3E.++Cultural+&+Intellectual+Developments-Religions

E. Cultural and Intellectual Developments: Trace the creation of Vodun, Zen, Sikhism, and Protestantism; and the causes for their development

=Protestantism=
 * Creation**: Protestantism was developed in 1517 during the reformation, which was started by a German priest, Martin Luther. Luther wrote a document called the Ninety-five Theses, which listed various abuses within the Roman Catholic Church, and nailed this document to a church door in Wittenberg. Luther's main focus was calling into question the special position of the clerical hierchy, and the pope was his primary target. The people were already aware though, of the luxurious life of the pope and corruption and immorality of some clergy.
 * This outspoken behavior was enough to spark a revolution.
 * The churches officially split in 1521 during the Edict of Worms. This was the Roman Catholic Churches way of excommunicating Luther and his followers.
 * Luther's ideas provoked a massive schism within the world of Catholic Christendom, because the reformists came to express a variety of political, economic, and social tensions as well as religious differences.




 * New teachings of Protestantism:**
 * Religious authority was the Bible alone, and it was to be interpreted by Individual Christians themselves.
 * Role of the pope was denied completely.
 * Clerical ordination was ruled by individual congregations or denominations, apostolic succession was denied.
 * Salvation was by faith alone, meaning that God's grace is freely and directly granted to believers.
 * Mary was less prominent, and she was denied intercession on behalf of the unfaithful.
 * Prayer was to God alone, which meant no praying to Saints or Mary
 * Holy Communion became symbolic of the blood and body of Jesus, less literal than the Roman Catholics.
 * Role of clergy was to preach, administer sacraments, but had no distince spiritual status, and they could also get married.

This reformation started in Germany, and quickly spread out because of the recent invention of the printing press. Luther's many pamphlets and his translation of the New Testament into the German language became available rapidly, and as the religion spread, it splintered into many other Protestant churches. This made the already politically fractured Europe into a religiously fractured area as well.

The culmination of this reformation occured in 1618 during the Thirty Years' War, which was a Catholic-Protestant struggle that began in the Roman Empire, and eventually engulfed the majority of Europe.

In 1545 the Roman Catholic Church started a Catholic Counter-Reformation, which was called the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent was the Catholic's answering the disputes that the Protestants had brought up. They defined docterines of the Catholic Church on all disputed points, such as Scripture and Tradition, Original Sin, Justification, Sacraments, the Eucharist in Holy Mass and the veneration of saints.

=In the world today= There are over 70 million professing Lutherans worldwide, 9 million of these living in North America. Lutherans can be found on all the major continents and scattered throughout many countries.

=__Zen__=

Overview:
Zen is a subsection of the overarching religion of Buddhism. Because of this, Zen is usually referred to Zen Buddhism. Although Buddhism has been around for a lengthy amount of time, Zen Buddhism has been around since before 700 CE. The word Zen (Japanese) came from the word Chan (Chinese). Chan came from the word dhyana (Sanskrit), which means meditation. This emergence of the religion can be attributed to the Flower Sermon.



Flower Sermon:
The Flower Sermon was held by the man who founded Buddhism, Gautama Buddha. He gathered his disciples to give them a speech. When Buddha was supposed to make the speech, he did not speak a word. He then held up a flower and twinkled his eyes. The disciples tried to figure out what it meant, but in the end Buddha explained by saying, "I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvāṇa, the true form of the formless, the subtle Dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa." This allowed Mahākāśyapa, one of Buddha's disciples, to become the successor to Buddha himself. This quote from Buddha also shows laid the rules for Zen Buddhism. He said that in order to reach Nirvana, a different kind of learning was needed. This learning comes in the form of wordless expression in one-on-one interaction with the student and teacher. This has always been a part of Zen Buddhism.



Schools:
Zen was developed during the Tang Dynasty in China. Its development brought the religion to being divided into five houses. The five houses were named the Guiyang, Linji, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan schools after their masters. The masters conveyed the teachings of Buddha through their teachings. The masters were not to be idolized by their students, as Gautama Buddha was the only one who should be idolized. These five schools helped to bring the Zen religion to the masses in Asia.

Names:
Zen Buddhism has different names in different parts of Asia. In Japan, it is called Zen. In China, it is called Chan. In Korea, it is called Seon. In Vietnam, it is called Thien. Zen is called different names in different parts of Asia because of the minor differences that they have. These differences are minute, so they term Zen is more of an umbrella term for the religion.

Practice:
The practice of Zen is usually done through sitting meditation. This is done with a pillow or chair to sit on. The object is to free the mind and become an enlightened Buddha. This goal is not an easy task as it takes decades of working on the practice of Zen. Meditation can be done alone, or in groups. In group meditation, the sessions are usually 30 to 50 minutes long. There are also other group meditations that can last for up to seven days. Group meditation is different from individual meditation as flat wooden slats are used to keep the person meditating focused and awake. Zen is different from Buddhism because it does not rely on intelligence to reach the point of enlightenment, but rather the self-realization of enlightenment through meditation.



China:
When Zen came to China, it did so in three distinct divisions of training. The first was the training of virtue and discipline in the precepts. The second was the training in mind through meditation to attain deep levels of meditation. The third was the training in the recorded teachings. These three different divisions of training allowed for three types of teachers to emerge. Vinaya masters taught the rules of discipline for monks and nuns. Dhyana masters taught meditation. Dharma masters taught the already established Buddhist texts. These divisions covered everything about Zen and brought it to China intact.

Western World:
In the Western World, Zen was brought over by a variety of different people. Shunryu Suzuki, from Japan, led the creation of the first Zen Monastery in America in 1967. Hsuan Hua was the first Chinese master to teach Chan in North America. Seung Sehn was the most important Korean master to teach in the United States. He founded the Providence Zen Center in Providence, Rhode Island, which is still a large hub for Zen centers in the United States. Many important masters allowed Zen to come to the Western World without changing much from its original roots.

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=**SIKHISM**= = =

Wiki Contents - Sikhism Portion
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 * I.** Overview
 * II.** Region
 * III.** Guru Nanak's Ideology
 * IV.** Guru Nanak's Influences
 * V.** Ten Gurus
 * VI.** Sikh Leaders
 * VII.** Traditions & Practices

**I. OVERVIEW**
Sikhism is similar to many other modern religions as compared to several ancient religions. This is obvious in both the monotheistic belief and the idea of learning from instructors and reading. Here is bulleted information outlining Sikhism:


 * Monotheistic
 * Founded in 1500's
 * Disciples spread teachigns
 * Punjab Region, Pakistan and India
 * Ethnic basis, but welcomes new people
 * Large emigration
 * 8th largest religion by population (~26,000,000)

Sikhism is a religion based on justice and faith in 'Waheguru', or God. People who practice the religion are known as 'Sikhs'.



**II. REGION**
Sikhs originate in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. Punjab is a Persian name describing the area of northern India and Pakistan, and literally means "Five Waters" or "The Land of Five Waters." This name is derived from the five rivers in the region, the first four being tributaries of the last listed: Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus. Residents of Punjab speak 'Punjabi' and are known, similarly, as 'Punjabis'. Today, Pakistan's Punjab province in the nation's most densely populated.



The cultural center of Punjab and Sikhism is Lahore, which is no stranger to history, having served as the cultural center of the Mughal empire. The largest ethnic ancestry to the region is Indo-Aryan, which includes European language types and migrated east.

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III. GURU NANAK'S IDEOLOGY
Guru Nanak Dev Ji, often called 'Guru Nanak' or 'Nanak', was the founder of Sikhism. As quoted in //Sikhism: Religion in Focus// by Geoff Teece, Nanak's teachings can be summarized in "Realisation of Truth is higher than all else; higher still is Truthful living." Sikhism was very popular do to its stress on equality, and its defiance of discrimination on any basis, such as caste or gender. Some of his teachings show that:


 * **Waheguru**...
 * is communicable
 * has no form (omnipresent)
 * has no age
 * has no sight (unable to discriminate)
 * is infinite
 * created all that is known

Guru Nanak Dev Ji also teaches the idea of an afterlife. It is based on the idea of a spiritual union with Waheguru leading to salvation. This spiritual union is strengthened by an individual's actions during his or her life, as a person's purpose in life should be to reconnect with one of Sikhism's principles: Truth. One way to strengthen this union is through the practice of meditation, singing of hymns from Guru Granth, or chanting Waheguru. These are all described with the name Nām Japō.

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IV. GURU NANAK'S INFLUENCES
Common at the time, Guru Nanak's family, and himself, followed religion deeply. Shown in the teachings of Sikhism are similarities to Hinduism, such as a stress on living a fulfilling mortal life. This is no surprise as his family practiced Khatri Hinduism. Guru Nanak was especially interested in religion and formed his own beliefs over time, beginning when he would avoid several Khatri Hindu practices and meditate alone, which he believed strengthened the union between himself and the divine.

As a teenager, Nanak caught the attention of several people for both his intellect and pure factors. The people who supported his ideals during his youth encouraged him to travel in order to spread his beliefs and expand his knowledge. His travels are said to have spanned much of southeastern, southern, and southwestern Asia, often in regions of well-established religions.

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V. TEN GURUS
Guru is a title given to instructors, as it means instructor, guide, or mentor. From the late 15th century to the early 18th century, Sikhism was developed and improved by the teachings of ten gurus. These gurus were chosen by the previous guru, and were mentors and disciples who spread and further developed the ideas of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The influence of these gurus was largely enforced by the belief that the spirit of Guru Nanak was passed through each one over time. Here is a list of the ten gurus:


 * **Guru Nanak Dev** (1507-1539)
 * **Guru Angad Dev** (1539-1552)
 * **Guru Amar Das** (1552-1574)
 * **Guru Ram Das** (1574-1581)
 * **Guru Arjan Dev** (1581-1606)
 * **Guru Har Gobind** (1606-1644)
 * **Guru Har Rai** (1644-1661)
 * **Guru Har Krishan** (1661-1664)
 * **Guru Tegh Bahadur** (1665-1675)
 * Guru Gobind Singh (1675-1708)

The most significant disciple of Guru Nanak Dev Ji was Guru Amar Das. Guru Amar Das expanded his teachings to many people, increasing the followers of Guru Nanak Dev Ji's ideology greatly. This was when Sikhism's principles and practices were largely developed. The Gurus also added their own beliefs to the teachings of Sikhism and Guru Nanak Dev Ji, often adding to the books and hymns of Sikhism.

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VI. SIKH LEADERS
Although religions are ideally a peaceful belief, every one of them develops some sort of political standing, and with it a military. The intentions of Sikhism's military growth were good, mostly to protect their sovereignty as a religion. The military continued after the Gurus, and with the fall of the Mughal Empire came the Sikh Empire in Punjab. The empire saw its downfall after it was weakened by the death of Maharaja (emperor) Ranjit Singh and conquered by Britain.

The gurus also brought a common scripture to the religion. Known as the Gurū Granth Sāhib, it was printed in Punjabi and upon its creation contained the teachings and hymns of the first five gurus. The scripture saw additions over time by the later five gurus, and today is printed in many languages to be made available for the nearly 26,000,000 Sikhs in the world.

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VII. TRADITIONS & PRACTICES
Sikh practices and traditions are long-standing and are used to strengthen Sikh faith. After bathing, it is a daily practice to recite hymns from the Gurū Granth Sāhib. The structure used to practice Sikhism is called a Gurdwara, or Gurudwara, which means 'Doorway to God' in Punjabi. The unique feature of Gurdwaras is that they welcome any individual, even those who don't practice Sikhism. Another tradition is similar to Islam's pilgrimage to Mecca. It is common for many Sikhs to travel to Amritsar to practice their beliefs in the Golden Temple, or Harimandir Sahib. Another common practice is Langar, or 'community meal', where any individual is welcome to a free meal in the afternoon.



Festivals are also a well-attended way to strengthen Sikhism. These festivals commemorate the work of the Gurus and other notable people. Here are the main celebrations:


 * **Hola Mohalla** - Sikhs gather at Anandur where the leaders and military display their warrior skills, somewhat similar to modern Renaissance festivals.
 * **Vaisakhi** - On the 13th of April, Sikhs celebrate Guru Gobind Singh's foundation of the Khalsa (body of Sikhs) in 1699.
 * **Gurpurabs** - Various celebrations in respect of the Sikh gurus and their works. There are ten total, spread throughout the year, but Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru Gobind Singh are the most widely celebrated.
 * **Diwali** - Commemorates Guru Har Gobind's release from Gwalior Fort, where he and several important Hindu figures were imprisoned by the Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1619.

Other practices found in Sikhism are similar to other religions. Most significant being baptism, which involves that baptised Sikhs are required to wear several articles, known as the Five K's. These features are uncut hair, a dagger, a designated undergarment, a small comb, and an iron bracelet.

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=Vodun=

Vodun In The Beginning
Vodun, also referred to as Vodo, Vodou, and Voodoo in some texts, originated in West Africa nearly 6,000 years ago and is derived from the local African word for "spirit". Most commonly found along the West Coast in what is currently known as Ghana to Nigeria, the religion focuses on the belief of one supreme being, as well as a divine creator, additional dieties, and practices that include rituals and song. Vodun is traditionally an animist, nature-based, religion.

The Development and Changes in Vodun
The majority of the slaves that were forcibly brought into Haiti during the slave trade were from Western and Central Africa, where Vodun was a widely practiced religion. These slaves carried their religion with them overseas and continued to practice it, sometimes even in secrecy due to pressures to become Christian. The slaves overseers didn't approve of many of the pagan rituals that the Vodun religion took on, such as animal sacrifice, and attempted to suppress the religion for many years. During these transitory years, Vodun itself changed. The religion is considered to be "syncretic", or blended. Many Christian saints are figures of worship in Vodun as well. Some sources suggest that this is just an attempt to disguise their own gods. This was probably the biggest change in the religion from Africa to Haiti. Through the ancestors of the West African practitioners of Vodun, the religion carried on. Vodun evolved into what it is today due to many different influences.

Vodun in the World Today
Today, Vodun is practiced by nearly 60 million people world wide. It is practiced in Benin, where it is recognized as the state religion, Ghana where its the national religion, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Togo, and Nigeria.

Vodun has taken on a negative connotation in recent years because of Hollywood's take on some of their practices (Voodoo dolls, zombies, dark magic..).