Eastern Religions

Eastern Religion is a broad umbrella term that refers to the major spiritual and philosophical traditions that originated in South, East, and Southeast Asia.

32 resources in this topic.

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Hinduism

Explores Hindu beliefs about God, karma, reincarnation, scripture, worship, and salvation.

7 resources

• Advaita Vedānta vs. Christianity: Is Ātman Really Brahman?
• Caste and Hinduism: Varna, Jati, Scripture, History, and Reform
• What Does the Bhagavad Gita Actually Teach? Krishna, Dharma, Yoga, and the Battlefield
• Karma, Reincarnation, and Moksha: What Hindu Traditions Actually Teach
• Is Hinduism Polytheistic? Brahman, the Gods, and the Trimurti Explained
• What Is Hinduism? One Religion, Many Traditions, and the Meaning of Sanātana Dharma
• Hinduism: A Historical Introduction

Buddhism

Examines Buddhist teachings on suffering, desire, enlightenment, karma, rebirth, and Nirvana.

8 resources

• What Is Śūnyatā? Nāgārjuna, Buddhist Emptiness, and the Christian Question of Reality
• Pure Land Buddhism: Amitābha, the Western Pure Land, and “Salvation by Faith” in Buddhism
• Is Buddhism Atheistic? The Buddha, Gods, Prayer, and the Question of a Creator
• If Buddhism Teaches ‘No Self,’ What Gets Reborn? Anatta, Karma, and Rebirth Explained
• What Is Nirvana? Does Buddhism Teach Annihilation, Heaven, or Something Else?
• The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path: What Buddhism Actually Teaches About Suffering
• Who Was the Buddha? What the Earliest Sources Can—and Cannot—Tell Us
• Buddhism: A Historical Introduction

Confucianism

Studies Confucian ethics, virtue, family order, social harmony, ritual, and moral cultivation.

3 resources

• Is Confucianism a Religion? Heaven, Ancestors, Ritual, and the Question of God
• What Is Confucianism? Confucius, Ren, Li, Filial Piety, and the Moral Life
• Confucianism: A Historical Introduction

Taoism (Daoism)

Explores Taoist teachings on the Dao, nature, balance, simplicity, immortality, and spiritual harmony.

3 resources

• Philosophical Taoism vs. Religious Taoism: Is the Difference Really That Simple?
• What Is Taoism? Laozi, the Dao De Jing, Wu Wei, and the Way
• Taoism (Daoism): A Historical Introduction

Jainism

Examines Jain beliefs about nonviolence, karma, liberation, asceticism, and the eternal soul.

4 resources

• Does Jainism Believe in God? Souls, Karma, the Universe, and Liberation Without a Creator
• Why Is Jain Nonviolence So Radical? Ahimsa, Vegetarianism, and the Ethics of Harm
• What Is Jainism? Mahavira, the Tirthankaras, Karma, and Liberation
• Jainism: A Historical Introduction

Sikhism

Explores Sikh teachings on one God, the Gurus, Scripture, devotion, service, and liberation.

4 resources

• Sikhism and Christianity: One God, Salvation, Scripture, and the Question of Christ
• What Does the Guru Granth Sahib Teach About God, Grace, Karma, and Rebirth?
• What Is Sikhism? Guru Nanak, the Ten Gurus, and the Khalsa
• Sikhism: A Historical Introduction

More in this topic

3 resources

• What Is Shinto? Kami, Purity, Ancestors, Shrines, and the Question of God
• What Is the Baháʼí Faith? Bahá’u’lláh, Progressive Revelation, and Why Christianity Cannot Be One Stage Among Many
• Did Zoroastrianism Influence Judaism and Christianity? Resurrection, Judgment, Angels, Satan, and the Afterlife