Religions

Question 1

Hinduism

Answer 1

• ORIGIN: Aryan invaders
• SPREAD: through India
• TENETS: reincarnation, karma, moksha, four stages of life, dharma
• SIGNIFICANCE: no founder, tolerant of other religions, adaptable, caste, varna

Question 2

Buddhism

Answer 2

• ORIGIN: Buddha and Brahmans
• SPREAD: northern India through Asia
• TENETS: Four Noble Truths, nirvana, Eightfold Path
• SIGNIFICANCE: monastic (monks); Mahayana, Theravada, Zen; limited by Islam and Hinduism

Question 3

Confucianism

Answer 3

• ORIGIN: Confucius (Kong Fuzi) and Mencius
• SPREAD: China
• TENETS: humaneness, filial piety, family, five relationships, education, male superiority
• SIGNIFICANCE: philosophical and ethical, strong influence in China, civil service, mandate of heaven

Question 4

Daoism

Answer 4

• ORIGIN: Laozi
• SPREAD: China
• TENETS: tao (“the way”), oneness, nature, yin and yang
• SIGNIFICANCE: rejection of social conventions, became polytheistic over time, interest in nature influenced arts

Question 5

Judaism

Answer 5

• ORIGIN: Hebrews and Israelites
• SPREAD: Canaan, Israel, diasporas, Middle East, North Africa, Europe
• TENETS: one god, messiah to come, Torah, Mosaic Law
• SIGNIFICANCE: first monotheistic religion, influenced Christianity and Islam, no widespread hierarchical structure

Question 6

Christianity

Answer 6

• ORIGIN: teachings of Jesus
• SPREAD: Palestine through Rome (including Byzantium and northern Europe)
• TENETS: one god, Jesus is messiah, faith, gospels, Bible
• SIGNIFICANCE: persecuted by Romans, legalized by Constantine, missionary outreach, hierarchical structure, papacy

Question 7

Islam

Answer 7

• ORIGIN: Muhammad
• SPREAD: Middle East, western India and China, sub-Saharan Africa, Spain
• TENETS: one god - Allah, Five Pillars, Mecca, Ramadan, pilgrimage to Kaaba, Qu’ran
• SIGNIFICANCE: Sunni and Shia sects, sharia law, lack of hierarchical structure

Question 8

Polytheism

Answer 8

• ORIGIN: earliest religions in all cultures
• SPREAD: continued in areas not evangelized by Christianity and Islam
• TENETS: many gods and spirits, gods as personifications of nature, animism
• SIGNIFICANCE: examples: Sumerian, Shang, Greek, Roman, Germanic, Mayan, Aztec, African religions; Hinduism