Rikunarita-ORG/Wikinium huggingface dataset:
# Shendao shejiao

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**Shendao teaching** (Chinese: 神道设教 or 神道社教; pinyin: *shéndào shèjiào*; literally: "by “theistic ways” establishing the (moral) teachings") is a Chinese philosophy about religion. It originally meant following the natural way of things and setting up teaching to make people behave. Later on, it was used to educate people by talking about how good and bad things happen as a result of their actions. The idea of Shendao started in the early Western Zhou period and later became important in Confucianism as a way to teach character. Some people believe that it helped China understand and adopt the Western idea of religion.

## Shang Dynasty

During the Shang dynasty in China, people believed in many gods. The most important god was called "Shangdi," but some people thought of Shangdi as just a part of the natural order of things, which they called "Tiandao." They believed that the emperor did not have control over this natural order. During Shang sacrifices, people didn't offer sacrifices to the emperor, but they would ask for the emperor's help. The Shang people believed in ghosts and gods, which was similar to what people believed in prehistoric times. They didn't use religion as a way to control people like some later dynasties did..

## Zhou dynasty

The Zhou dynasty of ancient China believed in the divinity of Shangdi, the supreme god, and diminished the importance of other ancestral and natural gods that were worshipped during the previous dynasty. The king of Zhou set up an "imperial registry" to worship God, and built a god of the land with chestnut wood to inspire fear in the people. The Zhou also created an "imperial court" as the emperor's office. The Zhou believed that the emperor could send down a great Lu order to protect his house and people. The world of the gods, mainly the "emperor" and "heaven," became the foundation for the kingship of the Zhou Dynasty. They established the concept of rule with "Mandate of Heaven" as the core, and the king was referred to as "Son of Heaven." This practice of the Zhou was Shendao's establishment of religion, which became a tool for political rule and adapted to the needs of patriarchal kingship.Confucianism,, on the other hand, believed in the fear of heaven, adults, and the words of the saints, but did not believe in gods.

## Belief, worship and ritual

Shendao is a religion that believes in ghosts and gods. It originated from the Tuan Chuan of the Zhou Yi. The ancient Chinese rulers used religious beliefs to strengthen their power, which is called the divine right of "Heaven and Man". This involved using practices like sacrifice and divination to gain support from the people. However, some thinkers did not believe in ghosts and gods, like Fan Zhen. He still believed in the importance of Shendao as a way to govern the country, bring peace to the people, and change traditions.

## Related pages

* Sacrifice to Heaven
* Feng Shan
* Noble lie
* American civil religion
* State Shinto
# Shamanism

A shaman doctor of Kyzyl, 2005.
Shaman priest of North America, 1897.
**Shamanism** is a practice where a practitioner reaches altered states of consciousness. Supposedly, the shaman perceives and interacts with a spirit world, and channels these energies into this world.

A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and bad spirits. They usually enter into a trance state during a ritual, and do divination and healing. To become a shaman, a person has to have had a near death experience (a "*shamanic illness*").

The name "shaman" comes from the Evenki people in Siberia.

**Shamans** play a central role in these movements, as they can be in both worlds, this one, and the world of spirits.

## Beliefs

* Spirits are real and can do things in the real world.
* There are good and evil spirits.
* Healing can be done in the spirit and real world.
* A person's spirit can leave their body and go into the world of the spirits.
* Animal shapes are used to interact with the spirits.

Shamanism is different from animism.

## Films

* Quantum Men (Carlos Serrano Azcona) Spain 2011
* Other Worlds (Jan Kounen) France 2004
* Bells From the Deep (Werner Herzog) Germany 1993
* The Mad Masters (Jean Rouch) France 1955
* Au pays des mages noirs (Jean Rouch) France 1947
# Agnosticism

Bertrand Russell, a famous agnostic in 1907
**Agnosticism** is the philosophical view that it is unknown (or even, unknowable) whether any deities (god or gods) exist or not.

Some people who call themselves "agnostic" say that it is not possible for anyone ever to know if there are any deities or not. Other agnostics, though, say only that they themselves currently do not know if there are any deities.

Thomas Henry Huxley, the English biologist, coined the word "agnostic" in 1869. In 1889 he wrote "Agnosticism... is not a creed, but a method... the fundamental axiom of modern science... In matters of the intellect, do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable".

There are several different kinds of agnosticism:

* *Absolute agnosticism* (also called *hard agnosticism*, *closed agnosticism*, *strict agnosticism*, *strong agnosticism*) is the belief that it is not possible to know whether a god/gods exists or not.
* *Empirical agnosticism* (also called *soft agnosticism*, *open agnosticism*, *weak agnosticism*, *temporal agnosticism*) is the belief that at present there is not enough information to know whether any god/gods exists or not, but that we might find out someday.
* *Apathetic agnosticism* is the belief that it does not matter whether any god/gods exists or not.

People often have difficulty telling agnosticism and atheism apart. Atheists do not believe in the existence of deities, and some say that they are sure that no deity exists. Some (perhaps most) atheists, though, say that it is up to theists (people who believe in a deity) to give the evidence for a god or to show why someone should believe in a god. They say that there is not enough evidence or a strong enough argument to believe any gods exist. So they reject belief that any exist. While agnostics think we cannot *know for sure* whether any deities exist, some agnostics do *believe* at least one deity exists These people are both agnostic and theistic—they believe at least one deity exists, but do not claim to *know* that to be true. Some people are both atheist and agnostic—they reject belief in any deities without claiming to know that deities do not exist. Some agnostics cannot decide whether to believe any deities exist or not.

## Beliefs related to agnosticism

* *Ignosticism* is the belief that the idea of god/gods does not have a good enough definition, so saying "god exists" or "god does not exist" does not mean anything.
* *Agnostic theism* believes in the existence of one or more gods. They accept this is unknown or inherently unknowable.
* *Agnostic atheism* is the view that a god/gods may or may not exist, but there is no good reason to believe they do.
* *Post-theism* is the view that religion used to be important, but is not anymore.

All these beliefs point to the lack of evidence of actual presence of God.

## Related pages

* Atheism
* Religion
* Humanism
* Irreligion
* Skepticism
# Festival

A **festival** is a gathering of people to celebrate something. It can also refer to a one-day or more when people in a country have a holiday so that they can celebrate something. Festivals may be religious or national. They also may be events which feature different cultural programs such as music, dancing, poetry, movies, etc.

## Related pages

* Halloween
* Christmas
* Thanksgiving
* New Year
* Easter
* Pentecost
* Eid festival
* Divali
* Yom Kippur
* Guy Fawkes Night
# God the Son

*The Ancient of Days*, a 14th-century fresco from Ubisi, Georgia.
In Christian theology, **God the Son** is the second person of the Trinity, which teaches that Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of God. God the Son who along with the Father and the Holy Spirit is of the same essence, share the same qualities, and each are fully God.

## Source

These three words: "God the Son" are nowhere to be found in the Bible, but are found in later Christian sources. At one time, a scribe made an error in one medieval manuscript, MS No. 1985, where Galatians 2:20 has "Son of God" changed to "God the Son".

The New American Standard Bible chooses to translate John 1:18 as:

> No one has seen God at any time; God the only *Son*, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained *Him*.
>
> — John 1:18 NASB
# North Africa

| North Africa |
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| Countries | Sovereign states (7)* Algeria
* Egypt
* Libya
* Morocco
* Tunisia
* Mauritania
* Sudan
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| Time zones | UTC+00:00 UTC+01:00 UTC+02:00 |

**North Africa** is the most northern region of Africa. It is usually made up of these countries:

* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Algeria
* Tunisia
* Libya
* Egypt
* Sudan

Most of north Africa is desert, which means it is very dry and does not rain very much. The Atlas Mountains in the west are less dry. The predominant ethnic groups are Arabs, Berbers, Copts, Black people (Nubians, Bejas and Haratins) and mixed race people. The biggest religion is Islam, meaning that most of the people are Muslims, with the exception of the Egyptian Copts, who are Christians.

North Africa (Northern Africa)
# Kamba people

The **Kamba** (**Akamba** in the plural) are a Bantu ethnic group.

They live in the semi-arid Eastern Province of Kenya, from Nairobi east to Tsavo and north up to Embu, Kenya. This land is called *Ukambani*. They are one of the largest ethnic group in Kenya. They speak the Bantu Kikamba language as a mother tongue.

The Kamba mostly live in the Machakos District of Kenya. The total population of the Kamba is about 4 million. The Kamba are also called Kikamba, Kekamba, Masaku, Ukamba, Kitui and Mumoni.
# Ananda Marga

**Ananda Marga** (Path of Bliss) is a spiritual philosophy and set of practices to incorporate into one's life, as one sees fit. Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha (Society for the Propagation of the Path of Bliss) is a society and organization based on it. It was founded in Bihar, India in 1955 by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990). His spiritual name is Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. The movement defines its mission as service to all and individual self-realization. Each human being can express their spiritual, mental and physical potentialities through development in those spheres, and a disciplined way of life helps in this regard. As a religion Ananda Marga is usually classified within the new religious movements as originating in the Hindu traditions. It's 16 points are practices one can adopt. Tantra and Yoga is a important part.

## The 16 Points

* Point 1 - After urination, wash the urinary organ with water
* Point 2 - Males should keep the foreskin clean (Foreskin#Autocircumcision)
* Point 3 - Do not cut the hair of the glandular joints of the body
* Point 4 - Males should always use supporting underwear
* Point 5 - Do Half Bath as prescribed
* Point 6 - Bathe according to the prescribed system
* Point 7 - Take only sentient/lucid food - which is that involving photosynthesis
* Point 8 - Observe fast as prescribed
* Point 9 – Do Meditation regularly
* Point 10 - Observe uncompromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of the Ista (spiritual goal)
* Point 11 - Observe uncompromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of the Ideology (social wellbeing)
* Point 12 - Observe uncompromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of the Supreme Command
* Point 13 - Observe uncompromising strictness and faith regarding the sanctity of the Conduct Rules
* Point 14 - Always remember the contents of your oaths
* Point 15 - Regular participation in the weekly collective meditation at the local centre of spiritual awakening
* Point 16 - Observe Conduct Rules, Seminar, Duty, Kiirtana (C.S.D.K.)
# Raëlism

**Raëlism** is a new religion that says that life on Earth was created by aliens. It was started in 1974 by Claude Vorilhon. It is the world's biggest UFO religion.

## Other websites

* Official website Archived 2013-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
# Ghost Dance

An illustration from 1890, showing the Ghost Dance
**Ghost Dance** was a new religious movement among Native Americans. It was active from about 1860 to about 1890.

At the time, Native Americans had been forced to change their ways of life drastically, and had lost much of their culture and identity. The Ghost Dance movement promised them that if they performed the "Dance" and lived the right way, they would get back most of the things they had lost to white people. They could also re-unite the living and the dead, and the people who had caused them such misery would be driven away from their land.

Members also used other dance rituals to represent their spiritual path.

## First & second wave

The Ghost Dance was most active during two time periods: the first time around 1860, and the second time around 1890.

### 1860 - 1872

Around 1860, a member of the Paiute Native American tribe called *Wodziwob* had a vision. He saw that the white people would be driven away, and the people would be reunited with their ancestors' spirits, called "ghosts". The vision also told him how to do the Ghost Dance ritual.

The movement spread rapidly. Each tribe added its own elements into the Ghost Dance. However, the movement was ultimately unsuccessful and ended around 1872. At this point, Wodzivob had said that he might have been wrong.

### 1889 and after

The second wave was started about twenty years later by a man called Wovoka, who worked at an LDS Mormon ranch. He was influenced by the new faith and some of its ideas, like sending apostles to spread the faith.

This movement spread wider, and was again adapted to each tribe's culture. The Lakota also adopted the idea of a messiah. The Lakota lived on a reservation, and when local authorities saw 25,000 natives dance together, they saw it as a threat. This led to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, where the United States Army killed up to 300 Native Americans. This massacre effectively ended the Ghost Dance movement.

Wovoka wrote a letter in 1892 to the other tribes telling them that Jesus had just returned to earth that year, and that if they lived good lives, they would someday get back their lands and culture, and the dead would live.

Wovoka stayed out of public sight for the rest of his life after giving this message, and lived until the 1930s.
# Dacians

Dacian kingdom during the reign of Burebista, 82 BC
The **Dacians** were an Indo-European people, the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (located in the area in and around the Carpathian mountains and east of there to the Black Sea), present-day Romania and Moldova, parts of Sarmatia and Scythia Minor in southeastern Europe.
# Grenada

| GrenadaGwenad (Grenadian Creole French) |
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Flag

Coat of arms

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| **Motto:**"Ever Conscious of God We Aspire, Build and Advance as One People" |
| **Anthem:** "Hail Grenada" **Royal anthem:** "God Save the King "  |
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| Capitaland largest city | St. George's ﻿ / ﻿ |
| Official languages | * English
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| Recognised regional languages | Grenadian Creole English Grenadian Creole French |
| Ethnic groups (2011) | * 80% African
* 15% Mixed (incl. Creole-Mulatto and Dougla)
* 3% Indian
* 1% Other
* 1% Unspecified (incl. indigenous peoples)
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| Religion (2011) | * 86.4% Christianity
* —49.2% Protestantism
* —37.2% Other Christian
* 5.7% None
* 1.2% Rastafarianism
* 5.4% Others
* 1.3% Unspecified
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| Demonym(s) | Grenadian |
| Government | Unitary two-party parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
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| • Monarch  | Charles III |
| • Governor-General  | Cécile La Grenade |
| • Prime Minister  | Dickon Mitchell |
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| Legislature | Parliament |
| • Upper house | Senate |
| • Lower house | House of Representatives |
| Formation |
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| • Associated State  | 3 March 1967 |
| • **Independence** from the United Kingdom  | 7 February 1974 |
| • Grenadian Revolution  | 13 March 1979 |
| • Constitution Restoration  | 4 December 1984 |
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| Area |
| • Total | 348.5 km2 (134.6 sq mi) (184th) |
| • Water (%) | 1.6 |
| Population |
| • 2021 estimate | 124,610 (194th) |
| • Density | 318.58/km2 (825.1/sq mi) (45th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $1.801 billion |
| • Per capita | $16,604 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $1.249 billion |
| • Per capita | $11,518 |
| HDI (2019) |  0.779 high · 74th |
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (AST) |
| Driving side | left |
| Calling code | +1-473 |
| ISO 3166 code | GD |
| Internet TLD | .gd |
| 1. Plus trace of Arawak / Carib.
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**Grenada** (/ɡrəˈneɪdə/ (listen) *grə-NAY-də*; Grenadian Creole French: *Gwenad*) is an island country in the Caribbean Sea that received its independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. Its capital is St. George's.

## History

Before it was discovered, Grenada was inhabited by indigenous people. In 1649, it was colonised by France. Over a century later in 1763, Grenada was given to the United Kingdom.

In 1974, Grenada became an independent country led by Prime Minister Eric Gairy. In 1983, Grenada was invaded by the United States in an effort to stop communism on the island.

In 2004, a hurricane named Ivan destroyed most of the island's resources. Grenada is called the **Spice Island** on account of its most famous export, the nutmeg.

## Politics

Grenada is a monarchy with Charles III as king. Grenada has a parliament made up of a senate (13 seats) and a House of Representatives (15 seats). The senators are appointed by the representatives, who are elected by the people.

## Related pages

* Grenada at the Olympics
* Grenada national football team
* List of Grenadian people
* List of rivers of Grenada
* List of subdivisions of Grenada

## Other websites

* Official Government Website
* Official Website of the Tourism Board Archived 2005-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
* General Tourism Website
# Atomism

**Atomism** is an idea in Metaphysics. It says that everything that can be touched is made of smaller things that are made of smaller things that are made of even smaller things but that eventually you get to something so small that nothing smaller can exist called an Atom.

## History

The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras said that everything that can be touched is made of smaller things called “Seeds” and that there are many different kinds of “Seeds”. According to him, nothing can be a smaller than a “Seed” and what different objects are like is because of the different kinds of Seeds they have. Later, the philosopher Leucippus and his student Democritus said that everything that can be touched is made of smaller things that are made of even smaller things that are made of even smaller things. But Leucippus and Democritus also said there are things so small that nothing smaller can exist called Atomos Particles and that everything is made of them. Democritus said that there is empty space between all Atomos Particles. He also said that we call different groups of Atomos Particles different things (like Water, Fire, Earth and Air) but that Atoms and Space are the only things that really exist and everything else just looks like it exists.

Aristotle said that Democritus was wrong. He said everything you can touch is made of smaller things that are made of smaller things that are made of smaller things and that this goes on forever. According to him, there is no smallest thing. This is called the Continuous Theorem. Since then a lot of people debated if Aristotle were right or if Democritus were right. Then John Dalton came up with The Atomic Theory which said that all Matter was made of Atomos Particles called Atoms. And Dalton based that idea on Democritus.
# First language

The monument for the Mother (Azerbaijani) language in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan
A **first language** (also **mother language**, **mother tongue**, **native language**, **arterial language**, or **L1**) often means the language that a person learns first. It helps one understand words and concepts in the style of that language. Sometimes, but not often, *first language* means the language that a person speaks best (the second language is then spoken less well than the first language, etc.). In that sense, a person could have more than one first or second language. The first languages of the national majority usually are to be recognized as national languages of the nation.

## Related pages

* Second language
# Chemistry education

MIT Industrial Chemistry Lab 1893
**Chemistry education** is the study of the teaching and learning of chemistry. Topics in chemistry education include understanding how students learn chemistry and how best to teach chemistry. Researchers in chemistry education try to improve learning results by improving teaching methods and training chemistry teachers. Researchers study many teaching modes, including: classroom lecture, demonstrations, and laboratory activities.

There is a world-wide shortage of chemistry teachers. This is because people with science training can get jobs that pay more outside of teaching. It is hard to keep science teachers. More than 45,000 math and science teachers left teaching in the United States just after the 1999–2000 school year.

## Overview

Old Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, Cambridge England
There are several different ways of thinking about chemistry education. One is a *practitioner’s perspective*. The people who teach chemistry define chemistry education by their actions.

Another is defined by a self-identified group of *chemical educators* (faculty members and instructors who focus on teaching rather than focus on chemical research). Dr. Robert L. Lichter, then-Executive Director of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, speaking in a plenary session at the 16th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (recent BCCE meetings: Archived 2007-04-04 at the Wayback Machine,), posed the question “why do terms like ‘chemical educator’ even exist in higher education, when there is a perfectly respectable term for this activity, namely, ‘chemistry professor.’" One criticism of this view is that few professors bring any formal preparation in education or background about education to their jobs. Most chemistry professors do not have a professional perspective on teaching and learning efforts. They may not know about effective teaching methods and how students learn.

A third perspective is *chemical education research* (CER). Following the example of physics education research (PER), CER tends to take the theories and methods developed in pre-college science education research and applies them to understanding comparable problems in post-secondary settings. (CER also tries to improve pre-college chemistry instruction). Like science education researchers, CER practitioners tend to study the teaching practices of others as opposed to focusing on their own classroom practices. Chemical education research is typically carried out *in situ* using human subjects from secondary and post-secondary schools. Chemical education research collects both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative methods typically involve collecting data that can then be analyzed using various statistical methods. Qualitative methods include interviews, observations, journaling, and other methods common to social science research.

Teaching lab in Singapore

## Other websites

* Welcome to ChemConnections