The Encyclopedia of World Religions

GOD, THE EXISTENCE OF 139

Christian \ictim of the HOLOCAUST, taught that goodness (see THEODICY). If God is both om-
God suffers, too. nipotent and good, why do e%il and bad things
happen, especially to the good? Why does God
In addition to identif\ing the attributes of allow some babies to be born without brains?
God, philosophers and theologians have tried to Why does God allow people to torture and exe-
cute each other bv the millions? To answer the
identify how God relates to the universe. On one second question, some appeal to "free will." In
extreme is God's transcendence: God is totally order for human beings to be fully human, God
other. On the other is God's immanence: God is had to create people who could freely choose
both good and evil. Others simply admit that
in the world (panentheism) or identical with it there is no good answer to these questions.
(pantheism).
DOES God Exist?
Finally, some religions have adopted specific
doctrines about God. Examples include the In ancient Greece the philosopher Xenophanes
Christian ideas of the TRINITY and INC.\RN.\ noted that people made the gods in their own
TION.
image. He noted: "if oxen and horses . . . had
What Does God Do?
hands, . . . horses would paint the forms of the
Some Hindus say that God creates the world, gods like horses, and oxen like oxen" (fragment
preser\es it, and destroys it. God does these 15). In the time since Xenophanes, many philoso-
things in the form of three gods: BRAHMA, phers and theologians have tried to prove that
God exists (see GOD, THE EXISTENCE OF).
Vishnu, and Siva. Traditional Christians say that
In the 19th and 20th centuries, some promi-
God both creates the universe and redeems fallen nent thinkers disagreed. The philosopher Ludwig
humanit\'. Gnostics deny that God created the Feuerbach said that God was simply a projection
world. For them, God simply redeems the parti- of what humans valued most. Karl MARX, Emile
cles of light that creation dispersed among parti- DURKHEIM, and Sigmund FREUD expressed simi-
cles of darkness. In the 20th century, some lar ideas. Charles Darwin's theor>' of evolution
philosophers and theologians suggested that God caused many to doubt God's creative activity (see
EVOLUTION AND RELIGION). The philosopher
was not active at the beginning but will be at the Friedrich Nietzsche celebrated "the death of
God."
end of the world. That is, God is the supreme
good to which all the universe is tending. Nevertheless, at the end of the 20th century
an overwhelming majority of North Americans
How Could God . . .? still believed in God.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims have puzzled o\'er GOD, THE EXISTENCE OF A standard

two questions about God for centuries. The first topic in the philosophy of religion. Since GOD
does not appear to our human senses the way a
—question sets God's omniscience his knowledge chair or a desk or even these words do, how do
—of evePithing against the ability' of human be- we know God exists?

ings to act freely (see FREE VVILL AND DETERMI Arguments for the Existence of God
NISM). The question runs: If God knows
ever>'thing, then God knows what I am going to Philosophers and theologians have proposed
do in the fiiture; in that case, how can I act of my
own free will? Many thinkers ha\'e proposed sub- many different arguments to prove that God ex-
ists. Perhaps the four most important are known
tie answers to this question. Others simply assert

that God knows everything, and that human
beings act freely. They do not try to resolve the

paradox.

A second question sets God's omnipotence

— —his ability to do everything against God's

140 GOD, THE EXISTENCE OF

in technical terms as the ontologicaJ, the cosmo- a first set of parents, the entire series of genera-
logical, the teleological, and the moral argu- tions would never have begun in the first place.
ments. The names may seem obscure, but the
ideas are often more familiar. That is certainly true when applied to human
life, or better, to life on Earth. According to the
If God Is God, God Must Exist cosmological argument, the same principle ap-
A medieval philosopher named ANSELM (c plies to the whole universe. For the universe to
exist there must at some point have been a first,
1033-1109) proposed the ontological argu- uncaused cause, in other words, God.

ment. He argued that only a person who does not How Can a Watch Exist Without a
really understand what the word "God" means
can ask whether God exists. Watchmaker?

According to Anselm, the word "God" A third argument, the teleological argument,
means "the greatest being that we can conceive points out that nature is not a chaos. It has its own
of" If we conceived of something greater than
God, that something would in fact be God. Our rules, orders, patterns, and designs. But, this
original idea of what was God would have been argument goes, order and design exist only as the
result of planning and intelligence. Could a watch
a mistake. exist if there were no watchmaker? Indeed, the
more complex an order is, the greater the intelli-
But, Anselm asked, what is greater, a God gence that is required to create it. It requires more
mental effort to make a digital-display watch that
that we only imagine or a God who actually also keeps track of the date, times laps, and sounds
alarms at selected times than it does to make a
exists? His answer was, clearly a God who actually
sundial.
exists. As a result, it would be wrong to say that
But if order requires intelligence, and com-
WeGod exists only in people's imaginations. can plex order requires higher intelligence, what are
we to say about the order and design of the entire
easily conceive of a being who is greater than that universe? Everyone admits that they are larger and
more complex than any order and design pro-
God, namely, a God who actually exists. There- duced by human beings. The teleological argu-
ment says that such magnificent order shows that
fore, Anselm said, God must exist. the highest intelligence was at work. In other
words, the order of nature proves the existence of
It All Had to Start Somewhere God.

i\nselm's argument appeals to some people. But God Must Exist for People to Be Moral
many people, even those who believe in God,
The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-
suspect that it involves a verbal trick. 1804) tried a different approach to proving that
God existed. He did not Stan by reflecting on the
A second argument for the existence of God nature of the universe at large. Instead, he said
that God had to exist if people were to be moral
is the cosmological argument. In eftect, this ar- The argument is subde, but many people ha\e
gument insists "it all had to start somewhere." followed his lead.

This argument reminds us that things in the Consider, for example, the requirement, "Do
not murder." What authoritv' stands behind such
world are caused and have limits. But, the argu-
a requirement? Certainly it is not simply consen-
ment goes, for something to be caused and have
sus among human beings. Even if even,' other
limits, there must be something uncaused and
unlimited, in other words, God.

In technical terms, this argument depends

upon the idea that an "infinite regress" is impos-

sible. Consider yourself as a person. Your parents
caused you to come into existence. Your grand-
parents caused them to come into existence. The

— —line extends far back. But can it extend back
On"regress" forever? one line of thinking,

such an "infinite regress" is impossible. Without

GODDESSES 141

human being in our community agreed that mur- we should call those foundations God. One prob-
der was acceptable, we would want to say that lem with the moral argument is that it requires a
murder is wrong. Indeed, Reverend Martin \ iew of morality- that was not ven' popular w ith
Luther KING, Jr. made just such a claim when he North American thinkers in the last half of the
appealed to a higher law and disobeyed discrimi-
20th centuty-.
natory laws.
According to the moral argument, this com- Summary

mon moral experience shows that God exists. Philosophers and theologians have not come to
That is because God alone is capable of making an>' agreement about whether it is possible to
prove that God exists. Many reject the attempt as
moral requirements valid, despite what individual misguided. Others continue to develop and revise
arguments for the existence of God.
human beings think and say. If God did not exist,
what is right would simply be a matter of individ- GODDESSES Female deities. The Goddess,

ual opinion and whim. This chaotic situation is capitalized and singular, refers to the supreme
envisioned in Fyodor Dostoyevsk)''s novel, The deity envisioned in feminine form. Goddesses
Brothers Karamazov. In that novel, one character have plaved major roles in most rehgions.
commits suicide to prove that God does not e^dst.
One Goddess or Many?
Objections to the Arguments
FOR THE Existence of God At the end of the 20th centuty some North
Americans spoke of a single Goddess. For them,
European Christians have not been the only per- the names and m\'ths associated with specific
goddesses were simply manifestations of this
sons to use these arguments that God exists. For Goddess.

example, a school of Indian philosophy that spe- The image of the Goddess often includes
cializes in logic, known as the Nyaya school, other ideas. One is the notion of a "primitive
developed all of the preceding arguments except matriarchy." In 1861 a Swiss lawyer, J. J.
the ontological one. But not everyone has found Bachofen, speculated that at the beginning of
histoty women rather than men had ruled. This
these arguments satisfactorv'. Some have argued matriarchy was a time of peace and justice. Relig-
against one argument in making a case for an- ion centered on the WORSHIP of a goddess. Oth-
other. For example, the Catholic thinker Thomas ers have suggested that Goddess worship began
AQUIN.\S (1224-74) argued against the onto- at a specific time: when human beings shifted
logical argument in proposing the cosmological from hunting, gathering, and herding to a way of
life based on agriculture.
one.
Other ideas concern the Goddess's character.
Most people make the same objection to the In the first half of the 20th centuty a Swiss
ontological argument. They say that we cannot psychologist, Cari Gustav JUNG, developed influ-
deduce tiiat something exists simply from the ential ideas about religious symbols. Jung sug-
gested that religious symbols expressed
definition of a word. We can only demonstrate .ARCHETYPES, unconscious patterns that all hu-
man beings shared. Inspired by Jung, se\eral
that something exists by arguing from what we writers developed an image of the Goddess. They
perceive with our senses. People who object to connected her with the fertility' of the Earth. They
the cosmological and teleological arguments also connected her with the moon. Its phases
generally use one of two counterarguments. One

counterargument claims that there are other, bet-
ter ways to explain the characteristics of the uni-
verse. The other says that the cosmological and
teleological arguments do not go far enough.

They prove that the foundations of the universe
exist, but diey beg the question about whether

142 GODDESSES

were said to parallel a woman's menstrual peri- in Egypt, Nanna or Sin in Mesopotamia. The
ods. Influential popular writers, such as Joseph most important Near Eastern goddess was the
Campbell and Starhawk, advocated these ideas. planet Venus. She went by many names: IN.-VNTN.^,
Many serious scholars, including feminists, re- Ishtar, Astarte. The goddess Isis was e.xtremely
jected them. Scholars often prefer to talk about important during the Roman Empire. She was
individual goddesses rather than the Goddess.
Some goddesses are associated with the Earth and Sinus, the brightest star in the sky.
fertility, but not all. In Egypt the Earth was a god,
Geb, the sky was a goddess, Nut. The Greek Goddesses have also had many personalities.
goddess .\THEN.\ was a warrior and perpetual
virgin. Similarly, some goddesses are connected Some have been nurturing and maternal. A good
with the moon and its phases. But others are
example is the Virgin MARY. Christians do not
Aconnected with the sun. prime example is the worship her as a goddess, but Roman Catholic
and Orthodox Christians venerate her. Other
SHINTO kami, AAWTERASU. Her brother, Tsuki- goddesses have been horrific. For example, the
yomi, is the moon. In the ancient Near East, too, Hindu goddess Kali sits on corpses, wears parts of
the moon was often male, for example, Khonsu human bodies, and always demands blood sacri-
fice. Until the middle 1800s some Kali cults
Statue of a Neolithic fertility' goddess. (Courtesy of the demanded human sacrifice. But the same goddess
Irnajje Bank) may combine the nurturing and the horrific.
Thus, Kali is also venerated as a mother who
provides release from grasping and S.^MS.'Ul,^.

Finally, goddesses have related to gods in a
variety of ways. They have often occupied subor-
dinate positions, sometimes as wives and con-
sorts. That does not necessarily deprive them of
independence. In Greek m\tholog\', ZEUS may be
the most powerful, but Hera's will is often done.
Independent goddesses, too, may be important
without being supreme. Influential goddesses in
India today include the river G.WGES, whose
waters purif\-, and Bharat Mata, "Mother India"

herself

GODDESSES IN HISTORY

Most scholars trace the worship of goddesses back
to the Paleolithic period. This is the oldest period
of human hfc. It ends around 10,000 B.P. (before
the present). Paleolithic remains include large
numbers of female statues. The oldest date to
30,000 or even 40,000 B P. The statues come in
many shapes, fat and thin, realistic and stylized.
Scholars still debate what the images meant and
how they v\ere used.

Around 10,000 B.r. agriculture began, and

Athe PaleoUthic gave way to the Neolithic. Neo-

lithic community lived at Catal Huy-uk in Turkey
from about 6500 to 5500 B.C. It seems to have

GOSPELS 143

worshiped a mother goddess who is connected traditions teach that all goddesses are manifesta-
tions of a single, supreme being. She is simply
with plant life and sensed by male anendants. called Devi, "the Goddess."

Since there are no wrinen documents from this Ancient Americans such as the Incas, Mayas,
and Aztecs worshiped goddesses (see INCA RELIG-
period (writing was not yet invented), it is diffi- ION, \UYA RELIGION, and .^ZTEC RELIGION). So
do indigenous North Americans (see INDIGE-
cult to know what to make of Neolithic remains.
NOUS AMERICAN RELIGIONS). Recendy some
One scholar, Marija Gimbutas, tried to identify scholars suggested that indigenous North Ameri-
cans began to worship mother earth only after
the different Neolithic goddesses of southeastern
contact with Europeans. Others strongly dis-
Europe by classifying the different types of statues agree. In any case, respect for the sacredness of
the Earth is an imponant part of indigenous
these people made. American religion today.
Writing begins by 3000 B.C Then there is
The Goddess Today
plentiful evidence for the worship of goddesses.
Traditional goddesses remain important religious
Goddesses played major roles in the religions ot
figures. In addition, some women and a few men
ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaan, Greece,
in North America and Europe have begun to
and Rome (see EGYPTIAN RELIGION, MESOPO- worship the Goddess anew. They found in the
worship of the Goddess religious strength,
TAMI.\X RELIGIONS, CANA.\NITE RELIGION, power, and support that they had not found in
the traditional European religions.
GREEK RELIGION, and ROMAN RELIGION). As
GOSPELS Writings about the teachings and
noted above, their symbols, personalities, and
deeds of JESUS. Gospels are a special kind of
spheres of acti\ity varied considerably. JUDAISM biography. Their primary concern is not to relate
the life of Jesus as accurately as possible, the way
YHWHtended to conceive of its god, ("the a modern biography might do. Instead, they want
to present the message of CHRISTIANITY', and they
Lord"), in masculine terms. But some have tell the life of Jesus to do so. As a result of this,
most modern scholars have come to realize that
YHWHpointed out that has feminine sides, too: it is not possible to write a modern biography of
Jesus on the basis of the gospels. They do not
his Wisdom and his Presence (Shekhinah). The pro\'ide the right kind of evidence.

—traditional symbols of CHRISTL\NIT\' God as The New Testament contains four gospels:
—Father and Son are masculine. But the Roman Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Many other

Catholic and Orthodox churches both venerate gospels circulated in the first few centuries AD.
Mary as theotokos, "mother of God." In many Several of them ha\'e sur\'ived. Recently scholars
have given one of these other gospels a great deal
places the veneration of Mary seems to continue of attention: the gospel of Thomas as presented
ancient traditions of goddess worship. One exam- in the Coptic language. It consists entirely of

ple is the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. ISLAM, Asavings attributed to Jesus. few scholars have

like Protestant Christianity, has had little use for argued that Thomas preserves some sayings more
accurately than the gospels in the New Testament
goddesses or feminine images of the divine.

Goddesses ha\e been extremely important in

east and south Asia. In China, Japan, and Tibet,

a "goddess of mercy'" known as Kwan-yin, Kan-

non, and Tara, respectively, has been very impor-

tant. She is AV.\LOKITES\AR.\, a BODHIS.^TR'A in

feminine form. HINDUISM knows a tremendous

variet\- of goddesses as well as gods. Hindu vil-

lages have local goddesses that look after their

needs. Written mythologies tell about different

goddesses who are consorts to gods. They in-

clude SAKASWATI, L.\KSHMI, Sita, and PARVATI.

Hindus often say that the sakti or power of a god

is a goddess. Two especially powerful goddesses
in east India are DURGA and Kali. Some Hindu

144 GOSPELS

Woodcut ot Saint [ohn h\- Hans Baldung drien. rection, Mark only tells about a group of women
(Courtesy of Corbis-Ima^c Bank.) discovering an empti,- tomb. Matthew adds ap-

do. More traditional Christians find this assertion pearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples in
Galilee. According to Luke, the disciples staved
implausible. in lERUS.\LEiM and surrounding areas, and the
risen Jesus appeared to them there.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke follov\' the same
basic scenario in presenting the life of Jesus. For Scholars ha\'e long debated how to explain
that reason they are known as "synoptic" gospels. these characteristics. Most now adopt the \iew
The synoptics telJ the same basic story' from Jesus' that Mark was the first gospel of the three. Mat-
B.MTISM to his crucifi.\ion and burial. They di-
verge when they tell about Jesus' birth and his thew and Luke, they suggest, wxote their gospels
RESURRECTION. Mark says nothing about Jesus' b\' following Mark, sometimes word for word.
birth. Matthew tells about the \isit of the wise Matthew and Luke also report some saxings of
men and the massacre of infants under Herod. Jesus that are not found in Mark, so they seem to
Luke tells of a journey to Bethlehem and a visit
of shepherds; he associates these events with a have followed another common source. This
census that took place when the Romans replaced
Herod's son as ruler of Judea and appointed a source would have been similar in form to
proconsul to rule the area. As concerns the resur- Thomas but certainly not identical with it. For the
birth and resurrection of Jesus, Matthew and
Luke used very different sources.

Each of the synoptic gospels has its own
distincti\e concerns. For example, Mark empha-
sizes what scholars call the "Messianic secret."
That is, in Mark Jesus continually tries to hide

that he is the MESSIAH; this fact is revealed pub-
licly only after Jesus' resurrection. The synoptics
also tell the stor\- of Jesus in distinctive w-ays. For
example, Luke is part of a two-volume presenta-
tion that continues in the book of Acts.

The gospel of John is in a class by itself It
does not follow the general order of e\ents that
the SNTioptic gospels use. It also does not report
the same sa\ings. John presents Jesus as reflecting
a great deal on his special identity'. Many sa\ings
begin with the phrase, "I am," for example, "I am
the light of the world" (John 8.12). These sayings
include some that Christians cherish the most.

Tradition attributes John's gospel to a disci-

ple who was the closest to Jesus, a disciple whom

Jesus loved. For centuries many Christians pre-
ferred it to the s\noptics. The tendency today is
to see John as the latest of the gospels in the New
Testament. In this \iew, it does not present Jesus'
most intimate words. It presents the way a certain
group of earh' Christians liked to think about Jiim.

GREEK RELIGION 145

GRACE In CHRISTL\NI-n', the gift from GOD —eighth century B C Population grew; the polh
—usually translated as "city-state" came together;
of power that makes s.\l.VATION possible. Ac-
cording to orthodox Christian theolog)-, because overseas trade and colonization flourished; writ-
of human SFN and sinfiil nature, all people deserve ing was developed; and poets composed works
eternal punishment, but through the sacrifice of
CHRIST on the cross, God has given Christians the now attributed to Homer and Hesiod. During
gift or grace of salvation even though believ-
ers mav not have earned it. While good deeds are this period, too, Greek religion assumed its stand-
considered important as a part of a life lived in the
power of dixine grace, it is not the deeds them- ard forms. With Homer and Hesiod the Greeks
selves that win salvation but God's grace received acquired common images of the gods. The new
through F.\ITH. city-states built temples. Offerings at Mycenaean
tombs led to the WORSHIP of legendar\- heroes.
RO\L\N CATHOLICISM emphasizes the S.\C-
R.\MENTS, such as B.\rTISM and holy commun- Sancruaries for all Greeks, such as the sanctuary
ion, as means of grace; PROTEST.\NTISM of Zeus at Olympia, began to host major festivals.
emphasizes that God gives grace where he will,
that the scriptures can awaken the faith that en- Subsequent centuries were periods of elabo-
ables one freely to receive it, and that the sacra- ration and refinement. During the seventh and
ments are simply "signs" of grace. But both sixth centuries, Greeks began to build temples in
acknowledge that God is not bound to any par-
ticular means or institution in his gi\ing of grace stone rather than wood and mud-brick. Great
to the worid. PURE LASD BUDDHISM has a con- leaders, like Draco and Solon at Athens, tried to
cept of salvation by means of the grace of .\MIDA wTite workable law codes. Philosophers began to
Buddha received through a faith that is compara-
talk about the world not in terms of human-like
ble to the Christian.
divine beings but in terms of basic principles. One
GREEK RELIGION The religion practiced
of the earliest, Thales, suggested that water un-
in the ancient Greek states. The term refers espe- derlay all things. At the same time, individuals
cialK' to the period from the rise of the city-state known as t>Tants took over governments. They
in the eighth centun- B.C. to the conquest of often modified inherited religions to suit their
Greece by Alexander the Great in the 330s B.C.
own personal ends.
History The fiftii centur\- was a rime of glon,', espe-

Greek religion had several precursors. From cially in Athens. Athenian playwrights like
roughly 3000 to 1450 B C the Minoan civiliza- Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides explored
tion thrived on the island of Crete. It seems to
have worshiped, among other beings, an impor- some of the deepest questions that human beings
tant GODDESS. From 1450 to roughly 1 100 B.C. face. Pericles oversaw the construction of monu-
the Mycenaean ciNilization dominated mainland ments on the Acropolis at Athens. These included
Greece as well as Crete. The Mycenaeans wor- the most famous of all Greek temples, the Parthe-
shiped many gods of the later Greeks, such as
ZEUS, Hera, and Dionysos. non, dedicated to that city-state's patron god-

After about 1 100 Mycenaean civilization col- dess, --KTHEXA.
lapsed; scholars dispute why. In any case, a wide- During the fourth centun- Greek philosophy
spread "Greek Renaissance" occurred during the
reached its pinnacle with Plato and Aristotle. But
before century's end, Alexander the Great had
redrawn the map of the eastern Mediterranean
and the ancient Near East. Large Greek-speaking
empires replaced the relatively isolated cit>-
states. Traditional rehgious practices did not dis-
appear, but thev were often overshadowed by
religions that were no longer tied to particular

places. Among these religions CHRISTLWm' and

146 GREEK RELIGION

Ui •§ X3g'si°-§ »^ =

i i!

GREEK RELIGION 147

ISL.'VM eventually came to dominate the old were not optimistic about life after death. In the
Greek territories. Odyssey the shade of the hero Achilles tells Odys-
seus that he would rather live as a slave on Earth
Beliefs than rule over the realm of the dead.

The Greeks did not have a common set of Practices

mandator)' beliefs, as Christians and Muslims The most important Greek RITUAL act was SAC-
RIFICE. At home Greeks generally offered plant
do. The real focus was on common practices. products to the gods. Larger communities sacri-
Nevertheless, the Greeks shared many stories
about the gods and some ideas about the uni- —ficed animals usually domesticated animals, but
verse. They tolerated only a Umited amount of
not always. The sacrifices offered to the Olympi-
deviation from these beliefs. For e.vample, an ans were feasts that the Greeks and the gods
Athenian court sentenced the famous teacher shared. The gods received the blood, thigh-
Socrates to death. The charges included reject- bones, fat, and smoke; the Greeks received the
ing the traditional gods, teaching new ones, internal organs and the muscles. Heroes generally
and corrupting the youth. received a different kind of sacrifice, known as the
holocaust. In this sacrifice, the victim was com-
A statement by the philosopher Thales gives pletely burned up. Another common Greek ritual
act was libation. It consisted of pouring liquid out
a good idea of the Greek religious attitude: "all
things are full of gods." Homer conceived of the for the gods.
gods in human form. But his gods differed from
human beings in se\eral important ways. They Households made offerings and libations to
did not die. The)' had their own food and drink. the gods daily. Larger communities generally did
Instead of blood, a special liquid known as ichor so on special occasions known as festivals. Most
flo-«ed through their veins. They were also more festivals were held every year according to a cal-
powerfiil and deserved more honor than the endar that varied from community to commu-
strongest of human beings. nit)'. Some festivals were obser\'ed by all Greek

The most important gods were celestial di- speakers. A well-known example of these "pan-
vinities known as Olympians. Myths treated these
gods as an extended family, headed by Zeus, Hellenic" festivals was the festival of Zeus at
"father of gods and men." Other prominent Olympia. It was the precursor of the modern
Olympians included Hera, .APOLLO, ARTEMIS, Olympic games. In addition to sacrifices, festivals
.APHRODITE, and HERMES. The Greeks venerated often invoKed processions, games, and in some
other gods, too. Some of them, like ADONIS, were cases theatrical performances or other special rit-
considered foreign imports. They also worshiped
daimones and heroes. Although the English word ual acts.
"demon" comes from the Greek word daimon,
daimones (plural oi daimon) were not demons in Although the Greeks are famous for building
our sense. They were vague spiritual forces. He- resplendent temples, they did not worship inside
roes were great human beings from the past, like them. Greek temples were basically storage facili-
Theseus and Herakles. ties. The Greeks performed sacrifices at an out-
door .ALTAR. Altars for sacrifices to the Olympians
The Greeks believed that certain important were mounded high; those for holocausts were
events in life were "portioned out." They did not low, sometimes even holes dug in the ground.
often say by whom. It was clearly the responsibil- The altar and temple were the central features of
ity of Zeus to ensure that "fate" was accom- a sacred area known as the temenos.
plished. The most important event that fate
determined was death. In general, the Greeks

148 GUNAS

Organiz.\tion it inspired have greatly enriched the cultures of
Europe and North America.
The Greeks did not require special intermedi-
aries or priests to worship the gods. All indi- GUNAS A Sanskrit word meaning "qualities"
viduals could worship the gods themselves. But
larger communities generally delegated relig- or "attributes." Indian thinkers have made lists
ious tasks to specific persons. Many of these
of gunas that van.' in length and content. The
—communities villages and poleis or cit\-
—states were political as well as religious. In gunas most important from the point of view

that case religious functionaries were basically of religion are those associated with the Sank-
officers of the state. But the Greeks also knew
other reUgious communities that were not po- hya and YOG.^ philosophies. According to these
htical units. These included groups banded to-
gether to maintain certain sanctuaries, to schools, the world of nature derives from a
worship a particular god, such as Dionysos, or primal material potency known as Prakriti.
to ensure each other's mutual welfare.
Prakriti has three gunas or qualities: the pure
Significance
and transparent (satTra), the active (rajas), and
Greek religion is a relatively loose collection of
practices rather than a carefiilly defined set of the dark and static ( tamas). By some unknown
beliefs. It includes all practices by which the
Greeks tried to make a bener life for themselves process the equilibrium between these three has
through pleasing and placating a number of di-
N-ine and spiritual beings. It is no longer practiced, Nowbeen disrupted. they conflict, and their
but the art, literature, drama, and philosophy that
conflict produces the world.

Like \in and yang in China (see 'VIN-YANG

THEORY), the three gunas have been used to

classify a wide variet)' of objects. For example, the

purest vegetarian diet has the guna or qualit\' of

sama.

GURU GRANTH See .\Dl GROWTH.

b

HADITH The Arabic word for "sron" or Atransmission: For example, learned fi-om B,
who learned fi'om C, who learned from D, the
"news"; in ISLAM, reliable reports about the companion of the prophet who was an eyewit-

prophet MUHAMMAD. All Muslims profess, ness. Finally, the chain of transmission had to be
"There is no god but GOD [see ALLAH], and able to withstand the strictest scrutiny. Scholars
ML"HAAL\L\D is God's messenger." The second of Hadith studied each indi\idual mentioned in
pan of this statement means first of all that Mu- the chain of transmission to determine whether
hammad received God's revelation in the that person was reliable. They also studied the
process of transmission from one person to the
QUR'AN. It also means that, as God's messenger,
Anext. For example, if and B were both reliable
Muhammad exemplifies the ideal response to Awitnesses, but had never left Spain and B was

God's revelation. As a result, his life takes on never farther west than Eg\pt, the report was

religious significance. clearly false.

Hadith are for the most part records of what In the late ninth and early 10th centuries A.D.,
scholars of SL'NXl ISL.\M made sLx authoritative
the prophet Muhammad said, did, and allowed. collections of Hadith. Their collections represent
considerable effort: Scholars traveled widely to
They are second in importance only to the gather as many Hadith as possible. The collec-
Qur'an. Together with the Qur'an, Hadith are tions also represent considerable sifting. For ex-
the traditional sources fi"om which Muslims de-
termine what is religiously true and proper. They ample, al-Bukhari, who made the most important
define what Muslims call stinttah, "tradition."
collection, is said to ha\e examined hundreds of
Many reports about Muhammad circulated thousands of Hadith from all over the Islamic
world. His finished collection contains a UnJe
in the decades after his death. Because the
prophet's example was valuable, some Muslims over 7,000. SHIITE ISLAM has its own collections
invented Hadith to support their news or prac- of Hadith. They were made 400 to 500 \ears after
tices. They may not have done so with the delib-
erate intention of deceiving others. They may the prophet lived, and derive especially from the
have honestly felt that they were reporting what prophet's cousin Ali and his supporters.
the prophet had said or done. In time, the
number of Hadith proliferated. It became neces- Each Hadith has two parts: the chain of
transmission and the report itself. Man\' Hadith
sarv' to distinguish authentic fi'om inauthentic deal with Muhammad's pronouncements on cen-
tral Islamic practices. For example, a large
reports. number tell in detail how to observe the five
pillars of Islam: profession of faith, formal daily
To do this, ancient scholars examined the prayer (SALAT), almsgi\ing, F.ASTING during the
way in which a Hadith had been handed down. month of Ramadan, and PILGRIMAGE to MECC\.
To be acceptable, a Hadith had to originate fi'om
a reputable person who was in a position to have
reliable knowledge about what the Hadith
claimed. It also had to have a known chain of

150 HALAKHAH

Others deal with matters that seem less impor- or-treaters, is really a continuation of Samhain,
tant, for example, what kind of dates one can sell,
how not to react when someone breaks wind, and the ancient Celtic New Year's Day (see CELTIC
the relative merits of sneezing and yawning (cp. BJELIGIOX and NEW re.AR FESTI\'ALS). Like all
Sahih Buklmri 3.34.400; 8.73.68; 8.73.245).
such times of beginnings, Samhain was seen as a
In the 20th centun,- Muslims had var)'ing day and night of a break in the continuit\' of
attitudes to Hadith. Some Muslims with an inter- things, when supernatural forces, such as spirits
est in "modernizing" Islam questioned the of nature and of the dead, could come into this
authenticity of Hadith. In doing so, they also world as on no other occasion. In Christian times
questioned their authorit)*. Other Muslims de-
fended the Hadith staunchly. Samhain was separated fi'om New Year's and
made the eve of All S.AINTS (All Hallows, hence
HALAKHAH Hebrew word meaning "the
Halloween) Day. The old characteristics were
wav"; Jewish law in its most comprehensive form. remembered and brought to the United States
JUDAISM is a way of life more than a set of beliefs. especially b\' Irish immigrants. It is now a time for
Halakhah defines ever\' aspect of this way of life, masks and changing roles and, at least in fiin,
private as well as public. Thus, it is extremely beUeWng in supernatural entities, good and bad.
imponant in Judaism. Indeed, it defines Judaism.
HANUKKAH The Jewish festival of lights. It
The basis of halakhah is TOR.\H, that is, the
first five books of the BIBLE. RABBIS teach that is celebrated for eight days ever\- year, beginning
Torah contains 613 instructions on life. These on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev.
instructions are not, however, all sufficient. Ques-
tions arise when one tries to put them into prac- Hanukkah is one of the Jewish festivals that
tice, when one faces situations not discussed in non- Jewish North Americans know best. That is
Torah, and when the circumstances of life because it falls around the time of CHRISTMAS and
change. Other sources of halakhah include the now invoh'es the giving of gifts.
rest of the Bible, oral Torah, that is, the TALML'D,
and custom. The oral Torah consists of inter- Hanukkah celebrates the victors' of the Mac-
pretations that MOSES supposedly received orally cabees over the former Greek rulers of Israel and
on Mount Sinai and passed on to authoritative Judah in 164 B.C. According to the book of 2
Maccabees, the festival began with the rededica-
successors. tion of the Temple in that ven,' year. Its eight days
of celebration made up for the failure to celebrate
The first important compilation of halakha the festival of Sukkot a few months earlier because
was the Mishna, made around AD. 200. The of the war.
compilation with the most authority' is the
Shulhan .-Krukh of Joseph Caro (1488-1575). The T.\LMUD presenes a later stor\' that is
Today, besides defining religious practice, halak-
hah is the official legal code in the state of Israel now invariablv connected with Hanukkah. On
for some ci\il, but not criminal, matters. For
example, halakhah governs procedures for mar- rededicating the temple, the Maccabees found
riage and divorce. onlv enough oil to burn for one day. Miracu-
lously, it burned for eight. This story supports
HALLOWEEN All Hallow's E\e, October what has become the central feature of Hanuk-
kah: lighting an eight-branched candelabrum
31, a popular holiday emphasizing supernattiral known as a menorah. The most traditional meno-
beings. This American festival, with its orange rahs burn oil, but toda\' many Jews use candles.
and black colors and witches, ghosts, and trick- Some R,\BBIS have even sanctioned the use of

electric lights.

A popular game is played in celebration of

Hanukkah. It uses a dreidcl^ that is, a small top

that one spins with one's hand. A dreidel has four

HATHOR 151

flat sides onto which Hebrew letters are inscribed. as public matters. It is inspiring just to be in his
In Israel these letters are "n," "g," "h," and "p,"
the beginning letters of a four-word Hebrew presence.
sentence that recalls the reason for Hanukkah: "A Hasidic teachings and practices vary from one
great miracle happened here." Outside Israel the
communit)' to another. Hasidism arose, howe\'er,
last letter is "sh," not "p," because the sentence
as a mo\ement that played down the form of
reads "A great miracle happened there." Judaism customar\' in eastern Europe at the time.
This form emphasized studying TOR.\H and T.\L-
HASIDISM From the Hebrew word hasid, MUD and meticulously acting on what one had
studied, God's instructions. In Hasidism, by con-
meaning "pious"; a movement within JUDAISM. trast, one strove to experience an intimate com-
Hasidism began in the 1 8th century as a rejection munion with God. This attitude still characterizes
of a rigid legalism and intellectualism in favor of most Hasidic groups.
an emotional, heartfelt religion. Today it is most
often thought of as an ultra-conser\ative form of During the 20th century, many Hasidic com-
Judaism that clings tighdy to the ways of the past. munities moved from eastern Europe to either
j\merica or Israel. In 1941 the most influential
Hasidism began with a wandering healer and Hasidic community set up its headquarters in
teacher in eastern Europe known as the B.\.\L Brooklyn, New York. It is often called the
Lubavitch community, after the town in Belarus
SHEMTOV, the "Master of the Good Name" (c. (an independent nation formerly in the Soviet
Union) where it was first located. Its technical
1700-60). Like most wandering healers and name is Habad Hasidism. The Lubavitch com-
teachers at the time, he addressed not the elite of muniu' emphasizes study more than most Hasidic
the community but the poor and the uneducated. communities do. It has also taken a leading role
His teachings emphasized a kind of mystical com- in promoting Jewish traditionalism. But in doing
so, it has not hesitated to make use of the most
munion with GOD that could and should be modern technology'. From 1950 until his death
in 1994 Rabbi Mcnachem Mendel Schneersohn
found in any sphere of life. led the Lubavitch communir\'. At the time of his
death his followers were speculating that he might
When the Baal Shem Tov died, his mande be the promised MESSIAH.
was taken up by his followers, especially Dov Ber
(d. 1772 ). Dov Ber turned his house into a court, Hasidism has consistently opposed changing
the Jewish way of life to fit Gentile ways. In
similar to those of the minor nobility. People particular, Hasidic Jews have been ver)' critical of
would flock to hear him hold court, that is, to Reform Judaism. They have also opposed ZION-
preach and teach. His disciples formed couns or ISM. The\- ha\e seen this latter mo\ement, which
"houses" of their own. Each of them became the led to the founchng of the state of Israel, as an
center of a community. The leadership of the
communities soon became hereditary. Fathers attempt to force God to usher in the Messianic
would pass it down to their sons or occasionally age. Some Hasidic Jews have gone so far as to
their sons-in-law. Thus, a distinctive feature of claim that the HOLOCAUST was God's punish-
Hasidism was born: the special relationship of the ment for the sins of Reform Judaism and Zionism.
community to its leader.
HATHOR A GODDESS of ancient Egypt. The
The Hasidic leader is known as a tzaddik, a
"righteous one." As Hasidic Jews see it, a tzaddik name Hathor means "house of HORUS." It links
has no SIN of his own. Instead, he takes upon her with the sky. Hathor was given form as a cow
himself the evil done by his community' and or as a human figure v\ith a cow's head. In the

transforms it into good. Thus, the tzaddik stands

between the community' and God. He is the sole
authority in the community over private as well

152 HAWAIIAN RELIGION

latter case, the disk of the sun rests between her the sick person but the cosmos itself must return
t\\o horns. to the moment of creation and be renewed. This

In mythologT,- from the Old Kingdom of can happen in a number of ways. A healer may
Eg>'pt (2650-2180 B C.) Hathor is the wife ofRe,
die sun god, and the mother of Horus. Because —recite the COSMOGONY' the m\Tii of crea-
the king is the living Horus, Hathor is also the —tion and include in it the mythology that tells
mother of the king. Later, Isis was said to be the
king's mother. Nevertheless, illustrations from of the creation of the medicine that she or he is
the New Kingdom (1570-1080 B.C.) often show
Hathor as a cow gning the king milk. about to give (see M\TH ,AND MYTHOLOGY). Or
a RITUAL may place the sick person in a fetal
In addition to this role, Hathor was a god-
dess of lovers and childbirth. Her main temple position. This position signals a return to the
was at Dendera. In the area around Thebes she
took on a somewhat different character. She was womb and a rebirth.
called "the lady of the u est" and was associated
with the dead. EUade's model can be helpftil. At the same
time, one must be carefijl in using it. The model
HAWAIIAN RELIGION See TACinc OCEAN ma\' tempt us to distort what religious people say
and do so that their words and actions fit the
RELIGION'S. model. It may also tempt us to read into words
and actions symbolic meanings that might not be
HEALING, RELIGIOUS Religious tech- there or ignore other meanings that are there.

niques for overcoming physical and mental ill- What Causes Illness?
ness. Whatever else it may be, religion is a means
used by individuals and communities to help Religions attribute illness to many causes. Some-
promote a better life. Many Christians have
sought SALVATION as eternal life in the midst of times they attribute them to personal beings.
their current reality, sometimes seen as a vale of
tears. Theravada Buddhists, ver\' numerous in Traditional AFRICAN RELIGIONS often attrib-
southeast Asia, distinguish XIRV.ana, the goal of ute sickness to the acts of other human beings.
religious practice, from life in this world, S.AM-
SARA. But most Christians and Buddhists think That is, they talk about \\TTCHCR.AFT and sorcerv'.
that religious practice benefits them here and
now, too. And many other religious people ex- According to a well-known study of the Azande,
pect religion to help promote a better life or a
thriving and flourishing life primarily in this v\itchcraft was a substance in a person's abdomen.
It harmed other people. Sometimes those who
world. Among other things, they expect religion possessed witchcraft did not even know what they
to heal them when they are sick. In many cultures,
were doing.
as evidence of the importance of religious heal-
ing, the first physician is said to have been a god. Indigenous peoples have also attributed sick-

The influential scholar Mircea ELIADE devel- ness to possession by spirits. They are hardly
oped a model of how religions heal. He suggested
that for religious people disease is not just a alone. According to the New Testament, lESUS
malfiinction. It is a disruption in the being of the
entire cosmos. In order to heal, one must restore, cast out demons. Folk traditions in ISLAM have
or better, recreate the entire cosmos. Not only known local spirits that could harm as well as help
people. Some scholars suggest that indigenous

North Americans tended to talk about two differ-

ent causes of disease. They tended to attribute

phvsical illness to possession by a spirit; they

attributed mental illness to the departure of a

person's soul.

Yet another personal source of sickness and

disease are the gods or GOD. At the beginning of
the Iliad, APOLLO shoots his arrows into the

Greek camp and causes a plague. The book of

YHWHDeuteronomy promises that ("the

HEALING, RELIGIOUS 153

Lord") will afflict those who do not observe the dhists, and Jains also attribute disease to actions
TORAH. The afflictions include "consumption, (KAR\L\) in this or a previous life.

fever, inflarrunation . . . boils . . . ulcers, scurvy, Few religions have limited themselves to a
single cause for disease. Most of them give a
and itch" (Deuteronomy 28.22, 27). varietv- of explanations, personal and nonper-
Many religions, especially in Asia, attribute
sonal.
disease to nonpersonal causes. Indigenous North
Americans often thought that a foreign sub- Methods of He.\ling

— —stance say, a feather had entered the body and At one time or another religious people have used
virtually even,' element of religion in search of
needed to be extracted. The ancient Chinese healing. Many indigenous religions rely on spe-
traced illness to a disruption of the harmony of cially initiated healers called shamans (see SHA-
nature. Aviirveda, a Hindu bodx' of medicine, MANISM). Shamans generally fight the spirits that

teaches that, in addition to personal causes, dis-
eases result from an imbalance in the body's three
"humors," wind, bile, and phlegm. Hindus, Bud-

A group of people performing "layijig ( I of hands" as an act of religious healing. (By pcrtnission ofthe Episcopal

News Service.)

154 HEAVEN

are making people sick. They often travel to the reject medical techniques on religious grounds.
spirit world to do battle. If they win, the people For example, Jehovah's Witnesses refiise blood
recover; if they lose, the shamans mav die. Man\' transfusions. Some continue to turn to F.MTH
shamans in North America also extract foreign and mind based healing. Alternative medicines,
objects from the body of the sick person. such as A\Tjr\eda, have become ver\- popular in
some circles. Twelve-step recovery programs are
A healer with special powers has also been effective in countering alcoholism and other con-
important in CHRISTL\Nm'. Of all the founders ditions; the\' ha\e a significant religious compo-
nent. Those who practice scientific medicine have
of major rehgions, Jesus fits the image of charis- also often recognized the important role that
spiritual well-being plays in healing physical and
matic healer most closely. He passed on the gift mental illnesses.

of healing to his .\roSTLES. In time most Chris- HEAVEN A realm above the earth. Traditional
tians turned to other means for healing. But in
the 19th and 20th centuries the idea that some CHRlSTIANITi' conceives of heaven as a realm
Christians had the gift of healing reappeared in where the redeemed go after either death or the
North America. One of the most famous healers final judgment. This image is the dominant one
was Oral Roberts, who built his own medical in North America.
center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Sometimes hea\en simply refers to the region
In addition to special healers, religions have abo\e the atmosphere. Most religions have some-
found healing in rituals and changes in life-st)ie. thing to say about this region. What they have to
say differs tremendously. The beginning of the
When indigenous people attribute illnesses to book of Genesis talks about the sky as the firma-
ment that holds back the "waters above." Relig-
offended ancestors, they ma\' acknowledge their ions in the Mediterranean region around the time
offenses and make an offering to restore good of JESUS often talked about several different layers
of heaven, one atop the other. These were the
—relations. Among the Japanese water for exam- spheres of the planets, of the sun and the moon,
—ple, bathing in a hot spring has been an impor- and of the fixed stars. Ancient Mesoamericans
seem to have conceived of the layers of heaven as
tant way to seek health. Cathohc and Orthodox the different levels through which the sun ascends
Christians have a SACR.\MENT of healing; a priest and descends during the day (see MAYA RELIG-
anoints a sick person with oil. In the ancient ION). HINDUISM and BUDDHISM have described
Mediterranean world sick people often slept in any number of heavenly worlds. These often have
the sanctuary of the god Asklepios; they left Mttie, if anxthing, to do with what can be seen in
behind many testimonials to show that the god the sk\'.
had %isited them at night, often in dreams, and
healed them. Taoists have stressed that one However religions concei\e of heaven, they
should li\e in harmon\' with natural processes. usually associate special beings with it. In ancient
The\' have also experimented with medicines that Egypt the sk>- was itself a GODDESS, the goddess
produce health, long life, and immonalit)'. Nut (see EG\TTLAN RELIGION). Jews of the Sec-
ond Temple period occasionally used "heaven" as
Some religious people have also seen the a substitute for the word GOD. This usage is also
source of healing in ideas and attitudes. From found in the gospel of Matthew. In Hinduism
New Thought and CHRISTL-W SCIENCE to "the various gods dwell in heavens; in Mahayana Bud-
power of positive thinking," such movements dhism BUDDH.AS and BODHISATTV^AS dwell there,
have had much influence in North America.

HE.\LING in 20TH-CENTURY AMERICA

During the 19th and 20th centuries, non-
religious, scientific medicine made tremendous
advances. But people in North America have not
abandoned religious healing. Some continue to

too. GNOSTICISM taught that E\1L archons ruled KINGDOM OF GOD or of heaven was at hand. This
the seven planetan- spheres. Far above them at a preaching has inspired some Protestants in North
virtually inaccessible distance was the realm of the
unknown God, a realm of goodness and light. America to tr\' to reform societ\'. Heaven has also
inspired artists such as architects. In places as far
In some religions heaven directs human ac- apart as Spain, Iran, and India Muslim landscape
tions. CONTUCL'VN'ISM did not say much about architects have taken the Qur'an's descriptions of
what heaven was, but it did teach that people were heaven as the basis for the gardens they have
to follow the "way of heaven." More broadU', designed. An inscription set up in Shalamar Bagh,
Chinese rulers claimed to rule by the "mandate Kashmir (India), gives e\idence of their success:
of heaven." Heaven can also be a source ofjustice. "If there be a Paradise on the face of the earth, it
In the sacred books known as the V'EDA, the
sky-god Varuna looks dowTi from heaven with his is here, it is here, it is here."
thousand eyes and notes whether people do good
The development of modem astronomy has
or evil.
made it difficult for people to ascnbe literally to
According to the image dominant in North traditional \iews of heaven as a realm immediately
America, heaven is a place to which people go above the sk\'. Nevertheless, religions that have
after they die. This kind of heaven is not limited traditionall\- talked about heaven have not aban-
to Christianit)'. Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains doned the teaching. Their followers think of it as
see the various heavens as places where people
whose actions in life have been especially a spiritual ideal rather than an astronomical place.

— —good who ha\e \er\' good K.\RAL\ are re- HELL A realm or realms, usually thought of as

born after death (see J.\INISM). PURE LASD below the Earth, to which evildoers go after
BUDDHISM gets its name from the heaven that death. Hell figures prominentiy in the teachings
the Buddha .\MID.\ has created in the distant of traditional CHRISTL\NTTi', but many other re-
west. Those who rely upon him are reborn into ligions have analogous concepts.
the Pure Land and enjoy its delights until one
day all sentient or conscious beings will enter Many religions associate the dead with a
enlightenment together. realm below the surface of the Earth. They often
seem to do so because they bur\- the dead. For
In ZORO.\STRl.\NIS.M, Christianit\', and IS them the underworld is not necessarily a place of
punishment, but it is not a place that one would
LAM heaven is the abode of those who are found choose to be, either. Such a \iew appears, for
worthy at the final judgment. The three religions example, in the ancient Mesopotamian stor\- of

have used different metaphors to describe this IN.ANNW's descent to the under\vorld; in ancient
wondrous place. The book of REVELATION refers Greek notions of Hades; in the realm to which
to it as a new JERUS.\LEM and describes it as a Izanami, one of the world's parents in early
wondrously jeweled cit)'. The QUR'.AN often re-
fers to it as a garden, which contrasts starklv with Shinto m\tholog\' (see IZ.ANAGI AND IZANAMI),
the desert climate in which Islam arose. Rivers
supply the garden with abundant water, plants goes after she dies; and in the realm of Xibalba in
grow luxuriantly, and celestial beings cater to the the Maya EPIC, Popol Vuh. In several of these
examples the underworld is associated with test-
whims of those who are found worthy of heaven. ing and trials.
The particular vision of heaven seems to fiilfill a
The Hebrew BIBLE presents a \iew of life after
given people's aspirations after Utopia. death that is very much like the preceding \iews.
Indeed, the Hebrew Bible does not focus on the
At the same time, heaven is not Limited to realm of the dead, and that attitude has carried
some far off place. It also provides ideals on which over into IUD.\ISM. Although Jews generally be-
to model life here on Earth. Jesus taught that the
lieve in a retribution after death for E\1L acts that

156 HERESY

remain unpunished in this life, they do not em- that artists often produce much better works
when their subjects involve SIN, death, and hell,
phasize this belief. than v\hen they invoke virtue and HEAVEN. Well
Hell properly speaking appears in ZOROAS- known European depictions of hell include
Dante's Inferno, which describes in delightful
TRIANISM, Christianity, and ISLAM. The ancient
Israelites had close contact with Persians during detail a descent through the various levels of hell;
and after the Babylonian exile (587-539 B.C.). the English poet John Milton's Paradise Lost, and
Many scholars have suggested that the Persian the almost surrealistic paintings of Hieronymus
religion, Zoroastrianism, gave its teachings about Bosch (c. I450-C. 1516).
hell to Christianity and Islam. In any case, all
three religions conceive of hell as a place where HERESY Belieft considered dangerously wrong
the unredeemed wicked go, generally for eternal
torment. Fire has been the most popular torment bv religious authority' or by popular opinion. The
in hell, but not the only one. Occasionally hell word "heresy" comes from a Greek word mean-
has been thought of as absolutely cold. Both ing "choosing," in the sense of choosing for
Zoroastrianism and Islam also tell of a narrow oneself rather than in accordance with the con-
bridge over an abyss. After death persons must sensus of a larger group. In religion, particularly
walk across the bridge. The wicked lose their CHRISTIANITY, this term is used to describe a
balance and fall to their eternal torment. belief considered by the religion's teaching
authorities or mainstream opinion to be false, and
Some sayings in Islam indicate that the pun- dangerous to the SALVATION of those who hold
ishment suft'ered in hell might not actually be it. Christianit>' has always had its heretics, from
eternal. Christians, too, have at times been reluc- the GNOSTICISM of the early centuries down to
tant to make hell an eternal abode. The ancient medieval groups like the Albigensians. At the time
Christian teacher Origen (c. 185-c. 254) pointed of the Protestant REFORMATION, Protestants and
Newto a reference to universal restoration in the Catholics regarded each other as heretics. Persons
Testament. According to him all creatures would regarded as heretics ha\'e frequendy been sub-
eventually be restored to GOD. Hell was more like jected to brutal persecution and horrible punish-
a penitentiari', where those unredeemed on Earth ments, including burning at the stake. Because of
reestablished a proper relationship with God. this tragic history, the use of the term has fallen
Many liberal Christians in the last two centuries out of favor in many Christian circles today.

have also reinterpreted hell or rejected the idea HERMES An ancient Greek god. In character,

altogether. Hermes is a TRICKSTER. He both marks bounda-

Religions of south and east Asia have gener- ries and crosses them.
ally handled the idea of hell difterendy. HINDU-
ISM, BUDDHISM, and JAINISM believe in a lengthy The name Hermes is related to "herm." A
series of rebirths known as SAMSARA. Hell is one
place where those whose actions have been par- herm is a pile of stones used to mark boundaries.
ticularly bad may be reborn. Indeed, in all three
religions hell is more than a single place. Hell is In ancient Greek, herms were taken to be images
a whole series of worlds or universes. There is no
single description of these \arious worlds that any of the god Hermes. Communities practiced local
one of the religions accepts. Instead, the worids
of hell have become a fertile ground for the RITUAI^ at them.
mythological imagination. As the god of the boundaries, Hermes is

Writers and artists ha\e found hell to be a ideally suited to be a messenger. .\rt often shows
powerfijl subject. Indeed, some have obsened
him as a messenger, wearing a cap with wings and

Heholding a herald's staff. also escorts the souls

of the dead to the underworid. Thus, in the last

book of the Odyssey he escorts the souls of the

HEROES AND HERO MYTHS 157

suitors whom Odysseus has killed. In addition, the partial inclusiveness of this definition, Camp-

Hermes is a god of thieves, merchants, and shep- — —bell and many others tended to conceive of
herds and a patron of literature.
the hero in masculine terms. He most often saw-
Perhaps the most important myth about preeminent women in the form of the "great
mother." Some say that this male-centeredness
Hermes is the story of his birth. On the day he derives from the people who tell hero-stories; it
mav just as likely derive from the scholars who
was born, Hermes invented the lyre, then stole
the canle of ArOLLO. Although angered by the study them.
theft, Apollo was ven- fond of the lyre. In ex- Heroes stand out from the crowd because of
change for it, he allowed Hermes to keep the
their remarkable abilities and achievements.
stolen cattle. Homer's heroes routinely lift boulders that "two

HEROES AND HERO MYTHS E.xtraordi men of today" could not begin to budge. Beowulf
defeats the dragon Grendcl, who previously
nary human beings and stories about them. The wreaked destruction far and wide. The military
word "hero" comes from the Greek. In ancient exploits of Lakshmi Bai (d. 1858), the rani
Greece heroes were great people from the past. (queen) of Jhansi, a town of central India, have
That does not mean that they were particularly become legendary there. Some heroes embody
admirable. For example, Cleomedes of Astypa- superior qualities that are as much moral or spiri-
laea was a champion boxer. One day he went on tual as physical. In the Ramaynna, a Hindu epic,
a rampage and killed 60 school children. The Rama and his wife Sita exceed all other human
ancient Greeks found this action as reprehensible beings in virtue (see R.A\U, R.AAWYANA )
as people of today would. But because
Cleomedes's action was so extraordinary, the Some scholars have identified typical features
Greeks worshiped him as a hero. of a hero's career. These features are helpfiil,
provided they do not obscure the distinctive char-
Heroes were worshiped at what was claimed
to be their tombs. The Greeks generally gave Racteristics of a particular story. The writer F. S.
heroes the same kinds of SACRIFICES as they gave
to gods of the earth. The blood of the animal was Raglan noted several characteristics of a hero.
drained into a trench. Then the animal was Thev include birth through supernatural means,
burned up completely. Some of the heroes be- a battle with a supernatural enemy, such as a
came central figures in EPIC tales and other leg- demon or a dragon, and a special destination after
ends. Examples include Achilles, Odysseus, death. Campbell said that a hero's career followed
Theseus, Oedipus, and Herakles. It is not always the structure of RITES OF P.\SSAGE: separation,
clear how these stories related to the worship of triumph over trials, and return. Each stage pre-
sented many possibilities for variation. For exam-
heroes. ple, triumph could take the form of marriage to a
In the I9th and 20th centuries, scholars of GODDESS, reconciliadon with the creator- father,
becoming divine, or stealing the drink of immor-
religion and folklore came to use the term "hero"
in a somewhat diftercnt way. For them a hero was tality.
a man or woman prominent in mythology but not
divine. One of the best known writers about Founders of religions sometimes take on the
heroes in the 20th century, Joseph Campbell, characteristics of heroes. Examples include
defined the archetvte or fiindamental image of MOSES, JESUS, and the BUDDHA. Indeed, the
the hero as follows: "The hero ... is the man or Buddha's biography contains a tension between
woman who has been able to battle past his two difterent ideals of world-conquest: the mili-
personal and local historical limitations to the tary conquest that the Buddha's father wanted for
generally valid, normal human forms." Despite his son, and the spiritual conquest that the Bud-
dha achieved.

158 HINDU FESTIVALS

During the 20th centurv' the ideal of the hero Americans may associate with store openings and
or heroine was applied to non-religious figures:
politicians (Abraham Lincoln), militan' leaders Christmas, respectively.

(George Patton), sports figures (Muhammad Some festivals celebrate major events in the

Ah), and leaders of social causes (Susan B. An- life of a god. Dussehra, celebrated during the
thony). Comic books and films celebrated a bright fortnight of October-November, begins
number of fictional heroes and "superheroes," with Navaratri. The name means "nine nights,"
such as Superman, Batman, and Wonderwoman. and the nights are generally associated v\-ith the
Joseph Campbell's ideas deeply influenced the
battie of DURGA and the buffalo demon. The 10th
filmmaker George Lucas. He used them as the day marks Durga's victon,'; in some places it also

basis for his well-known movie trilogy'. Star Wars. marks R'\AL\'s victor}' o\er Ravana. Sivaratri oc-
curs on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of
HINDU FESTIVALS Religious celebrations Februar\-March. It is particularly sacred to wor-
shipers of SIVA. They obsene it by ritually anoint-
in Hindu communities. Hindus celebrate most ing a consecrated liiijjam, a symbol of the god.
festivals once each year. But the Indian year is Krishnajayanti, on the eighth day of the dark
quite diflFerent fi'om the Gregorian year obsen-ed fortnight of August-September, celebrates
in North America and Europe ( Januan' 1 through KRISHN.Vs birth at the hour of midnight.
December 31 ). It is based on c\'cles of the moon, Ramanavami, on the ninth day of die bright
and the number of days in both months and years fortnight of April-May, honors the birth of Rama.
are different fi'om what is found in the Gregorian
calendar. Hindus regularly adjust the year so that There are many other popular festivals. Divali
the months occur during roughly the same sea- or Dipavali, on the I4th of the dark fortmght of
son, but it is not possible to say that a Hindu October-November, is the festival of lights. Wor-
festival, such as Holi, occurs on a specific Gregor- shipers observe it by placing a multitude of lamps
ian date, the way CHRISTMAS, for example, falls outdoors in the evening. Holi (the firll moon of
on December 25. In this way, Hindu festivals are iMarch-April) is a north Indian ritual that allows
like the Jewish holiday p.ASSOVER and the Chris- for excessive play. Worshipers spaner one another
tian holiday EASTER. with colored powders or, if they are mischie\ous,
dirt and muck. South Indians honor sacred cobras
The Hindu year generally begins around on Naga-pancami (the fifth day of the bright
either the spring or the fall equinox (when the fortnight of August-September). In Raksha-
day and night are the same length). Each month bandhana (the full moon of August-September)
is divided into a bright half or fortnight, which sisters symbolically protect their brothers by tying
is the time beriveen the new and the fiill moon, colored threads around their wrists. In western
and a dark fortnight, between the fiill and the India Makarasamkranti (in mid-Januar)' accord-
new moon. ing to the position of the sun ) is a day for com-
petitive kite-flving. Competitors coat the strings
The renowned expert on Hindu religious of their kites with sharp materials such as pow-
practice, P. V. Kane, identified more than 1,000 dered glass. Then they tr\' to fly their own kites in
different Hindu festivals. Some are obser\'ed only such a way as to cut the strings of the other kites.
in certain regions; others are obser\'ed through-
out India. The obsenance of all-Indian festivals Not all Hindu festivals are obser\ed e\ery
may, ho\ve\'er, vary from place to place. Festivals year. Four times in the course of a 12-year cycle
generally combine elements of a fair or carnival Hindus obser\e Kumbh Mela. This is a PILGRIM-
with religious RITU.\LS, narrowly speaking. Many .\GE festi\al held in succession at spots where, it
are colorful, and Hindus decorate their temples is said, drops of the elixir of immortalit)' once
with strings of colored flags and lights that North dripped on the Earth: Prayaga (Allahabad), Hard-

HINDUISM 159

war, Ujjain, and Xasik. Recent celebrations have India, a movement of devotion to deities
(BHAKTI) drew people who had supported BUD-
drawn literally millions of worshipers. Those who DHISM back to Hinduism. Hindus started to
build temples to house their gods and GOD-
celebrate acquire merit and are cleansed of defile- DESSES. The orthodox schools of philosophy,
ments through a ritual bath. especially the various forms of \'ED.\NTA, were
formulated. T.ANTRISM, a tradition of esoteric
HINDUISM A set of religions that arose and rituals, provided alternative means to release.
Eventually an elaborate and sophisticated relig-
are especially practiced in India. Hinduism is ious literature grew up in the languages of every-
something of an umbrella term. It includes any day life.
Indian religious practice that does not claim to
belong to another religion. Nevertheless, most of During the 20th centur)- Hinduism helped
these religions share certain characteristics, such shape the nonviolent movement for inde-
as acknow ledging the authority' of the sacred texts pendence led by Mohandas G.\NDHI. In more
known as the \TD.\. recent years some conservative Hindus have been
agitating for India to become a Hindu state.
History Hinduism has also come to Europe and North
America, first through MISSION.\RIES to those of
The first religious practices on the Indian subcon- non-Indian descent, more recentiy with growing
tinent that we have any distinct knowledge of are numbers of Indian immigrants ( see HINDUISM IN
those of the Indus Valley ciNilization (fl. .AMERICA).
3500-1500 B.C.) (see INDUS VALLEY RELIGION).
Our knowledge of these practices is, however, Beliefs

limited to physical artifacts that are difficult to Virtualh' all forms of Hinduism acknowledge the
interpret. These artifacts include seals that seem authority of the sacred texts known as the Veda,
but that does not mean that they derive any
to show a person in costume meditating and a specific content fi-om it. There is no Hindu creed,
pool that seems designed for RITU.\I, bathing. and Hinduism encompasses many different be-
liefs. For example, some Hindus are poKtheists
According to traditional European scholar- ( worshiping more than one god), some are heno-
ship, the religion of the Veda was brought to theists (acknowledging many gods but devoting
India about 1500 EC. The practices that we know themselves to one), some are monotheists (ac-
the most about were elaborate public SACRIFICES
sponsored by wealthy patrons and performed by knowledging and worshiping GOD as one), and
priests. Some parts of the Veda gi\'e e\idence of some are atheists (deming that God ultimately
what may have been more popular practices:
spells and incantations used for medical purposes. exists). Instead of worshiping a personal God,
Hindu atheists may postulate that a single, non-
Starting perhaps around 600 B C speculation personal realit>- underlies the world of appear-
on the Veda gave rise to philosophical texts ances (see BIL\H\L\N). Hindus who are
known as the UPANISHADS. Somewhat later more monotheists generally see the many Hindu gods
practically oriented scholars systematized the as different manifestations of the one same God.
Hindu way of life in Smritis or Dhnnnamstras,
the most important of which was the Laws of The Veda celebrates gods like INDRA, AGNI,
MANU. Over many centuries mythological mate- Surya, Varuna, and, a litde later, Prajapati. The
rial developed into a body of literature known as gods of the Puranas are generalh' grouped to-
gether under the triad of BR.AHi\L\ the creator,
!«7;flOT-PURANA. It includes the mammoth EPIC VISHNU the preserver, and sr\A the destroyer,

poem, the Mahabharata, and an especially re-
vered portion of it, the BH.\G.W.\D GITA.

From A.D 500 to 1500 Hinduism as we
know it today took shape. Beginning in south

160 HINDUISM

A Hindu devotee caresses a white holy cow at a protection center called a pinjrapolc, 1968. It is said that devout

Hindus visit the shelter daily to worship the animals. (Courtesy of ITPI/Corbis-Bettmanti.)

together with their consorts SAIL^SWATI, U\K- although the number of years in each cycle is
immense. Most Hindus also acknowledge that
SHMI, and PARVATI. Actual Hindu WORSHir
tends to focus on a somewhat different triad: the ultimate religious goal is to attain release
Vishnu with his avatars KRISHNA and RAiVU (mokshn) from the cv'cle of rebirth (SAMS.OlRA).
(sometimes the BUDDHA and lESUS, too) and his
consort Lakshmi; Si\a with his consort Par\ati Pr.\ctices
and his son GANESA; and Devi, the goddess,
especially in the forms of DURGA and Kali. Much Hindu practices are just as diverse as Hindu be-
worship focuses, too, on the deities of the local
village, often female, who may or may not be liefs.
identified with the pan-Indian deities just named.
The codes of DH.ARM.A, religiously sanctioned
Despite this pluralit}', most Hindus share a order, discuss practice in terms of a sanatann
set of beliefs about the structure of life and the dhaniin, an order that applies universally. Ac-
universe. They belie\e that upon death, living cording to this order, what one is supposed to do
beings are reborn. The conditions of their rebirth is determined by the varna (ritual class; see
are determined by whether their actions (K.ARMA) CASTE, IN HINDUISM) into which one is born and
have been morally good or bad. The universe, the asrama (stage of life) one happens to be in.
too, alternates between creation and destrtiction. In youth, males of the top three varnas are to
studv the Veda; in maturitv thev are to mam'.

HINDUISM IN AMERICA 161

support a household, and produce children, es- figures as R,\MAKRISHNA Paramahamsa, Sri Auro-
pecialK' sons; in old age they relinquish their bindo, and Ramana Maharshi.
duties. Some even take a fourth step, known as
sannyasa. They totally renounce their possessions Renunciants are usually members of insti-
and identity and search for ultimate release from tutions, for example, the monasteries founded
repeated rebirth. by the great Indian philosopher SANKARA.
Since independence from British rule (1947)
Accompanying this life cycle are a series of these groups have become increasingly active
RITES OF PASSAGE known as samskams. The most in Indian politics. In recent years the Vishwa
important is probably the initiation of the boy Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Congress) has
into Vedic study. Those who study the Veda also been active in fostering a conservative brand
ideally perform Vedic rituals throughout their of Hinduism.
working years and retirement. Vedic twilight ritu-
als, known as sandhya and performed morning Significance
and evening, punctuate the rhythms of daily lite.
Hinduism is the religion of roughly a seventh of
By far the most common worship practice in the world's population. In addition, it has given
the rest of the world a rich tradition of religious
Hinduism is PUJA, worship of a god in image form thought, literature, and art as well as examples of
profound religious devotion.
either at home or at a temple. A number of
festivals punctuate the Hindu year (see HINDU HINDUISM IN AMERICA Interest in and

FESTIVALS). PILGRIMAGE to sacred sites some- practice of the traditional religions of India in the
Western Hemisphere, especially North America.
Atimes involves millions of devotees at a time.
Interest in HINDUISM among European North
number of spiritual disciplines (YOGAS) attempt Americans began in the 1830s and 1840s. At that
to produce ultimate release from repeated re- time New England Transcendentalists such as
birth. Not to be overlooked, too, are the many Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) and Henry
vows that Hindu women make. Although Hin- David Thoreau (1817-62) studied selected writ-
duism often highlights the religious role of men, ings of Asian religions, including Hindu scrip-
women are important teachers of their children. tures such as the UPANISH.ADS and the
For c.vample, Mohandas Gandhi attributed his BHAGAVAD-GITA. Although their writings used
religious seriousness to the profound religious Hindu-sounding concepts, such as the "over-
devotion of his mother. soul," their understanding of Hinduism was not

ORGANIZATION profound.
At the end of die 1 9th centun', Hinduism
Hinduism is above all a religion of the family. It
is possible to be a devout Hindu and never set gained considerable visibilit\' in Nordi America as
foot in a temple. Families do, however, partici- a result of die World's Parliament of Religion,
pate in broader religious institutions. All Hindu held in Chicago in 1893. Most of the participants
families are classified in terms of caste (jnti) and in the Parliament were Christian. But a repre-
ritual class (varna). For those families who partici- sentative of Hinduism named VTVEKANAND.\, a
pate in Vedic ceremonies, the spiritual preceptor follower of the Bengali SAINT RAMAKRISHNA,
is an important authority. made a strong impression on participants and
obsen'ers. Soon after the Parliament he founded
Astrologers are seen as important spiritual the VTDANTA Societ\', which taught Hindu phi-
advisers. Hindus consult them on all important losophy in many American cities and attracted
occasions, especially birth and marriage. Hindus
also consult renunciants (SADHUS). In the past
centuPi' or so these have included such prominent

162 HOLOCAUST, THE

some high-profile adherents, mcluding the writ- temple outside Pittsburgh, was dedicated in I
ers Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood. 1976. Immigrant Hindus also formed various
associations. The Visva Hindu Parishad or
Until the 1960s, Hinduism in the United "World Hindu Congress" is a good example. One
States was mosdy limited to an interest in certain
aspects of Hindu philosophy. That was not true pressing need for Hindu families was how to teach
of other places in the Western Hemisphere. For Hinduism to children born in America. To meet
example, during the 19th century indentured this need, Hindu communities developed educa-
servants were brought from India to the West tional institutions such as Sunday schools. In
Indies. They brought their religions along with
general, the resources and clientele available for
Athem. An early novel of V. S. Naipaul, House Hindu institutions in North America were con-
siderably more limited than in India. As a result,
for Mr. Biswas (1961), gives a portrait of their American Hindu temples and organizations often
community. combined gods and loyalties that had been kept

In the mid-1960s, the United States changed separate in India.
its immigration laws. The number of people of
Indian descent living in the United States began By the end of the 20th century Hindus,
to grow. As a result, the practice of Hinduism as especially Hindus of Indian descent, constituted
a religion supplemented the earlier interest in a thri\ing community in North America. Ameri-
Hindu philosophy. can Hinduism was thriving along with them.

Public attention often focused on missionary HOLOCAUST, THE ( Hebrew, Shoah ) The
efforts directed at North Americans of non-
Indian descent. Many young Americans tried imprisonment and systematic killing of millions
meditation techniques purveyed by traveling gu- of people, especially Jews, by the Nazis in Ger-
rus. The International Society' of KRISHNA Con- many and German-occupied Europe firom 1933
sciousness, an offshoot of Krishna worship in the to 1945.
Bengal region of eastern India, became highly
visible. Founded in 1965 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta History

Swami Prabhupada, ISKCON instructed its Anti-Semitic violence has occurred in Europe
from the Middle Ages on (see ANTI-SEMITISM),
followers to adopt traditional Indian dress, dis- but in the Holocaust it grew to monstrous pro-
tributed literature, conducted devotional singing portions. The Nazis came to power in Germany
as part of a coahtion government in Januar\' 1933.
in public places, and founded communes and Their \irulendy anti-Semitic chancellor, Adolf
Hitier, assumed dictatorial powers under emer-
restaurants. gency rule, as permitted b\' the German constitu-
tion. Government action against Jews began
The practice of Hinduism by Indian immi- almost immediately.
grants received much less public attention than
did the Hinduism of American converts, but it During the period from 1933 to the outbreak
involved a significantly larger number of people. of World War II, the German government sys-
Indeed, by the end of the 20th cenrur\' even tematically deprived Jews of their property and of
all ci\il rights. For example, in 1933 Jews lost civic
ISKCON was primarily serNing the needs of im- equalirv' and were prevented from practicing
migrants from India. Much of Hinduism is prac- many professions. The Niirnberg laws of 1935
ticed household by household. Many Indian outiawed sexual relations ber\veen "Anans" (per-
sons who were supposedly of pure German ances-
Americans regularh' performed daily household try) and Jews. During this same period, there
RITU.ALS and the special rituals associated with
different stages of human life, from birth to
death. In addition, Indian American communi-
ties began to build temples. The first Hindu
temple in the United States, the Venkateshvara

HOLOCAUST, THE 163

were outbreaks of violence against Jews. The the star of David; others whom the Nazis consid-
most notorious was Kristallnacht (German for
"the night of broken glass," November 9-10, ered undesirable had to wear different badges.
1938 ), when the Nazi paramilitary' severely van- The Nazis contemplated an "ethnic cleansing" of
dalized German-Jewish businesses and syna- Europe by exporting Jewish residents to a colony
gogues. Despite the violence, many Jews were in, for example, Madagascar. Eventually, how-
reluctant to leave German territories. They had ever, they determined on a "final solution" to the
lived in Germany for generations and had sur- "Jewish problem": They deported Jews to con-
vived successive waves of sporadic persecution. centration camps where they were exploited for
Many others wanted to leave but were unable. labor and then killed when no longer useful. In
addition, Nazis conducted hideous medical ex-
The outbreak of war in 1939 brought a periments on those incarcerated. By January 1942
drastic change. As Germany conquered territo- the "final solution" was in fiill operation. Ausch-
ries, especially to the east, the number of Jews witz, Buchenwald, Belsen, Dachau, and Tre-
living under German rule swelled. Jews were blinka may be the best-known camps, but there
required to wear yellow badges in the shape of were, in all, more than 300 death camps.

Population of Jews in Europe before and after the Holocaust.

164 HOLY, IDEA OF THE

Resistance to the deportations did occur. AIsrael was officially declared a state. Jewish

One example is the Warsaw ghetto uprising of state, Israel is seen as a haven for all Jews in times
April 1943. But knowledge of the camps was
extremely limited, and in many Jewish commu- of persecution.
nities it seemed better to cooperate in the depor-
Finally, many Jews and Christians have seen
tations than to face immediate, violent reprisals
fi-om the Nazis. Although the Alhes fighting Ger- the Holocaust as a challenge to F.\ITH. It seems

many had reliable reports of the mass extermina- to call into question many of their cherished
tions, they did nothing to disrupt railwa\' access
to the camps. Doing so would have been rela- beliefs about GOD. Some have found resources in
tively easy and effective.
their traditions to deal with these atrocities. Oth-
All told, almost 12,000,000 people lost their
lives during the Holocaust. Roughly half of these ers ha\'e felt it necessan' to modify or abandon
were Jews, a third of tlie Jewish population in the
world. Other victims included communists, gyp- traditional assertions. For example, some have
sies, homosexuals, and the mentally ill.
concluded that God cannot be omnipotent. Oth-
Re.\ctions
ers have concluded that after the Holocaust it is
One reaction to the Holocaust has been the
no longer possible to believe in God.
attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice. In
HOLY, roEA OF THE Concepts of that
trials held in Ntirnberg, Germany, from Novem-
ber 1945 to October 1946, the Allies tried and which is set apart because of its divine power.
convicted several Nazi leaders. Since then, other
Nazi leaders have also been brought to justice. Religion presupposes a split-level universe. To the
The most notorious was Adolf Eichmann, the
o\erseer of the concentration camps, who \\as traditionally religious person, the world is not
homogeneous, with e\er\'thing all the same in
executed in 1962. feel, whether street or office or temple. Religious
people are likely to ha\e a definite awareness of
A second reaction to the Holocaust has been spiritual places, whether churches or temples or
PILGRIMAGE sites, as different. There one speaks
the attempt to memorialize the victims. Struc- in a hushed voice and makes special gestures in a
tures at former camps, such as Auschwitz, remind reverent way.
the world of the atrocities committed there. So
Two words are used in English to describe
do monuments and museums like the Holocaust
Museum in Washington, D.C. Works of litera- these kinds of places and experiences: holy and
ture, such as the powerful novel, Ntffht, by the sacred. They have been the subjects of two im-
Nobel Prize-winning author Elie Wiesel, convey portant books on religion, 71/c Idea ofthe Holy by
a .sen.se of the horrors of the camps. In addition, Rudolf OTTO and Tlie Sacred and the Profane by
a new day has been added to the Jewish calendar, Mircea ELIADE. Reflecting the way the two words
Yom ha-Shoah, Hebrew for Holocaust Day. have somewhat different nuances. Otto empha-
sized the powerflal, mysterious, "numinous,"
A third reaction to the Holocaust was in- shudders' if not terrifying yet also fascinating and
attracting qualitx- of holy times and places and the
creased support for establishing a Jewish state in di\ine being within them. These ranged from the
the territorx' of Palestine (see ZIONIS\f). Before burning bush and the summit of Mount Sinai as
MOSES knew them to divine encounters of today.
the Holocaust many Jews opposed this goal or Eliade discussed more human sacred places and
were lukewarm in supporting it. After the Holo- times, such as those of temples and festivals. But
caust only Hasidic Jews continued to oppose he recognized that they depend ultimateh- on
the idea (see HASIDISM). On May 14, 1948, "theophanies" or di\ine manifestations that
marked them out and set them apart.

Either way, religion in anything like its tradi-
tional form needs to have at its core awareness of

HOMOSEXCALm' AXD REUGION 165

the Holy and the Sacred. It must recognize that that Christians blithely ignore other injunctions

GOD or ultimate realit)' is wholly other than the in Le\iticus, such as the dietary laws. Some sug-
human world, conlronting it uith awesome
gest that the proper Christian attitude should be
power and presence. governed by God's love, which extends to all
Religion adds something else. It says that people. By the end of the century some academic
theologians were actively writing gay and lesbian
bersxeen the holy and the ordinary world are THEOLOGY.

"doors and windows." God can reveal himself to Other religions besides Christianity have tra-
ditionally condemned homosexuality. In JUDA-
people, and people can rise up to glimpse the ISM the T.\L.\1UD and later law books (see
cli\"ine. These "doors and windows" are the prov- HALAKHAH) have repeated and even strength-
ince of religion, for the\' are the words, scriptures, ened the Bible's injunctions against homosexual-
mystical or \Tsionar\' experiences; the shrines, ity. In ISLAM the QUR.AN rejects the sex-ual
temples, RITUALS, sacred dances, holy days and practices of Sodom and Gomorrah (26.165-
sacred sites, which communicate what is holv to 173); this has generally led Muslims to dismiss
the world. male homosexualit)-. ( Muslim tradition does not
say much about female homosexualit\'.) During
HOMOSEXUALITY AND RELIGION Reli the 20th centiuy, more liberal Jews and Muslims,
like their Christian counterparts, began to rethink
gjous attitudes toward sexual relations between
persons of the same sex, and the ways in which traditional attitudes.
religions have used those relations. In the United
States during the late 20th century, homosexual- Not all cultures and religions have had nega-
it\' was a controversial issue in both politics and tive attitudes toward homosexuality. Some cul-
religion. In the 1990s the state of Colorado tures and religions have made positise use of it.
passed a referendum against granting "special In many cases, the meaning that the word "ho-
mosexual" often has in the United States is too
rights" to homosexual men and women (gavs and narrow. Homosex^ual may not refer to a person
lesbians). The Supreme Court overturned it. In but to beha\ior. The same person may be ex-
pected to engage in both homosexual and hetero-
the same decade a committee of the E\angelical
Lutheran Church in America presented a draft of sexual behavior.
a statement on sexuahty that urged love and
respect for homosexTials. Controversy' forced the Many cultures have expected men to form
draft to be withdrawn.
homosexual relationships with boys. There is less
The Christian church has generally opposed
homosexualit\-. Indeed, CHRISTL\xm' has at e\idence of women forming homosexual rela-
times seen all sexual behavior as tainted bv SIN.
Many Christians see homosexuality as a disrup- tionships with girls, but that has occurred, too.
tion of the order that GOD created. They also The ancient Greeks pro\ide good examples of
point to passages that condemn homosexuality in
the BIBLE: LeWticus 18.22 and20. 13. Traditional such relationships among both men and women.
Christians certainly reject any suggestion of ho- They pro\ided the education boys and girls
needed to become mature men and women. In
—moeroticism love bet\veen rixo persons of the some cultiu'es these kinds of relationships are
—same sex in the relationship between, for exam-
integral parts of INTTL^TIO.N' rituals. Homosex-ual
ple, DAVID and Jonathan in the Hebrew Bible or RTTU.VL acti%it\' was seen as necessarv' for the boys
lESUS and the disciple "whom he loved" in the to become heterosexual men.
GOSPEL of John.
Many Hindus reject homosexualit\' as un-
There have, however, been other voices thinkable. BUDDHIS.M celebrates the life-style of
within the Christian community. Some point out MONKS .\ND NX'NS and tends to urge sexual re-
straint. Nevertheless, a Hindu and Buddhist tra-

166 HONEN

dirion known as TANTRJSM sometimes makes use Horus had two chief sanctuaries, at Bekhdet
of sexual rituals. These rituals usually strive to in Lower (northern) Egypt and Edfii in Upper
unite opposites (male and female ), but homosex- (southern) Eg\'pt. He also had several different
ual rituals have not been unknown. In addition, cult names. For example, Harpokrates referred
Buddhism has sometimes seen homosexual rela- to Horus the child and his secret upbringing.
tionships as less harmful to a monk's spiritual Harakhte was Horus of the horizon, the god as
associated with the sunrise.
progress than heterosexual ones.
HOSEA A book in the BIBLE, and the name of
Among indigenous peoples, shamans may
the prophet whose words it supposedly contains.
practice homosexual behavior (see SHAMANISM).
In traveling to the spirit world, they routinely The book of Hosea belongs to the collection of
cross boundaries that limit ordinar)' human be- prophets known as "The Twelve."
ings. They may reflect this crossing of the
boundaries in features of their ordinary life. Thus, Hosea was a native of the northern kingdom
shamans may wear clothing of the opposite sex;
they may also enter into homosexual relation- of Israel. This kingdom consisted of the 10 tribes
ships. For example, the Chukchi, who live in who had rejected SOLOMON'S son Rehoboam and
northeastern Siberia, permitted shamans to en-
gage in only homosexual activity'. formed their own kingdom under Jeroboam

HONEN See PURE LAND BUDDHISM. around 922 B.C. Hosea began to prophesy during

HORUS A GOD in ancient Egypt, depicted the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 B.C.).

either as a falcon or with a human body and a In international affairs the kingdom of Israel
falcon's head. His eyes were the sun and the
moon. was larger and more important than the southern

Some myths made Horus the son of the god kingdom of Judah. But in terms of religion many
Re and the goddess HATHOR. But he was espe-
cially known as the son of the god Osiris and the thought that it was too lax in its WORSHIP of the
GODDESS Isis. According to a well-known myth,
Osiris was killed by his brother and enemy, Seth. YHWHtraditional god ("the Lord") and too
Osiris's wife, Isis, gave birth to Horus and hid
him in papyrus marshes to keep him safe. Even- toleraiit of other deities.
tually, Horus grew up and avenged his father's
The prophet Hosea is best known for drama-
death by defeating his uncle.
Between them, Osiris and Horus, father and tizing this laxness and YHWH's continuing con-

son, shared the task of ruling. Osiris was king of Oncern for Israel. GOD's instructions he married
the dead, Horus king of the living. The Egyptian
king was said to be Horus incarnate. After the a prostitute. She bore three children, although
Persianconquest of Eg\pt in 525 B.C. and the end
of Egyptian independence, the mytholog)' of Ho- Hosea might not have been the father. Then she
rus killing Seth to avenge Osiris was sometimes
given a "nationalistic" twist. It held out hope that left him. Nevertheless, Hosea bought her back.
an independent Egyptian kingdom would be
reestablished. The message was this: Although Israel has acted

like a prostitute in worshiping other gods,

YHWH will not forsake her.

HUMANISM, RELIGIOUS As used today,

a religious philosophy of life that emphasizes

attention to human needs and values in this
worid, rather than to GOD, the AFTERLIFE, and
otherworldly concerns. Those who believe that
putting the good of human life and socier\' in this

world first, while living perhaps with a sense of
wonder and awe toward human life and nature,
can be seen as taking a religious path, though one

without God in the traditional sense, and may be

called religious humanists. Characteristically hu-

HUMOR AND RELIGION 167

manists hold that only that which can be learned of the real rulers of the church. In many mstholo-
through science or direct obsenation can be gjes the figures known as TRICKSTERS appear, like
regarded as known for sure, and that a good,
usefijJ, and happy life can be lived based only on Coyote in Native American lore or LOKI in Ger-

this kind of knowledge. Many would add that manic legend. He plays cruel tricks on people,
religion in the traditional sense is outmoded,
unneeded, and causes more trouble than good. outwits the gods, has a prodigious appetite, but
There are a number of religious humanists in
like Prometheus steahng the fire will sometimes
Unitarian-Umversalist churches, and in the use his cleverness for human good. In some cul-
American Humanist Association.
tures like old Russia, there was a place for the
HUMOR AND RELIGION Fun, satire, and
"holy fool," a devout half-wit whose remarks and
laughter that have a role in religion. Humor has
often been disdained by the more solemn sort of mocking laughter sometimes struck home. Some

rehgjonists, such as the Protestant Puritans (see societies even have humor-based festi\als, like

PURIT.\NISM). Yet humor can have a positive Holi in India, whose main features include rau-

rehgious role. People laughing together create a cous pageants and good ftin based on the my-
thologies of gods. One of the "new reUgions" of
communiri'. Humor can deflate the pride and
Japan, Seicho no le, has a quasi-religious rite
pomposit)' that is usually a religious SIN, and
called "laughing practice" that consists simply of
show the importance of the meek who not sel-
dom outsmart the might)'. Humor provides a way laughing. Laughing as a token of the presence of

of dealing with the irrationalit}' of the universe, the Holy Spirit has also appeared in Christian
which seems to be there despite the best etibrts
of theologians, and it can tap oft' the tension built rENTECOST.\LIS.M.
up by serious religious rites.
Attitudes ma\- var\', but basic to all religions
Thus in some Native American cultures "RIT
VAL CLOWN'S" would follow the serious priests is the belief that there is a difference between what
about and do humorous burlesque \ersions of
their solemn rites. In medieval Europe it was the world seems to be, and claims to be on its own
customary on certain festivals to name a child as terms, and what it really is. It may claim to be real,
"boy bishop" for the occasion, dress him in ap-
propriate robes, and encourage him to make fim to be perfect or capable of getting there, and that

its important people are really important. Relig-

ion knows otherwise: The w-orld, it says, is illusion

GODand only is truly real; it is sinfiil and in

ignorance rather than perfect; and the imponant
people may not really be as important as simple,
humble, and obscure s.-UNTS who see things as

they really are. Humor can be a most useftal means

of puncturing the illusions that keep us fi'om

religious truth.

—

r

CHINGI "Classic of Changes"; an ancient as a hexagram, because it contains six lines. The /
Chinj) starts with a hexagram of six unbroken or
Chinese book used to divine the forces at woric yang lines. Next comes the hexagram in which all
in the universe. The I Chinpfis the most impor- six lines are broken or yin. The book continues
tant of the five classics that CONFUCIUS until it exhausts all 64 possible combinations of
(551-479 B.C.) supposedly edited. The other six broken and unbroken lines.
four are the Book of History, the Book of Poetry,
the Book of Rites, and the Spriiitj and Autumn In and of themselves, the hexagrams are
Annals. The / Chin^ dates at least to the fourth meaningless. The / Ching provides their mean-
century B.C., perhaps even earlier. It had be- ings. It provides a name and brief description for
come an important book in CONFUCIANISM by each hexagram. Then it provides two more sets
the second century B.C. of meanings, known as "judgments" and "im-
ages." All three-name, judgment, and image
The ancient Chinese used several methods to are rather vague. That makes it possible for the
divine or discern the cosmic forces that were in person consulting the book to adapt the mean-
operation at any given time. One method was to
cast stalks of the yarrow plant. The object was to ings to suit her or his own situation.
see whether the stalks would break or remain To use the IChing, one must be in the proper
whole. Those that broke were said to be yin; those
that did not were said to be yang (see HN-YANG state of mind. One reflects on one's question,
THEORY). As a result, the ancient Chinese repre- then tosses either yarrow stalks or coins. By ex-
amining the tossed stalks or coins one identifies
—sented yin with a broken line ( ). They repre- two ditferent hexagrams. The first hexagram pro-
vides information on the current state of affairs.
—sented yang with an unbroken line ( ). The second hexagram identifies the changes that
are coming. Turning to the I Chirtg one looks up
A single stalk, whether yin or yang, does not the names, judgments, and images associated
give much information about the universe. Cos- with the two hexagrams. Each person must de-
cide individually how the names, judgments, and
mic forces are too complex to be described by a
simple "yes" or "no" answer. So the ancient images apply to her or his life.
Chinese grouped lines together. The basic group-
ing contained three lines drawn horizontally, one IMAGES, ICONS, IDOLS IN RELIGION
on top of die other. The figure that resulted was
known as a trigram. One can see four trigrams The religious use of pictures and statues. The
around the central yin-yang diagram on the religions of the world run a gamut in terms of the
South Korean flag. object of WORSHIP on ALTARS and in shrines,
from those who \'enerate three-dimensional stat-
Mathematics tells us that it is possible to draw ues of gods, buddhas, or S.MNTS with candles,
eight different trigrams. But the system used in incense, and food-ofterings, accompanied by
the / Chirij; is more complex still. It groups two
trigrams together. The resulting figure is known

168

INANNA 169

prostrations or kneeling, to those who total!)- because the sacred can in fact live in humans as
gods, buddhas, and saints? Or do we find God
reject all such worship. In the former camp would best by taking away all that is not God, all that is
man-made, worshiping him only as spirit and with
be much of HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, and ro.\l\X the help only of words, not of things seen? These

CATHOLICISM, together with much of PRIAL\L are questions that still di\ide the religious world.

RELIGION and ancient EG\TTL\N RELIGION, IMAM Arabic word meaning "leader." The
mword is used \er\- dift'erent wa\s in ISLAM. In
GREEK RELIGION, and ROMAN RELIGION. On the
SUNNI ISL.\M an imam is a leader of a MOSQUE.
latter side would be ISLAM, JUDAISM, and Protes- He is recognized for his understanding of the
F.AITH and his upright life. His duties include
tant Christianit\-. However, mediating positions preaching the sermon at the Frida\- noon PRATCR

can be found between e.xtremes. E.\STERN OR service (see SALAT).
THODOX CHRISTLANTTi' venerates sacred pictures In SHI'ITE ISL.\M the word takes on quite a

of saints, called icons, but not three-dimensional different sense. Shi'ites are distinguished by their
comiction that the leadership of the Islamic com-
statues. Many Protestants will accept pictures of munit)' should have passed through the prophet
MUH.ANLNL\D's cousin Ali, husband of the
biblical and other religious scenes, often in the prophet's daughter Fatimah, to his grandchildren

form of stained-glass windows, together with and their male descendants. These leaders, who

crosses on aJtars and occasionally even statues, so were denied their rightfijl rule over the entire
Islamic communitv', are called imams.
long as they are not actualh' worshiped. Jews will
Shi'ites hold that these imams should exercise
usually accept pictures and symbols so long as both political and religious authorit)-. However,
even when they were not in political po\\er, they
they do not attempt to depict the di\ine and are continued to exercise religious authoritv' by inter-
preting Islam to their communities and preserv-
not worshiped in the place of the divine.
ing its values.
Those who reject the worship of images call Different Shi'ite factions recognize different

such images "idols" and their veneration "idola- lines of imams. The largest and most conser\'ative
group, known as the Twelvers, believe that their
try'," holding that the\' are honored in the place I2th imam went into hiding in A.D 873 and will
reappear at the end of time. The other major
of the true GOD, and that such worship is highly group, the Ismailis, beUeve that the line of imams
otFensi\e to God. Those who do use images in continues today. For example, a branch or sub-
group, the Nizari Ismailis, recognize the AGA
worship usually respond that this is not the case, KiLAN as their 49th imam.

though ways of interpreting the use of images INANNA The most important Sumerian GOD-

may vary. Sometimes it is said that, though the DESS. Inanna's name means "Lady of the Sky."
She herself was associated with the planet Venus.
statue is not exactiy a god or saint in itself, it does She was identified with the Akkadian and Baby-
lonian goddess Ishtar, was related to the Canaan-
have a definite and permanent relationship to the ite goddess Astarte (see C.AS'.AANITE RELIGION),

holy entit)-, who chooses to dwell in or, as it were,

behind or above the image, so that worship of the

form is definitely recei\ed by the di\ine being.

Others would say the image is onh- a symbol or

reminder of the divine, though one that it is quite

appropriate to use.

Nonetheless, the question of using images or

not has been the stuff' of biner religious conflict

and even bloody persecution. It was an issue in

the Protestant REFORiVLWION in Europe, and in

the confi-ontation of Hinduism and Islam

in India. Two different views of religion, and of

the relation to religion of works of art and of the

Dovisual sense, lie behind the conflict. we use

that which is seen, and is made by human hands

usually in human form, to lift us to the sacred.

—

170 nSICA RELIGION

and is in some respects similar to Aphrodite and Religion was an important part of the way the
VENUS among the Greeks and the Romans. Incas governed their empire. The emperor, who
was known as the Inca, patronized temples of the
Inanna was a goddess of sexuality' and fertil-
it\'. Accordingly, her most sacred city, Uruk, was various peoples whom he controlled. These peo-
reputed to be a cit\' of prostitutes. At times
Inanna was also associated with the banJefield. ples, in turn, sent objects to be offered in the

Perhaps the best known stor\' about her tells temples at Cuzco. Sometimes they even sent their
of her descent to the underworld, ruled by her own children. The "four regions" in the Inca
sister Ereshkigal. As Inanna proceeds toward Er- name for their empire were four quadrants
eshkigal, she loses articles of clothing one by one.
In her sister's presence, she becomes like a dead northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest
slab of meat. Rexived by a ser\'ant, she returns to
the Earth to find her alleged lover, Dumuzi, not —that extended fi'om Cuzco and its central tem-
mourning her absence at all. She has him hunted
down and killed. ple, the Temple of the Sun.

ENCA RELIGION The religion ofthe people — —The Inca that is, the emperor claimed to
who ruled much of the Andes region in South
be the son of the Sun, the Inca god Inti. Inti was
America just before the Spanish conquest. In
particularly associated with gold. His temple at
1527 Francisco Pizarro first arrived in Peru. He Cuzco was the most important Inca shrine. It
stood where two rivers met. The Inca may have
found a single power in control of the west coast thought that these two rivers resembled the Milk\'
of South America and the Andes Mountains, Way. Other Inca deities included: Mama-Kilya,
fi-om what is now Ecuador to central Chile. This
power, the Inca Empire, was called Tawantin- the moon and the wife of the sim, to whom silver
suyu, "region of the four quarters.'" It ruled fi'om was sacred; Viracocha, who created much of the
its capital at Cuzco. world and human culture; Pacacamac, who ruled

The Incas were relative newcomers to power. over the lowlands and the sea; Pacamama, his
They had ruled for only about a hundred years. wife, mother earth; and Illapa, who was responsi-
In asserting their rule, they had conquered many
ble for the weather.
different peoples, each of whom had their own
To these and other gods the Inca presented
cultures, languages, and religions. Inca religion,
then, represents only a fi-action of pre-Columbian sacrifices. Sacrifices to the sun took place every
Andean religions. Unfortunately, none of these
day. One of them was the clothing that the em-
peoples used writing. We know about Inca relig- peror wore. The emperor wore a new cloak each
day, and each day it was burned in offering to the
ion from rvvo basic sources: archaeologi,- (see sun. The Inca also sacrificed at festivals. The t\vo
ARCH.\EOLOGY .^ND RELIGION) and accounts most imponant took place around the solstices in
written after the Spanish conquest. The authors December and June. The Inca presented to the
of these accounts were often people of mi.xed
—gods animals, plants, beer, cloth, statues and, at
indigenous and Spanish ancestr\'. New discover-
times of extreme importance, human beings.
ies continue to add fi-esh insights. For example, Another important Inca practice was dj\ina-
in 1995 climbers discovered the preserved body
of a voung Inca woman, 13 or 14 years old, on tion. The kind of sacrifice, the cause of a disease,

Mount Ampato in southern Peru. She appears to —the time for battie all were determined by divi-

have been offered there as a SACRIFICE. nation. Means of cli\ination included taking or-

acles fi'om sacred objects, obser\'ing spiders,

"reading" coca leaves, drinking narcotics, and

examining the lungs of a sacrificed llama. Special
priests performed RITU.\LS of sacrifice and di\ina-
tion and tended the temples. Specially chosen

women also served the temples.

INDIGENOUS AMERICAN RELIGIONS 171

The Spanish \igorously cried to eliminate the cense as a sort of initiatory ordeal for monks (see
religion of the Andean peoples. Ai a result Inca MONKS AND NUNS). Incense cones are placed on
religion, that is, the religion of the empire, disap- the skin and lighted. They leave a permanent
peared when the empire fell. Local religious prac- scar. Some religions use incense to accompany
tices sur\ived even as the people converted to PRAYERS. The incense rises into the air the way
RO.MAN CATHOLICISM. prayers rise to gods or ancestors. Chinese relig-
ions as well as Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and
INCARNATION A divine being becoming some Protestant Christians use incense in this
way. Religions may also use incense simply to
human. The term "incarnation" is usually used in create a pleasant atmosphere, as is done in ISLAM
the context of CHRISTL\NITY. It refers to the as well as in the Japanese tea ceremony.
process through which GOD the Son (see TRIN-
ITY) became human in the person of JESUS. This INDIGENOUS AMERICAN RELIGIONS
notion is similar to, although not identical v\ith,
the Hindu idea of the .WAT.\RS of Lord \TSHNU. The rehgions of the peoples nati\e to the West-

Scholars are divided on the question of em Hemisphere. Separate entries discuss the re-
whether Jesus himself claimed to be divine. In any
ligions of the major pre-Columbian civilizations:
case, writings in the New Testament make that iVLAYA RELIGION, AZTEC RELIGION, and INCA
RELIGION.
claim. For 500 years Christians argued and strug-
gled to formulate precisely what that claim The indigenous peoples of the Americas have
meant. never constituted a single group. They represent
many different languages, cultures, and religions.
In the end two meetings of bishops, known For example, before Columbus arrived the
as councils, decided what Christians were sup- Americas were home to civilizations in the Valley
posed to believe. The Council of Nicaea (325) of Mexico, the lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula,
tried to clarify how Jesus related to God as re- and the Andes Mountains. The peoples in the
vealed, for example, in the Hebrew BIBLE. It southeastern United States had large settiements
asserted that Jesus, God the Son, was not a near mounds that serv'ed as bases for temples. The
creature that God had made; instead, he had the Anasazi in the southwest built impressive residen-
same being as God the Father. The Council of tial communities. Both the inhabitants of the
ChaJcedon (451) tried to end arguments about Great Plains and the inhabitants of the Amazon
how Jesus could be both human and divine. It basin lived by hunting and gathering. Neverthe-
adopted the formula that he was "nvo natures in less, they had significantiy different ways of life.
one person," fiilly God and fully human at the They also had significantiy different religions.
same time.
General statements about indigenous Ameri-
INCENSE Fragrant substances made from can religions inevitably distort them. Such state-
ments may, however, give some indication of
spices and gums that are sometimes burned for their character.

religious purposes. Religions use incense for Most traditional indigenous American relig-
ions aimed to further life in this world. They
many purposes. Some religions, hke that of the involved give-and-take relationships with persons
ancient Greeks, use incense to purify an area from who represented the powers of nature. Outsiders
pollution and protect it from evil. Some relig- usually call these persons gods or spirits. When
ions use incense as an offering. The presentation these beings have a particularly close relationship
of dhupa (incense) is a standard feature of Hindu with one group of relatives (a lineage), they are
PUIA. It is also used as an offering and sign of sometimes called totems. The giving and taking
devotion in Roman Catholic and Eastern Ortho-
dox Christian worship. Some Buddhists use in-

172 INDRA

took the form of offerings, SACRIFICES, and PiL\Y- In the late 20th centur\', religion influenced
ERS. It furthered traditional means of earning a miUtant indigenous resistance mo\ements, such
living: hunting and agriculture. It also helped as the American Indian Movement, often known
heal (see HEALING, RELIGIOUS). Outsiders often by the acron\'m AIM. It helped motivate legal
call religious healers shamans (see SHA.VLANISM). action to redress grievances, for example, the
eftbrts to reco\er ceremonial lands. It also played
Shamans played major roles in most of the a major role in re\i\ing indigenous culture. Ex-
traditional indigenous rehgions of South Amer- amples include the Native American Church,
ica. In addition, most South Americans tradirion- well-known for its use of peyote, the Sun Dance,
ally told stories about a creator. But they did not teachings about the sacredness of the Earth, and
WORSHIP this creator much, for the creator had SWEAT LODGES.
litde to do with daily life. Twins figured promi-
nendy in the traditional religious stories and INDRA The most prominent of the Vedic
RITUALS of South America. For example, the Ge
in eastern Brazil worshiped the sun and the gods. In the sacred writings of India known as the
moon, both male. Across northern South Amer- MiDA Indra is the chief of the gods. His abode is
ica, from the Adantic to the Pacific, the jaguar the sk\', his weapon the thunderbolt. He is called
received a great deal of religious attention.
sahasraksha, "thousand-eyed," and he leads a
Traditional religions of North America var- band of warriors known as the Maruts.
ied gready. The Pueblos of the Southwest had
elaborate ceremonies. Their religious societies In many wa\'s Indra resembles the gods of
met in chambers, known as kivas, that were partly
under ground. The quest for a \lSION was impor- Greek mythology. Prone to violence, he eats and
tant for Native Americans on the Great Plains.
Indigenous Americans of the northwest coast drinks to excess. He is especially fond of soma, an
held elaborate ceremonies known as potiatches.
In these ceremonies the wealthy outdid one an- intoxicating plant extract whose precise identity'
other in gi\ing gifts or destroying their own
property'. In the far north, Eskimos told stories is unknown. When intoxicated he boasts. Indra is

about the person who controlled sea life. Some Healso renowned for fertilit\'. is said to have

called her Sedna. gotten se\eral human women pregnant.
The European invasion of the Americas
One of the most important stories about
changed indigenous American life immensely. It
also brought pressure to con\ert to CHRISTL\X Indra concerns his killing of the demon Vritra,
m'. Although many Native Americans did adopt
Christianity', many also continued traditional releasing the life-giving waters (see Riff-Veda
practices. For example, the well-known Lakota
figure Black Elk was buried holding both his 1.32). Some see in this story a reference to the
sacred pipe and a rosar\'.
release of the eagerly awaited monsoon rains.
Indigenous Americans ha\'e also used relig-
By the time of the BRAHMANAS (perhaps
ion to resist European incursions. Many Native
Americans had \isions about resistance. They 1000-600 B C), Indra was beginning to lose his
include such figures as Handsome Lake, Smo-
halla, John Slocum, Wodziwob, and Wovoka. importance. The mxtholog)!' of the PURANAS even
The last two spurred on the GHOST DANCE.
makes fian of him, telling lewd stories about oc-
casions when he was humiliated.

INDUS VALLEY RELIGION Religion as

practiced in the Indus Valley civilization, also
called the Harappan ci\iIization. Around 3500
B.C. a cit)'-based way of life began to emerge in
the plains of the Indus River valley (Pakistan
today ). By about 2500 B C. serdements at sites like
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were at their peak,

with populations between 25,000 and 50,000. A

thousand \ ears later, the Indus Valley ci\ilization

INITIATION, RELIGIOUS 173

had disappeared. At its greatest extent, it reached —tion limits ''real'' initiation initiation in its ftill-
down into Gujarat in uestem India and also —est and truest form to indigenous societies,

spread to the northeast above the Thar Desert, sometimes called "archaic" or "primitive." The
second questionable assumption \-iews male ritu-
covering an area more than three times that of the als as somehow typical. For example, the well-
known scholar Mircea ELL\DE made the
state of California. following claims about initiation: (a) male initia-
tion rituals are more prevalent than female; (b)
Indus \'alley sites are characterized by care- male initiations are group affairs whereas female
initiations are done for indi\iduals; and (c) the
fiilly constructed brick buildings, straight streets reason for the difference is that male initiations
deal more with culture (society's forms and val-
laid out on a grid pattern, advanced engineering ues), while female initiations deal more with na-

of water, and careful burial of the dead. i\iore ture ( bearing children )

recent scholars have tried to connect its people Other scholars question these claims. They
suggest that female initiations may be more com-
with the Elamites, an ancient people of the Per- mon than male. They point out that it is not clear
that female initiations are mostiy individual af-
sian Gulf, and the Dravidian-speaking peoples of fairs, because female initiations have been less
studied. They also suggest that if female initia-
south India today. tions are individual affairs, this may not result
from biolog\'. It is just as likely that female initia-
Because the Indus Valley script has not been
tion rituals simply reflect the systematic exclusion
deciphered, it is difficult to say much about the
of women from dominant social structures.
Areligion with certaintx . famous seal depicts Many initiations take place at the time of

what appears to be a homed human-like being in religious maturity. In indigenous communities,
this often correlates with sexual maturity. "Ma-
—MEDIT.\TION, surrounded by massive animals jor" religions usually stress nonsexual elements,
but they still initiate people in their early teens.
figure reminiscent of the later Hindu god SI\'A in JUDAISM has BAR and, in liberal congregations,
BAT MrrZ\\AH. CHRISTL\NTT^' has confirmation
his aspect as Pasupati, lord of animals. Another or, for some Protestants, BAPTISM. Upper caste
Hindu boys undergo several rituals, especiall\' the
famous figure, with beard, slanted eyes, trefoil iipanayana. In this ceremony they receive a sa-
cred thread and begin to study the sacred texts
garment, and headband, appears to show a relig- known as the N'EDA. The traditional initiation
ritual for Hindu girls was marriage ( see AL^RIUAGE
ious and political functionary. Other apparendy .\ND RELIGION). That is because according to
religious artifacts may emphasize the powers of Hindu tradition a girl should be married before
she begins to have menstrual periods. This prac-
sexual fertility. That emphasis would be in keep-
tice is much less common today.
ing with the ci\Tlization's agricultural base. The
Religions initiate people on other occasions,
—Great Bath at the center of Mohenjo-Daro 39 too, MONKS .\ND NUNS undergo an initiation to
—feet by 23 feet by 8 feet deep could ha\e been join their orders. In some Buddhist countries,
young people traditionally become adults when
the site of RITU.\LS of purification b\- the society's

leaders. Finally, more recent scholars have also

claimed to detect evidence of Vedic rituals ( see
VEDA) at Indus Valley sites, for example, rem-

nants of fires constructed for Vedic SACRIFICES.

Most scholars agree that elements of Indus

mValley religion continued later HINDUISM, but

disagree about exactly what elements continued.

TNTTIATION, RELIGIOUS A RITU.\L used

to make someone a member of a religious group.
In some places, but not in the United States, the

religious communit)' is identical to society as a
whole. In these places, initiation rituals make
people firil adult members of the society.

Writings on religious initiation often make
two questionable assumptions. The first assump-

174 INQUISITION, THE

they take monastic vows for a limited period of early 1200s to try and convict heretics. Heretics
time. In the ancient Mediterranean world, people
were initiated into special "mystery societies." are people who are members of the church by
The most famous example is the mysteries of BAPTISM but who do not believe and practice
Eleusis in Greece (see MYSTERY RELIGIONS). Peo-
ple sometimes receive religious office through CHRISTIANITY' according to the church's teach-
initiation. The best example is probably the tra- ings. Until the early 1200s local princes and
ditional healer known as the shaman (see SHA- bishops were responsible for discovering and
MANISM). Communities are usually said to punishing heretics. In the early 1200s, however,
"ordain" rather than initiate priests (see ORDINA-
TION). The distinction is somewhat artificial. the Pope established his own inquisition. Those
in charge were often DOMINICAN fiiars who re-
Initiations often follow the structure of RITES
OF PASSAGE. They usually involve instruction to ported direcdy to the Pope. This inquisition was
active especially in northern Italy and southern
enable persons to fijlfill their new roles. Boys who France. It was directed especially against heretics
underwent the laBi initiation among the Gbaya known as Cathari and VVALDENSIANS. By the
in the Cameroons learned by doing. They lived 1400s it was also investigating charges of WTTCH-
on their own in the forest for several years. Other CRAFT.
religions impart "book learning." Hebrew in-
During the 1400s Christians managed to
struction precedes bar and bat mitzvah; religion conquer all of Spain. (Spain had been largely
classes precede confirmation. Muslim since the late 600s.) In order to Chris-
tianize the territory, the conquerors required all
Initiations often alter the body as well as the Jews and Muslims to leave, e\en though many
families had lived in Spain for centuries. To ensure
mind. When a girl becomes a Jain nun, her hair that everyone living in Spain was CJiristian, the
is pulled out by the roots, strand by strand. The
same thing happens when a boy becomes a monk rulers, in cooperation with the Pope, established
(see JAINISM). Hair grows back, but some initia- the Spanish inquisition. This inquisition was par-
ticularly interested in persecuting maranos and
tions alter the body permanendy. In societies that
link initiation to physical maturit)', it has been —moriscos Jews and Muslims, respectively, who

common to alter the sexual organs. Boys often pretended to practice Christianity in order to
undergo CIRCUMCISION and sometimes subinci-
avoid being forced to leave.
sion (slitting the underside of the penis length-
wise). Especially in some African countries, girls The inquisitors were notorious for their bru-
may undergo an analogous rite known as "cUto-
ridectomy." Clitoridectomy involves cutting Atality'. prime example is the first grand inquisitor
away the clitoris, an organ that produces sexual
arousal in women, and sometimes other tissue. of Spain, Tomas de Torquemada (1420-98).

Many claim that clitoridectomy is a much greater There were, however, some restraints. A few
hardship for women than circumcision is for men.
As a result, the practice has evoked criticism from overly zealous inquisitors lost their positions and
many people around the globe. Toward the end even wound up in prison. The inquisitions re-
of the 20th century, at least one woman had quired those who repented of heresy to attend
masses, make PILGRIMAGE, wear yellow crosses,
sought official asylum in the United States to
avoid it. —or spend time in prison sometimes for the rest

INQUISITION, THE A religious court es- of their lives. They turned over to the secular
government those who reftised to repent or who
tablished bv the Roman Catholic Church in the lapsed after repenting. The government burned

these offenders at the stake.

JOAN OF ,\RC, John Hus, and Savonarola are
among those who lost their lives in the inquisi-
tions. The thinker Giordano Bruno and the sci-
entist Galileo received lesser sentences. Even

ISAIAH 175

Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the JESUITS, had god's behalf to his chosen people. They ad-
to appear twice before the inquisition. dressed issues of their own day. Thus, the Hebrew
original of Isaiah 7.14 does not mention a virgin;
ISAAC In the BIBLE, the son of abr.\HAM and it speaks only of a young woman. This woman
may have been the queen; the prophet may have
SAR.\H and the father of JACOB. With his father seen the child she was carrying, the fijture king,
Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac is one of the as a sign of God's promise. Similarly, in talking
three traditional male ancestors of the people of
Israel. But unlike Abraham and Jacob, he is not about YHWH's servant who suffers, the prophet
the main character in many stories.
was probably talking about the people of Israel
The name Isaac means "he laughs." The
Bible connects the name with the beha\ior of itself
Abraham and Sarah when they were told they
would bear a son in old age: They laughed ( Gene- The book of Isaiah addresses three different
sis 17.17-19, 18.12-15, 21.6-7). historical situations facing the southern kingdom
of Judah and its descendants. Given the date of
The Bible tells how Abraham was willing to these situations, scholars conclude that the book
SACRIFICE Isaac at GOD'5 command (Genesis contains the words of at least two and perhaps
22). It also tells how Abraham arranged for three different prophets. For convenience, they
Isaac's marriage to REBEKAH (Genesis 24), and call them First, Second, and Third Isaiah.
how Rebekah helped her son Jacob deceive Isaac

and steal the blessing that should have been
Esau's (Genesis 27).

Among Arabs, Isaac's counterpart is Ishmael,
the son of Abraham and Hagar. For e.xample,
Muslims believe that Abraham was commanded

to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac.

ISAIAH A prophetic book in the Hebrew Bl Full-length figure of the prophet Isaiah, fi-om
Michelangelo's painting in the Sistinc Chapel, the
BLE. It preserves some of the most beautiftil Vatican, Rome. (Courtesy ofCorbis-Bcttmann.)
prophetic statements from ancient Israel.

Christians have traditionalK- read the proph-
ets of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as
predicting the coming of JESUS as the MESSLAH.
They found it particularly finitful to read Isaiah
this way. The GOSPEL of Matthew quotes a Greek
translation of Isaiah 7.14 that predicts the birth
of a child from a virgin. This passage provided the
precedent for the important idea that iVLARY, Je-
sus's mother, was a \irgin (see \TRGIN BIRTH).
The latter part of Isaiah contains several sections
known as the songs of YHVVH's ("the Lord's")
servant. Christians saw these songs as predicting
the sufferings and death of Jesus.

Recent biblical scholars have tended to adopt

a view of prophec\' much closer to the traditional
Jewish attitude. In this view, prophets spoke on

)

First Isaiah is Isaiah, the son of Amoz, after one of the symbols of the Japanese imperial fam-
whom the whole book is named. He prophesied ily: the sacred mirror.
in the time of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah (roughly 742-701 B.C ; Isaiah 1-39). The shrine buildings are constructed in a very
At tliis time Judah's political existence was threat- old St} le. They sit on stilts. The\' also ha\'e massi\e
ened. First, its neighbors to the north, Syria and wooden pillars at each end and thatched straw
Israel, formed an alliance to try to place a puppet
ruler on the throne of Judah. Then Assyria, a roofs. On each end, the crossbeams of the roof
growing superpower, annexed Syria and Israel
and threatened to do the same to Judah. Isaiah form something of a giant X. The buildings are
responded by identihing the ultimate cause of reconstructed every 20 years, perhaps because
the militari,' threat: The rulers of Judah had acted they are made of natural wood.

improperly. Isaiah also issued a series of oracles According to a RITUAL centuries old, offer-
against other nations. At the same time, he in-
—ings of food includmg rice, vegetables, and fiiiit
sisted that God would keep his promise. Despite —grown on the shrine grounds are made to the
the threats, a descendant of DAVID would remain
kami twice a day. New clothing is presented twice
on the throne of Judah.
The setting and tone of Second Isaiah (Isaiah a year, in spring and autumn. Several million
pilgrims visit Ise each year. The shrine also hosts
40-55) are completely different. In 587 B.C.
Judah fell not to Assyria but to Babylon. The a large number of festivals. Of these the most
conquerors destroyed the Temple built by SOLO-
important is the Shikinensengu, the reconstruc-
MON in JERUSALEM and deponed the leadership tion even' 20 years.

of Judah to Babylon. Second Isaiah addresses The buildings of Ise shrine were recon-
these ejdles with mo\ing words of comfort, hope, structed for the 61st time in 1993. The shnne
itself celebrated its bimillennium (2,000th anni-
and encouragement. He also develops a ver\' versar\) in 1996.
profound view of Israel's God as the creator of
ISLAM Arabic lor "submission," specifically,
the entire universe. Second Isaiah was probably
prophesying just before the conquest of Babylon submission to the will of GOD; a religion that took
final form in Arabia after revelations to the
by Cyrus, the emperor of Persia, in 539 B.C. He prophet MUR.\M\LAD (AD. 570-632). People
celebrates the rise of Cyrus. He even calls him who practice the religion are called Muslims (ear-
God's messiah, which means anointed one lier spelled Moslems).

(Isaiah 45.1). History
With Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56-66) the scene
Muslims call the time before the prophet Mu-
abrupdy changes once more. The exiles have hammad al-Jnhilivn, "the times of ignorance." At
returned to Judah, and the Temple has been that time seminomadic herders, caravaners, and
rebuilt. (The Temple was rededicated in 5 1 5 B.C.
This portion of Isaiah addresses the returnees mtownspeople li\ed Arabia. Their primar)' loyalty-
with words of both comfort and warning.
was to their clans, and their religions were poly-
ISE Site of one of the most important SHINTO
shrines. Ise is located in southern Honshu, Ja- theistic and local. The revelations to Muhammad
pan's largest island. It is home to several shrines. proclaimed that human beings owed primar\' loy-
The inner shrine is sacred to .AAL\TER-ASL', the alty to the one true God, whom alone they should
K.AMI of the sun and the ancestress of the Japanese obey (see ALLAH). As a result a new community,
emperors. The most important building contains the Ummah of Islam, was created, based not on

blood relationship but on shared F.\ITH. Muslims
date its existence from the hijrn (also spelled

hefiira), the flight of Muhammad and his follow-

ers from Mecca to Medina in 622.

ISLAM 177

After the Prophet's death, the revelations he North America some African Americans found
had received were collected and compiled into a meaning in the teachings of Elijah Muhammad,
book iaiown as the QUR'AN. 0\er the next 300 who led an organization known as the Nation of
years, scholars collected stories of the Prophet's Islam (see ISLAM, NATION OF); many Muslims in
deeds and sayings, the H.\DITH. At the same time, other parts of the world question whether Elijah
several different schools of thought arose. The
most important disagreement divided a minority' Muhammad was actually teaching Islam. Since
the 1970s Muslims who wish to reinvigorate
of Muslims, known as Shi'ites, from most other
Muslims, known as Sunnis (see SUNNI ISLAM and Islamic traditions have met with a great deal of
SHI'ITE ISLAM). Sunnis accepted the Umayyad
dynasty, which ruled from Damascus, while success.
Shi'ites claimed that the Prophet's male descen-
dants should lead the community of Islam. Beliefs

Islam expanded rapidly. Within a century of The basic beliefs of Islam are expressed in a
the Prophet's death, it extended from Spain and statement that all Muslims profess: "There is no
Morocco in the west through the Near East and
Iran to central Asia in the east. In 750 the Abbasid God but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger
dynasty succeeded the Umayyads and, ruling
from Baghdad, presided over a magnificent ci\'i- [Rasul]:'
lization. During this period Islam developed so-
phisticated traditions of philosophy and Islam maintains that God is absolutely one,
profound schools of MYSTICISM, known as
SUFISM. without a second, neither begetting nor begot-
ten. Thus, it strongly rejects the Christian notion
After the fall of the Abbasids in 1258, the of the TRINITY. Islam also maintains an absolute

Islamic world was divided among regional pow- distinction between the creator and creation. To
ers. The powerfijl Turks overthrew Constanti- confiise creation and creator is to commit the
nople in 1453 and lay siege to Vienna, Austria, in
the 1520s and again in 1683. The Mughals pro- fundamental SIN of idolatry, that is, the associa-
duced great monuments of south Asian civiliza-
tion, including the famed Taj Mahal, a tion of other things with God ( see IMAGES, ICONS,
mausoleum in Agra, India. From south Asia,
Islam spread east to Indonesia, the most popu- IDOLS IN RELIGION). Muslims believe that Chris-
tians commit this sin when they claim that JESUS
lous Islamic country today. In Africa south of die
Sahara, Muslims also developed se\'eral long- was God incarnate (see INCARNATION). So do
people who place any goal, such as the pursuit of
lasting societies. wealth, above following the will of God.

In the 18th and 1 9th centuries, European Muslims believe that God has e\erv'where
colonizers overran much of the Islamic world and revealed himself to his creation in some form.
ruled it until after World War II (1939^5). They also believe that prophets in a line beginning
Some Muslims, including Turkish reformers, re-
acted by rejecting Islamic traditions as out- with .ADAM and including such figures as .\BR,\-
moded. They adopted a secular world view HAM, MOSES, and Jesus have made known special
informed by modern science. Others, like the revelations from God. Muslims call the commu-
nities that follow these revelations "People of the
south i\sian poet Muhammad Iqbal (1877- Book." But through the acti\irv of Shaytan (more
commonly known in North America as SATAN),
1938 ), maintained that Islam provided a spiritual
grounding for science. From the 1930s on in these revelations were misunderstood. With Mu-
hammad, the line of God's prophets comes to a
climax, and God's revelation to human beings is

complete. This implies that the Qur'an is the

complete and final manner in which God ad-
dresses human beings. And because God would

not give his most sacred truth to just anyone, it

also implies that Muhammad provides the model

The peoples of Islam.

of how human beings should respond to God's will without professing the divLnit)' of God and
revelation and implement justice in the world. the special place of the prophet Muhammad.

In addition, Muslims believe in ANGELS, one The second pillar is obligatory PRATCR
of whom, Shaytan or Iblis, rebelled against God. (S.ALAT). Muslims may pray at any time, but they
They also believe that there will be a final judg- are also enjoined to pray more formally five times
ment at the end of time (see JUDGMENT OF THE a day. (Many Shi'ites incorporate these prayers
DEAD and RESURRECTION) and that the faithful into three daily prayers.) They face the town of
will enjoy an eternal existence in Paradise (see Mecca (the compass direction varies depending
HEAVEN). upon where in the world one happens to be),
adopt several postures, and recite a series of pray-
Practices ers. Noon prayer on Fridays is, when possible,
done as part of a congregation at a MOSQUE.
In discussing how Muslims practice their religion, There an IMAM also preaches a sermon to the
assembled congregation.
it is customary to identify five "pillars" of Islam.
All Muslims practice these pillars, although they The third pillar of Islam is alms-giving
differ over details. (zakat), for the Prophet urged his followers to
care for the poor and the needy. In Islamic coun-
The first pillar is profession of the faith {sha- tries alms-giving has generally been administered
hadah). One cannot truly submit oneself to God's

ISLAM, NATION OF 179

b\' the government. Private chant)' is also widely independent than their Sunni counterparts. An-
other Shi'ite community, known as the Nizari
practiced. Ismailis, believe that the imam is still present in

The fourth pillar is fasting (sawm) during the the world. Known as the AGA KHAN, he exercises
ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the month
of Ramadan. From sunup to sundown during authority over a worldwide community.
that month Muslims refi'ain fi"om eating, drink- Like traditional Christianity, Islam has not
ing, and sexual activity. The fast recognizes sig-
nificant events in the early history of Islam, such traditionally recognized the ideals of separation
as the first revelations to the prophet Muham- of religion and government and of religious plu-
mad. It also teaches compassion for those for
ralism that have now become common in Europe,
whom fasting must be a way of life. Those who
North America, and other parts of the world. Like
are pregnant, sick, old, or traveling are not ex- other societies, contemporary Muslim societies
pected to fast. are addressing the issues posed by the modern
ideal of the secular state.
The last pillar of Islam is PILGRIMAGE to
Mecca ( hajj) (see MECCA, PILGRIMAGE TO). This Significance
is a formal ritual that takes place during the final
month of the Islamic year. Ideally, all Muslims Since the time of the prophet Muhammad, Islam
should make pilgrimage once in their lives, but
they may not do so if they are too sick to travel, has been one of the world's major religions. At
if their absence would mean hardship at home, or the end of the 20th century, roughly one-fifth of
if they incur economic hardship to do so. the world's population practiced it, including
over five million North Americans. In addition,
The Islamic calendar is based on the cycles of Islam has given the world a rich cultural tradition,
the moon rather than on the solar year. As a in art and architecture, literature, and philosophy,
result, over an extended period of time the among other areas.
Ramadan fast and pilgrimage to Mecca will have
occurred in every season of the year. ISLAM, NATION OF An important Afiican-

Organization American religion that derives from the teachings

Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims differ over how the and activities of Elijah Muhammad. Members of
community should be organized. For Sunnis, the Nation of ISLAM are known as Black Muslims.
political and religious leadership may be exercised
by different persons. Traditionally, caliphs and The Nation of Islam was founded in the
sultans oversaw matters of internal order and 1930s. It was not the first manifestation of
external defense. Today different officers, namely Islam among African Americans. Muslims were
presidents and prime ministers, ftilfill these fimc- among the Africans brought to North America
as slaves. But the Nation of Islam inherited
tions. Religious authority resides with the ulama, v\\o other, more recent traditions of African-
scholars of Islam. American thought. The first advocated Islam
as the appropriate religion for African Americans.
For Shi'ites, political and religious leadership It rejected CHRISTIANITY, the religion of the
are ideally exercised by the same person, the male slave-owners, as an instrument of oppression.
The second tradition rejected the ideal of integra-
descendant of Muhammad known as the imam. tion advocated by W. E. B. DuBois and later by
A Shi'ite community known as the Twelvers Martin Luther KING, Jr. It stressed black separa-
tism as the only Wable means to a thriving African-
believes that the imam, last seen in A.D. 873, is American community.
exercising authoritv' while in hiding. Their
religious leaders, headed by the AYATOLLAHS The Nation of Islam began in Detroit in the
("reflections of God"), are considerably more
Aearly 1930s. man named Wallace D. Fard, also

-

180 ISLAM IN AMERICA

known as Wali Farrad Muhammad, began life-st\ie that emphasizes personal responsibility.
preaching. He claimed to bring a message to Thus, Black Muslims observe strict rules regard-
African Americans from Mecca, the town in Saudi ing diet and dress ( see D1ET.\ND RELIGION ). They
are forbidden to use alcohol, tobacco, or illegal
Arabia associated with the life and acti\ities of the
drugs, and women are taught to dress modestiy.
prophet MUHAMM\D. Fard disappeared in 1934. They also refuse to fight in the armed forces. On
His chosen successor, Elijah Muhammad (bom
these grounds the champion hea\'^'^veight boxer,
Elijah Poole), proclaimed him the promised MES-
SIAH and Mahdi, or bringer of divine justice. Muhammad Ah, refijsed to be drafted during the

Until his death in 1975, Elijah Muhammad di- Vietnam War.
Many complain about the anti-white teach-
rected the community from Chicago. In the
ings of the Nation of Islam. Both Malcolm X and
1950s, a convert to the Nation, .VL-VLCOLM X, Warithuddin Muhammad eventually rejected
these views. In the 1990s, many also accused
became its best known spokesperson. However,
Malcolm left the Nation to found his own organi- Louis Farrakhan of blatant anti-Semitism. Never-
zation in 1964. Among other things, he had theless, some believe that the Nation's message of
made a PILGRIMAGE to Mecca (see MECCA, PIL- self-reliance, pride, and personal integrity' made a
GRI\L\GE TO) that year, and he had been im- strong, positive contribution within the African-
pressed by the universalism of SL'XXI ISL.WL After American communirs'.
Elijah Muhammad's death, his followers split.
Elijah Muhammad's son, Warithuddin Muham- ISLAM IN AMERICA The practice of ISLWl
mad, changed the name of the organization to
the American Mushm Mission. He established it in the Western Hemisphere. Muslim seafarers
as a branch of Sunni Islam. Others, led by Louis from Spain and northwest Africa may have come
Farrakhan, rejected this move and reorganized to the Americas before Columbus. In any case,
the Nation once again. Muslims were expelled from Spain in 1492, and
some seem to have gone to the new world, be-
The Nation of Islam has its own distincti\e
m>tholog\- (see .\nTH .\ND NnTHOLOGY). Elijah cause in 1 543 Charles V ordered Muslims to be
Muhammad taught that originally all human be-
ings were black and practiced Islam. The white expelled from Spanish lands overseas. That order
race was created by an evU scientist named Mr. makes sense only if Muslims were in fact living in
Yacub. Whites were inferior to blacks; they were Spanish lands overseas. By the end of the 20th
also devils, and they taught Christianity. To test century almost every nation in the Americas was
blacks, GOD had allowed whites to rule the Earth a home to Muslim communities.
for a period of 6,000 years, but their rule was
about to end. At that point blacks would once Before the 20th centur\', most North Ameri-
again assume their rightful place. This m\tholog:\' can Muslims were of African descent. They were
helps Black Muslims understand the African slaves on southern plantations. Scholars estimate
American experience and gives them hope for the that as many as 20% of the slaves may have been
Mushms. Some were clearly educated and literate.
future. Accounts written by slaves in Arabic survive from
In keeping with such views, the Nation of the period before the American Civil War. Slave-
owners as well as some other Christians pressured
Islam rejected any attempts at integration with all non-Christian slaves to convert to CHRISTI.AN-
whites. It advocated black separatism and urged ITi. As a result, Muslim slaves practiced their
religion in secret, but by the start of the 20th
African Americans to establish their own busi- century, their descendants had lost most of the
nesses. Indeed, it demanded that the United Islam that had been brought to the new world.
States government establish a separate state for

blacks. It also pro\ided Afiican .\mericans with a

IZANAGI AND IZANAAII 181

During the 19th centun,-, Muslims from founded in the 1930s by Wallace D. Fard and his

other parts of the world settled in the Caribbean successor, Elijah Muhammad. As originally
founded, the Nation of Islam had little in com-
region. They came from places as diverse as Brit- mon v\-ith SUNN! ISL\M or SHI'ITE ISLAM. But
ish India, Java, and China. Some came as inden- after his visit to Mecca in 1964, a former spokes-

tured servants. They generally maintained their person for the Nation, M.\LCOI.M X, adopted

national identities. For example, while Indian Sunni Islam. In 1976 Elijah Muhammad's
son, Warithuddin Muhammad, transformed a
Muslims retained their Islamic idenrit\', they portion of his father's community into a Sunni
group, the American Muslim Mission. Many
shared a common culture with Indian Hindus. ^\frican-American Muslims (as distinct from the

During the 20th centur\', immigration to the Black Muslims of the Nation of Islam) cherish the

Americas from the iViushm world increased tre- memoPi- of Bilal, an African slave whom the

mendously. Especially during the second halt ot prophet ML'HAiVliVUD freed. According to tradi-
tion, he was the first MUEZZIN.
the centurv manv Muslims came to North Amer-
ica for higher education, in pursuit of economic
opportunities, and as refugees. The immigrant

Muslims quickly established Islamic institutions.

During the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s they built

MOSQUES in such places as Maine, Connecticut, IZANAGI AND IZANAMI In SHINTO my-
South Dakota, Iowa, New York Cin,-, and Ed-

monton, Alberta. They formed chapters of Is- tholog\-, the primal parents. They are the father

lamic associations, such as the Red Crescent (the and mother respectively of the K,\MI (gods), is-

Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross). They estab- lands, and people of Japan. They descended from

lished Islamic educational institutions to pass on the high plain of HE.WEN on a floating bridge,

Islamic teachings and traditions to their children. the rainbow, from whence they churned the

One important problem was hardly unique to Onocean with a spear to make the first land. it
Muslims: how to negotiate the tension between
thev mated and produced their numerous prog-

a traditional Islamic way of life and the v\ay of life env, until Izanami died giving birth to the fire god

prevalent in North America. As in Jun.\ISM and and went to the underworld. Izanagi followed

Christianit)', the solutions define a wide spectrum after her but was unable to rescue his consort

of responses to these tensions. since she had already eaten of the food of the

Also during the 20th centurv', some African underworld. So he returned to the surface and

Americans rediscovered Islam. In 1913 Noble bathed in the ocean to cleanse himself of the

Drew Ali established the Moorish Science Tem- impurities he had acquired in the land of the

Newple in Jersey. It eventually died out. But dead. Out of his washings he produced

another communin,' was much more successftil: .VvUTER.\SU, the sun GODDESS, as well as the

the Nation of Islam (see ISL,\M, \.\TION OF), moon and storm deities.

JACOB Hebrew patriarch; also known as Is- a broad movement in northeast India in the sixth

rael. According to the BIBLE, Jacob was the son —century B.C. At that rime sramanas men and to
of Isaac and the grandson of ABR.-\H.\M. There is —a lesser extent women gave up ordinary family
no wa\' to verify whether he actually lived. Man\'
scholars feel that he, like Isaac and Abraham, may life. They also rejected the S.\CRIFICES described
simply be a legendary ancestor. in the sacred books known as the VEDA. Instead,

The Bible tells several well-known stories they wandered, begged for food, and devoted
about Jacob. A younger brother, he deceived his
blind father and cheated his older brother, Esau, themselves to teachings and practices that prom-
out of his father's blessings. Fleeing, he slept with ised spiritual liberation. The most famous religion
his head on a rock, saw .•VNGELS ascending to and to grow out of this movement is BUDDHISM.
descending from HEAVTN (the well-known "Ja-
cob's ladder"), and consecrated the place as Be- Jainism is another.
thel. He worked 14 years for his Uncle Laban in
order to marry his cousins, Leah and Rachel. With Buddhism is practiced all over the world, but
them and two concubines he fathered the ances-
tors of the 12 tribes of ancient Israel. Jainism remains confined to India. In the centu-

On his way to meet his brother Esau, Jacob ries after Mahavira, it spread along trade routes to

wresded all night long with what most readers
take to be an angel or divine being. In the process,
he received the name Israel. It may mean "GOD

rules."

AJAINISM religion in India. Jains get their

name because they follow the teachings and ex-

ample of xhejina, which means victor. For them,

the victor is MAH.\\1RA (si.\th century B.C.). He

discovered the way to conquer the forces that

keep people bound to continuous rebirth, known

in Sanskrit as SAMSARA.

Jains claim that their religion is millions of
years old. For them, Mahavira is the 24th in a line

oi tirthankaras or ford-makers. These are people

who have made fords across the stream of sam-

sara. At least in its present form Jainism grew from

JAPANESE RELIGION 183

southern and western India. These are its r\vo —nuns gifts that help them make spiritual pro-
strongholds today. In the first century' A.D. the
community spht. The cause was a dispute over gress. They also visit temples. There they VVOR-
SHIP before images of the tirthankaras. Jain
what those who wander must give up. One temples include some of the most famous relig-
group insisted that they must give up clothes ious monuments in India: the lush marble tem-
ples at Mount Abu and some of the richly
entirelv. Their communit\' is called Digambara, decorated temples at Khajuraho.
"sla'-ciad." Another group insisted that it is
enough if the wanderers wear only a simple At the end of the 20th century there were
white cloth. Their community is called Svetam- onlv about four million Jains in the world. But in
bara, "white-clad." Digambara Jains are par- championing ahimsa and vegetarianism, Jainism
ticularly strong in the south Indian state ot has had a profound impact on Indian society. For
Karnataka. Svetambara Jains tend to live in the example, it strongly influenced the leader of the
west Indian state of Gujarat. Indian independence movement, Mohandas
G.\NDHI.
Digambaras and Svetambaras have different
sacred books, but they share the same basic be- JAPANESE RELIGION A religious complex
liefs. Like Hindus and Buddhists, Jains believe
that people are continually reborn. This rebirth comprised of SHINTO, various forms of BUD-
results from action (Sanskrit, KARMA). Unlike DHISM, and new religions plus elements of TAO-
Hindus and Buddhists, however, Jains say that a ISM, CONTUCLVNISM, and CHRISTL\XnT. The
particularh- fine kind of matter is involved in this
process. WTienever the human life-force, xhejiva, Newreligions of Japan are like a series of layers.
acts, this fine matter sticks to it and weighs it
down. The goal of Jain practice is to cleanse the forms are added on top of older strata, but the old
seem never to die out. Thus Japanese religion is
jiva of karmic maner. When the jiva is clean, it a very complex mixture. Many Japanese have a
relation to at least nvo religions, Shinto and Bud-
rises to the highest point in the uni\erse. There dhism, and affirm the basic ethical principles of
it remains undisturbed forever. Confucianism without practicing it as a religion.
Taoism and Christianity in nearly all its forms
The Jain community' has t\vo unequal le\els. have also had influence in Japan, and in addition,
MONKS .\XD XL'NS adopt a life-style based on a number of new religions have arisen in the 19th
wandering and begging. Laymen and laywomen and 20th centuries.

maintain households and work. On both levels Shinto
women are generally in an inferior position.
The oldest layer or stratum is Shinto, which may
Monks and nuns are said to be closer to be translated as the "Way of the Gods." This

Aultimate liberation. cardinal rule that governs religion represents a perpetuation of the religion

their beha\ior is non-injury (Sanskrit, .\HIMSA). of ancient and prehistoric Japan, when the society
was diWded into many clans, each of which had
Svetambara monks and nuns wear cloths over its own patronal deity. Some of these, together
their mouths, sweep the paths where they walk, with other gods, are now the KAMI, or gods of
and strain their water to a\oid harming little Shinto, a polytheistic religion. This F,\ITH is now
living beings. The most advanced Jains go even recognizable by its distincti\e torii or gateway,
fiirther: In old age they enter liberation by re- representing entry to its lovely shrines, and by its
fraining from eating and drinking until they die.
colorful matsuri, or festivals.
Laymen and lay\vomen follow ahimsa, but to
a lesser extent. As a result, all Jains are strict
vegetarians. Jains have also established several
animal sanctuaries. In addition, laymen and lay-
women give food and drink to monks and

184 JAPANESE RELIGION

Buddhism dhist movements: PURE L.\XD BUDDHISM,
NICHIREN, and ZEN BUDDHISM. Each was a reac-
Buddhism came to Japan around the sixth cen- tion against the complexit)' of Heian Buddhism,
tun' AD, imported from Korea. It represented a in favor of radical simplification and populariza-
more advanced level of culture than Japan had at tion. The new people, warriors preparing to die
the time, and with it came new arts and skills, on the field of battie, as well as peasants and
including writing and even the Confiician clas- shopkeepers, wanted to learn of some single,
sics, from the continent. Buddhism soon also simple, sure key to SALVATION, which was acces-
became a faith by which the rulers of Japan tried sible not just to monks, but also to those facing
to unifr the nation, since it was not identified with death in battie, or in the midst of everyday life.
any of the local clans. But though there was Faith was the answer. Pure Land Buddhism,
tension, Shinto did not disappear, as did the old taught by Honen (1133-1212) and his disciple
religions of Europe around the same time as Shinran (1173-1262), said that all one really
Christianity became dominant. Rather, in the needs is to ha\e faith in the vow or promise of the
case of Japan, the old religion continued along- Buddha .\MIDA to bring all who call upon his
side the new as theories arose saN-ing that the name into the Pure Land or Western Paradise
Shinto kami were guardians of the BUDDHA's after death. Honen founded the Jodo-shu sect of
temples, or students of the Buddha, or even the Pure Land and Shinran the Jodo-shinshu sect,
same spiritual forces under local Japanese names both major DENOMINATIONS of Japanese Bud-
rather than the universal Buddhist forms. dhism today. Nichiren (1222-82), a fiery
prophet, taught faith in the Lotus Sutra, ex-
I-Iowever, in the Middle Ages, Buddhism was pressed through a chant; his message also
the most active and visible religion. It took several spawned major denominations and the largest
denominational forms. During the Heian period religious movement in 20th-centur\- Japan.
(794— 1 185), the t\vo most important forms were
Shingon and Tendai. Shingon was a t\pe of eso- Zen
teric Buddhism that emphasized the presence of
the Buddha-nature here and now, in each person Zen came to Japan from China as a separate
in their present body, which can be realized with
the help of hand gestures, chants, and visualiza- institutional presence, and two major denomina-
tion meditations. It used many mandalas or mys-
tic paintings and statues of cosmic buddhas, tions, in the Kamakura period. It appealed espe-
gi\ing great impetus to art. Tendai stressed the
supremac\- of the LOTUS SUTR.\ but tolerantiy cially to the samurai class because of its emphasis
allowed man\- forms of practice to de\elop under on self-discipline and an austere way of life, and
its aegis, since it thought there were many paths
for people in different stages of spiritualit\'. In the also because of the artistic creari\it\- it fostered.
end, it became almost as gi\en to esoteric prac-
tices as Shingon. Both Shingon and Tendai were Traditional Japanese arts, like rock gardens,
complex, sophisticated styles of Buddhism; each
was headquartered in its own vast mountaintop Noflower arrangement. plays, and the tea cere-

monaster\-. monv, have Zen roots, as do such "martial ans"

K,\M.\KUR.A BUDDHISM as Zen archen- and swordsmanship. They are seen
as ways of expressing the universal Buddha-nature
The next period in Japanese histor\', the in spontaneitv- of expression. Zen and its arts
Kamakura (1185-1333), brought a new class to flourished especially in the Muromachi period
power, the samurai warlords, and also new Bud-
(1336-1573); during this time, Japan suffered

like Europe in its Middle Ages from feudal wars,

and as in Europe it was monasteries, particularly

Zen, that kept culture alive.

JAPANESE RELIGION 185

186 JERUSALEM

Christiantit by association with the prewar regime as were
mainline Shinto and Buddhism. Thev also found
The short Momoyama period, 1573-1600, was ways to relate to the needs of ordinarv individuals.

the first golden age of Catholic Christianini- in So it is that new things, from Buddhism to
Japan. Jesuits under St. Francis Xa\ier and later the latest new religion, have piled up on top of
Franciscans, following Portuguese lines of trade, the still-living Shinto substratum of Japanese re-
brought the faith to the island empire and, amidst ligion. But virtually all have in common basic
troubled times, at first had remarkable success. Japanese religious attitudes: acceptance of plural-
But the Tokugawa house came to power as sho- ism or many faiths, traditionalism, and a support
guns or militar)' dictators in 1600 and persecuted of Confucian moral values centering on family
Christianity', fearing that it would lead to more and communitv' loyaltv'.
foreign influence if not foreign rule. Where it
survived it was forced deep underground. The JERUSALEM A city sacred to Jews, Chris-

Tokugawa, who ruled from 1600 to 1868, tried tians, and Muslims. Its sacredness is intertwined
to keep out nearly all foreign ideas and to organ- with its historv'.

ize society along strict Confucian lines. Around the year 1000 B.C. Jerusalem was a
stronghold of people known as Jebusites. King
Modern Japan D.WID (ruled roughly 1000-961 BC.) captured
the citv'. He made it the capital of a united mon-
By the 19th century', there was growing social archy of Israel and Judah. His son SOLOMON
ferment within and growing outside pressure (ruled roughly 961-922 B.C. ) built a temple there
from Europe and America to open up the coun- for the dynastv's god, 'iTTVVTi ( "the Lord"). This
is the structure Jews know as the First Temple.
tr\'. Eventually, in the so-called Meiji Restoration
of 1868, the shoguns were retired and the em- When Solomon died, the united monarchy
peror restored, nominally, to direct rule. Chris-
tian missionaries returned. Part of the Meiji split into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. Jeru-
ideology was to bring back ancient Shinto as a salem became the capital of Judah, and David's
national religion of patriotism and loyalt\' to the descendants continued to rule there. Israel built
throne. At the same time, Japan was being built alternative sanctuaries at Dan and Bethel, but
some, including some ver\' vocal prophets, still
up as a modem industrial and military' power. favored Jerusalem. King Josiah of Judah (ruled
640-609 B.C.) instituted a religious reform.
This was the situation that led to the extreme Earlier the people of Judah seem to have offered
nationalism and militarism of the 1930s and s.\CRIFICES at local sanctuaries. Josiah made
1940s and Japan's World War II surrender in the Jerusalem Temple the only acceptable place
1945. Shinto and the "imperial will" were used, of sacrifice. This meant that Jews would travel
often cynically, by the militarists as supports for to Jerusalem to celebrate the major festivals
their policy; religion was under tight government of PASSOV'ER, Shavuot, and Sukkot (see JEWISH
control during this period.
FESTI\'ALS).
After 1945 Japan enjoyed religious freedom.
Shinto reorganized itself independent of the In 587 B.C. the Babylonians sacked Jerusa-
state. Buddhism, though shorn by land reform of lem, destroyed Solomon's Temple, and deported
estates that had supported temples and monaster- the Judean elite to Babylon. In 539 B C CvTUS,
ies, found its place as Japan's prosperity- increased. king of Persia, conquered Babylon. He allowed
The greatest growth, however, was in the so- the Jews to return home, but many decided to
called new religions, like Tenrikyo, Konkokv'o, stay in Babylon instead. The resettling of Jerusa-
and above all the Nichiren-related Soka Gakkai lem and the rebuilding of the Temple under such
movement. These religions had deep roots in
Japanese cultural attitudes, \'et were not tainted

JERUSALEM 187

An orthodox Jewish man crosses the rooftops above the Old City in Jerusalem, with the dome of a Muslim mosque
behindhim. (By permission ofdii Episcopal }^ews Service; photograph by James H. Thrall.)

leaders as NEHEMIAH and EZR.\ went slowly. their identit\' but of no direct, practical signifi-
Later, in 164 B.C., after a revolt led by Judas cance. RABBIS preser\-ed the regulations concern-
Maccabeus, Jerusalem became the capital of a ing the Temple in the Mishnah. Prophecies
thriWng Jewish kingdom, known as the Has- concerning the restoration of Jerusalem also
monean kingdom. seemed to point to future glory.

In 63 B.C the Romans defeated the Has- In the first century, TESUS, the founder of
moneans. The>- eventually made Herod king to
rule the territory for them. ^^Ithough he was CHRISTLAxm', was active in the region. He was
unpopular, Herod did expand the Temple to its
most glorious form. After Herod's death in 4 B C, tried, executed, and, Christians believe, rose from
the political situation became increasingly unsta- the dead at Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, too, his
ble. From .\.D 66 to 74 Roman annies fought closest followers created the first chiu-ch. In this
with Jewish freedom -fighters. They destroyed the way Jerusalem became an important site in the
Temple for good in .\.D 70. The western retain- Christian Holy Land. The places that tradition
ing wall of the temple mount became an impor- associates with Jesus, especially the Via Dolo-
tant place where Jews mourned this loss. After a
revolt in 132-135, the Romans renamed Jerusa- —rosa the path he took on his way to being
lem and expelled all the Jews. Jerusalem became —executed ha\e become important destinations
for most Jews a mvthical, ancient cit>', essential to
for pilgrims. Christians have also called the world
to be established when Jesus returns "the new

Jerusalem."

188 JESUITS

In 635 Jerusalem fell to Muslim rule. Be- quired to wear a special habit nor to spend a
cause Muslims revere figures like ABR-\H.\.V1, considerable part of their days chanting WORSHIP
David, and Solomon as prophets, they, too, con- services. Members take vows of povert)-, chastin.',
sider Jerusalem a sacred place. In 691 they built and obedience. Their aim is to work wherever

a shrine, the Dome of the Rock, on the temple —instructed "for the greater glory of GOD" the

mount. Islamic tradition has identified a rock society's motto.
outcropping in this shrine as the place from which Jesuits have engaged in primarily two kinds
MUR\Mi\L\D was taken up one night into
HEA\-EN. of activity': education and mission work. From the

From 635 to 1948, Jerusalem remained un- beginning, their schools provided a rigorous edu-
der Muslim rulers, with one exception. In 1099 cation in the humanities, philosophy, and THE-
Crusaders fi-om Catholic western Europe cap- OLOGY. They came to dominate education in
tured Jerusalem and established a Christian king- Catholic Europe. They also evoked resentment,
dom there (see CRUSADES). It lasted until 1247. especiallv in the 18th centur>' from spokespersons
In 1948, Jerusalem was divided. The Jewish sec- of the Enlightenment, such as Voltaire.
tion became the capital of the new state of Israel.
During the 1967 war the Israeli army took the Jesuits started mission work in connection
entire city. It remained under Israeh control for with European overseas colonization. Francis
the rest of the centun-. In the second half of the Xavier established a church in south India in
20th centun' Palestinians also claimed Jerusalem 1541; he entered Japan in 1549. In 1582 Mat-
as the capital for the state they wished to establish. teo Ricci brought Roman Catholic Christianit\-
to China. Like their educational work, Jesuit
JESUITS Members of the Societx- of JESUS of missionarj' practices evoked controversy. The
the Roman Catholic Church. The Societ}- of Jesus Jesuits adapted Christianitx' to the culture of the
is a religious order made up of both priests and
brothers. Priests are men ordained to the office people to whom they were preaching. Others

of priesthood and thus able to celebrate the saw this as a distortion of true Christian teach-
EUCHARIST. Brothers are members of the societ)- ing and practice.

who are not ordained. By the mid- 18th centur)-, opposition to the
The founder of the societ\' was Ignatius Loy- order was at a high point. Portugal, Spain, and
France expelled the Jesuits from their territories
ola (1491-1556). Ignatius was a soldier. W'hile and colonies. Finally in 1773, Pope Clement
he was recovering fi"om a cannonball injur\', he Xr\' dissolved the order. But within 40 years the
experienced a religious conversion. As a result, he climate had changed. In 1814 Pope Pius VII
wrote a book entided Spiritual Exercises restored the order. i\lthough opposition did
(1523-35; approved, 1548), entered school, and not cease, since 1814 the Jesuits have once
attracted several followers. From this seed his again devoted themselves to education and mis-
order grew. In 1540 Pope Paul TV gave his sionary work.
approval to the order, which was extremely active
in the Counter- Reformation, the movement Jesuits have long been active in North Amer-
ica. In 1566 Jesuit MISSION.MUES preached to
within the Roman Catholic Church that re- indigenous Americans in what would later be-
sponded to the Protestant REFORAWTION. come Florida; in 1570 other Jesuits preached in
what would later become Virginia. The first
Unlike previous orders, Ignatius's order re- Catholic bishop in the United States, John Car-
roll ( 1735-1815) of Baltimore, was a Jesuit until
lied upon a strong, central authority known as the the order was dissolved. Today, Jesuit schools
include such prominent universities as George-
superior general. Also unlike previous orders, town UniversiU' and Lovola Universitv.
members of the Societv of Jesus were not re-