Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor Michigan www cherrylakepublishing com Content Adviser April C Armstrong Princeton University Reading Adviser Marla Conn MS Ed Literacy specialist Read-Ability Inc Photo Credits Shahril KHMD Shutterstock cover 1 saiko3p Shutterstock 5 michaeljung Shutterstock 6 Peter Hermes Furian Shutterstock 8 Work2win Wikimedia Commons 11 akedesign Shutterstock 12 Sean Pavone Shutterstock 14 India Picture Shutterstock 16 reddees Shutterstock 19 Kudryashka Shutterstock 21 Kullanart Shutterstock 22 fizkes Shutterstock 24 wavebreakmedia Shutterstock 27 paul prescott Shutterstock 28 Copyright 2017 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data on file Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning Please visit www p21 org for more information Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics ABOUT THE AUTHOR Katie Marsico is the author of more than 200 children’s books She lives in a suburb of Chicago Illinois with her husband and children
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 History Roots of the Religion 4 CHAPTER 2 Geography Mapping How Faith Formed 10 CHAPTER 3 Civics Organization and Ideas 18 CHAPTER 4 Economics Funding a Faith 26 THINK ABOUT IT 30 FOR MORE INFORMATION 31 GLOSSARY 32 INDEX 32
CHAPTER 1 History Roots of the Religion Since people began recording history they have written about the idea of a power greater than themselves Thousands of years later various beliefs in this power continue to shape both individual lives and entire cultures Religion is the system people use to organize such beliefs Religion also standardizes ceremonies and rules for worship Understanding Ancient Beliefs Hinduism is the world’s oldest surviving religion Most historians think it has existed since prehistoric times Today Hinduism is a collection of practices belonging to several different religious groups that developed in ancient India But it is also an entire culture based on a wide variety of customs and ideas about faith 4 21st century skills library
Shiva is one god Hindus worship Hindus or people who practice Hinduism believe in the idea of Brahman a divine force present in all things They often worship one or several gods including Vishnu and Shiva The many individual gods within Hinduism are said to represent this eternal or ongoing force The ultimate spiritual goal of most Hindus is for their soul known as the atman to be one with Brahman They believe that at this point they will achieve moksha or the highest level of existence Moksha is a state of inner peace and spiritual awareness Hindus also say it is freedom from samsara a cycle Global Citizens World Religions 5 55
