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The hearth of Buddhism is Northern India. The religion was started by Prince Siddhartha in the 6th century.  It has more than 400 million followers in the world today. It started when Siddhartha said he experienced something called “enlightenment.”  The religion started in Northern India and has diffused to China, Korea, and Japan.

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The Christian religion began in Israel with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. The religion diffused from the Middle East to Europe, the Americas, and Sub-Saharan Africa through relocation and hierarchical diffusion.

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Christianity is common in the Americas, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa

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Christians believe that Jesus was sent as the messiah to save humanity. The religion is based on his teachings of "love one another" and draws its traditions and early scripture from the Jewish faith. It believes in the sacraments to unite the person with the spiritual. There have been two major splits within the Christian church; the Great Schism that split the church into the Eastern Orthodox tradition and the Western (Roman) Orthodox tradition due to leadership of the church and the Protestant Reformation that divided the Catholic church from Protestant churches due to views on salvation and church practices.

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The Christian church is a universalizing religion due to its strong convictions in missionary work to spread the "Good News" about Jesus to others.

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The religion is structured as those that are ordained in the religion administer to the people. Larger groups have local leaders that are bishops that make decisions for different regions. The Catholic church has a greater and more extensive hierarchical network.

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The most frequently used symbol of Christianity is the cross, which is what Jesus was crucified on.

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Typical American Protestant church with simple front and minimalist decorations.

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Typical Catholic Church with ornate interior, stained glass windows, and statues.

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Typical Christian cemetery that provides space and a place to visit the dead. This image shows the regional difference of Latin America during the Dia De Los Muertos celebrations around All Souls Day.

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Christians are taught to respect nature through stewardship although major modifications of the environment are encouraged. For example, cemeteries take up a lot of space but hold special meaning to followers to be able to visit their deceased relatives. Also, large churches are built, usually at the center of towns which dominate the built environment.

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The religion of Islam began in Arabia. The prophet Muhammad revealed the religion to the people. The people who follow Islam are known as Muslims. Muslims believe there is only one God. Originally it was diffused from Arabia to SouthEast Asia, and from there it was spread to Asia and the Far East.

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Buddhism is most common in Mongolia, India, China and other East Asian Countries

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This maps shows each countries Muslim population to the nearest millions.

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The Four Noble Truths contain the essence of the Buddha's teachings. It is what Buddhists follow strictly and live their lives by.

1. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)

2. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)

3. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

4. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)

Buddhists also believe that not all that we experience is the result of previous things we have done. It may be due to natural events. “This is one point on which early Buddhism appears to differ somewhat from later Tibetan teachings, which suggest that all the good and bad things that happen to us are the results of past actions.”

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Buddhism has a religious hierarchy with ‘Sanghas’, or the monks, at the top. They convey the message of Buddha to the world and therefore, have the highest social standing. Next are Buddhist nuns who assist the monks and then lay people who provide for the monks. Last is Buddhist pilgrims who are traveling in the search of knowledge.

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The eight-spoked dharmachakra. The eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism.

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Judaism originated in the Middle East from Abraham and his decedents.

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Islam’s have six core beliefs:
1. Belief in Allah as the one and only God
2. Belief in Angels
3. Belief in the holy books
4. Belief in the Prophets(Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, Muhammad)
5. Belief in the Day of Judgement
6. Belief in Predestination

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Rebirth

Buddhists believe in a theory of rebirth after death

Karma

Constant cycle of suffering and rebirth

Good/bad karma accumulate based on physical and mental action

Liberation

Attain nirvana

End of rebirth cycle

Goal of all Buddhists

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The Islam’s believe in the Five Pillars of Faith. Which is a way that Muslims pay homage to their religion. Muslims also believe in Jihad, Polygamy, Hijab, Niqab and Sharia which are all ideas of their faith.

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Hinduism has no founder, which can make it difficult to trace its origins and history. Hinduism is unique in that it’s not a single religion but a compilation of many traditions and philosophies. Hinduism diffused from India to many countries in southwest Asia using relocation diffusion.

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Islam is a universalizing religion because they try to convert people to Islam. They go out and use their word of God, the Quran to help spread their beliefs.

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Islam is an autonomous religion. They are autonomous because they do not have one central figure that controls the followers.

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Buddhism is all about achieving Nirvana through good karma which includes harmony without the environment. Furthermore, animals posses Buddha’s nature.

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There are more Jews in the United States then anywhere else in the world. There is also a big Jewish population in Northern Europe: Russia. Not a big Jewish population lies in Africa except in South Africa.

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Hinduism is most common in Asia with a little bit of the population being in North America, Latin America, parts of Africa, and Europe.

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Islam’s most commonly known symbol is the crescent moon and star, which is a metaphor for the rule of the Islamic Empire.

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Hinduism is not an organized religion and has no single approach to teaching its value system. Hindus do not have a simple set of rules to follow like the Ten Commandments. Hindu’s believe that a human being's basic nature is not confined to the body or the mind. Beyond both of these is the spirit or the spark of God within the soul. This spirit is within us and also within everything we see. All beings and all things are really, in their deepest essence, this pure or divine spirit, full of peace, full of joy and wisdom, ever united with God.

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Hinduism is an ethnic religion. Their rituals begin before a baby is born. When the baby is born, Jatakarma is performed. This is when they out honey in the baby’s mouth and whispering the name is God in the child’s ear. People are born into the Hindu religion.

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Hindu’s participate in Bhakti which is participation in the love of a personal god or a representational god by a devotee Bhakti marga is considered in Hinduism as one of many possible paths of spirituality.  The rituals are different among regions, villages, and individuals. They are not mandatory in Hinduism. The nature and place of rituals is an individual's choice. Some devout Hindus perform daily rituals such as worshiping at dawn after bathing, recitation from religious scripts, singing devotional hymns, yoga, and meditation.

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Jewish beliefs including believing in a monotheistic God, having the Torah as their sacred scripture (OT). Another main and unique belief is that Jews don’t believe Jesus was the messiah; instead they believe that the messiah is still coming and Jews await him.

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The Om is the most universally recognized symbol of Hinduism. It symbolizes the universe and the ultimate reality.  The word “Om” is the first word in any of their prayers.

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Judaism is an ethnic religion.

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Judaism is an authonnomical religion because of the fact that it is regionalized and many people practice it around the world.

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Hindu temples that usually have many square and circle shapes

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This is the wailing wall or the western. This is the last wall standing of the original Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Here you see people praying by it.

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There are 5 holy animals of Hinduism. These are : elephants, cows, monkeys, tigers, and sacred bulls. These animals can be found roaming around India

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Endless sights and sounds of processions and rituals.

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Hinduism believes the earth can be seen as a manifestation of the goddess, and must be treated with respect. The five elements space, air, fire, water and earth are the foundation of an interconnected web of life. Protecting the environment is part of Dharma. Dharma, one of the most important Hindu concepts, has been translated into English as duty, virtue, cosmic order and religion. Hindu’s believe the earth should not be polluted or disrespected for disrespecting the earth would contribute to your karma.

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This is Temple Mounts. This sacred place in Israel is both Islam and Jewish as the Jewish temple surrounds the Muslim Dome of the Rock. This  sit

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Judaism is founded on the belief that God is the sole source of the universe. When referring to creation, it is a core belief that God created it. Additionally, it is a core belief and tradition that humans are responsible for the well-being of God’s earth. There are also rituals and traditions that jews Practice seasonally as well.