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REL 107 - Introduction to Religion

Week 9 - Bahai, Druze, Jains, Sikhs

Textbook Readings

Notes

Baha'i was founded by Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri, who took the name Baha'u'llah (Glory of God) while in exile in Baghdad. In 1844 Mirza Ali Mohammad took the name of al-Bab (the Door, or the Mouth) and founded Babism. Part of al-Bab's teaching was that the Baha'u'llah would come as the religious leader to reform Islam - this provoked great persecution. Babism developed into Baha'i under the leadership of the Baha'u'llah.
The central beliefs of the Baha'i faith are the oneness of God, the oneness of humanity, and the common foundation of all religions.
Baha'is also believe in the equality of men and women, universal education, world peace, and the creation of a world federal system of government.

The Sikh Religion
Sikhism was founded over 500 years ago in India, and is now ranked as the world's 5th largest religion. Sikhs strive for devotion and remembrance of God at all times, truthful living, the equality of mankind, and renounce superstitions and blind rituals. Sikhism is open to all through the teachings of its 10 Gurus enshrined in the Sikh Holy Book and the Living Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.

InterNet Links for this assignment

This Week's Assignment : Twenty Questions

  1. Where, when, and by whom was Baha'i founded
  2. What were the historical roots of Baha'i
  3. How do Baha'is relate to God
  4. What are the main tenets of the Baha'i faith
  5. How do Baha'is view Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Krishna, Buddha, and Zarathustra. How do they view Bahaullah
  6. Which two countries of the world have the hightest number of Druze inhabitants
  7. Who were the two main founding fathers of the Druze religion, and what were their contributions to the development of Druzism
  8. What are the two main classes in Druze society, and how are they differentiated from one another
  9. What is the Druze symbol, what are its five colors, and what do they represent
  10. What are the Seven Commandments of the Druze
  11. Who are the tirthankaras of Jainism, and how does Mahavira relate to Jainism
  12. What are the five Jain Principles
  13. What is the aim of Jain life, and how is to be achieved
  14. What are the three jewels of Jainism
  15. How does Jain worship and prayer differ from that of most other religions
  16. Where, when, and by whom was Sikhism founded
  17. What are the five "K"s of Sikhism, and what do they symbolise
  18. What is the Amrit ceremony of Sikhism
  19. What are the basic beliefs of Sikhism
  20. How should people behave in a Gurdwara

Remember to cite your sources

Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then send it as an Attachment to, or pasted into, an email message to Dr. Rollinson at rel107@hellokitty.com, rel107@mail2world.com, and rel107@catholic.org.
Please use all 3 email addresses in case any of the mailboxes go down.

Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved

Dr. Rollinson

Department of Religion
ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated: August 22, 2007

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