Chapters 2,3,4,&5

Religion

You need to consider the following•How does religion influence the different

developing cultures?•How does cultural tie into what we have

already learned about politics?•Did the culture of these places affect the

fall of the empire?

Diverse Forms of Worship

•Older forms of worship persisted in this time period, especially in less-advanced societies▫Usually these were based on veneration of

the spirits (shamanism and animism)•Ancestor worship remained common in

many societies such as China, Africa, Mediterranean▫Funeral practices▫Sacrifice, etc.

ChinaIs it a religion or a philosophy??????

Culture and Politics

•Key: Religion/Culture is a major component to the political landscape

•Obedience to the State rather than to a god.▫Harmonious earthly life ▫Balance▫Ceremony▫Tradition

3 Major Religions develop

Confucianism Daoism

Legalism

Confucianism•Confucian ideas

▫ Fundamentally moral and ethical in character ▫ Restore political and social order; stress ritual ▫ Government is an extension of family

relationships• Primarily a system of ethics• Gave bureaucracy a common belief

system▫ Emphasis on individual virtuous behavior

both by the ruler and the ruled • Education:

▫ accessible to all talented and educated members of society

Confucius (Kung Fuzi) 551-478 BCE

•Founder• If people could be taught to emphasize personal

virtue a solid political life would naturally result•Respect for one’s superiors•Wrote: The Analects

▫ Principle of Jen: “Do not do to others what you would not like them

to do to you”

•Mencius-▫promoted Confucius’s teachings and slightly modified

them

5 Relationships of Confucianism

1. Father and Son 2. Elder brother and

younger brother3. Husband and wife4. Older friend and

younger friend5. Ruler and subject

Daoism

•Arose about the same time as Confucianism during the Zhou dynasty▫Prominent critics of Confucian thought

•Laozi (Lao-tsu)- furthered Daoism•Embraced

▫traditional Chinese beliefs in nature’s harmony▫ added a sense of nature’s mystery▫General conditions of the world unimportant; harmony

with nature is more important•Han rulers persuaded Daoist priests to stress loyalty

to the emperor

Legalism • The doctrine of statecraft

▫ Promoted a practical and ruthlessly efficient approach

▫ No concern with: ethics and morality the principles governing nature

▫ Discouraged art, and literature • Doctrine used by Qin dynasty • Called for harsh penalties even for minor

infractions• Disdained Confucian values in favor of

an authoritarian state ruled by force

India You have how many gods?????

Vedic and Epic Ages

•Aryans (Indo-European) migrants- hunting and herding peoples originally from central Asia

•Vedas- sacred books of the Aryans▫Rig-Veda- 1028 hymns dedicated to the Aryan

gods▫Mahabharata- India’s greatest epic poem▫Ramayana▫Upanishads- epic poems with a more mystical

religious flavor•Encouraged tight levels of village organization• Indian caste system takes shape- partly

because Aryan invaders saw indigenous people as inferior

Hinduism

•Unlike all/most other world religions•Can encourage both political/economic

goals and worldly pleasures•No founder, no central figure so it

unfolded gradually•Very tolerant of different religions •Provided several channels for the good

life•Supplied some unity•Allowed people to hold on to some older

rituals

Buddhism

•C. 563 BCE Siddhartha Gautama was born▫Buddha is divine

•Started as a rebellion against Hinduism▫It was a threat to the Hindu way of life

•Argued for the individual and went against the caste system and the priests

•Wasn’t able to hold a strong portion of India ultimately

•The Four Noble Truths + Noble Eightfold Path = Religious goal of Nirvana

The Spread

Buddhism•Unlike Hinduism Buddhism travelled out of India▫Monks▫As it spread it

adopted many of the local beliefs (syncretism)

Hinduism •Allowed many

people to keep old beliefs

•Gave lower class people hope of a better life through reincarnation

•Eventually all of India but not strong anywhere else

Syncretism

•This is the ability of religions to morph and merge with other religious/cultural beliefs

•By being flexible religions could attract more followers

•This process was central to the spread of many of the world’s major religions

Jainism

•Believe in Karma, Dharma and Moksha•Expected to following five principle of

living:▫Non Violence▫Speak the truth▫No stealing▫Only one spouse▫Avoid excess

Mediterranean From Polytheism to Monotheism

Religion of Greece and Rome

• Both were polytheistic • Gods used to explain nature and human

action • Rome borrowed from the Greeks• Christianity is going to develop during the

Roman Empire• Christians would not put the emperor

before God• Didn’t create a Formal/Significant World

Religion

Judaism

•Monotheistic faith takes shape in this era•Exile of Jews from homeland begins

Jewish Diaspora•400 BCE Jewish doctrines and customs

formalized•Dietary and marriage restrictions

Christianity• Jesus of Nazareth (ca. 4 BCE- 29 CE)• Teachings proved popular among the poor but

authorities soon persecuted him• Roman law made Christianity illegal• Apostles tried to spread teachings

▫Tried to widen its appeal by allowing some changes, such as not having to observe Jewish dietary restrictions- this helped convert Greeks and Romans

• Caught on among poor, slaves, noncitizens• 313 CE Constantine legalized Christianity in Edict

of Milan

Culture is more than religion•China’s culture evolved with very little

from the outside world▫Surrounded by barbarians with little to

offer Didn’t want much from them anyway

▫Didn’t want to teach others their culture•HOWEVER

▫China did receive some cultural from the outside Buddhism

Art in China•Art was created in a detailed,

proportional, and balanced manner▫Nature was emphasized▫Often very decorative▫Jade, pottery, ivory, bronze, and silk▫Calligraphy

Science in China

•Many innovations▫364.5 days per year▫Movement of the planets▫Seismographs▫Advanced medical knowledge▫Acoustics▫Architecture▫Inventions

Paper, compass, water mills, porcelain, silk, plows

Cultural Developments in India

•Some great pieces of literature were written▫Common themes of love and heroics

•Science and Math▫One of the worlds 1st university▫Sterilization and clean▫Small pox vaccine▫Number system still in use (0)

•Art▫Stupa: spherical shrines to Buddha

Greek Philosophers

• Socrates: one of the founders of Western Philosophy, virtue, justice, and piety. Question

• Plato: student of Socrates, Teacher of Alexander the Great, founded the first higher learning institution in the western world. Understand true, good and beauty. The Republic

• Aristotle: student of Plato, wrote about many subjects such as politics, logic, music, biology, ethics etc.

Math and Science in the Mediterranean

Pythagoras and Euclid: Geometry

Galen: Anatomy Ptolemy: Sun around

the Earth

Art and Architecture in the Mediterranean

•Great achievements in Architecture▫Columns, Aqueducts

•Theater:▫Drama and Comedy

There are other places to take note of…..

Japan•Seemed to have skipped the Bronze age:

▫Stone Iron•Shinto

▫Provided for both worship of political leaders and natural spirits

The Americas

•Olmec▫Beginnings of major artistic developments

in the Americas▫Polytheistic