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Ethics and Morality in

Hinduism and Judaism


Devon Kilburn
Alexander Yared
Matthew Arbesfeld

Fall 2009 AP World History


Introduction to Ethics and Morals
What are ethics?
• Ethics is a branch of philosophy that seeks to address
the questions of right and wrong.
• A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", or the life
worth living.
• It is believed that through obedient religious conduct
one can achieve the best life possible.

What are morals?


• Morals are often considered synonymous with ethics.
• Whereas ethics are usually strict written codes, morals
are arbitrarily and subjectively created by society.
Hinduism: Beginnings and
Significance
• Date of origin unknown, believed to be anywhere from
3,500 to 7,000 years old.
• No single founder.
• Began in India and spread across South East Asia when
Ashoka Maurya converted to Hinduism.
• Vedas—book of Hindu law.
• Mahabharata—epic poem explaining Hindu origins,
beliefs, rituals, etc.
• Three major gods—Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the
Protector, Shiva the Destroyer.
• Diwali—a four day festival of lights. Each day is
dedicated to different story about a Hindu deity.
• Hinduism now comprises 13% of world population:
equivalent to 837 million followers.
Judaism: Beginnings and
Significance
• Believed to be founded about 4,000 years ago by Abraham in
Jerusalem.
• Spread far and wide after being forcibly removed by Romans.
“Great Diaspora”
• Torah—holy scroll on which Yahweh’s teachings are written.
Also known as the “Old Testament”
• Haftara—Book of Prophets. Read from when Torah reading
was banned.
• Monotheistic—belief in one God named Adonai.
• Hannukah—Festival of Lights that commemorates the
Maccabean revolt.
• 14 million followers.
Ethical and Moral Differences
Ethical and Moral Differences
Ethical and Moral Similarities
• The Jewish ten
commandments and the
Hindu Vedas both establish a
code of law by which all
citizens must abide.
• Both religions celebrate
festivals of light, Judaism has
Hanukkah, and Hindus
celebrate Diwali.
• The Jewish Yom Kippur
mirrors the Hindu belief of
renouncing evil and
separating one’s self from
their mistakes to achieve
purity.
Ethical and Moral Similarities
• Both are tolerant of
other religions, Hinduism
says that there is no one
path to the Gods’ love.
• Both stress non-violence
and appreciation of
fellow man
• Both believe that we
have a moral obligation
to uphold the truth, and
that lying is a sin.
Conclusion
• Written codes in
Hinduism and Judaism
often preach different
ethical and moral values.
• The disparities between
the religions are mostly
a result of the dissimilar
regions where they
developed.
• Surprising, there are a
number of ethical
similarities between the
two religions.
Bibliography
"Judaism.about.com." Judaism.about.com. About.com, 18 Oct. 2009. Web. 18 Oct.
2009. <http://judaism.about.com/>.

Bhaskarananda, Swami. "Hinduism in a Nutshell." Vedanta-Seattle. The Vedanta


Society of Western Washington, 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2009.
<http://www.vedanta-seattle.org/pages/hinduism.html>.

Cohen, Marsha B. Jewish Ethics Resource Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2009.
<http://mcohen02.tripod.com/ethics.html>.

Das, Subhamoy. Hinduism.about.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2009.


<http://hinduism.about.com/>.

Stearns, Peter N, et al. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. N.p.:


Addison-Welsley Inc., 2003. Print.

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