Deck 4: B: Culture and Religion in Eurasianorth Africa 500

Question 1

What similarities did Buddhism and Christianity share?

Answer 1

•Both religions started out as movements to reform existing religions (Hinduism in the case of Buddhism,Judaism in the case of Christianity).
•The founders of each (Jesus for Christianity,Siddhartha Gautama for Buddhism)were given divine qualities by their followers.
•Both religions spread well beyond their place of birth.
•Different sects emerged,and they reflected a variety of doctrines and practices.
•Both drew converts from the lower classes and women,who found appealing the egalitarian messages preached.

Question 2

In what ways were the various religious and philosophical traditions that emerged from 500 B.C.E.to 500 C.E.gendered?

Answer 2

•Rationalization and perpetuation of patriarchy (Confucianism,Hinduism).
•Popular forms of established religions developed that were more accessible to women and the lower classes (Buddhism,bhakti movement in Hinduism,Daoism).
•Wen/Wu dichotomy linked male identities with literary learning and martial skill.
•Male and female viewed as complementary and in balance (Daoism).
•Male and female deities in polytheistic religions (Hinduism).
•God (Yahweh)in Judaism primarily masculine.
•Women associated with impurity,sin,evil,darkness,earth (Hinduism,Christianity,Confucianism).
•Christianity shifted from the more egalitarian message during Jesus's lifetime and the house churches in which women held leadership positions to the exclusion of women from the church hierarchy.

Question 3

What were some of the most important legacies of Greek thought?

Answer 3

•Roman culture was profoundly shaped by Greek thought.
•Christian theology was expressed in terms of Greek philosophical concepts,especially those of Plato.
•Greek texts remained important in the Byzantine Empire after the western portion of the Roman Empire collapsed.
•From the twelfth century C.E.on,Greek thought became a central element of an emerging Western civilization.
•Islamic culture was shaped by Greek thought,along with Indian and Persian learning.

Question 4

How did some of the religious and philosophical traditions that emerged from 500 B.C.E.to 500 C.E.reflect or perpetuate class differences?

Question 5

What phases did the South Asian religious tradition go through between 1000 B.C.E.and 1000 C.E.?

Question 6

What three cultural traditions came out of the warring states period,and how do they differ from one another?

Question 7

What are the key differences between the Theravada and Mahayana expressions of Buddhism?

Question 8

In what respects were Zoroastrianism and Judaism a departure from religious traditions of the time?