World Belief Systems

August 2013

• Asoka incorporated Buddhist ideas into the laws he had carved on rocks and pillars placed throughout the Mauryan Empire.

• Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

• Prince Vladimir required all Russians to become Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Which generalization can be made based on these statements?

(1) Leaders often use religion to unify an empire.

(2) Many political leaders encourage religious toleration.

(3) Leaders sometimes use religion as a reason to wage war.

(4) Political leaders usually become the head of the church in their country

June 2013

The Ten Commandments, the Eightfold Path, and the Five Pillars of Faith each serve to

(1) provide followers with a guide for living

(2) establish systems of justice

(3) establish distinctions between social classes

(4) provide regulations for government workers

Aug 2012

Muslims’ reference to Christians and Jews as “People of the Book” demonstrates they all shared a belief in

(1) the pope

(2) the five relationships

(3) monotheism

(4) dharma

Jan 2013

• Fasting during Ramadan

• Praying five times each day

• Giving charity to the poor

Followers of which religion engage in these

practices?

(1) Christianity (3) Islam

(2) Buddhism (4) Judaism

August 2013

Which leader is responsible for westernizing

Turkey and creating a secular government?

(1) Kemal Atatürk (3) Ayatollah Khomeini

(2) Saddam Hussein (4) Anwar Sadat

Polytheism

• Belief in many gods – often nature gods because unable to explain/control natural phenomena.

• Leaders – priests (Greeks – Zeus, Romans – Jupiter, Egyptians – Ra, etc)

• Books - myths• Locations – river civilizations, classical civs of Greece &

Romans• Affects – Romans practiced syncretism to expand

empire (Pantheons) and will use imperial cult to unify it – will come in conflict with monotheistic faiths like Judaism/Christianity

VEDAS (written in sanskrit)

Brahman (“head” god) Shiva (destroyer god), Vishnu (preserver god)

August 2013

A person who practices Hinduism would most likely

(1) believe the Vedas are sacred

(2) worship in a synagogue

(3) pray facing Mecca

(4) make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Aug 2012

Believers of Hinduism are expected to

(1) fulfill their dharma for a favorable reincarnation

(2) complete a pilgrimage to Mecca

(3) obey the Ten Commandments

(4) follow the Eightfold Path to achieve enlightenment

Can not marry outside of caste.

Jan 2014

What is one way the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East are similar?

(1) Both conflicts concern territorial and religious issues.

(2) Hostilities within these regions were provoked by the United Nations.

(3) Both conflicts emerged as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union.

(4) Tensions in these regions were caused by efforts to remain nonaligned.

Jan 2013

Why did large numbers of Hindus and Muslims migrate immediately after India gained its independence?

(1) Many jobs were being outsourced overseas.

(2) The government offered housing incentives in newly developed areas.

(3) Religious pilgrimages to neighboring countries were required based on their beliefs.

(4) The subcontinent was divided into countries based primarily on the location of religious majorities.

Mauryan Empire – Asoka will convert to and create Sacred Edicts throughout Empire to end civil wars – will neglect army and eventual collapse.

Will cause collapse of moral fiber in China and people leaving Confucian loyalty to Han emperor. Under Tang will amass lots of wealth that will cause the emperor to be jealous.

There are "Four Affirmations“ in Shinto:

1. Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage. (closely connected to Confucianism)

Shinto –

traditional Japanese religion based on respect for nature. Worshipped kami (spirits).

3. Physical cleanliness: They take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouth often.

4. "Matsuri": To worship and honor gods and ancestral spirits.

2. Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the Gods. Natural objects are worshipped as sacred spirits.

June 2012

What is one way in which animism, Shinto, and Daoism are similar?

(1) emphasis on harmony with nature

(2) monotheistic belief systems

(3) belief in the idea of nirvana

(4) reliance on the teachings of the Vedas

Han Dynasty will use to create civil service exam under Wudi; later scholar-gentry based on it.

Mongols reject Confucianism causing conflicts.

Jan. 2014

Which belief system was the basis for the civil service exams given during the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties?

(1) legalism (3) Buddhism

(2) Daoism (4) Confucianism

Abraham - Moses

Judaism - Persecution

• Babylonian Captivity by Assyrians (displaced)

• Anti-Semitism in Crusades targeted, charged with causing black death in 1350s

• Reconquista of Isabella/Ferdinand in Spain – Spanish Inquisition

• Pogroms of Russia• Concentration Camps of Holocaust –

Auschwitz

Jan 2013

The Nuremberg laws are best described as

(1) efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to punish heresy

(2) major articles in the Declaration of the Rights of Man

(3) specific laws contained in Justinian’s Code

(4) anti-Semitic laws of 20th-century Germany

Sects of Christianity

• Catholics – Latin America, western Europe, and US, leader is Pope – importance during Middle Ages – Charlemagne crowned by Pope Leo III (tithe), Urban II calls for Crusades; Spanish Inquisition, Great Schism (Babylonian Captivity), divine right monarchy support to Absolutist (Louis XIII – Cardinal Richelieu controls), split with England over control of heir, exploration – destruction of Aztec codex w/forced conversion.

• Counter-Reformation and creation of Jesuits (convert China/Japan – Francis Xavier)

Sects of Christianity

• Orthodox Christianity – eastern Europe, no pope – Patriarch – Byzantine Empire had emperor as leader of faith (caesaropapism), Schism of 1054 w/Catholic Church, differences w/Catholics – priests can marry, iconoclasm, issue of trinity.

• Byzantine government will have stable bureaucracy because led by monks, influence Russia w/St. Cyril and Methodius (Cyrillic Alphabet)

Sects of Christianity

• Protestants – break from Medieval Control of Catholic Church, northern Europe (including England), primacy of Bible (vernacular).– Martin Luther, 1519, 95 Thesis, opposed sale of

indulgences, want Bible in German, not goods but faith.

– Calvinism – Swiss – predestination– Anglican – Henry VIII w/Act of Supremacy (Queen

Victoria’s desire to convert natives in imperialism – Livingstone in Africa, ending sati in India)

– Numerous sects splinter the Christian faith (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc.)

Jan 2014

One result of the Protestant Reformation was

(1) fewer challenges to Church authority

(2) a decline in religious unity in western Europe

(3) the disbanding of the Jesuit order

(4) a weakening of the Inquisition

June 2013

One way in which Martin Luther’s Ninety-five

Theses and Henry VIII’s Act of Supremacy are similar is that both

(1) emphasize the importance of the Bible

(2) caused the Thirty Years War

(3) challenge the authority of the Catholic Church

(4) helped to unify Christendom

June 2013

The introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet and

Orthodox Christianity to Russia is most closely associated with

(1) Viking conquests

(2) Byzantine missionaries

(3) Alexander the Great’s armies

(4) Ottoman expansion

June 2013

Why is Catholicism a major religion practiced in Latin America?

(1) Spain conquered and colonized much of Latin America.

(2) Disputes over international boundaries within Latin America were settled by the pope.

(3) The traditional beliefs of Africans were incorporated into the cultures of Latin America.

(4) The Church provided Latin America with a strong central government

To MECCA

In ALLAH

Ramadan

Jan 2014

Which statement about the Islamic Golden Age is a fact rather than an opinion?

(1) Islamic medicine was more advanced than Chinese medicine.

(2) Poetry and literature were more important fields of study for Muslims than was mathematics.

(3) Knowledge of astronomy was used by Muslims to fulfill religious obligations.

(4) Islamic philosophies relied less on Greek philosophical masters than on Indian philosophical masters.

August 2013

Which achievement is most closely associated with Mansa Musa of Mali?

(1) an increase in the influence of Islam and

Islamic culture

(2) the discovery of diamonds in the Congo

(3) the defeat and capture of Cairo

(4) an exclusive trade agreement with European merchants