Religious+and+Cultural+Beliefs+of+Space

=**__Religious and Cultural Beliefs of Space__**=
 * __Suwandi and Rachel__**


 * //__ What Do Different Religions Think Of Space? __//**

Abrahamic Religions are religions that emphasize and trace their origin to Abraham and consists of three major religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Both Judaism and Christianity’s holy book is the Bible, while Islam’s holy book it the Qur’an.
 * Abrahamic**

All of the Abrahamic religions teach that God (or Allah, as Islam calls him) created the heavens, the earth and everything that is between them in six days, although Islam states that these are days as Allah sees them and "a day in the sight of your Lord is like 1,000 years of your reckoning" (The Qur’an, 22:47). Because of this, Muslims interpret this to mean that Allah created the world in six distinct periods or eons, as opposed to six literal days.

The Bible states that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:1-2). This is how God created the universe. According to the Bible, God said “‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault ‘sky.’” (Genesis 1:6-8) This is how God created the sky. God then said, “‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.” (Genesis 1:14-18) This is how God created the moon, the sun and the stars, according to the Bible.

The Qur’an states that “the heavens and the earth were originally joined together as one unit before We clove [cut, separated] them asunder” (21:30). Some Muslims interpret this to mean that Allah created the Big Bang (a popular scientific theory). Allah then “turned to the sky, and it had been smoke. He said to it and to the earth: ‘Come together, willingly or unwillingly.’ They said: ‘We come in willing obedience’” (41:11). And this is how Islam states the planets and stars began to cool, come together and form into shape. "It is He Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon; all the celestial bodies swim along, each in its rounded course" (21:33) states that Allah created the planets and stars’ orbits.

Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a set of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals. The main Polytheistic Folk Religions are the Aztec, Celtic, Egyptian, Greek, Maya, Mesopotamian, Norse, Roman, Slavic and Turkish religions.
 * Polytheistic Folk Religions**

The Aztecs believed in three Gods of creation. Ometeotl created the universe,

Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion. Hindus believe that Brahma made himself a god so he could create the world. They also believe that Vishnu is the protector and preserver of creation and that Shiva is the destroyer of the world. Their belief about how the universe came to be can be compared to the Cyclical Universe Theory. In the Cyclical Universe theory, the birth of the universe can be compared to Brahma, the life of the universe can be compared to Vishnu and the Big Crunch, which is the destruction of the universe, can be compared to Shiva.
 * Hinduism**

Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings and concepts of Buddha. Buddhists believe that creation occurs repeatedly over time in cycles. At the beginning of each cycle, land forms and people of the previous cycle are reborn. As the unhappiness in the world increases, the universe dissolves, all living creatures return to soul life and the cycle repeats.
 * Buddhism**

Sikhism is a religion combining elements of Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs believe that the universe was created by the god Waheguru. They believe that he created the universe and all forms of life, protects it, and causes the birth, life and death of everything.
 * Sikhism**

Astrology is a group of systems, traditions and beliefs based on the position of the Sun, planets and the moon. There are many different types of astrology, including Chinese astrology, Hindu astrology and Western astrology.
 * __ Astrology __**

Chinese Astrology is based on 5 main planets; Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn. According to Chinese Astrology, a persons destiny can be determined by the position of these 5 main planets, the sun, the moon and comets and the person’s zodiac sign. Jyoti ṣ a is the Hindu form of astrology. It is also based on zodiac signs and planets, but in this form of astrology, the planets move houses as the orbit the sun. Each house represents something. This table, from Wikipedia, shows what each house represents. Table:
 * Chinese Astrology**
 * Jyoti**** ṣ a**

Western Astrology is the most popular astrological system in Western countries. In Western Astrology, there are 12 signs based on 12 constellations, which the sun passes through each year. It is based on a horoscope, which shows the position of the Sun, moon and planets.
 * Western Astrology**

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religions http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=Genesis+1&version=NIV&interface=print http://etori.tripod.com/science.html [] []
 * Bibliography**