This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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History of Religions
History of the 3 Monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and of the main different Christianity confessions (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and Protestantism)
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Pedagogical Approaches
New pedagogical approaches to teach history of religion
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Role of Religions in Civilization
How to didactically promote among students of different confessions, the capacity of a critical analysis and understanding of the role played by religions in the history of mankind
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Interreligious Students’ Competences
Set of teaching contents, to be used by teachers to highlight and valorize the universal values of tolerance and universalisms that all Monotheistic religions and religious texts contain to promote and sustain mutual understanding among students
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Managing Multi-Religious Classes
Teaching Sources to help teachers dealing with multicultural and multi-religious classes
Map
An interactive didactical map interactive didactical map giving access to sites with a religious relevance.-
Introduction
A comparative review of the liturgical celebrations, ceremonies and dietary rules existing in the different religions.
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Celebrations
Description and comparative analysis of the celebrations of different religions and confessions
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Ceremonies
Description and comparative analysis of the ceremonies of different religions and confessions
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Dietary Rules
Description and comparative analysis of the dietary rules of different religions and confessions
Events
The Pathway through Religions project has been promoted trough conferences and articles.
Conferences
The Pathway through Religions project was presented in a number of events in order to report about the activities carried out and the results achieved
Press Review
The Pathway through Religions project partnership made contacts with web sites focusing on the fields of educationPartnership
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Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of the Pathway through Religions project.
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Schools
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the schools involved in the Pathway through Religions Project in the European countries involved.
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Associated Partners
As a result of the exploitation activity a number of associated partners officially joined the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project impact on their target groups and to ensure the project sustainability by continuing using the project deliverables in the next years.
This section of the Pathway through Religions portal provides administrative information for the project contractual partners and for the European Commission and it is password protected.
History of Religions
Homepage > Teachers’ Guide > History of Religions
History of the 3 Monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and of the main different Christianity confessions (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and Protestantism)
History and Philosophy of Religions
2. Religion and the Concept of God
Religion is a system of views and habits based on a set of beliefs in a supernatural nature, characterized by a system of ethical rules and customs, norms, institutions, and rites, and defines the relationship of the human being with what lies beyond material reality and with the sacred.
The most important dichotomy in science and in the history of Religions is the one between Polytheism and Monotheism.
The first admits the existence of more deities, almost always anthropomorphic, that reflect the human need of cosmic order. Each god is the recipient of a cult and subject of mythology. Historically, the civilizations of the Mesopotamian area, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Celts and Germans, the ancient Romans and the people of Pre-Columbian America were polytheistic.
The term monotheism refers instead to religions that postulate a single deity, affirming its uniqueness with the exclusion of every other God. The three most important monotheistic religions, which comprise more than three billion believers, are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are also "revealed" because they are based on the revelation of truth by God Himself.
Recently, in France, the definition "Abrahamic religions" has been coined because Abraham / Ibrahim was recognized as the one who destroyed the idols of his father's house and advocated the idea of the one God. (Among Abrahamic religions there are also other religious groups such as the Bahá'í Faith, Samaritanism, Druzi).
In addition to Abraham, the three greatest beliefs have in common some historical events, historically existing prophets, some sacred texts, and especially an out-directed ethic, justified by the fact that Salvation - eternal life after death - is obtained by obeying the commandments and precepts revealed by the one transcendent and almighty God transcribed and handed down by prophets.
Religions derived from Indian and Chinese tradition (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism) are millenary religious-philosophical traditions, linked to the intertwining of many cultures. Sometimes defined as "natural", as unrevealed, they are generally "pantheistic" (from Pan = all and Teos = God), so divinity is the infinite, immutable, immanent and transcendent reality that can be traced in all things, the first principle and ultimate end of the universe.
Among the religions that postulate the dualistic existence of real and antagonistic entities, Good and Evil, we can include Zoroastrianism (the oldest of the religions founded by Zaratustra), Mandeism and Manicheism. Zoroastrianism and Mandeism are ancient religions of Central Asia which precede the Islamization of Greater Iran: along with Yazidi, Alevism and Yarsanism.
The most important dichotomy in science and in the history of Religions is the one between Polytheism and Monotheism.
The first admits the existence of more deities, almost always anthropomorphic, that reflect the human need of cosmic order. Each god is the recipient of a cult and subject of mythology. Historically, the civilizations of the Mesopotamian area, Egypt, Ancient Greece, Celts and Germans, the ancient Romans and the people of Pre-Columbian America were polytheistic.
The term monotheism refers instead to religions that postulate a single deity, affirming its uniqueness with the exclusion of every other God. The three most important monotheistic religions, which comprise more than three billion believers, are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They are also "revealed" because they are based on the revelation of truth by God Himself.
Recently, in France, the definition "Abrahamic religions" has been coined because Abraham / Ibrahim was recognized as the one who destroyed the idols of his father's house and advocated the idea of the one God. (Among Abrahamic religions there are also other religious groups such as the Bahá'í Faith, Samaritanism, Druzi).
In addition to Abraham, the three greatest beliefs have in common some historical events, historically existing prophets, some sacred texts, and especially an out-directed ethic, justified by the fact that Salvation - eternal life after death - is obtained by obeying the commandments and precepts revealed by the one transcendent and almighty God transcribed and handed down by prophets.
Religions derived from Indian and Chinese tradition (including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism) are millenary religious-philosophical traditions, linked to the intertwining of many cultures. Sometimes defined as "natural", as unrevealed, they are generally "pantheistic" (from Pan = all and Teos = God), so divinity is the infinite, immutable, immanent and transcendent reality that can be traced in all things, the first principle and ultimate end of the universe.
Among the religions that postulate the dualistic existence of real and antagonistic entities, Good and Evil, we can include Zoroastrianism (the oldest of the religions founded by Zaratustra), Mandeism and Manicheism. Zoroastrianism and Mandeism are ancient religions of Central Asia which precede the Islamization of Greater Iran: along with Yazidi, Alevism and Yarsanism.
Online Resources
- The Big Religion ChartWork with comparison charts of all religions
- Carol Kuruvilla, 16 Children’s Books For ‘Spiritual But Not Religious’ Families Work with books on spirituality in general
- Dan Dennet, Let’s teach religion-all religions- in schoolsVideo on the reason why religions should be taught at school
- Religion and Ethic toolsFrom the "Religion & Ethics" part of the BBC website, interactive animated view of the spread of world religions
- BBC Religion PageBBC Religion website, where featured religions and beliefs can be found
- BBC Religion and Ethic HomepageA series of articles and news collected by the BCC of ethical and religious content, with specific sections on Festivals and Worship, Big Questions, History of Ideas
- International Council for Inter Religious CooperationInternational Council for Inter-Religious Cooperation. ICIRC has a network of informed and connected religious leaders working for bringing peace and religious tolerance.
Practical Activity
- World Religions Interactive GameThe activity presents an introduction to the different religions of the world, their geographical distribution, and the key concepts that will later be deepened through a short video and an interactive game available on the web.
