Decline+Religion

Unit 5 Chapter 10 Classical Decline - Religion - by Steven and Cal

1. Buddhism

Buddhism became very popular in the Classical Period. This was because it attracted all social groups and regions, and also was brought to China in a very stressful time. Buddhism was challenged by Daoism in China, but always came out on top. Buddhism spread along the Silk Road. Women were impacted immensely by Buddhism in China. “On the face of things, Buddhism should have disrupted China’s firm belief in patriarchal power, because Buddhists believed that women had souls among men.” (Stearns, 218) Chinese culture accepted Buddhism; however their patriarchal ways were not altered. As Buddhism was becoming more popular, Daoism changed to become more appealing to the people. “Daoist leaders developed a variety of practices, including meditation and dietary restrictions that might bring immortality.” (219) Shamans and priests were also provided, healing diseases through faith. “Confucianism lost ground during this confused period in Chinese history, eclipsed by more otherworldly interests.” (219)

** “The Chinese version of Buddhism, called Mahayana, or the Greater Vehicle, placed considerable emphasis on Buddha as god or savior. Statues of the Buddha as god violated the earlier Buddhist hostility to religious images, but they emphasized the religion as a channel of salvation. Well organized temples, with priests and rituals, also helped bring religious solace to ordinary people in East Asia.” (226) ** The Bodhisattva were the holy men of Buddhism, and the idea was that because they were so successful during the Buddhist life, that they continued to help people after death. This appealed to people because it was the goal of Buddhism – to reach enlightenment, breaking the cycle of reincarnation.

// In India, culture was changing quickly. In 440 CE now declining Guptas were believers in Hinduism, and the attacking Huns could not relate to the calm, sit down and think Buddhist values. Buddhism faded away in classical India. //

2. Christianity in Classical Decline Basics of Christianity: How Christianity affected the people during the Roman Decline
 * 1) 1. Started by Jesus as a revision of Judaism
 * 2) 2. Bible has an old testament (which is the torah) and a new testament
 * 3) 3. 10 commandments, I am the lord thy god thou shalt have no other god before you, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor, thou shalt respect thy mother and father, etc.
 * 4) 4. Paul of Tarsus spread Christianity and defined it as a separate religion after Jesus’ death
 * 5) 5. Christians hold the cross to be sacred
 * 6) 6. Sunday is a day of rest
 * 7) 7. Jesus died in 34 A.D.
 * 1) 1. Christians refused to worship the emperor as a god, so that weakened the state’s power
 * 2) 2. Romans either saw Christians as a threat and persecuted them or accepted them or converted to Christianity depending on the emperor
 * 3) 3. Christianity provided a stand in government when the Roman’s couldn’t
 * 4) 4. Christianity conserved the knowledge of reading and writing