How Religion influenced the development of Civilizations
Throughout history, religion has played a major role in the development of civilizations. Religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism have spread to other kingdoms throughout the world by use of missionaries. These missionaries would begin with the upper class of a society until their message penetrated throughout the whole area. In most cases it was at a time when an area was crumbling as far as politics and economics. Early religions were used as a source of power and economical growth. After Marcus Aurelius' reign Rome's power and purpose began to decline. Several of the outer provinces were invaded by the mid 200's and at the beginning of the 4th century, efforts of renewal and realignment came about based in part on Christianity and absolute monarchy. The German invasions of the 3rd and 4th century found a Roman society that was already weakened by the burden of heavy taxes, decline in productivity, and instability at the top. Demoralization was slowed but could not be stopped by the efforts of Diocletian and Constantine. It was during this time that the new religion of Christianity gathered strength in the Roman realm. Christianity was based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who was born during the reign
A major rival to the religions of Christianity and Buddhism was found late in the 6th century by the prophet Mohammed. Islam is a strict, monotheistic religion that began in Arabia and is based on the Five Pillars of Islam. The religion of Islam requires every Muslim, if possible, to make a pilgrimage to the holy land of Mecca. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ of Augustus Ceaser. Approximately one-third of the worlds population, at that time, had asserted Jesus to be the Son of God and Redeemer of Mankind. The appeal of this new Christian religion was its universality and its message of hope and optimism at a time when ordinary people were struggling and pessimistic. Much of the popularity of Buddhism stemmed from its democracy of spirit. By the first century CE Buddhism became more popular in China then in India. Traders and monks were spreading Islam throughout China. Regardless of what religion it was that people decided to believe in, early civilizations profited from the Age of Faith. Kingdoms became more powerful, arts flourished, merchants were treated as equals and new language and culture arose. This was a time of great prosperity for everyone involved and a very influential part of the historical process. A new form of Buddhism, Mahayana, penetrated across the Himalayan Mountains and entered deeply into Chinese cultural life. This new form of Buddhism was very accommodating to existing Chinese beliefs of Confucianism and Daoism. During this time churchmen were often the only educated people in the area, and the only ones with some knowledge of administration and record keeping. The church also provided any education that was available. The church was also in charge of any charitable or medical programs that existed. When higher concepts of Roman law refolded in Europe it was the church who first acknowledged them and transfe
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Approximate Word count = 1285
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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