home > units >unit 1>The emergence and spread of belief systems

E. The emergence and spread of belief systems.

1. Place of origin and major beliefs
   1. Animism—African
   2. Hinduism
   3. Buddhism
   4. Chinese philosophies (Confucianism, Daoism)
   5. Judaism
   6. Christianity
   7. Islam
   8. Legalism
   9. Shintoism
   10. Jainism
2. Expansion of Christianity, Islam, Confucianism, and Buddhism

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Essential Questions

• Do belief systems unite or divide people?
• How do movements of people and ideas affect people, places, and regions?
• What defines a turning point?

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Focus Questions

• How did the fundamental beliefs and ideas of the religions, philosophies, and belief systems affect different areas of the world?
• How do these belief systems affect peoples lives today?
• In what ways are Christianity, Islam and Judaism systems similar and different?
• How did the religions that emerged in this period unite the peoples of diverse political and ethnic identities?
• How did religions such as Buddhism and Islam foster cultural exchanges throughout Afro-Eurasia?
• How did the expansion of Islam, Confucianism, Christianity, and Buddhism encourage the encounter and exchanges of peoples, goods, and ideas?
• What role did missionaries, traders, and conquerors play in the spread of religions?
• What individuals and groups are associated with the major religions of the world?
• What holy books or texts are associated with the major religions of the world?
• How did a culture’s belief system impact its arts?
• How did Judaism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam affect gender status, gender roles, and the development of patriarchal societies?

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Vocabulary

ancestor worship	monasticism
animism	monk
bishops	monotheism
brahmans	mosque
Budha	nirvana
caliph	nun
calligraphy	Passover (Pesach)
Chanukah (Hanukah)	patriarchy
church	polytheism
Confucius	pope
civil service examination	priests
covenant	prophets
deity	rabbi
diaspora	Ramadan
five basic human relationships	reincarnation
(Confucianism)	Rosh Hoshanah
Five Pillars of Faith (Islam)	sabbath
Four Noble Truths	shamans
gender roles	Sharia
gender status	Shiite
groit	sudras
imams	Sunni
karma	synagogue
kosher laws	temples
legalis	Ten Commandments
Mandate of Heaven	untouchable
matriarchy	yin-yang
messiah	Yom Kippur

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Scholarship

Bentley, Jerry. 1993. Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times. New York: Oxford University Press.

McNeill, William H. 1998. Plagues and Peoples. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press.

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Helpful Hints

• Use the Turning Points to stimulate classroom discussion about world religions (c. 1500 through c. 4 BC).
• Note: Be cautious when using the term animism. Some scholars regard the term as derogatory.
• When analyzing major world religions and philosophies, it may be best to suspend a strict adherence to chronology in favor of comprehensively exploring belief systems as a theme. On the other hand, you may teach this subject in its historical context. This study involves learning about the important roles and contributions made by individuals and groups. It is important to make linkages to the past.
• Read selections from the holy books of the major religions.
• Use web/diagrams, comparison charts, and various graphic organizers to illustrate links between religious denominations, such as:
  

  Religion / Philosophy	Place of Origin and Founder	Beliefs	Sacred Holy Texts and Writings	Impact on Society	Traditions and Values
  Animism
  Buddhism
  Christianity
  Confucianism
  Daoism
  Hinduism
  Islam
  Jainism
  Judaism
  Legalism
  Shintoism

• For a printable version of this graphic organizer, see Global Religions, Belief Systems, and Philosophies.
• Visit three houses of worship.
• Incorporate primary sources (e.g., Ten Commandments, Koran, Analects, Vedas, Torah) and develop a comprehensive document-based question essay to evaluate your students' understanding of the religions/philosophies/belief systems unit.

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Resources for Teachers (Books/Articles, Visuals/Music)

American Academy of Religion. 1995. The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion. San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco.

Barnes, Trevor. 1999. The Kingfisher Book of Religions: Festivals, Ceremonies, and Beliefs Around the World. New York: Kingfisher.

Bowker, John, ed. 1997. The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Bowker, John, ed. 2002. The Cambridge Illustrated History of Religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Bowker, John. 1997. World Religions. New York: DK Publishing.

Breuilly, Elizabeth. 2005. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions and Festivals. New York: Facts on File.

Brown, Stephen F. and Khaled Anatolios. 2002. Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. New York: Facts on File.

Cohen, Robin. 1997. Global Diasporas. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Doniger, Wendy ed.1999. Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of World Religions. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

Farrington, Karen. 2002. Historical Atlas of Religions. New York: Checkmark Books.

Frankfort, Henri. 2000. Ancient Egyptian Religion. New York: Dover Publications.

Grun, Bernard. 1979. The Timetables of History. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Gordon, Matthew. 2001. Islam. New York: Facts on File.

Hartz, Paula. 1999. Zoroastrianism: World Religions. New York: Facts on File.

Hartz, Paula. 2004. Taoism. New York: Facts on File.

Hartz, Paula. 1997. Shinto. New York: Facts on File.

Haskins, James. 1973. Religions. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Hitchcock, Susan Tyler, and John L. Esposito. 2004. Geography of religion: Where God Lives, Where Pilgrims Walk. Washington, D. C.: National Geographic.

Hoobler, Thomas and Dorothy Hoobler. 1993. Confucianism. New York: Facts on File.

Kallen, Stuart A. 2002. Shinto. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.

Kitagawa, Joseph. 2002. Religious Traditions of Asia. London: Routledge Curzin.

Lau, D. C., trans. 1988. Confucius: The Analects. New York: Penguin Books.

Lugira, Aloysius M. 1999. African Religion. New York: Facts on File.

Morrison, Martha A. and Stephen F. Brown. 2002. Judaism. New York: Facts on File.

Netzley, Patricia. 2002. Buddhism. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books.

Rogers, Perry M. ed. 2002. "The Spiritual and Philosophical Bases of Early World Civilizations." In Aspects of World Civilization, Volume I – Problems and Sources in History. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Singh, Nikky-Guninder Kaur. 1993. Sikhism. New York: Facts on File.

Slavicek, Louise Chipley. 2001. Religions of the World-Confucianism. San Diego: Lucent Books.

Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. 2001. Hinduism. New York: Facts on File.

Wangu, Madhu Bazaz. 2002. Buddhism. New York: Facts on File.

Film

1996. Eastern Wisdom. Henry Holt and Company.

2003. Understanding World Religions. VHS (6) Wynnewood, PA: Schlessinger Media.

1998. Pillars of Faith. VHS (4). Kultur Films International, Inc.

1997. Jerusalem, Within These Walls. VHS. National Geographic Video.

1993. The Long Search. DVD and VHS (6). Ambrose Video Publishing.

1990. Story of Islam: A History of the World’s Most Misunderstood Faith. VHS. MPI Home Video.

1998. Beyond the Veil - The Many Faces of Islam. VHS (3). Mundovision, Ltd.

From Jesus to Christ. VHS (4). Frontline.

Wide Angle: Window Into Global History (PBS)

"Dying to be a Martyr " http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/wideangle/lessonplans/dyingto/index.html

 

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Visuals

www.religioustolerance.or


Daoist Temple, Chendu, China
http://home.frognet.net/~threetreasures/Temple2.jpg

http://www.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/21/21h.580/www/bz/bz7.jpg



The Kaaba
http://www.submission.org/hajj/images.html


Menorah
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html#The%20Emergence%20of%20Judaism


Shiva as Lord of Dance
Chola Period (880-1279) ca.11th Century, India

Websites on World Religions

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/lxxjewpap/MPrsA.jpg

http://www.torah.org

http://www.shamash.org/trb/judaism.html

http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/index.html

http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/MSA/find_more/islart.html

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/

http://www.thetask.org/students/Resources/religion.htm

http://www.omsakthi.org/religions.html

http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm

http://www.omsakthi.org/religions.html

Maps that focus on world religions

http://www3.la.psu.edu/courses/images/artimages/maps/jewish%20diaspora.gif

www.religioustolerance.org

Judaism

http://www.jewfaq.org/ 

http://www.religioustolerance.org/judaism.htm

http://www.jewfaq.org/signs.htm 

Islam

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~rs143/Resources/

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1d.html

http://www.submission.org/hajj/images.html

Christianity

http://www.religioustolerance.org/christ.htm

http://geneva.rutgers.edu/src/christianity/

http://origin.org/ucs/sbcr/christia.cf

Buddhism

http://www.kadampa.org/

www.metmuseum.org

Hinduism

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm

Animism

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/animism/animism.html

Confucianism

http://www.religioustolerance.org/confuciu.htm

Shintoism

http://www.religioustolerance.org/shinto.htm

Jainism

http://www.religioustolerance.org/jainism.htm

 

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Learning Experience(s)

Belief Systems Power Point Project: Global History and Geography
Lessons of the Indian Epics: Following the Dharma
Haven’t I Seen You Somewhere Before?

Available in PDF, HTML, WORD

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Assessments

Editor's Note: All state examinations are aligned to the New York State Learning Standards for Social Studies and Social Studies Resource Guide with Core Curriculum. The chart below specifies where these alignments have occurred (from June 2000 to the present).

Core Curriculum:	Global History and Geography Regents:
Place of origin and major beliefs Chinese philosophies (Confucianism, Daoism)	January 2004 DBQ, Change (Individuals Who Have Changed History)

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