Understanding World Religions
Religion & Spirituality Podcas
Religion is the driving force behind much of what happens in the world today -- particularly when it comes to the "big three" religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious differences have and continue to spark wars, create nations, and spawn ongoing conflict down through the centuries. No matter what religion you adhere to (or even if you claim that you don't adhere to any religion at all), you need to have a basic understanding of the world's religions in order to understand what is happening in the world today so that you can be better informed and a more useful citizen of your nation and of the world. Without some knowledge of religion, you will not understand the underpinnings of what is happening in an increasingly global society.
Location:
United States
Description:
Religion is the driving force behind much of what happens in the world today -- particularly when it comes to the "big three" religions -- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Religious differences have and continue to spark wars, create nations, and spawn ongoing conflict down through the centuries. No matter what religion you adhere to (or even if you claim that you don't adhere to any religion at all), you need to have a basic understanding of the world's religions in order to understand what is happening in the world today so that you can be better informed and a more useful citizen of your nation and of the world. Without some knowledge of religion, you will not understand the underpinnings of what is happening in an increasingly global society.
Language:
English
Episodes
Transcendental Meditation
8/7/2016
Our quote for today is from Karl Menninger. He said, “It is doubtless true that religion has been the world's psychiatrist throughout the centuries.”
In this our last podcast, we are completing our journey through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Transcendental Meditation"
Transcendental Meditation, popularly known as TM, typically would be considered a New Age religion. For its size and...
Duration:00:21:56
New Age Religions
7/29/2016
Our quote for today is from Edwin Lewis. He said, "A religion without the element of mystery would not be a religion at all."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "New Age Religions"
New Age is an umbrella term for a host of recent religious startups, most originating since 1970. The name comes from the expected dawning of a new age of human...
Duration:00:21:18
Neopagan Religions
7/22/2016
Our quote for today is from George Washington. He said, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Neopagan Religions"
"The Goddess is alive and magic is afoot." Thus proclaimed an I-694 billboard in a Minneapolis suburb a few years...
Duration:00:20:37
Jehovah's Witnesses
7/15/2016
Our quote for today is from Theodore Roosevelt. He said, “Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth.”
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Jehovah’s Witnesses"
Jehovah’s Witnesses are well known for...
Duration:00:19:27
Mormonism
7/7/2016
Our quote for today is from Ronald Reagan. He said: "The frustrating thing is that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of tolerance, freedom and openmindedness. Question: Isn’t the real truth that they are intolerant of religion? They refuse to tolerate its importance in our lives."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is,...
Duration:00:22:07
Christian Science and Scientology
6/25/2016
Our quote for today is an old Negro proverb: “Education without Salvation equals damnation.”
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Christian Science and Scientology"
Once again, we'll look at different faith systems with similar names in one episode, since sometimes these also are confused with each other.
The Church of Christ, Scientist is...
Duration:00:20:21
The Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Unity School of Christianity, and The Unification Church
12/11/2015
Our quote for today is from Elizabeth Gilbert. She said, "Look for God. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "The Unitarian-Universalist Association, The Unity School of Christianity, and The Unification Church"
These three belief systems are considered in one episode not because they...
Duration:00:19:13
Cults, 'Isms,' and Contemporary Religious Movements
12/3/2015
Our quote for today is from Ravi Zacharias. He said, "My premise is that the popular aphorism that 'all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different' simply is not true. It is more correct to say that all religions are, at best, superficially similar but fundamentally different."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Cults,...
Duration:00:17:31
Secular Humanism
11/25/2015
Our quote for today is from Simone Weil. He said, "Humanism was not wrong in thinking that truth, beauty, liberty, and equality are of infinite value, but in thinking that man can get them for himself without grace."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Secular Humanism"
Secular Humanism is not merely nontheistic. It is zealously antitheistic....
Duration:00:19:35
Shinto
11/18/2015
Our quote for today is from Yukitaka Yamamoto. He said, "To be fully alive is to have an aesthetic perception of life because a major part of the world's goodness lies in its often unspeakable beauty."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Shinto"
Shinto, Japan's traditional religion, combines animistic aspects with ancestor veneration. There are...
Duration:00:20:30
Taoism
11/11/2015
Our quote for today is from Lao Tzu [LAH-O-ZAH]. He said, "In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Taoism"
Because Taoism and Confucianism are...
Duration:00:19:03
Confucianism
11/5/2015
Our quote for today is from Confucius. He said, "Never impose on others what you would not accept for yourself."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Confucianism"
Many people would describe Confucianism as a philosophy or ethical system rather than a religion. This is probably what Confucius himself intended. His writings teach about how to live...
Duration:00:18:39
Tibetan Buddhism
7/29/2015
Our quote for today is from Buddha. He said, "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Tibetan Buddhism"
Tibetan Buddhism may be best known in the West because of the international popularity of its leader, Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama....
Duration:00:18:43
Mahayana Buddhism
7/22/2015
Our quote for today is from Buddha. He said, "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Mahayana Buddhism"
Early in Buddhism's development, disputes about the correct meaning of Gautama's teaching divided his followers into various schools of...
Duration:00:19:55
Theravada Buddhism
7/16/2015
Our quote for today is from Gautama Buddha. He said, "A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving, and fearless then he is in truth called wise."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Theravada Buddhism"
Buddhism is the fourth largest of the world's religions, with about 350 million followers, and like...
Duration:00:20:02
Sikhism
7/8/2015
Understanding World Religions #27
Our quote for today is from Guru Granth Sahib. He said, "I didn’t ask for it to be over. But then again I didn’t ask for it to begin. For that’s the way it is with life, as some of the most beautiful days come completely by chance. But even the most beautiful days eventually have their sunset."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic...
Duration:00:21:16
Jainism
6/10/2015
Our quote for today is from Marcus Aurelius. He said, "It is a ridiculous thing for a man not to fly from his own badness, which is indeed possible, but to fly from other men's badness, which is impossible."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Jainism"
Jainism, little known in the West, had a significant role in shaping post-classical Hinduism. And although today it has barely four million followers, Jainism continues to have an impact on modern India because its...
Duration:00:19:55
Hinduism Today
6/4/2015
Our quote for today is from Robert Hugh Benson. He said, "The Church must be intelligible to the simple as well as to the shrewd."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Hinduism Today"
We've already seen that Hinduism displays tremendous variety even in India. India's place at the forefront of twenty-first-century globalization and modernization has...
Duration:00:19:49
Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices
5/28/2015
Our quote for today is from Buddha. He said, "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices"
As mentioned in our last episodes, Hindu practice involves the worship of a vast multitude of deities. Worship consists...
Duration:00:19:25
Hinduism
5/21/2015
Our quote for today is from the Indian philosopher and religious teacher Swami Prabhavananda. He said, "The little space within the heart is as great as the vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun and the moon and the stars. Fire and lightening and winds are there, and all that now is and all that is not."
In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day."
Our Understanding World Religions...
Duration:00:22:25