Introduction to "Religion" (World Religions: A Whirlwind Tour)

The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life offers a series of short classes this spring designed to teach participants about the origins, beliefs and practices of various faith traditions.
LD Russell, in the Department of Religious Studies, leads this weekly Monday program to teach the concepts, ideas and practices of several of the world's biggest religions.
In this first session, Russell gives an Introduction to Religion.

[@ianjohnson458]

I like this guy a lot. Great teacher.

[@GururajBN]

Why are people religious? Why have the religions survived for millennia? Who needs religion? Great questions with baffling answers. Grateful to Prof Russel for opening our eyes. Stepping back and critically looking at one’s own religion is most difficult task. Like a consummate teacher he points out the direction, doesn’t spoon feed the listeners. Respects from India.🙏

[@debashispurkait2788]

Sir., Watched Your Speeches in Chirstianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam apart from this. I think you should have received many success and acknowledgements regarding your teachings as your passion and deep thoughts going deeper in every moments, taking beautiful turns, filled with your own unique interpretation, living us in blissful awe about amazing sentences filled with meaningful words. I can listen you everytime talking about anything on any given day.. Greetings, Compliments and Namaste.., I bow to the divine in your goodself..

[@debashisbanerjee7452]

Watched your video on "Hinduism" . Beautifully explained . Have become a fan of yours,sir ! Best wishes from India

[@sahilguleria4979]

Agreed

[@viadharmawheel]

For an hour, nice indeed. An intro to an intro. Bless Russel, as he has passion for all religions.

[@user-ul6bg3xw2t]

A broader perspective on the universe and our part in it

[@joshs1447]

This was pretty amazing. Thank you for posting and I look forward to watching the rest of your available lectures.

[@sanjt11]

Thank you very much for posting those videos online, they were turned out to be very helpful for me. I especially like the way he teaches. It was such a pleasure to learn from him about the different religions.

[@wanderingbiku451]

I am thoroughly enjoying this series of lectures. Your delivery, explanation and wonder just at the concept of religion is contagious. Having shunned religion myself for so many years, extolling the virtues of modernism, I am slowly re-growing my spiritual roots. Thank you for making these talks public and look forward to following your work.

[@raisa_cherry33]

His lecture is clear and to the point, needless to say better than my own religion lecturer 👏 he went into the depths of religion and very effortlessly outlined without making it too complex.I really like it.

[@ppradhan]

I like you teaching very much. Watched all your videos on world religions. Best wishes from a Hindu.

[@7vernessa]

Really truly wonderful the first video I looked at and shared was Hinduism and now I am looking at all his videos

[@rebecaestefania6389]

39:03 I CAN'T!!! How he looks when he's one with the divine!

[@freddiepoman3594]

Great video, as I have studied world religions and moral philosophies for many years. It is the story of the soul and forms people's relative reality. It's a way for people to view the world and make sense of humanity beyond the tangible and materialistic world. Religions were and still abre present in all societies for this reason. We have seen time and again, specifically in Russia and china the legal "banning of religion " during the Soviet union and the cultural revolution, but the result was consistent; it strengthened their ties to the divine and people were willing to be martyrs of their faith. Religion has been used for the purpose of uniting people and dividing g people, as it all is determined upon how people choose to use their free will. Some people have ulterior motives, while other people not. We must remember this before we generalize a specific group of people or religion as a whole and create misconceptions. Karl Marx and emile Durkheim both are correct, in different circumstances. Religion, at it's core is intended to promote morality and community, through a more enlightened manner of thinking and behaving. We then apply our intuition within our life to make humanity a better and more peaceful place. The goal of all religions is precisely that, no religion is more superior to one another. This leads to ethnocentrism and therefore xenophobia which causes wars and destruction. All religions and moral philosophies are equal. Plus, there is no need to engage in dogmatic behaviours, as if a god/gods truly exist, doesn't it surely know our intentions. Doesn't that god dwell in our hearts? So why do we need to engage in these dogmatic rituals and practices. At the end of the day, who you are is determined by how you think and act within this world towards other people and nature as a whole, not by what you claim to be based on rituals. Rituals are good, but at times many people believe they are "the righteous" because they attend religious ceremonies and claim that they have somehow won God. This is essentially the reason why christianity was established, as Jesus saw many faults in the covenant with yahweh. The Jews believed that obeying god was the priority through ritualistic behaviours, while Jesus believed it was the interactions from sole to soul, the emotions and experiences. This example was conveyed to reinforce my argument.

[@adalbertoruiz7651]

I found and watched your talk on hinduism, now I watched this and will certainly watch the others. People really should learn that their beliefs and way of life are all constructed and not an absolute truth, meaning that everyone has the right to express their religion and spirituality and that nobody has the right to force their ideas on anyone, let alone killing in the name of religion. Thank you! 🙏

[@kalavipanchi9115]

Namaste Sir 🙏 Your explaining of Hinduism as Universal Religion was really Great nd complete....Hope your lectures help world understand Hinduism better and help remove the negative impact of systematic anti Hinduism propaganda...May PARAMATHMA Bless you with Spiritual nd worldly Abundance and give you more opportunities to spread Truth about Hinduism.

[@DeepakYadav-hz3uq]

You are really a great person, the way you explain the Hinduism, till now I have seen many one attempting, but you are best. In small time period you have tried to explain at best. Thank you.

[@jayantito8520]

About Hinduism...perfect sir.Thanks sir

[@mezidvemastromy5546]

Damn, this guy rocks, I actually have a tendency to learn more about all this. So I have to say, thank you sir.

[@mokhikhan5494]

Thank you very much for such an interesting lecture )))

[@sarahallal7640]

I really like your perspective, I am on the journey of discovering the truth and I feel as if you were describing me when you were talking about yourself in your youth. Great talk!

[@satyamevjayate6360]

If you're looking for truth, let's connect. Not sure what we can do as I am fully occupied with my work, but let's see.

[@Brunofromaraguari]

Thank you for this class.

[@yogiadityanath9354]

You are amazing.

[@noroverdene3778]

Lucky students to get this guy as a teacher

[@syedmammar1]

Awesome teacher

[@viraam_koshur]

A Great Spiritual Food for Mind

[@uditprabhakar4262]

watched you video about sanatana dharma/ hinduism. Just loved it. So sorry that the comments there have to be disabled. best wishes to you from india. IBOW DOWN TO THE DIVINE IN YOU

[@prostholecs6816]

great talk , its very similar to what Swami Vivekanand has spoken a century ago!

[@foysalahmmed9991]

Allah is Second to None

[@aagantuk7370]

@@foysalahmmed9991 I'm for tolerance with different views but why are you throwing this around randomly? I thought up at least 15 different ways to insult your god and prophet. I'm not going to do it but know that you are asking for it. Be nice and respectful to all beliefs

[@SimonFranck100]

@@foysalahmmed9991 Sure. Nobody's God is "superior" to another.

[@SimonFranck100]

Actually, he didn't

[@nanashi2146]

@@aagantuk7370 Stating that God is one is not equivalent to someone mocking one's religion

[@kapzutube]

I have seen your videos. This is great information. Please also do a session on Sikhism. Thank you.

[@AngelaBuyck]

I think people saw stuff and could not find out why that happen religion was a way to explain this. Helped stop fear of death

[@15vatsaljoshi42]

Is there only one recorded lecture available with Elon University about Hinduism? If you have other please upload it Elon TLV... because we want to watch more lectures particularly about Hinduism by Mr LD Russel.I hope you will upload soon if you have..... waiting for your reaction..

[@ushapareek5887]

In hinduism 33 koti of god n goddess, the snskrit word koti means crore nd type, here he used crore and the real number is 33 types of div, devta, sanskrit has a large vocubalary,

[@parmanandmakhija1591]

Thank you Sir🙏🏻 it was very nice lecture on Hinduism - very very knowledgeable! We are Sanatanies Hindu! Respect to every religion - one more great thing of Hinduism is “Ahinsa Parmo Dharmaha” it means not to kill anyone- it’s the main base of Hinduism- Love and Namaste from India 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Shiva also call a SHAKTI (Power) There’s no word of DIVORCE in Sanatan Hindu Dharma- it means you have to live your life with one Life Partner!

[@aayushthomas]

Don't say meaning if you don't know the literal meaning of each word

[@christinekhamasi5387]

Love 💕 what I'm listening

[@itsmefakeemonitsmefakeemon2811]

This is so accidental ASMR for boring go to sleep meditation .. niceee tytytyty Great teacher tho !! Very interesting if you put the volume up (i put mine so his voice sounds like clicks and humssss

[@bernardodocruzeiro2496]

At 38:58min which book is that? I am not being able to find it...

[@bernardodocruzeiro2496]

found it! for anyone interested, it is called "Godspeed: Racing is My Religion" by Chad Bonham

[@bikashray1919]

l m not be live in God and religion but I want to talk with u to expand your belief & knowledge about God & religion

[@VIKASHKUMAR-ue1qd]

Is this old aged class?

[@ugc1784]

Hello sir, You owe one more go into Hinduism. Since it's a very very complex subject, it takes time to dig deep into it. It's not something limited to One Book, One GOD & One Prophet (all of whom waiting for the 'Dooms Day' for something to happen. The one video on your take on Hinduism was not complete due to time factor. Hence.

[@punithj3402]

what is the name of this great man? can anyone please tell

[@adalbertoruiz7651]

L. D. Russel

[@devoradamaris]

🕊🕊🌎🕊🦋

[@swadeshtaneja3512]

I am impressed the way you teach and I bow to your openness and intention. I am aHindu. In your lectures you mention again and again that Hindus worship million Gods. Gods. We may add a new ones also. But what is in our scriptures and believe that God is formless, has no properties, omnipresent and is in every creature, everywhere in cosmos in every atom or fragments of atom. No Hindu believes that God has definite form. If you have visited Indian temples you must have seen same God in different colours . No one emphasizes or worships million Gods. Your emphases may be misleading for your students. We all know God has no form. Please research more about hinduism. I have yet to know a westerner whoreally understands our religion completely. Please do not have a mocking tone for any religion.

[@DeepakYadav-hz3uq]

I am also hindu, it seems that you yourself are not sure about what Hinduism is, that you are getting offended. No where he is trying to mock it, in fact he is appreciating the flexibility and dynamism of Hinduism. Try to feel it, through open mind. Of many of the explanation I have seen or studies about Indian philosophies and thoughts, he had done best in one hour. Infact, I was very happy that, he so beautifully sumup the basic philosophy of Indian thoughts, of which many hindus are unaware of. Or they don't able to understand despite being born into it.

[@jayadevrajendran]

I personally think that the concept of 'The God' in all religion refers to the mind of human. Since we can't fully control it, someone made a set of rules to be a good minded human being, and that became a religion. Some other people had some other set of rules, and that became another religion. And so on... But all these are helping us to become good humans. Misinterpretations leads to violence.

[@jyor1361]

I was born in India and a follower of Sanatana Dharma. I pains me how the leftists, missionaries and the western academia try to viciously spread lies about Hinduism and malign it. I lost trust in any westerner trying to talk about Hinduism. I was cynical when I started listening to your lecture on Hinduism. It did start of like a mockery of the many gods of Hinduism and I was like, ‘There we go! Here’s another Hinduphobic with his half baked knowledge about Hinduism trying to malign it and spread his hatred.’ I wanted to close the window as it would only leave me with a bad mood. But surprise! surprise! very pleasant surprise! I was awed at the depth of knowledge and wisdom you have! You have a proper knowledge of Hinduism and you actually respect it. You are the first person in the western academic circles that I came across who talked positively about Hinduism and with a proper understanding. I am so delighted! Thank you very much! I salute you! I am listening to your other lectures too and enjoying thoroughly. What a teacher! You are opening up my mind to other teligions and schools of thought. Thank you very much! 🙏🙏

[@prostholecs6816]

KJ joshi , if I like apple and you like mangoes that dosent mean I can say mango is bad. Hope you got what I want to convey.

[@jsully4074]

So has anyone counted how many times he says "Right" after almost every sentence? Good talk though, just distracting for me.

[@daniellat2151]

STOP NOW I CANT UN-HEAR IT...

[@socksumi]

Define... "spiritual" and "the divine".

[@SajiSNairNair-tu9dk]

👉Bhagavad-gita meaning of 👉you?

[@kondaplisrinivas5214]

This is very nice comedy show

[@rapurigavaskhar6230]

After understanding sanathana dharma...then go by Hinduism

[@afifkhaja]

Great lecture but I disagree with the part at the end because I think religions persists after being shown as false whereas science uses empirical observation to continually improve our understanding of the universe. I don't think the two are comparable in their explanatory power

[@DeepakYadav-hz3uq]

Watch Hinduism video, may be than it will make sense

[@freddiepoman3594]

Science is based on logical extrapolations, while religion requires people to exercise a level of faith. There is no objective evidence to suggest that god exists, but relative truth, also known as subjective truth, is based on experiential perception. This type I'd truth varies by person. Some people have claimed to have bee healed when science could not. It's a western misconception to believe that science holds absolute truth, as it only seeks to understand the tangible and materialistic world (scientific materialism). Whst cannot be quantified, doesn't exist according to many scientists. Emotions and experiences exist but cannot be quantified, lol. In the eastern world, the two are quite compatible. The big bang theory is compatible with many religious creation stories, specifically in Islamic and certain Native American identity.

[@mirror5076]

Zecharia Sitchin

[@ugc1784]

It was very interesting to hear you on religions. But is not one particular religion getting out of hands (say minds)? Already more than fifty countries have known it over the centuries. And now Europe is in line. What do you say sir? It is being portrayed much valuable than the human life. What a shame?

[@rickyrobson4500]

Anyone know his name

[@vijendrapandey4047]

L. D. Russell

[@SarveshShrivastava-vi4vg]

In Hinduism if all creation is by God then God is present is present in everything. So if I think that a stone is God's creation it takes the image of God

[@carcamp5451]

Hinduism: not millions of gods but millions of different forms of the same ones...

[@dusse3581]

Is. Is that jesus

[@sajisnair9354]

Tour😅☺️😉😃

[@sajisnair9354]

Return 😮

[@hugohertz6804]

. .

[@beekenko2379]

mmkay

[@mqondisinomvalo7979]

papers

[@TheMuvbuf]

The reason it’s on your mind every morning and because Jesus is calling you! Jesus is patient, kind, and loving. Just turn to Him. Stop your searching, your answers are in the Bible. God bless

[@JCW7100]

I know you mean well, but my guess is that, while you may have watched the video, you didn't truly listen.

[@TheMuvbuf]

Jordan W. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God?

[@rapurigavaskhar6230]

I think you know little bit about sanathana dharma..... know more

[@jyo1021]

He definitely knows a lot and understands it better than any western scholar on Hinduism that I know of. He is a mystic and hence he has a deeper understanding, unlike the other so-called scholars who have no clue about what it’s all about. Please listen to his lecture on Hinduism. It’s awesome!

[@rapurigavaskhar6230]

I watched full video.... excellent explanation.....but one thing is...if you want to know about DAHARA VIDYA study umasahastra written by kavyakanta Ganapathi muni.... great book..... totally about cosmic

[@SarveshShrivastava-vi4vg]

Please add the stone to 330 million gods ang goddess. However the central thought of dharma remains the same. So Hinduism is the most simple and not a religion as west wants to caste it in. You are born a hindu and die a hindu since there is no induction into the religion irrespective of the faith you may have been born into

[@jesusdeity2010]

The final religion. Through Christ, God gave us back the divine life mankind lost in its fall. Hence the divine healing miracles and casting out of demons, we experience up to this day. To not see God in Christ.... is impossible. "The Father and I are one!" "If you see Me, you see the Father!" "Don't you believe that the Father is IN Me?" "ALL (!) AUTHORITY in heaven and earth has been given to Me!". (Only God has all authority). At healing the paralytic: "Your sins have been forgiven you!" (Only God can forgive sins). "I am THE (not a) light of the world"......: God. "I have come to give you Zoë (=divine life) in abundance".... Only God can give Zoë life. "I am from above, you are from beneath. You are from this world, I am not from this world"..... Etc, etc, etc, When He explained these things, healed the sick, casted out demons, raised the dead, controlled nature for 3 years, they all worshipped Him as God/Messiah.... except for the critical scholars and farisees! He NEVER said: "Don't worship Me, I am just a prophet!". The Jews wanted to stone Him because: "You claim to be God". So Jesus is God manifesting in Human form. Period. Glad He did. So now we finally know the sayings and actions of God. Next step. To not see Jesus bringing the divine life of the ages back to you-manity.... is impossible. "I will send Holy Spirit, the same as Me, He will be IN you, guide you into truth and give you explosive power to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, etc, etc" "Follow Me, the miracles I do, you will do too" "God is IN you" "The Kingdom of God is IN you" "He who meets you, meets Me". "You and I are one" "You will understand that the Father is IN Me and I am in you" "See, I have given you power over all the forces of the enemy" "I have come to give you Zoë (=divine life) in abundance!" Etc, etc, etc. Hence the divine healing miracles and casting out of demons with His first 12+72 friends. As i understood these things, i experienced healing miracles and the casting out of demons already thousands of times and many other true believers do too. Yay! Conclusion of Paul after having revelation and healing all on Malta: "Jesus, the exact image of the invisible God. The fullness of deity dwells in Jesus bodily" and you have been made complete IN Him (the last Adam), who is the head of every principality and power". John (who had seen, touched, heard Jesus and walked in the same power and love): "the invisible God manifested in human form, in Christ and now in us". Thomas having revelation saying to Jesus: "My Lord and My God!". Jesus being God did NOT correct Him. Etc, etc, etc. His life totally proves He is God in human form. Begotten by the Spirit of God, filled with the spirit of God, healing all, raising the dead, casting out demons, controlling nature, raised from the dead, pouring out His Spirit for us to be indwelled by to be empowered to heal the sick and cast out demons, etc, etc, etc. Way to much to degrade Him to "just a prophet". So... Jesus is the manifestation of God in a human body.... "the Son" of God. He came to take the alienation away mankind got trapped in after the fall. He came to give us back the divine life Adam/mankind lost in its fall. Because of this fall, a perfect Holy sacrifice had to be made. That is what God did in Christ! It shows His deep, pure, affectionate passion from Him to you/His creation, to restore you back to origin: Christlikeness. Walking in divine power and unselfish divine love. Jesus walked flawless. Muhammed on the other hand.... Muhammed came after Jesus. He unfortunately never understood God's resolve for mankind's fall, wrote another story, called it the only truth, cutting of the real truth, leading millions astray from their godly identity in Christ. Heartbreaking. But for those who take Jesus for who He is and ask to be filled by His godly Holy Spirit.....: divine life. Tangible presence of God, healings, demons running for cover, etc. Just as with His first 12+72 friends. God will make you experience the full (godly) Life made possible through Holy Spirit. So don't be afraid to leave islam. God can only be found in/through Jesus Christ. Ask Him to fill you with His/God's Holy Spirit so He can guide you into truth and transform your life. You and God/Jesus are finally one again. He will open your eyes and give you Zoë (divine life). You will be growing into Him in all things. The life you see in Him and His first 12+72 friends. I experience it since 25 years and so will you.

[@krishnantampi5665]

Hindu Religion is based on Trinity of brahma vishnu and siva with their consorts saraswati, lakshmi and paarvati each of the have different manifestation the idol worship is lowest form of worship Christian Trinity is father son and the holy Ghost God for all humans is a mask behind mask there may be holy Spirit for Islam they have the Allah or the single but their pagan ancestors wor shipped half moon but Materlism had crushed these symbiotic symbiosis from Industrial revolution to internet access has changed the out look on like we look for good and bad and pine for whats not now doctrinal truth is linked to belief system Hindus also believe in kundalini Or the sexual energy that can be aroused through meditation. But human evolution is linked Darwin's theory of evolution now Richard Dawkins wrote God delusion and George coyne in his uncut interview with Richard Dawkins in 2014said that God works through evolution nowhere now religion is taught in schools except in very few Christian Schools it s noe an academic exercise and is branch of social science😊 sky.

[@markblandkelly]

Drugs are bad, Mmmkay

[@skyrider4492]

47:00 science is also myth hhahahhah

[@mikemukweem1693]

I find Islam most interesting.

[@MrPhysicist]

yah bcoz that produced most terroists multiple wifes and u can kill other religion people if they are not following islam

[@liemtuyetofficialchannel1294]

many "heroes" in the making come from Islam

[@TheMuvbuf]

Is it the brainwashing of it? Find Jesus. He is all you need

[@Amber-zo9pj]

​​@@TheMuvbuffind reality. You need it the most

[@SaraAli-ns3dr]

As an ex-muslim, trust me it's not that deep 😅

[@youtubee9479]

As per hinduism like is based on karma , good and bad . Life is based on choices your actions today reflect on how your future turns out . As we say we just living in the matrix or as hinduism says moksha.

[@rapurigavaskhar6230]

If you want any information contact me....in this message comment section

[@optng]

Sir there is one thing wrong in your hinduism video sir we don't have 330 million gods, 33 koti doesn't mean 330 million you need more research sir

[@jayantakarmakar8745]

Yes it literally means 330 million

[@strangergaming8869]

​@@jayantakarmakar8745no it means 33 different gods

[@jayantakarmakar8745]

@@strangergaming8869 koti means crore. You do the count. What is your problem with 33 crore? It doesn't mean people are worshipping all of them or even you have to. It is just mentioned that there are 33 koti gods and goddesses in swarg lok in holy texts.

[@user-cn8vt1dk3g]

No bro koti means top God we have 33 main gods but the britshirs translated wrong and said koti means crore

[@arjun09755]

​@@user-cn8vt1dk3gyou are so delusional that you don't even know about your own religion. 1. Hindus has 330 million dev and devi and dev is different from god 2. Hinduism has one supreme consciousness or energy known as parabraham. Hinduism has 3 different words to express divine being which are dev, bhagwan and parabraham Dev: being like Indra and Surya Bhagwan: being like rama and krishna who were born as human but attended the status of parabraham Parabraham: the ultimate being

[@hugohertz6804]

. .