beliefBeliefs can be accepted within an oral culture and transmitted verbally
from generation to another, or beliefs can be transmitted by written doc-
uments. Sometimes, beliefs are partially embodied in myths and rituals
of a people. The Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path of the Buddha are
examples of the belief system of formative Buddhism. The Four Noble
Truths summarize the fundamental problem of life and its solution: (1)
all life is suffering; (2) suffering is due to ignorant craving; (3) the solu-
tion is the attainment of nirvāÏa; (4) there is a the path to achieve libera-
tion. The Eightfold Path combines wisdom (right view and thought),
moral action (right speech, behavior, and livelihood), and meditation
(right effort, mindfulness, and concentration). In comparison to the basic
message of the Buddha, the Hindu religious tradition does not have any-
thing comparable because Hindus tend to be tolerant about beliefs,
whereas they are traditionally not as lenient when it comes to behavior,
which suggests that Hinduism is not as much an orthodoxy as it is an
orthopraxis.
Muslims make a basic distinction between things to be believed
(īmān) and things to be done in rites (dīn). Beliefs are summarized by
the Five Pillars of Islam: (1) confession of faith; (2) prayer five times
a day; (3) almsgiving; (4) fasting during the holy month of Ramadan
from sunrise to sunset; and (5) pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at least once
during a lifetime for a believer. These fundamental tenets of the Islamic
faith are not only the basic requirements for all Muslims, but they also
tend to bind together the community, reinforce the collective sense of
being a Muslim, impose a pattern of discipline, and symbolically
express unity.
Similar to Buddhism and Islam, Christianity summarizes its basic beliefs
in creeds, a word that is derived from the Latin term credo, “I believe.” The
Apostles’ Creed is used in the West as a fundamental statement of faith that
recognizes a creator God, an only son of God named Jesus Christ, born to
a virgin, the suffering, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection on the
third day after death. Jesus ascends to heaven where he sits at the right
hand of God. At the end time, Jesus will return to earth to judge the living
and dead. The creed concludes with a statement of other beliefs in the Holy
Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, forgiveness of
sins, resurrection of the body, and everlasting life. An expansion of this
basic confession of beliefs is provided by the Nicene Creed, a creed
accepted by the eastern branch of Christianity around the fifth century and
the western Roman Catholic tradition in 1014.
Further reading: Pelikan (1971, 2003)