Introduction to Asian Regions and Religions PowerPoint Notes Our RegionsAsia o Geography The largest continent in the world (48 countries) Extends over 27,693,582 miles, making it two times the size of North America Climates range from the hottest to the coldest in the worldo Population  4.5 billion people (60% of world’s population) Contains 7/10 world’s most populous regions Contains 5/5 biggest organized religionsSouth Asiao Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, MaldivesSoutheast Asiao Mainland: Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, MalaysiaEast Asiao China, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea, South KoreaCentral Asia & Mongolia o Parts of China: Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, northern Nepal, northern Pakistan, and northern IndiaReligions in Asia (covered in course)o Hinduismo Buddhismo Shinto(ism)Religious Affiliationso Not exclusive in Asian cultures and religions Some beliefs and practices are found in a variety of Asian religions/cultures (ancestral veneration, shared deities) There will always be variations and exceptions within the same religionSpiritual SelvesIntroduction to Asian Regions and Religions PowerPoint Notes o Most traditions believe in “souls, spirits, and selves” that can be separated from the material body o Indic Religions (Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism)- Most special self soul is called “atman” or “jiva”, meaning the pure, divine, self that is derived from the divine- Not an individual with characteristics and memories, but rather the life-spark shared by all life and by God/Goddess/the Universeo Buddhism- Believes in “anatman” (no-self) o East and Southeast Asia- Believe that individuals have a number of souls (2-36), they can begood and bad or young and oldPresence of deitieso Hinduism has deities, which are universal and world deitieso Buddhism has deities, but they are not ultimate beingso Daoism has deities, they are local and keep things functioningo Shinto has “the Way of the Kami (spirits), honored the divine within all humansOther worldso All believe in heavens, hells, underworlds, ghostly planes, etc. Moralityo Hinduism & Buddhism: strict moral standards, particularly based on by-birth social roles. Violating these leads to penalties later in current life or next (karma) o Daoism: “what is moral is most natural and what causes least harm”. Heaven and deification are outcomes of moral and immoral behavioro Shinto: Doing good things make you a God, doing bad things make you