evening, and a final prayer before we go to bed.

Our holy building is called a Gurdwara, which means doorway to the guru" and it's open every day. Inside the Gurdwara, everyone takes off their shoes, covers their heads and sits on the floor to show that we're all equal and part of the same sangat - the same community. We pray together and sing hymns, which we call kirtan, but mainly we come to listen to the words of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

For us, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji is not a book, but a living Guru because it contains Waheguru's words. We give the Guru Granth Sahib Ji all the respect that would have been given to a human Guru, and it's read aloud by a man or woman, called a granthi.Sikhs who have been baptized during the amrit ceremony wear five symbols to show that they are Sikhs.

They're called the Five Ks because in the Punjabi language, they all begin with a K: kara - a steel bangle; kesh - uncut hair; kangha - a comb; kaacha - undershorts; and kirpan - a short sword. Some Sikhs, especially men, also wear a turban.

All Gurdwaras have a dining area called a langar where everyone eats together as a sign of equality. No meat is allowed here, so it's always vegetarian food, and a lot of Sikhs choose to be vegetarian all the time.

Everyone's welcome to enjoy a meal here, and even to join in preparing the food and washing up afterwards.

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Key facts about Sikhism - KS3 Religious Studies - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about the religion of Sikhism with facts, figures, quizzes, videos and interactive activities from BBC Bitesize Religious Studies. For children between the ages of 11 and 14.

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“Introduction to Islam: Essential Information for Beginners”.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35650616

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India's caste system is among the world's oldest forms of surviving social stratification. The BBC explains its complexities.

The system which divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (the Hindi word for religion, but here it means duty) is generally accepted to be more than 3,000 years old.

How did caste come about?

Manusmriti, widely regarded to be the most important and authoritative book on Hindu law and dating back to at least 1,000 years before Christ was born, "acknowledges and justifies the caste system as the basis of order and regularity of society".

The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. Many believe that the groups originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation.

At the top of the hierarchy were the Brahmins who were mainly teachers and intellectuals and are believed to have come from Brahma's head. Then came the Kshatriyas, or the warriors and rulers, supposedly from his arms. The third slot went to the Vaishyas, or the traders, who were created from his thighs. At the bottom of the heap were the Shudras, who came from Brahma's feet and did all the menial jobs.

The main castes were further divided into about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on their specific occupation.

Outside of this Hindu caste system were the achhoots - the Dalits or the untouchables.

How does caste work?

For centuries, caste has dictated almost every aspect of Hindu religious and social life, with each group occupying a specific place in this complex hierarchy.

Rural communities have long been arranged on the basis of castes - the upper and lower castes almost always lived in segregated colonies, the water wells were not shared, Brahmins would not accept food or drink from the Shudras, and one could marry only within one's caste.

The system bestowed many privileges on the upper castes while sanctioning repression of the lower castes by privileged groups.

Often criticised for being unjust and regressive, it remained virtually unchanged for centuries, trapping people into fixed social orders from which it was impossible to escape.

Despite the obstacles, however, some Dalits and other low-caste Indians, such as BR Ambedkar who authored the Indian constitution, and KR Narayanan who became the nation's first Dalit president, have risen to hold prestigious positions in the country.

Historians, though, say that until the 18th Century, the formal distinctions of caste were of limited importance to Indians, social identities were much more flexible and people could move easily from one caste to another.

New research shows that hard boundaries were set by British colonial rulers who made caste India's defining social feature when they used censuses to simplify the system, primarily to create a single society with a common law that could be easily governed.

Is the system legal?

Independent India's constitution banned discrimination on the basis of caste, and, in an attempt to correct historical injustices and provide a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged, the authorities announced quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for scheduled castes and tribes, the lowest in the caste hierarchy, in 1950.

In 1989, quotas were extended to include a grouping called the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) which fall between the traditional upper castes and the lowest.

In recent decades, with the spread of secular education and growing urbanisation, the influence of caste has somewhat declined, especially in cities where different castes live side-by-side and inter-caste marriages are becoming more common.

In certain southern states and in the northern state of Bihar, many people began using just one name after social reform movements. Despite the changes though, caste identities remain strong, and last names are almost always indications of what caste a person belongs to.

What about job quotas?

In recent years, there have been demands from several communities to be recognised as OBCs - in 2016 there were violent protests by the Jat community in Haryana and the Patel community led huge protests in Gujarat in 2015 demanding access to caste quotas.

Both are prosperous and politically dominant communities, but they support their demand for caste quotas by saying large numbers in their communities are poor and suffering.

Some say the caste system would have disappeared by now if the fires were not regularly fanned by politicians.

At elections, many caste groups still vote as a block and are wooed by politicians looking for electoral gains.

As a result, what was originally meant to be a temporary affirmative action plan to improve the lot of the unprivileged groups has now become a vote-grabbing exercise for many politicians.

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India's complex caste system is among the world's oldest forms of surviving social stratification.

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https://www.britannica.com/topic/moksha-Indian-religion

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moksha, also spelled mokṣa, also called mukti, in Indian philosophy and religion, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth (samsara). Derived from the Sanskrit word muc (“to free”), the term moksha literally means freedom from samsara. This concept of liberation or release is shared by a wide…

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Copy of One World Many  Religions Islam.pdf

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What's The Difference Between Shia And Sunni Islam?

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Copy of One World Many  Religions Judaism + Intro to book.pdf

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Christianity chapter of world religions book

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Christianity chapter of world religions book

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Copy of One World Many Religions -Christianity.pdf

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Hinduism - United Religions Initiative

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Buddhism: An Introduction

Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The following is intended only to introduce Buddhism's history and fundamental tenets, and by no means covers the religion exhaustively. To learn more about Buddhism, please look through our Web Resources section for other in-depth, online sources of information.

Siddhartha Gautama: The Buddha

Historians estimate that the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, lived from 566(?) to 480(?) B.C. The son of an Indian warrior-king, Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood, reveling in the privileges of his social caste. But when he bored of the indulgences of royal life, Gautama wandered into the world in search of understanding. After encountering an old man, an ill man, a corpse and an ascetic, Gautama was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence. He renounced his princely title and became a monk, depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending the truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Following this epiphany, Gautama was known as the Buddha, meaning the "Enlightened One." The Buddha spent the remainder of his life journeying about India, teaching others what he had come to understand.

The Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view, but rather, a pragmatic perspective that deals with the world as it is, and attempts to rectify it. The concept of pleasure is not denied, but acknowledged as fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquenchable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end, only aging, sickness, and death are certain and unavoidable.

The Four Noble Truths are a contingency plan for dealing with the suffering humanity faces -- suffering of a physical kind, or of a mental nature. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering. In Buddhism, desire and ignorance lie at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods, and immortality, all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. Ignorance, in comparison, relates to not seeing the world as it actually is. Without the capacity for mental concentration and insight, Buddhism explains, one's mind is left undeveloped, unable to grasp the true nature of things. Vices, such as greed, envy, hatred and anger, derive from this ignorance.

The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, has dual meaning, suggesting either the end of suffering in this life, on earth, or in the spiritual life, through achieving Nirvana. When one has achieved Nirvana, which is a transcendent state free from suffering and our worldly cycle of birth and rebirth, spiritual enlightenment has been reached. The Fourth Noble truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Moreover, there are three themes into which the Path is divided: good moral conduct (Understanding, Thought, Speech); meditation and mental development (Action, Livelihood, Effort), and wisdom or insight (Mindfulness and Concentration).

Karma

Contrary to what is accepted in contemporary society, the Buddhist interpretation of karma does not refer to preordained fate. Karma refers to good or bad actions a person takes during her lifetime. Good actions, which involve either the absence of bad actions, or actual positive acts, such as generosity, righteousness, and meditation, bring about happiness in the long run. Bad actions, such as lying, stealing or killing, bring about unhappiness in the long run. The weight that actions carry is determined by five conditions: frequent, repetitive action; determined, intentional action; action performed without regret; action against extraordinary persons; and action toward those who have helped one in the past. Finally, there is also neutral karma, which derives from acts such as breathing, eating or sleeping. Neutral karma has no benefits or costs.

The Cycle of Rebirth

Karma plays out in the Buddhism cycle of rebirth. There are six separate planes into which any living being can be reborn -- three fortunate realms, and three unfortunate realms. Those with favorable, positive karma are reborn into one of the fortunate realms: the realm of demigods, the realm of gods, and the realm of men. While the demigods and gods enjoy gratification unknown to men, they also suffer unceasing jealousy and envy. The realm of man is considered the highest realm of rebirth. Humanity lacks some of the extravagances of the demigods and gods, but is also free from their relentless conflict. Similarly, while inhabitants of the three unfortunate realms -- of animals, ghosts and hell -- suffer untold suffering, the suffering of the realm of man is far less.

The realm of man also offers one other aspect lacking in the other five planes, an opportunity to achieve enlightenment, or Nirvana. Given the sheer number of living things, to be born human is to Buddhists a precious chance at spiritual bliss, a rarity that one should not forsake.

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Buddhism: An Introduction Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The following is intended only to introduce Buddhism's history and fundamental tenets, and by no means covers the religion exhaustively. To learn more about Buddhism, please look through our Web Resources section for other in-depth, online sources of information.

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Documentary My Life, My Religion - SIKHI

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Why did all civilizations adopt some sort of religion?

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BBC Religious Education Website (all religions)

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BBC Religious Education Website (all religions)

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KS2 Religious Education learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.

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Religion can be explained as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

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Guides to world religions and beliefs. Includes Atheism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism, Jainism, Zoroastrian and many more.

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United Religions Initiative website (all religions)

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United Religions Initiative website (all religions)

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Religion is all or some of the attributes described below. Religion is different for different people and cultures. Some religion is so much a part of the culture of a given people that it is not so much a formal religion, but simply the spiritual aspects of that culture or group - the spiritual traditions which help define it. This is especially true of the indigenous traditions of a geographical area.

Religion or a spiritual tradition is:

a way of explaining the mysteries of life

how the world was created

why it was created

why there is life and death

what happens when people die

why there is suffering

a way of explaining a supreme power or absolute power, whether impersonal or personal, nameable or not

a way of explaining who or what created the world and all the living beings

a way of describing a dimension beyond the physical world -- the spiritual world

a way of explaining how to lead a good life on Earth and in an afterlife
these codes of behavior are often written in sacred documents or passed down through oral tradition

a way of worshiping the creator(s) or spiritual beings who are believed to have power over the world and people's lives and/or a way of paying respects and drawing inspiration from spiritual leaders

worship often includes prayers of thanks, prayers of hopes, prayers of supplication

people often worship a god or gods worship often happens in sacred places and spaces

worship often includes ceremonies and rituals conducted by spiritual guides

worship often involves sacred objects and images A way of joining with others as a spiritual community

religions and other spiritual traditions often celebrate festivals or holy days and have special calendars that mark the important historical events in the evolution of the religion religions and spiritual traditions include both private and public worship and practice

some spiritual practices do not involve worshipping a god or gods but are introspective and draw on the practitioner's own ability to be responsible for his/her spiritual path

There is special information and activities contained within for teachers. Teachers, please visit our Activities section.
This section attempts to introduce young people to the wonder and diversity of the world's religions and spiritual traditions. We have tried to present simple, straight forward, accurate information about the world's five major religions and many other smaller religions and spiritual traditions. We recognize the complexity and challenges of this task. Please feel free to contact us with your suggestions.

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Religion is all or some of the attributes described below. Religion is different for different people and cultures. Some religion is so much a part of the culture of a given people that it is not so much a formal religion, but simply the spiritual aspects of that culture or group - the spiritual traditions which help define it.

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Hinduism Chapter of World Religions book

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Hinduism Chapter of World Religions book

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Christianity - My Life, My Religion video

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Christianity - My Life, My Religion video

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Judaism Explained: Religions in Global History

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Buddhism chapter of world religions book

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Buddhism chapter of world religions book

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Copy of One World Many  Religions - Buddhism.pdf

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Sikhism Explained: Religions in Global History

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What is Sikhism? Who do Sikhs believe? A short overview of the religion, Sikhism. Please support the World History Playlist! https://www.gofundme.com/2chw7a4

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Buddhism Explained: Religions in Global History