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	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Friedrich_Nietzsche&amp;diff=339995</id>
		<title>Friedrich Nietzsche</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Friedrich_Nietzsche&amp;diff=339995"/>
		<updated>2007-11-20T03:28:07Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: /* On Religion */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:nietzsche2.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Friedrich Nietzsche''' (1844-1900) was a [[Germany|German]] [[atheism|atheist]] [[philosopher]] whose work set a foundation for the [[existentialism|existentialist]] movement of the 1900s &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Stanford's Biography on Nietzsche]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; and eventually caught the eye of [[Hitler]] who viewed him with great admiration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nietzsche was critical of religion in general, though especially [[Christianity]], which he described as the &amp;quot;religion of pity.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Friedrich_Nietzsche/ Nietzsche Quotations]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt; Nietzsche is famous for his anguish declaration that “God is dead” because human have killed him by their actions; Nietzsche thus suggested ways for human to cope with this loss of the idea of &amp;quot;Good&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Evil&amp;quot;. Nietzsche suffered a mental collapse in 1889, and spent the last ten years of his life unable to care for himself. During this time, his sister Elizabeth Förster-Nietzsche took over his affairs, and worked to falsify and re-edit his writings in order to support her virulent anti-Semitism (a view which Nietzsche consistently abhorred, and often mocked, during his lifetime). It was her distorted version of culled and misquoted statements which later provided an intellectual fig leaf for the Nazis and Italian Fascists. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The ''Übermensch'' (overhuman, superhuman) was a literary device used in his magnum opus, &amp;quot;[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]&amp;quot;. The Overman was to be a new kind of being which would overcome resentment and affirm the Eternal Recurrence of the same.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The statement &amp;quot;God is dead&amp;quot; first appeared in Nietzsche's &amp;quot;[[The Gay Science]]&amp;quot;, in Aphorism 108, titled &amp;quot;New Struggles&amp;quot;. This very anti-Christian aphorism compares God's death to Buddha's, and implores the reader to take up the task of vanquishing the dead God's shadow. Some argue Nietzsche was not actually anti-Christian, but unfortunately this Aphorism leaves little room to claim it. There is a common misconception that the first appearance of &amp;quot;God is dead&amp;quot; comes later in &amp;quot;[[The Gay Science]]&amp;quot; but the text is clear.   &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nietzsche's father Carl Ludwig Nietzsche, was a [[Lutheran]] pastor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In his first Papal Encyclical, &amp;quot;Deus Caritas Est&amp;quot; (God is Charity/Love) [[Pope Benedict XVI]] quotes from Nietzche's ''Beyond Good and Evil'', taking very seriously Nietzsche's claim that the Church has poisoned ''eros'' (love) with dogma, and responding to it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Morality==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche argued that [[rational egalitarianism]] denies [[creativity]], and reason cannot create values and morality, attempt to do so would only lead to [[nihilism]].  Therefore morality has been imposed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;Morality is the herd-instinct in the individual.&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;With morality, the individual can only ascribe value to himself as a function of the herd&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;I submit that egoism belongs to the essence of a noble soul ... and has its basis in the primary law of things&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;all morality is partisan; just as any legal system will favor certain behavior against others&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;who else should we wish to serve, if not ourselves?&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Whoever battles monsters should take care not to become a monster too, for if you stare long enough into the Abyss, the Abyss stares back into you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Science and Knowledge==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;I mistrust all systemizers and avoid them; the will to systematize is a lack of integrity&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;there is no pre-established harmony between the furtherance of truth and the well-being of mankind&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;the free-spirit is brought into disrepute chiefly by scholars who miss their thoroughness and ant-like industry in his art of regarding things&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;there are many things I do not wish to know, wisdom sets a limit on knowledge too&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;the fact that science as we practice it today is possible proves that the elementary instinct which protect life have ceased to function&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;we have arranged for ourselves a world in which we are able to live with postulation of bodies, lines, surfaces, causes, and effects, motion and rest, form and content: without these articles of faith, nobody could manage to live&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;the irrationality of a thing is no argument against its existence, rather a condition for it&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;[too much knowledge causes us to] choke on our own reason&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;creed of nihilism which I see everywhere is the result of too much learning&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Any truth which threatens life is no truth at all, it is an error&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Politics==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;As a political subject, it is an illusion to ask myself what I require from the state.  In reality, it is a question of what the state requires from me&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;culture and the state are antagonistic&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;clearly, the individual will is forfeit to the demands of government - a kind of political Darwinism.  The herd triumphs again, this time under the banner of the state&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;socialism is the fantastic younger brother of an almost decrepit despotism, which it wants to succeeded&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;the doctrine of free will is an invention of the ruling classes&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;madness is something rare in individuals; but in groups, parties, ages, it is the rule&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Women==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;Women are essentially unpeaceful&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;Man is for woman a means; the purpose is always a child.  But what is woman for man?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Philosophy==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;Philosophy is the dressing-up in rational argument of moral beliefs, intuitions and desires&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==On Religion==&lt;br /&gt;
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote &amp;quot;the religious nature follows the path of self-denial&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;they honored something in themselves when they honored the saint ... self mastery and the will to power&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Thus Friedrich Nietzsche viewed [[Moses]], [[Jesus]], [[Buddha]], [[Homer]] etc, not as religious figures, but as creators of an archaic moral framework, which had lost its authority as Europe began to become secular.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In Gay Science, Nietzsche proclaimed that the God is Dead.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==See Also==&lt;br /&gt;
[[nihilism]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche/ Entry on Nietzsche from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nietzsche-moral-political/ Entry on Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]&lt;br /&gt;
*[https://www.dartmouth.edu/~fnchron/index.html Nietzsche Chronicle]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/452786.html Nietzsche: The Problem of Autumn]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=816224 &amp;quot;The Case for Nietzschean Moral Psychology&amp;quot;]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html#_ftnref1 ''Deus Caritas Est'', from the Vatican website]&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.amazon.com/Introducing-Nietzsche-Third-Introducing-Laurence/dp/1840466278/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5268663-4749443?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1179639544&amp;amp;sr=1-1 Introducing Nietzsche, Third Edition by Laurence Gane] &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nietzsche, Friedrich}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:German Philosophers]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339990</id>
		<title>Hinduism</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339990"/>
		<updated>2007-11-20T03:22:08Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: /* Description */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Hinduism.jpg|left|Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Hinduism''' is the fourth largest religion in the world&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The largest being [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist, and Hinduism, in that order[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Hinduism is the first [[Dharmic religion]]. It can be called &amp;quot;the religion of India;&amp;quot; about 800 million of the world's 1000 million Hindus live in India, and about 80 percent of Indians are Hindus.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/Brief_analysis.pdf Census of India, religion data, brief analysis (PDF)]; &amp;quot;At the national level, of 1028 million population, 828 million (80.5 percent) have returned their religion as Hindus followed by 138 million (13.4 percent) as Muslims and 24 millions (2.3 percent) Christians. 19 million (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 8 million (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4.2 million (0.4 percent) are Jains as per the 2001 Census. In addition to these, 6.6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About seven lakh (or 0.7 million) persons have not stated their &lt;br /&gt;
religion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Hinduism..jpg|240px|right|Shiva the Cosmic Dancer]]&lt;br /&gt;
It dates back to the ancient days. Hindus believe in [[reincarnation]] and eventual unity with what is known as [[Brahman]] as well as respect for all life forms. Their holy writings are known as the [[Vedas]]. The goal of Hindus in life (purusharthas) is to follow four life-long aims: dharma (righteousness), artha (material success), kama (love/pleasure), and moksha (release from reincarnation/reunification with Brahman).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Description ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1966, the Supreme Court of [[India]] defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavat Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection. Bhagavat Geeta is rendered as a dialogue between Shri Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu) and Arjuna (the great archer) in the middle of the battlefield.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7. Belief in one god. Contrary to popular belief, Hinduism is not a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religion.  The Vedas, the primary Hindu holy scriptures states that there is only one [[God]] but can manifest in many forms.  This is the reason why there are many deities.  A common example used to explain this is that an individual can be called different names depending on the relationship has with another.  A man can be a son to his parents, a nephew to his uncle, a father to his son, and a husband to his wife all at the same time.  None of these different relationships suggest multiple people but rather different aspects of one person.  The same is applied to God in Hinduism, which has no form and is infinite.  Hindus may call God, Paratman (Supreme Soul), Brahmana (Eternal Spirit), or Ishvara (Supreme Lord).  Deities have various names but represent aspects of God that manifest in the world.  For example Agni (fire, Divine spark), Vayu (wind, or breath which could mean life force, Indra (in mythology king of gods but also refers to the senses such as vision, hearing, touch, taste), and Lakshmi (fortune).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8. Secular multiplicity and accommodating flexibility in spiritual practices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Relations between Hinduism and Christianity have also been shaped by unequal balances of political power and cultural influence. Although communities of Christians have lived in South India since the middle of the 1st millennium, the great expansion of Indian Christianity followed the efforts of missionaries working under the protection of the British colonial government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-261549/Hinduism Hinduism and Christianity] Encyclopædia Britannica. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For the last 50 years Hindus in rural parts of India have faced serious Christian conversion problems, for the same reason certain State governments such as Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh have passed Anti Conversion Laws &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24470.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more on Hinduism, see [[World History Lecture Three]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Hinduism-Hindu.htm Hindu Religion]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Religion]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339988</id>
		<title>Hinduism</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339988"/>
		<updated>2007-11-20T03:19:31Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: /* Description */Dear Philip J. Rayment,  I am from India, I am Hindu and you are niether, so your judgment of authenticity of my sources is as good as my judgement about KKK&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Hinduism.jpg|left|Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Hinduism''' is the fourth largest religion in the world&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The largest being [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist, and Hinduism, in that order[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Hinduism is the first [[Dharmic religion]]. It can be called &amp;quot;the religion of India;&amp;quot; about 800 million of the world's 1000 million Hindus live in India, and about 80 percent of Indians are Hindus.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/Brief_analysis.pdf Census of India, religion data, brief analysis (PDF)]; &amp;quot;At the national level, of 1028 million population, 828 million (80.5 percent) have returned their religion as Hindus followed by 138 million (13.4 percent) as Muslims and 24 millions (2.3 percent) Christians. 19 million (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 8 million (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4.2 million (0.4 percent) are Jains as per the 2001 Census. In addition to these, 6.6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About seven lakh (or 0.7 million) persons have not stated their &lt;br /&gt;
religion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Hinduism..jpg|240px|right|Shiva the Cosmic Dancer]]&lt;br /&gt;
It dates back to the ancient days. Hindus believe in [[reincarnation]] and eventual unity with what is known as [[Brahman]] as well as respect for all life forms. Their holy writings are known as the [[Vedas]]. The goal of Hindus in life (purusharthas) is to follow four life-long aims: dharma (righteousness), artha (material success), kama (love/pleasure), and moksha (release from reincarnation/reunification with Brahman).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Description ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1966, the Supreme Court of [[India]] defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavat Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection. Bhagavat Geeta is rendered as a dialogue between Shri Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu) and Arjuna (the great archer) in the middle of the battlefield.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7. Belief in one god. Contrary to popular belief, Hinduism is not a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religion.  The Vedas, the primary Hindu holy scriptures states that there is only one [[God]] but can manifest in many forms.  This is the reason why there are many deities.  A common example used to explain this is that an individual can be called different names depending on the relationship has with another.  A man can be a son to his parents, a nephew to his uncle, a father to his son, and a husband to his wife all at the same time.  None of these different relationships suggest multiple people but rather different aspects of one person.  The same is applied to God in Hinduism, which has no form and is infinite.  Hindus may call God, Paratman (Supreme Soul), Brahmana (Eternal Spirit), or Ishvara (Supreme Lord).  Deities have various names but represent aspects of God that manifest in the world.  For example Agni (fire, Divine spark), Vayu (wind, or breath which could mean life force, Indra (in mythology king of gods but also refers to the senses such as vision, hearing, touch, taste), and Lakshmi (fortune).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8. Secular multiplicity and accommodating flexibility in spiritual practices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Relations between Hinduism and Christianity have also been shaped by unequal balances of political power and cultural influence. Although communities of Christians have lived in South India since the middle of the 1st millennium, the great expansion of Indian Christianity followed the efforts of missionaries working under the protection of the British colonial government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-261549/Hinduism Hinduism and Christianity] Encyclopædia Britannica. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For the last 50 years Hindus in rural part of India have faced serious Christian conversion problems, for the same reason the Government of State governments such as from Madhya Pradesh have passed Anti Conversion Laws &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/24470.htm&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more on Hinduism, see [[World History Lecture Three]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Hinduism-Hindu.htm Hindu Religion]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Religion]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Conversion&amp;diff=339684</id>
		<title>Conversion</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Conversion&amp;diff=339684"/>
		<updated>2007-11-19T17:23:50Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: Added socio-political context to christian conversion in India&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Conversion is the changing from disbelief to [[faith]].  It is often accompanied by a change in outlook on life and a manifestation of an overwhelming love or repentance. Not all conversions are willful. Some are politically driven and cause social turmoil. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;www.shabarikumbh.org/en/conversions-northeast-ind.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
One such conversion problem is persistent in northeast regions of India.&lt;br /&gt;
[[category:Christianity]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339678</id>
		<title>Hinduism</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=339678"/>
		<updated>2007-11-19T17:11:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: /* Description */ added the reference regarding conversion in northeast india&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Hinduism.jpg|left|Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Hinduism''' is the fourth largest religion in the world&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The largest being [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist, and Hinduism, in that order[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Hinduism is the first [[Dharmic religion]]. It can be called &amp;quot;the religion of India;&amp;quot; about 800 million of the world's 1000 million Hindus live in India, and about 80 percent of Indians are Hindus.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/Brief_analysis.pdf Census of India, religion data, brief analysis (PDF)]; &amp;quot;At the national level, of 1028 million population, 828 million (80.5 percent) have returned their religion as Hindus followed by 138 million (13.4 percent) as Muslims and 24 millions (2.3 percent) Christians. 19 million (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 8 million (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4.2 million (0.4 percent) are Jains as per the 2001 Census. In addition to these, 6.6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About seven lakh (or 0.7 million) persons have not stated their &lt;br /&gt;
religion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Hinduism..jpg|240px|right|Shiva the Cosmic Dancer]]&lt;br /&gt;
It dates back to the ancient days. Hindus believe in [[reincarnation]] and eventual unity with what is known as [[Brahman]] as well as respect for all life forms. Their holy writings are known as the [[Vedas]]. The goal of Hindus in life (purusharthas) is to follow four life-long aims: dharma (righteousness), artha (material success), kama (love/pleasure), and moksha (release from reincarnation/reunification with Brahman).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Description ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1966, the Supreme Court of [[India]] defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavat Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection. Bhagavat Geeta is rendered as a dialogue between Shri Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu) and Arjuna (the great archer) in the middle of the battlefield.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7. Belief in one god. Contrary to popular belief, Hinduism is not a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religion.  The Vedas, the primary Hindu holy scriptures states that there is only one [[God]] but can manifest in many forms.  This is the reason why there are many deities.  A common example used to explain this is that an individual can be called different names depending on the relationship has with another.  A man can be a son to his parents, a nephew to his uncle, a father to his son, and a husband to his wife all at the same time.  None of these different relationships suggest multiple people but rather different aspects of one person.  The same is applied to God in Hinduism, which has no form and is infinite.  Hindus may call God, Paratman (Supreme Soul), Brahmana (Eternal Spirit), or Ishvara (Supreme Lord).  Deities have various names but represent aspects of God that manifest in the world.  For example Agni (fire, Divine spark), Vayu (wind, or breath which could mean life force, Indra (in mythology king of gods but also refers to the senses such as vision, hearing, touch, taste), and Lakshmi (fortune).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8. Secular multiplicity and accommodating flexibility in spiritual practices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Relations between Hinduism and Christianity have also been shaped by unequal balances of political power and cultural influence. Although communities of Christians have lived in South India since the middle of the 1st millennium, the great expansion of Indian Christianity followed the efforts of missionaries working under the protection of the British colonial government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-261549/Hinduism Hinduism and Christianity] Encyclopædia Britannica. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Today more than 50 years after the British have left India, politically driven conversion of  Hindus to Christianity  in the remote regions of northeastern India proves to be a persistent socio-political problem.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;www.shabarikumbh.org/en/conversions-northeast-ind.pdf&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more on Hinduism, see [[World History Lecture Three]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Hinduism-Hindu.htm Hindu Religion]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Religion]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=338890</id>
		<title>Hinduism</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Hinduism&amp;diff=338890"/>
		<updated>2007-11-18T20:08:50Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Middlegray: /* Description */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;[[Image:Hinduism.jpg|left|Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
'''Hinduism''' is the fourth largest religion in the world&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;The largest being [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist, and Hinduism, in that order[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;. Hinduism is the first [[Dharmic religion]]. It can be called &amp;quot;the religion of India;&amp;quot; about 800 million of the world's 1000 million Hindus live in India, and about 80 percent of Indians are Hindus.&amp;lt;ref&amp;gt;[http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/Brief_analysis.pdf Census of India, religion data, brief analysis (PDF)]; &amp;quot;At the national level, of 1028 million population, 828 million (80.5 percent) have returned their religion as Hindus followed by 138 million (13.4 percent) as Muslims and 24 millions (2.3 percent) Christians. 19 million (1.9 percent) persons follow Sikh religion; 8 million (0.8 percent) are Buddhists and 4.2 million (0.4 percent) are Jains as per the 2001 Census. In addition to these, 6.6 million belong to ‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ including tribal religions which are not part of the six main religions stated above. About seven lakh (or 0.7 million) persons have not stated their &lt;br /&gt;
religion.&amp;quot;&amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
[[Image:Hinduism..jpg|240px|right|Shiva the Cosmic Dancer]]&lt;br /&gt;
It dates back to the ancient days. Hindus believe in [[reincarnation]] and eventual unity with what is known as [[Brahman]] as well as respect for all life forms. Their holy writings are known as the [[Vedas]]. The goal of Hindus in life (purusharthas) is to follow four life-long aims: dharma (righteousness), artha (material success), kama (love/pleasure), and moksha (release from reincarnation/reunification with Brahman).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Description ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In 1966, the Supreme Court of [[India]] defined what Hinduism is for legal purposes: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
1. Belief in the authority of the Vedas (an ancient hymns to the gods, written in Sanskrit). The oldest collection of hymns in the Vedas is the Rig Veda, which was written between 1800 and 1300 B.C. The greatest Veda hymn is the “Bhagavat Gita,” a section in the Mahabharata concerning life’s never-ending spiritual journey towards perfection. Bhagavat Geeta is rendered as a dialogue between Shri Krishna (incarnation of Vishnu) and Arjuna (the great archer) in the middle of the battlefield.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
2. Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and respect an opponent’s view. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
3. Belief in world rhythms: long periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
4. Belief in reincarnation (rebirth) and pre-existence. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
5. Belief that there are many ways to salvation. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
6. Unlike most other religions, Hinduism is not defined by a specific set of philosophical concepts. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
7. Belief in one god. Contrary to popular belief, Hinduism is not a [[polytheism|polytheistic]] religion.  The Vedas, the primary Hindu holy scriptures states that there is only one [[God]] but can manifest in many forms.  This is the reason why there are many deities.  A common example used to explain this is that an individual can be called different names depending on the relationship has with another.  A man can be a son to his parents, a nephew to his uncle, a father to his son, and a husband to his wife all at the same time.  None of these different relationships suggest multiple people but rather different aspects of one person.  The same is applied to God in Hinduism, which has no form and is infinite.  Hindus may call God, Paratman (Supreme Soul), Brahmana (Eternal Spirit), or Ishvara (Supreme Lord).  Deities have various names but represent aspects of God that manifest in the world.  For example Agni (fire, Divine spark), Vayu (wind, or breath which could mean life force, Indra (in mythology king of gods but also refers to the senses such as vision, hearing, touch, taste), and Lakshmi (fortune).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
8. Secular multiplicity and accommodating flexibility in spiritual practices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Relations between Hinduism and Christianity have also been shaped by unequal balances of political power and cultural influence. Although communities of Christians have lived in South India since the middle of the 1st millennium, the great expansion of Indian Christianity followed the efforts of missionaries working under the protection of British colonial government. &amp;lt;ref&amp;gt; [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-261549/Hinduism Hinduism and Christianity] Encyclopædia Britannica. &amp;lt;/ref&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Today more than 50 years after the British have left India, politically driven conversion of  Hindus to Christianity  in the remote regions of northeastern India proves to be a persistent socio-political problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more on Hinduism, see [[World History Lecture Three]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[http://www.spaceandmotion.com/Philosophy-Hinduism-Hindu.htm Hindu Religion]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==References==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;references/&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Hinduism]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Religion]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Middlegray</name></author>
	</entry>
</feed>