Lucy's Religion?

I attended Catholic school from kindergarten through my senior year of high school, where every year we studied religious classes alongside typical classes like science and literature. This early education spiked my interest in studying beliefs and histories of religion, both those with ties to Christianity and those whose origins are completely unrelated.

A chapter on early religions in my history textbook, Ways of the World, directed me to the Minnesota State University webpage on World Religions, where I encountered an interesting page compiled by Salman Hakim on Jainism, a religion with origins in "prehistory," even before the Indus Valley civilizations.

Before the chapter I read for my class, I'd never even heard of Jainism, and to find a website full of information was serendipitous. Some of the pages on other world religions seem incomplete or half-hearted, but the one on Jainism appears well-rounded to include both historical data on the religion as well as the positions of believers. Hakim ties the two together in a way respectful and open to both parties.

For example, directly after attributing to modern research that evidence of Jainism has been found to pre-date Indus Valley civilizations, Hakim credits the beliefs of several Jain scholars that Jainism is "more ancient even then the three and a half million years old Ethiopian female as Lucy" and has actually existed for about 8.4 million years. The credence Jainism gives both opinions gives the post a neutral and non-judgmental feeling, something very important in sensitive matters such as religion.

Jainism focuses on freeing the soul from birth and death by ridding oneself of karma. Karma prevents the soul from liberty and the chance of being a God, and forces one to be reborn. One can eliminate karma by rejecting the materialism of the world through the practices of non-violence and limited desires.

Fordmakers, ordinary souls with superhuman powers have guided Jainism and stressed the importance of non-violence time and time again. After the death of Mahavira Swami, the last reformer, Jainism split into two sects because of disputes of monastic orders. They differ in clothing, temple adornment, and sacred texts.

This website gives a great overview of Jainism, as well as some helpful links for future study, including one to the Jain Global Resource Center online. I highly recommend checking it out if you're at all intrigued by learning about new religions. There are also pages on Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, all with their own links pages for further study.