Do you believe in any god or do you believe in the existence of a god or gods?

Do you believe in any god or do you believe in the existence of a god or gods?

Do you know how many different religious there are in the world?

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity,Islam and so on.

Have you been to any famous religious sites in China?What are they?

The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan Province are the famous Buddhist sites. Mount Wudang in Hubei Province is famous for Taoism. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, is the holy place for Tibetan Buddhism.

Are you familiar with the ancient Chinese story Journey to the West? What religion is it related to?

Can you name some religious festivals around the world?

For Buddhists, there is Nirvana Day, Buddha’s Day or Bodhi Day. For Christians, there is Good Friday, Easter Day, All Saints’ Day, and of course Christmas Day. For Muslims, there id Eid, the festival of sacrifice, Muhammad’s Birthday or Forgiveness Day. For Hindus, there is Great Shiva Night, Humanity Day or the Festival of Lights. For Jews, there is Passover, Day of Atonement or Harvest Festival.

What date is Christmas Day?

On 25th December.

What do you know about Christmas?

Christmas Day is a Christian holiday. It is regarded as the birthday of Jesus Christ.

What do people do on Christmas Day?

Although Christmas is a religious holiday, many of the customs and celebrations are not of a religious nature. Before Christmas Day, people will go to shops to buy Christmas decorations, Christmas cards and presents together with wrapping paper for friends or relatives. For food, people will prepare lots of chocolates, nuts and snacks. A roast turkey or goose is usually served for Christmas dinner. On Christmas Eve, family members get together or go to church to enjoy the Christmas carols.

Have you ever read this book? What do you know about it?

Journey to the West

a classic piece of Chinese literature; a combination of myth, parable and comedy; main characters include a Buddhist monk who is also known as the Priest of Tang andhis three followers, Monkey King, Pigsy and Friar Sand; a trip to India for the Buddhist scriptures; the characters are magical or heavenly beings in normal forms and have some magical powers that can protect them from the evil monsters and spirits

There are 81 obstacles for the monk and his three followers on the way to the West. Why do you think they face these obstacles?

to give the monk and his three followers an insight into their own characters and show that people must often struggle to succeed; to symbolize the difficulties and challenges that people meet in the course of doing what they believe in

What is a mosque used for?

A mosque is a place for Muslims to worship.

What are the architectural features of a mosque?

It is said that the first mosque was built based on the structure of Muhammad’s house in the city of Medina. Basically, a mosque consists of a courtyard, a domed hall and a fountain. Before prayer, people need to wash themselves in the fountain and then they can worship in the courtyard or the hall facing Mecca is called qibla. It is not allowed to draw human forms in the mosque, so all the decorations appear as shapes such as circles and squares.

Do you know of any famous mosques in China?

There are many famous mosques in China. One of them is the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang. This mosque was built in 1442 and is the largest in China. Another famous one is the Great Mosque in Xi’an, Shanxi Province. It was built in the 18th century with a traditional Chinese architectural style.

What do you know about Taoism?

Taoism is one of the major religions in China. It was founded by Lao-tzu in about the 6th century BC. The most important text of Taoism is Tao-te-Ching. In the 5th century AD, Taoism developed as a religious system.

What is the belief behind Taoism?

Taoism is also a system of thought. The central concept of Taoism is Tao, which refers to the ways the universe functions. Taoism believes in ‘wuwei’, which means that everything must follow its course and happen naturally.

What does ‘yinyang’ mean?

Taoism believes that ‘yin’ and ‘yang’ are two fundamental forces in the universe. ‘Yin’ is the passive or negative force, referring to dark, wet or feminine aspects, while ‘yang’ represents active and positive things, such as the bright, dry and masculine aspects. According to Taoism, wise people will achieve a balance between the interactions of these two forces.

Although there are so many beliefs or religions, do you think that they have something in common?

different from superstition, which has no central beliefsencourage people to do goodhave a power to call on people to devote themselves to that religionsometimes restrictive or judgemental of people’s liveshelp people live their lives in a positive waymotivate people to be compassionate, kind and loving

Since religions are very important in many aspects, do you think everyone should have a belief/religion? Why?

1. belief: noun [C or S or U] the feeling of certainty that something exists or is true:

It is my (firm) belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.

我坚信核武器是不道德的。

His belief in God gave him hope during difficult times.

在艰难时期他对上帝的信仰给了他以希望。

2. search: verb

He searched (in/through) his pockets for some change.

[I or T] to look somewhere carefully in order to find something:

noun

(1) [C] when you try to find someone or something:

After a long search, they eventually found the missing papers.

在长时间的搜寻之后 , 他们终于找到了失踪的文件。

(2) [S] when you try to find an answer to a problem:

the search for happiness

对快乐的寻找

in search of sth:

trying to find something:

She was shot by a sniper when she went out in search of firewood.

当她出去寻找木柴的时候被阻击手击中了。

Homework:1. Collect more information about religions.

2. Prepare the Reading part.