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Through the ages of time, religion has both unified and divided civilizations often bringing extreme human casualty, in the case of division, or creating interesting new cultures. The Axial Age stood out because during this time there was radical change, the creation of religious traditions, but the most impressive part is that this movement took place in different areas geographically. During this era the rise of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism became extremely influential. All unique in their own way, these religions agreed on several characteristics, they believed that having strong, positive ethics and morals was essential.
Hinduism religion had the absolute power, which held society together. In results of that, politics was seen
People’s well beings were affected by the Chinese philosophies Taoism, Legalism, and Confucianism. In legalism, for example, people aren’t trusted and there was a very strict government. On the other hand, in Taoism, they saw themselves as a part of nature, there were no laws, and leaders were good. This greatly affected different philosophies, making a big difference. In Ancient India, there was Hinduism and Buddhism. People worshipped and worked differently in these two religions. Therefore, both Ancient India and Ancient China were affected by the religion and
Religion affected political hierarchy in many other civilizations; the Aztecs and China were two of the ones affected. One of the main differences would be that China followed more of a Philosophy kind of religion to determine the political hierarchy while the Aztec believed in gods. One of the main similarities would be how the emperors and the rulers achieve and keep their power.
Throughout all of the above evidence, a common theme is demonstrated. Daily life was influenced by religion and philosophies in both India and China. Religion and philosophies affected
Religion reinforces the beliefs of individuals within a society. Additionally, religion has played a vital role in society since it influenced the way they lived and the rituals they may or may not have practiced. Different regions of the world during ancient time held a distinct set of beliefs, each based on different or similar principals. Deriving from the polytheistic set of beliefs, monotheism came in place of many Gods, holding just one god accountable for the creation and the existence of mankind. Christianity and Buddhism share similarities and differences, but most importantly the impact that each had on the culture is what is mostly referred to.
The Buddhist brought with them the concept of multiple gods and Buddha’s “spiritual state to provide the power for humans to make the transition into death and the afterlife successfully” (Corduan, 2012, p.410). Confucianism brought the obedience of the child to the parent into Chinese mainstream life, plus the “social stratification and codes governing dress, actions and communication” (Corduan, 2012, p.409). Taoism introduced the balance of forces in harmony in spirits in the form of yin and yang, thus creating that balance of nature and humans (Corduan, 2012). Christianity influenced Chinese life both socially and economically by introducing the concepts of “love for one’s neighbor, self-discipline, and trust” (Lu, 2014, p.2) as both essential and beneficial (Lu, 2014). All of these together with the traditional Chinese religion, give the Chinese culture it’s popular religion
Over the years and across the world, religion has taken on many forms and importance within life. Religion is referred to by most as “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number or people or sects”. Knowing this, it is easy to accept that as certain beliefs and religions arise across the world, there must be some similarities to accompany the inevitable differences that they have with each other. In particular, two religions that will be compared are Hinduism and Christianity. Each of these religions arised in completely different parts of the world, nevertheless it was inevitable that despite the geological and social differences that certain similarities would be evident between the differences. Between the two, there are three things that are easy to draw parallels and compare with each other. The first concepts that will be compared is the concept of god with Brahman, Avatars & Deities in Hinduism and Jesus and God in Christianity. The second concept that will be compared is the Path to salvation within Hinduism and Christianity. Furthermore, the third set of concepts that will be compared is the Hindu concept of atman and the Christian concept of the soul and their ideas of the afterlife.
Religion can be representative of a person’s fundamental, spiritual beliefs whereby he or she follows a certain set of principles that allows him or her to worship a particular entity. Some individuals hold the belief that there is only one existent God, while others believe there are multiple Gods; thus leading to the ideas of a polytheistic and monotheistic religion. In present day, there are many religions that fall within the aforementioned categories, but two particularly interesting ones are Hinduism and Islam. These two religions encountered each other and flourished in the motherland, known as India. However, through the extreme differences in religious beliefs, major wars influenced by politics, and the development of architectural
Religion usually plays a big part in the cultures of the world and is the basis for their beliefs and values. In many countries religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China l...
Upon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. These three sects in religious thinking have many similarities as all recognize the life-cycle and the need of liberation, they worship one central deity that used to be a human who gained enlightenment and they all recognize the existence of the eternal soul and after-death re-incarnation. However, they also share a lot of differences that mark the underlying principles of practicing them. I will identify the scope of differences and similarities in these ancient religions in an attempt to understand why each attracted followers, why each was shaped a certain way and how they preserved the interest of followers on into the modern times as well.
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Religions of the ancient world were in a state of constant flux. Karl Jaspers states that between the eighth and fourth centuries B.C.E, “great changes took place in all the civilized world” (qtd. in Basham 36), and the great thinkers of these times began thinking independently and individually. Moreover, “after these great thinkers the world was never the same again” (qtd. in Basham 36-37). These times were dubbed the “axial period” (qtd. in Basham 37). The axial religions that emerged during this period were profound and lasting. In fact, the religions discussed in this paper—Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity—are considered the most practiced religions to do this day. Although these religions have changed over time, their underlying structure remains intact.
There are many cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. Hinduism can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization that took place in 4000 BC to 2200 BC. India was a land of diverse cultures, religions, races and ethnicities. Hinduism was the unifying umbrella that brought peace to the land. The belief in Ahimsa or non-violence reduced warfare. In Ancient India, the caste system brought about social order but later this system decayed and gave rise to social ills. Many other cultures and invaders of the region influenced the development of Hinduism over the centuries. When the Indo-Europeans invaded India during 1500 to 500 BC, their religion of Vedas also greatly influenced the indigenous beliefs of Hinduism. Over 80% of Indians still practice Hinduism in modern India. The Hindus brought up in Hindu families are so steeped in the various Hindu traditions from infancy that they are totally imbibed into the Hindu religious system. The sages and seers over the ages held a prominent place in the religious beliefs of the region and their teachings of non-violence, unity, prayers and a life of righteousness have greatly influenced Hinduism.
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.
Hinduism has been a religion for a long time, the Buddha was a Hindu before seeing how terrible the world was, he then found the religion Buddhism. Since the creator of Buddhism was Hinduism as a child, it is only expected for the two religions to be similar. While the two religions are similar they are also quite different as seen by their creation stories. The creation stories are these religions way of explaining how the world started. With most religions the creation story gives the most basic beliefs of the religion as this is where their religion supposedly starts its life. The two stories this paper focuses on is no different, and since they technically have the same origin, it can be obvious as to how they would be similar. However, in the case of the idea of social order and moral decline, they can be different too.
How do we define religion? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of religion is as follows: “the belief in a god or in a group of gods, an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods, or an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group” (Merriam-Webster.) My personal definition of religion is that it is a set of beliefs and practices that generally pertain to the worship of one or more than one spiritual being or representation of a spiritual power. Religion can be a personal belief or an organization or group of people who have similar beliefs and values. There are many different types of religions in the world and have been since the beginning of mankind.