Key Concept 2.1 The Development &
Codification of Religious & Cultural
Traditions / Answer
Underline Concepts and Factual Examples / “Facts”
  • How did religions help strengthen political, economic, and cultural ties within societies
  • How did religions promote a sense of unity?
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Judaism?
  • --of Hinduism?
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  • Political: Religion, when used correctly by political leaders, allowed for peaceful transfers of power and allowed for the political power to be stronger in general. An example of this is the use of the Mandate of Heaven by all Chinese dynasties in the classical period. Most rulers claimed divine rule.
  • Economic: People that practiced the same religion would be more willing to trade with each other than with people of other faiths.
  • Cultural: Religion created cultural ties with people in the same society, which created peace and unity in the empires of the classical period. An example of religion strengthening cultural ties would be the caste system in India, as it created social unity and a cultural identify across India.
  • When one religion was practiced by the majority of people in a classical society, a sense of unity emerged due to the common grounds between people's cultures and beliefs. Furthermore if the political leader at the time also followed the majority religion the people would be more willing to listen to that leader, and in effect feel united under that leader; in some cases the political leader was even considered divine (China) so following someone put into power through divine created unity and made revolt less common due to religion.
  • The people of the Jewish faith only believe in only one God, and are therefore considered monotheistic.
  • They believe that the founder of the religion was named Abraham, and all Jewish people today are direct descendants of Abraham's early followers and his son Isaac.
  • Many of their core beliefs and laws are held in their sacred text called the Torah, and the stories told in this book dictate all of their beliefs even to this day. The stories told in the Torah were later adopted by the Christians to be a part of the Bible.
  • When the Jewish people made it to their believed promised land in modern day Israel, they had a Theocracy for a government, meaning the political leaders were also religious leaders.
  • The Jewish people have had many forced diasporas, once in 733 BC due to the Assyrian's, another time due to the Babylonians in 597 BC (which was later undone by the Persian leader Cyrus the Great around 530 BC), and the forced Diaspora of the Jewish people by the Romans in the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE after the first Jewish-Roman war.
  • It is believed the religion emerged with the migration of the Aryan people to the Indian subcontinent around 1500 BC, and the beliefs of the Aryan people combined with the beliefs of the already-residing people in India, who were known as Dravidians, to form the beliefs of Hinduism. However this is not confirmed, as there is no one founder of the religion and no exact date for the beginning of it.
  • The religion has religious texts known as the Vedas, which were all written in the Vedic Age (c. 1500 - c. 500 BC) with the language now known as Sanskrit, and are divided into four sections with the Rig Veda being the biggest section. The Vedas talk of the gods of the religion and have many hymns that people of the Hindu religion recite in prayer.
  • Hindu society was divided into 4 main castes: Brahmins (Priests, the highest caste), Kshatriyas (Warriors), Vaishyas (Merchants), Sudras (servants or peasants). There is another caste known as the untouchables that are regarded as being so low they were not even mentioned in the original Varna system (a Varna is an individual section of a caste).
  • The Bhagavad Gita is a valued, 700 versed Hindu text that is part of the even larger Hindu epic the Mahabharata.
  • The Law of Manu was one of the earliest law codes in the world and in Asia, and used Hindu beliefs to dictate conducts of people according to their caste. The Law of Manu was made around 200-300 CE in India.
  • Hinduism has always and still is the majority religion in India, and even though Buddhism started in India and had some popularity in India due to state sponsorship by Asoka, Hinduism remained the majority practiced religion.
  • Hinduism also has a belief in reincarnation, the belief that after one dies they are reborn into something else.
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  • Judaism
  • Israel
  • Monotheism
  • Theocracy
  • diaspora
  • Hinduism
  • Vedas, Rig Veda
  • Caste (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudra)
  • Bhagavad Gita
  • Law of Manu

  • What is a “universal religion?” Where did universal religions exist by 600 CE?
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Buddhism? How and where did Buddhism spread by 600 CE?
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Confucianism?
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Daoism?
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Christianity? How and where did Christianity spread by 600 CE
  • What are the characteristics and core teachings of Greco-Roman philosophy and science?
  • How did religions affect gender roles in their respective societies?
  • What other religious and cultural traditions were common by 600 CE
  • How did humansreliance on the natural world influence religion?
  • In which regions did ancestor veneration persist in the classical period?
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  • The universal religions of the world are primarily Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism, but Islam emerged after this time period so it won't be discussed. These religions are considered universal because anyone can convert to the religion regardless of their past religion. In fact these religions often times had missionaries that would purposely try to convert people to the religion and in Christianity especially this is encouraged. By 600 CE Christianity existed primarily wherever the Roman empire controlled, that being virtually all of the Mediterranean area. Buddhism primarily resided in India, Tibet, parts of China, and parts of Southeast Asia.
  • Most of these universal religions spread rapidly when a government sponsored it.
  • Siddhartha Gautama founded the religion of Buddhism around 600-500 BC and later became the Buddha, or the Enlightened One, after meditating under a sacred tree for many years. After he became enlightened he spread his ideas across India, and one core teaching of his was the 4 Noble Truths, which were his truths on how to reach Nirvana.
  • Nirvana is the goal of Buddhism, and is where suffering does not exist. It is reached by following the 4 Noble Truths and by following the Middle Path (a middle between extremes, extremely ascetic and extremely materialistic).
  • Buddhism also has some similarities with Hinduism, such as the belief in Karma and the belief in reincarnation.
  • Around 250 BC, the Mauryan Dynasty ruled nearly the entire Indian subcontinent. The leader of the dynasty at this time was a man named Asoka. Prior to Asoka, Buddhism was VERY outnumbered by Hinduism, but when Asoka adopted the religion Buddhism became much more popular due to his state sponsorship. Asoka played a large role in Buddhism staying relevant throughout this time period and even now.
  • By 600 CE Buddhism had spread to East Asia and Southeast Asia through the silk roads.
  • Buddhism also stresses the ideas of nonviolence and the love of all life.
  • The knot and wheel are common symbols in Buddhism.
  • Confucianism, while not really a religion, is more of a philosophy that started around 500 BC in China due to a philosopher named Confucius. His beliefs on family, education, and morals would become the staple beliefs in China essentially up until post WWII with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party.
  • Confucianism stresses the importance of family in society, as well as the importance of keeping order through a social hierarchy known as the Five Relationships
  • The Five Relationships are: ruler to ruled, father to son, husband to wife, elder brother to younger brother, friend to friend. This means that the ruler is above the ruled, the father is above the son, the husband is above the wife, etc.
  • All of Confucius's ideas are written down in the text known as the Analects, which many philosophers in China used for their basis of philosophy for years to come, and many people would look to it for wisdom.
  • Confucianism had strong effects on primarily the Han Dynasty during the Classical period in the form of the Civil Service Exam, which used Confucius ideas to test the common people if they were smart enough in his philosophies' to work in the bureaucracy.
  • The things that Confucius said were recorded into the analects.
  • The Daoist religion was founded by a man named Laozi during the 6th century BC in China. Laozi stressed the importance of nature, as well as the importance of keeping balance in nature and in all things. This belief in balance in all things can be seen in the symbol yin and yang, which depicts that equal amounts of opposites are needed to maintain balance. Laozi's beliefs were written down in the text known as the Dao De Jing.
  • During periods of time where Daoism was strong, art often depicted nature more often than humans.
  • Overall, nature is the most important concept in Daoism, as well as striving to follow the natural way of things.
  • Your Dao, or the way, is an attempt to stay at balance with nature and humanity.
  • Christianity, one of the universal religions, follow the beliefs of the teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as some of the beliefs of Judaism.
  • Jesus was thought by his followers to be the messiah mentioned in Jewish texts, the one who would save the Jewish people. He was born from the Virgin Mary, and had 12 apostles, one of which was a man named Peter, who became the first pope of Christianity. Another very important apostle was Paul who had a big effect in the spread of Christianity by writing letters to many civilizations.
  • Christianity is a monotheistic religion, with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all being 1 part of the same single God. The religion is considered universal since anyone can convert to the religion and many missionaries existed who tried to convert people intentionally.
  • The Bible, the religious text of the religion, consists of the Torah in the form of the Old Testament and the New testament (the story and teachings of Jesus). The Christian God is the same God both the Jews and the Muslims believe in, but Jesus is only God in Christianity.
  • Many of the beliefs of the religion were finalized at the Council of Nicea, in which it was declared that Jesus was 100% Divine and 100% human, and this as well as other things were declared in a prayer now known as the Nicene Creed.
  • Christianity eventually became the state religion of the Romans, and because of this by 600 CE had spread to essentially the whole Mediterranean world. It was especially popular with people of lower class, as its Salvationist beliefs were popular to people in despair or in poverty.
  • The philosophy that emerged in the areas of Rome and Greece during this time period would affect the western world for virtually the rest of history, with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle being the three most influential philosophers of the time. Socrates was Plato's teacher and he stressed the importance of questioning things to understand them. Plato wrote down much of Socrates' teachings and his beliefs revolved around his Myth of the Cave analogy and metaphysical dualism. Aristotle developed a formalized system of reasoning, and made many contributions to math and science, as well as philosophy. He was the student of Plato, but surprisingly rejected many of Plato's beliefs.
  • Greco-Roman art style's are still seen in the western world today, with such things such as the use of pillars. Furthermore the math discoveries made in this time period by the Greco-Romans include things such as trigonometry and pi.
  • Placed more importance on reason and logic than on religion
  • Confucianism with its Five Relationships made patriarchy key in China when it comes to gender roles.
  • Hinduism also had patriarchal aspects and men were seen as more important than woman, even if the man and woman were a part of the same caste.
  • In Christian society's woman were treated much better than in most societies and were allowed many more rights than before. This was likely due to the Virgin Mary and her importance in the religion. However, overall men still had more opportunities and had more power in society
  • Buddhism, similarly to Christianity, treated women better than most other religionsbut men still had more influence and power in general.
  • In China Filial Piety (having adutyofrespect towards elder family members) and ancestor veneration (the worship of deceased ancestors, as it was believed that even after death ancestors spirits could affect the physical world) were very common by 600 CE. Animism (thinking inanimate objects were alive) and shamanism were common in the cultural practices of people who lived in northern Europe, the steppes of Asia, and many parts of Africa. These are just a few examples but many religious traditions existed for every religion in the world.
  • In areas outside of large empires, people lived tribal lifestyles in small societies that relied largely on nature. In these societies often times animism and shamanism were the religious beliefs of the people, as animism and shamanism places great emphasis on nature.
  • Ancestor veneration persisted in regions such as Africa, the Mediterranean region, East Asia,and the Andean Mountains of South America.
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  • “universal religion”= anyone can join
  • Siddhartha Gautama
  • Nirvana
  • Asoka
  • Confucius (Kong Fuzi)
  • Five relationships
  • Analects
  • Laozi
  • Daodejing
  • yin/yang
  • Jesus
  • Peter
  • Paul
  • messiah/savior
  • Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
  • filial piety
  • ancestor veneration
  • animism
  • shamanism

  • How did art and culture develop to 600 CE?
  • What literary works influenced later eras?
  • How did different societies’ architectural styles develop?
  • What examples of syncretism reflect the Classical Era to 600 CE?
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  • The art in each region of the world often times was affected greatly by the religious practices of the regions. For example when Daoism was strong in China, a religion that focused on nature, art depicted this focus by showing large nature landscapes.
  • Hindu and Buddhist art often had either bilateral or radial symmetry, and the lotus in Buddhism is often shown often. Hindu art often depicts the many gods of the religion.
  • Early Christian art would often show symbols that were important in Christian mythology such as a fish or bread and wine. Mosaics of important people were also common.
  • The Greek epics written in the era, such as the Aeneid and the Odyssey, had great influence on later eras including the Romans.
  • Hindu epics such as the Bhagavad Gita, and 700 verse Indian text that was a part of the Mahabharata, and the Ramayana influenced virtually all of the Indian sub continent and was read as entertainment.
  • The Kalidasa wrote the most influential litterary works of the Indian subcontinent and they were all written in sanskrit in the 5th Century CE. He wrote stories such as the Raghuvaṃśa
  • The architectural styles were affected by the wealth and technology of the respective societies. For example the Romans, who were quite advanced, were able to have structures that utilized the arch.
  • The Greeks used pillars in lots of their architecture, as well as pediments.
  • The Roman's had arches and pillars, as well as very symmetric buildings. They used these techniques to make structures such as aqueducts and formatted roads.
  • India made structures that had to do with religion often times, whether it was the Buddhist Stupa or statues of Hindu gods. They also used pillars in their works.
  • The Mesoamericans built Pyramids of decent size that had religious inflence.
  • The expansion made by Alexander the Great in the 300's BC brought about a Hellenistic culture, which blended Greek, Indian, Egyptian, and Persian styles of culture and art.
  • An example of the influence made by Hellenistic culture is the Gandhara Buddhism, which is a sect of the Buddhist religion that resides around the Hindu Kush that took aspects of the Greek culture and mixed it with the Buddhist culture. For example Buddha in this specific sect of Buddhism is shown wearing a toga.
  • Another example of syncretism in the Classical Era is how Christianity took the idea of the constant struggle of good vs evil from the Zoroastrians and mixed it into its own culture.
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  • all students should be able to recognize temples, art as Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, etc.
  • Greek tragedies (Sophocles)
  • Hindu epics (Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana)
  • Plays of Kalidasa
  • Key characteristics of Greek, Roman, Mesoamerican, and Indian buildings
  • Gandharan Buddha
  • Hellenism