Due to the First Amendment, which grants freedom of religion , there is a diversity of religious beliefs and practices in the U.S.
Religion in the United States is characterized by both a wide diversity in religious beliefs and practices and by a high adherence level.
Christianity is the largest religion in the United States, with around 77% of the population identifying itself as Christian.
Ecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at creating greater Christian unity or cooperation.
Religion plays a “very important” role in the lives of most Americans; a proportion unique among developed nations
Most modern Western societies are recognized as secular because they enjoy near-complete freedom of religion.
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Protestantism is one of the major umbrella religions in the U.S., and is constantly evolving in response to political and social changes.
Catholicism has a long history in the U.S., with the Catholic Church the single largest religious denomination
in the United States.
The early life of Muhammad including his work as a merchant, his marriage to Khadijah, his early revelations and the persecution of early Muslims by his own Quraysh tribe.
Why did Buddhism emerge when and where it did? Are there other historical parallels to the emergence of Buddhism?
Exploring Sikhism's cultural and thematic connections to Hinduism and Islam.
The National Humanities center presents this collection of essays by leading scholars on the topic 'Divining America: Religion in American History. The Essays explore religion in America in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries and consider Native American religion, African American Christianity, the American Jewish experience, Mormonism, Catholicism, and Islam. They explore religious movements such as the Great Awakenings, the missionary movement, abolitionism, and fundamentalism. Topics like deism, pluralism, church and state separation, Manifest Destiny, and the Christian Right are also examined.
Introduction to Siddhartha Gautama Buddha and Buddhism.
These videos address the topics of Early Christianity, The spread of Christianity, Christianity in the Roman Empire, and the Council of Nicaea.
It's perfectly human to grapple with questions, like 'Where do we come from?' and 'How do I live a life of meaning?' These existential questions are central to the five major world religions -- and that's not all that connects these faiths. John Bellaimey explains the intertwined histories and cultures of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. Lesson by John Bellaimey, animation by TED-Ed.
An overview of the Hindu pantheon including: Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Ganesh, Parvati, Durga, Lakshmi, Karthikeya, Rama and Krishna.
Hinduism is one of the oldest and largest religions in the world. It is also one of the most diverse in terms of practice. This video gives an overview of the central spiritual ideas of Brahman, Atman, Samsara and Moksha.
In this course, you will consider the meanings of the key terms ‘God’ and ‘religion’; identify some key questions in the philosophy of religion; think about the difference between philosophical and non-philosophical questions about religion, and look at the often-discussed question of whether argument and evidence are even possible when we are thinking about religion. Then we will note the variety of possible ways of arguing for or against God’s existence; distinguish three different arguments, and describe and assess one of them in more detail.
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There is a widespread perception in the West that we live in a secular age, an age in which religion is at best an optional extra, if not a false delusion completely out of place. However, religion still arouses passion and causes controversy; it controls and transforms lives. An informed understanding of the contemporary world thus requires an appreciation of the role of religion in shaping ideas, world-views and actions that have an impact on the social as well as on the personal life of the individual. This course gives you a glimpse into this fascinating area.
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Religion is not necessarily what you think it is! This free course, Religious diversity: rethinking religion, will present a selection of the vast variety of religious practices and beliefs in Britain today. Having familiarity with religions is increasingly required to make sense of issues of local, national and global importance.
This course will introduce skills that enable you to better understand and interact with people whose ideas and actions have been influenced by religion. Understanding religion will also help you have a deeper appreciation of ideas about the secular and how secularity functions in British society today.
This taste of religious studies as a discipline will begin to enable you to interact with religious diversity in today’s world in a more confident, informed way.
This course will also give you a taste of the Open University course A227 Exploring religion: places, practices, texts and experiences. This short free course focuses on a selection of religious places and practices in London. However, the full course explores religion in a more global context, with a focus on how religion is actually lived and practiced.
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An introduction to Shinto, one of Japan's earliest belief systems. Created by Asian Art Museum.
An overview of the founding of the Sikh religion started by Guru Nanak. Discussion of persecution by the Mughals and militarization by Gurus Har Gobind, Teg Bahadur and Gobind Singh. Overview of Khalsa.
The book proposes the hypothesis that six generic ways of being religious may be found in any large-scale religious tradition such as Christianity or Buddhism or Islam or Hinduism: sacred rite, right action, devotion, shamanic mediation, mystical quest, and reasoned inquiry. These are recurrent ways in which, socially and individually, devout members of these traditions take up and appropriate their stories and symbols in order to draw near to, and come into right relationship with, what the traditions attest to be the ultimate reality.
This course will give you an opportunity to think about some of the key concepts and methods of the discipline of religious studies. You will meet examples of different forms of religious practice and belief, mostly from Britain and India, and will compare the ways in which boundaries are drawn (or not drawn) between what is held to be ‘religious’ and ‘non-religious’ in two different societies.
The aim of this course is to explore three key questions:
Why study religion?
What is religion?
How should religion be studied?
The course begins with a series of video clips on religion in Liverpool.
Note: the copyright holder must be contacted for permissions if a user wants to alter or transform the materials in any way. Please review the materials for more information.
An introduction to the Sunni and Shia schism that forms in Islam after the death of Muhammed.
As Ali becomes caliph, the Ummayads under the leadership of Muawiya refuse to recognize him, sparking the first Muslim Civil War. The increased division leads eventually to the Tragedy at Karbala which is a defining event for Shia Muslims.
An introduction to the major schools of Buddhist thought--Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism.
From the Vedas, the oldest known Hindu scriptures, scholars have learned about the existence of the Vedic period in ancient Indian history that followed the Indus River Valley civilization. Sal explains more about this early society.
An introduction to Zen, a form of Buddhism that emphasizes seeking one's own Buddha nature through meditation.