Religion and History

Religion has existed for countless generations and has been part of every culture that has ever been established. The world has many religions where most of them are nurtured by social phenomena. Religion can be described as the beliefs that an individual has in regard to nature, the cause and the purpose of the world and the universe as a whole. It mostly involves the existence of a superhuman presence that is responsible for creation of the universe. Religion is also often characterized by devotional and ritualistic activities and a moral code that guides its believers (Noble et al 23). There many kinds of religion which range from Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, scientology, Confucianism, Falun gong,  Rastafarianism, Jainism, Buddhism, vampirism, Satanism among many others. Religion is part of everyone and is an important aspect in every culture. It is significantly important to note what happens in the different kinds of religions all over in the world and they significantly influence the political, social and the economic status of the world. Religion has played a big role in landscaping the human culture in the different civilizations all over the world (Mann et al 19).

Religions of Salvation in India and Indian Philosophy

Traditions and Encounter, AP EDITION (Bently), 5^th Edition is a book that offers insight into different societies in the future. For beginners, chapter 9 addresses historical developments in historical India between 520 B.C.E and 550 C.E. This chapter discusses issues such as the fortunes of empire in classical India, economic development social distinctions in this country, and also the religions of salvation in classical India. These issues mainly took place during a time when there arose two significantly influential dynasties in northern India; the Gupta and the Mauryan empires. Although these two state systems were not permanent, their contribution in the growth of long-distance trading networks , promotion of several religions and the consolidation of cultural traditions cannot be overlooked.

During the reign of these two dynasties, India experienced significant developments that cannot be overlooked in history. For instance, India experienced many developments in the manufacturing sector. Trade relations with regions as far as east China, and as far as the Mediterranean basin in the far west were forged. India also experienced the consolidation of social traditions in many aspects of patriarchal families and also in the caste distinctions during this period. The latter even became more elaborate when sub castes called the jati that were based on occupation appeared. There was also the emergence as well as the spread of numerous salvation-based religions. These religions included Buddhism, Jainism and popular Hinduism which are followed keenly in India even to date.

The development of religions of salvation in classical India is a significant aspect that gave birth to today’s Indian philosophy hence it can be perceived as “source of the past.”  Chapter 9 shows that Jainism was founded in the 5^th century B.C.E by Vardhamana Mhavira. This doctrine promoted ethics and teachings that exist even today in India. For instance, it taught that everything in the universe has a soul. It also taught ethics that emphasized on one purifying one’s selfish habits in efforts of attaining state of bliss. It also discouraged non violence against all living things.  Early Buddhism in India started between 563-483 B.C.E by Siddhartha Gautama sought to seek for the four noble truths in life seeking to understand the cause of suffering in life. Buddhism taught that suffering is caused by desire, and religious goals should be personal salvation or nirvana which is attaining a state of perfect spiritual independence. Buddhism to date appeals for members of lower castes for it does not seem to recognize social hierarchies of castes and jati. There later came the Mahayan Buddism between 3^rd century B.C.E and 1^st century C.E that perceived Buddha as a god or an enlightened being. Numerous changes were experienced in this religion as even monasteries started accepting gifts from the rich, and there were even educational institutions like Nalanda who started promoting new faith. Today’s Hinduism ethics preach leading honorable lives in the world. Ethics in Hinduism seem to suggest that one achieves salvation through meeting caste responsibilities.

Development and Spread of Greek Philosophy and Democracy

Chapter 10 of this book talks about the history of the earliest form of democracy known to mankind in Athens, Greece. The Greeks served as the link between the black sea regions and the Mediterranean through commerce, colonization and cultural interaction. The Greeks were sea traders who were later unified by the Hellenistic empires leaving mankind a cultural legacy of philosophy, art, politics, literature and science that shaped thee European worlds to what they are today. Therefore, this is a “source from the past” which has contributed a lot to what is perceived as democracy in today’s world. The Greeks also made many enduring innovations in the past such as the establishment of cities throughout the southwest Asia and the Mediterranean basin. They also made unique contributions to literature in forms of drama, poetry, mythology and even essays. Greek philosophy is also consider as the most influential even to date with famous philosophers such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle existing at this time. There were other philosophers such as the skeptics, the epicureans and the stoics who came later with other philosophical theories that were expressed all over the world. The cultural life of Greece is very interesting as it is the source of many philosophical and democratic practices that we see today.

The traditions that were carried out in the Greek society relied hugely on the formation of Greek cultural aspects based on human reason. Fr instance, Socrates who lived between (470-399B.C.E) argued that “an unexamined life is not worth living”. He therefore encouraged reflections on issues of morality and human ethics. He was later condemned to death when he was accused of corrupting young Athenian youths. His work was continued by Plato who lived between 430-347 B.C.E. Plato came up with the theory of ideas or forms in which he argued that we live in a world of ideal qualities. Plato’s republic expressed the ideal of philosophical king and as to him it was as an imperfect reflection of world of forms. Plate was success by Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E) his student although he did not trust the theory of forms. Aristotle believed in devised rules of logic to come up with powerful arguments. He argued that philosophers should significantly rely on senses to come up with accurate information. This Greek philosophy developed by these ancient philosophers is followed in making many ethical and moral decisions in the society today. As a matter of fact, it is used in many intellectual inspirations for Christian and Islamic theologians. It has also been used in many political aspects especially in forming democratic forms of government and also in relation to equality and promotion of human rights.

Islamic Cultural Values

Chapter 13 of this book mostly emphasizes on the emergence of the religion of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century C.E due to the visions and the teachings of Muhammad. Muhammad’s teachings are what attracted a rapid expanding circle of believers who are today referred as Muslims. Therefore, this is another “source of the past” situation as this religion has spread in many areas of the world today. After Muhammad’s death, his teachings were spread by Arab conquers extending all the way to the Iberian peninsula from the Indus river in a span of just one century. The extension of this religion had many contributions in history including development of communication and trade networks. This spread allowed goods and ideas to spread freely, and the Islam realm became a significantly successful and prosperous cosmopolitan society of the post classical world.

The new societies had strong commitment to the teachings of Muhammad. The monotheistic belief system was based on five pillars of this religion that were first articulated by Muhammad although they were later elaborated by scholars and mystics who dedicated their lives to interpreting Muhammad teachings. Additionally, the development of the communication networks and routes as a result of maritime trade facilitated the spread of new trade goods, new crops, and ideas. These new ideas ranged from new and improved agricultural techniques to the writings of the classical Greek philosophers. The new societies also adopted new cultural traditions that were developed trade contacts leading to Indian, Christian, Persian as well Greek elements finding their way into the Islamic cultures.

This period saw to the development of many Islamic cultures and values that we experience in the religion today. The most common aspect was the Quran and the sharia which were the main guides on formulation of moral guidelines. Promotion of Islamic values was achieved through missionaries, the ulama and the qadi. Islamic and cultural education was also a main channel for promoting Islamic values. Research shows different mystics such as the Sufis being the most effective missionaries in the world in spreading their faith. The Sufis encouraged their followers to devote their faith to Allah by singing for him passionately and dancing the Sufis led holy as well as ascetic lives gaining respect from the people and also tolerated individuals who associated Allah with other beliefs. They also encouraged the followers of Allah to revere to him in their own ways. There were also Greek influences in this faith and they are witnessed even today in this religion for most theories that were taught by Plato and Aristotle are observed by Muslims in the world today.

Chinese influence in East Asia

Chapter 14 of this book emphasizes on the resurgence of Empire in East Asia. This is more so because china went into chaos for more than 350 years after the fall of the Han dynasty before there was law and order. Centralized imperial rule only returned to china towards the end of the sixth century and persisted for a period of almost 700 years. This was under the Song, Tang and Sui dynasties that ruled between 589 and 1279 C. E. this period witnessed significant bit unprecedented economic prosperity for china. Dueing this period, china created some sort of “Middle Kingdom” in asia that made her influence felt all over the neighboring regions. This created a society that was purely centered on china characterized by many significant aspects. For starters, there was rapid economic development in this region in the agricultural sector, industrial and even in the technological advancements. There was also participation that came from sophisticated trade networks throughout East Asia, especially the development and revival of silk roads.

Buddhism which had its origin in India also spread significantly in this region. As a matter of fact, it spread more than in its original place to become the most popular faith in all of East Asia. There was also profound influence of Chinese economic dynamism and social organization on the surrounding cultures in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and central Asia. Currently, china has a lot of influence in the region of East Asia. This has also been witnessed in the past and also the current relations between them and the Vietnamese. During the reign of the Silla dynasty of korea between 669-935 C.E, Tang armies tried to conquer every part of Korea. However, the Silla dynasty organized a resistance and entered a tributary with china. These tributary embassies included Korean scholars and pother royal officials.

The Silla king also built new headquarters at Kumsong modeled on the then defeated tang capital. This made Koran elites turn to neo-Confucianism where peasants turned to Chan Buddhism. On the other hand, Vietnam adopted Chinese schools, agricultural practices as well as political ideologies. Vietnam also formed tributary relationship with china, and when tang armies fell, Vietnam got her independence with the help of china. However, many Vietnamese decided to retain their religious traditions and women started playing more important and prominent roles in the socioeconomic development of both Vietnam and china (Noble et al 77-78).

Works Cited

Bentley, J. H., & Ziegler, H. F. (2011). Traditions & encounters: a global perspective on the past. McGraw-Hill.

Mann, Gurinder S, Paul D. Numrich, and Raymond B. Williams. Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.

Noble, Margaret E, and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists. New York: Dover Publicatons, 1967. Print.