This article explores the systems of belief through which humans have sought answers to big questions about life, the Universe, and everything. Some of these systems have been animistic, focused on the relationship between the natural and spirit worlds. Thousands of years ago, more structured belief systems emerged. More recently, belief systems have included portable and universal systems that can spread widely. These newer systems sometimes incorporated elements of older belief systems, but they also inspired changes in behavior and belief.

This article introduces you to belief systems. The evidence in this article will help you evaluate how the development of new types of religious systems created networks of interconnection among different societies and states.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect society and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What is a belief system? How is it not the same as a religion?
2. What are animistic belief systems?
3. How did the development of the state, hierarchies, and specialization contribute to the development of religions?
4. What does it mean to state that a religion is portable?
5. What does it mean to state that a religion is universal?
6. How did systems of belief change people’s behaviors?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. How do belief systems affect society and social interactions?

This activity is a creative way to learn more about the portable belief systems that emerged during this period. Knowing more about these belief systems will help you better understand how they spread and how these beliefs connected communities. And, since most of today’s belief systems are considered portable, this will also help you gain a sense of how and from where these long-standing systems emerged.

In this activity, you’ll read an assigned article about portable belief systems, and then you’ll have a silent conversation about the article. Once the silent conversations are done, you’ll review all the conversations, and then answer a question that has you consider content from each of the articles.

Your teacher will assign you one of the following articles: “Confucianism,” “Daoism,” “Buddhism,” or “Legalism.” Once you’ve read the article, find the two posters that relate to your article and silently write responses to each of the questions.

Once everyone is done adding responses, take some time to read the responses your classmates wrote for the other articles. Then, take out a piece of paper and write two of the most important similarities and two of the most important differences you found across these belief systems. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

Once the discussion is over, reflect on your responses to the similarities and differences questions and decide if you want to revise your answers based on the class discussion. You will submit your original and revised answers to your teacher.

Confucianism is an ethic, a belief system that emphasizes a way of acting in society and among others. Its founder believed that he was translating the best ideas from the Chinese society in which he lived. Those ideas were attractive, first to individuals and later to the rulers who unified the Chinese state. Confucianism was one belief system among many in China during this era. Many people, as well as various governments of China, made use of different belief systems, adopting them together or in turn.

This is one article in a series that introduces different belief systems in China. The many different belief systems in China make it an interesting case study for evaluating the impact of belief systems on one state. In particular, this set of articles will provide evidence to evaluate how belief systems change the societies that adopt them and how belief systems spread and change.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Note: The readings in 3.3.3 may also be used as part of a jigsaw for the study of belief systems in China during this era.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was the period like in which Confucius developed his ethic and shared it with others?
2. How did Confucius argue that order could be restored?
3. What were the principle ideas of Confucian social order?
4. What does the author mean when she says that it was a belief system that was political?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following question:

1. How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions?

As a belief system, Daoism emphasized a way of being rather than rules or gods. It called for contemplation and actions that brought a person into harmony with the natural order. In practice, Daoism was more useful for personal contemplation than government, but it also influenced actions and culture on a society-wide level.

This article is one in a series that introduces different belief systems in China. The many different belief systems in China make it an interesting case study for evaluating belief systems the impact of belief systems on one state. In particular, this set of articles provides evidence to evaluate how belief systems change the societies that adopt them and how belief systems spread and change.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Note: The readings in 3.3.3 may also be used as part of a jigsaw for the study of belief systems in China during this era.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What, according to the article, is the core concept of Daoism?
2. Daoism and Confucianism seem to have emerged about the same time. How did they differ?
3. Confucianism became very important in governance and highly adopted among the powerful in this era. What about Daoism?
4. Confucianism tended to have a gender hierarchy in which men were more respected and powerful. How did Daoism treat gender, according to this article?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions?
2. What do you think a state would look like if it adopted Daoism as its governing belief system?

As a belief system, Buddhism calls on people to let go of desire and access salvation and wisdom. By following the Eightfold Path, and acting appropriately, a person could achieve enlightenment. Because it could accommodate and change to meet local belief systems, Buddhism spread widely and took on many different forms. Buddhism started in India, but spread to China by the seventh century.

This article is one in a series that introduces different belief systems in China. The many different belief systems in China make it an interesting case study for evaluating belief systems the impact of belief systems on one state. In particular, this set of articles provides evidence to evaluate how belief systems change the societies that adopt them and how belief systems spread and change.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Note: The readings in 3.3.3 may also be used as part of a jigsaw for the study of belief systems in China during this era.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What, according to the article, is the core belief of Buddhism, and how was this a challenge to Vedic beliefs?
2. What are the Four Noble Truths?
3. Who could follow the Eightfold Path easily, and why? How did Mahayana Buddhism change this?
4. How did Buddhism change when it entered China?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions?
2. Buddhism adapted to local ideas in China and other parts of the world. Yet we generally argue that it remained Buddhism in all of these different places. Why do you think we consider it a single belief system, even if it is adapting and changing to local conditions?

Legalism is an ethic and a philosophy. It promotes the idea that people need to be strictly controlled in order to ensure a stable society. Legalism may seem to be a mean-spirited set of ideas, but legalists made important contributions to protecting and stabilizing Chinese society.

This article is one in a series that introduces different belief systems in China. The many different belief systems in China make it an interesting case study for evaluating belief systems the impact of belief systems on one state. In particular, this set of articles provides evidence to evaluate how belief systems change the societies that adopt them and how belief systems spread and change.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Note: The readings in 3.3.3 may also be used as part of a jigsaw for the study of belief systems in China during this era.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How was Legalism a response to conditions in Chinese society during the Warring States Period?
2. How is Legalism different from Confucianism?
3. What were some important contributions of Legalism?
4. How does the excerpt from Han Feizi’s writing show Legalist thought?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. How do belief systems affect governance and social interactions?
2. Consider a society that has elements of Legalism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. How can these belief systems work together? What can each belief system contribute to a society to make it healthier, more stable, and better for people?
3. Does the society you live in have many different belief systems? What are they?

In this activity, you’ll be comparing across time and place to find similarities and differences between belief systems. In addition, you’ll continue to evaluate how historical events and processes relate to the AP themes. In this particular case, comparison helps us distinguish between concepts that may seem similar if we view them by zooming out. But by comparing and contrasting, we reduce confusion between related yet different concepts.

Reading, scale, writing
You’ll use your close reading skills to pull out information from the articles to complete the Comparison Tool, which is included in the worksheet. As this activity focuses on comparing across both time and space, you’ll use both temporal and spatial scales in your comparison of belief systems. Remember, temporal scales mean that you’ll be evaluating across time. Spatial scales refer to assessing across space or geographic regions. Comparison provides structure and organization to idea development and writing. In addition, you’ll be writing a paragraph response to a comparison prompt in which you’ll use the language of comparison and spatial scale (local, regional, national, and global).

The belief systems (philosophies or faiths) that people have can tell us a great deal about the mindsets of people living in a community or society. In this activity, you’ll explore the history and teachings of four different belief systems: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Comparing these belief systems will help you learn how these faiths shaped societies as they spread across networks of exchange to become some of the first world religions.

First, your teacher will ask you the following questions:

• How did local, communal religions become shared belief systems that are now practiced by millions of people across the world?
• What do these major world religions—Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam—share in terms of their common beliefs about the world and our place in it?

Next, your teacher will either hand out or have you download the Comparison – Belief Systems worksheet along with the Three Close Reads worksheet and each of the articles in this collection. Your teacher will then break the class into small groups and assign an article to each group.

Read your assigned article on your own and complete the Three Close Reads as you normally would for an article. Then, complete Part 1: Framing and Connecting individually for your group’s assigned article. After this, you will form a new group with students who were assigned the other articles. You’ll discuss your answers and then complete Part 1 of the tool for all articles.

Next, you’ll form different groups of four to share and refine your answers for Part 1, and then complete Part 2 of the Comparison Tool. Once all groups have fully completed the tool, each group will write two thesis statements for this comparison prompt: What is most similar and what is most different about these belief systems in relation to the themes of cultural developments and interactions, economic systems, and social interactions and organization?

Then, choose one of these thesis statements to write a one-paragraph introduction to an essay on your own. At this point, your teacher will review the elements of how to write an introduction for an essay. The introduction should briefly preview the topic, in this case the comparison of belief systems, and introduce your thesis statement, or the claim you’re making that answers the comparison prompt. The thesis could be the first or last sentence of your paragraph. However, you must fully address the question and explain what is most similar and most different about these belief systems in relation to the themes of cultural developments and interactions, economic systems, and social interactions and organization.

Your teacher will collect your worksheets and paragraphs at the end of the activity to assess your understanding of the topic and this historical thinking skill.

Founded by the Hebrews living in an area between the Mediterranean and the River Jordan known as Canaan, Judaism worshipped a single god, YHWH or Yahweh. The Hebrews wrote down their traditions, laws, history, and ethics into five books known as the Torah. Saul united the Hebrews and founded a monarchy. But the kingdom eventually split in two and was eventually conquered by larger empires. In the centuries following these upheavals, the Jewish people spread around the world and did not have a state of their own again until the founding of Israel in the twentieth century.

Portable belief systems are an important part of these complex societies. This article, which focuses on Judaism, is one of a series that introduces four central religious traditions in world history: Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. An earlier article introduced Buddhism in the context of religious change and syncretism in China and Central Asia. These articles provide evidence to evaluate how belief systems impacted cultural developments and social organization.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect society and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What is the Torah?
2. What was the Covenant the Hebrews believed they had with Yahweh?
3. How did life for the Hebrews change as they shifted from pastoral to settled farming?
4. How did the Hebrews rule themselves following the defeat of the Philistines?
5. How did the Hebrews maintain cohesion after their exile from Canaan?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third read, discuss the following question with your class:

1. How do belief systems affect society and social interactions?

Languages, cultures and traditions all mixed in the early Roman Empire. In the Roman province of Judaea, however, many Jews began to resist Roman rule. Into this climate came Jesus of Nazareth, whose teachings promised life after death and of the importance of devotion to God and love of others. Initially an oral tradition passed on in small gatherings after Jesus’ death, Christians began to record his teachings in books known as gospels. Eventually, Christianity spread across the Roman Empire, establishing places of worship and becoming the official religion of the Empire in 380 CE.

Portable belief systems are an important part of these complex societies. This article, which focuses on Christianity, is one of a series that introduces four central religious traditions in world history: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. An earlier article introduced Buddhism in the context of religious change and syncretism in China and Central Asia. These articles provide evidence to evaluate how belief systems impacted cultural developments and social organization.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect society and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What was Judea like under Roman rule during the life of Jesus?
2. How were the teachings of Jesus similar to and different from those of Judaism?
3. How were the teachings of Jesus recorded and spread?
4. What was the role of women in early Christianity?
5. How did Christianity become the official religion of the Roman Empire?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third read, discuss the following questions with your class:

1. How do belief systems affect society and social interactions?
2. From a small sect in Judea, Christianity grew into the world’s largest religion today. How did networks of exchange make this spread possible? Was there anything new or different about the networks through which Christianity spread?

After 1500 BCE, Aryans conquered northern India and laid the foundations of the Hindu belief system. At first, only priests called Brahmins could directly worship a variety of gods. But by the third century BCE, Hinduism began to emerge as a belief system in which individuals could worship the gods directly, without priests. Hinduism understands the Universe as a repeating cycle. A person’s actions determine their karma, which determines their status in the next life. Hindu society established a hierarchy called the “caste” system. Hinduism spread across South and Southeast Asia. Today, over a billion people practice Hinduism.

Portable belief systems are an important part of these complex societies. This article, which focuses on Hinduism, is one of a series that introduces four central religious traditions in world history: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. An earlier article introduced Buddhism in the context of religious change and syncretism in China and Central Asia. These articles provide evidence to evaluate how belief systems impacted cultural developments and social organization.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect society and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How did Hinduism emerge in South Asia?
2. How do Hindus believe that a person’s status is determined?
3. Why did Hinduism spread? What made it appealing to people?
4. How was the social hierarchy organized under Hinduism?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third read, discuss the following questions with your class:

1. How do belief systems affect society and social interactions?
2. You’ve read about Judaism, which spread all around the world, but did not spread to large numbers of people. You’ve also read about Christianity, which spread all around the world to become the world’s largest religion. Hinduism, by contrast, spread to many people but was only widely adopted in South Asia. Can you think of any reasons for this? What role might networks of exchange have played in Hinduism’s expansion (and lack of expansion)?

In the seventh century, the merchant Muhammad founded the Islamic faith in the Arabian Peninsula. Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the direct word of God as relayed to Muhammad during a religious vision. Muhammad used a large army to unite the nomads and cities of the Arabian Peninsula into a single umma, or community. As the early Islamic empires spread, Islam proved to be appealing to many people. Shortly after Muhammad’s death, a split in Islam separated Sunni from Shi’a. As it has continued to spread to billions across the world, Islam has adapted to local cultures and beliefs.

Portable belief systems are an important part of these complex societies. This article, which focuses on Islam, is one of a series that introduces four central religious traditions in world history: Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. An earlier article introduced Buddhism in the context of religious change and syncretism in China and Central Asia. These articles provide evidence to evaluate how belief systems impacted cultural developments and social organization.

Think about the following question as you read the article: How do belief systems affect society and social interactions? Write this question at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this question again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. Why were Muhammad and his successors so successful at spreading Islam?
2. What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
3. How did the umma split early in Islam’s history?
4. What were the central practices of Sufism?
5. How did early Islamic society view women?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third read, discuss the following questions with your class:

1. How do belief systems affect society and social interactions?
2. You’ve now read about four (five, counting Buddhism) different portable belief systems. Islam is the youngest of the five religions, by several centuries. Is the Islamic concept of umma something new in the history of belief systems? Why or why not?
3. Like Christianity, Islam has spread all over the world to billions of people. What role do you think networks of exchange played in this spread? Do you think Islam would have spread as far and as fast if it had emerged centuries earlier?

Syncretism is the process by which belief systems meld with each other and change to suit new places, people, and traditions. This change can work in a variety of different ways. The language of a faith can shift. It can take on elements of other religions. It can respond to political power. These changes reveal to us how and why belief systems changed over time.

This article will further develop your understanding of belief systems as an element of complex society. In many ways, belief systems have been presented to you as uniform ideas and unified identities. In fact, they can often change in response to new conditions and different societies. By understanding the process of syncretism, you will be better able to evaluate how belief systems changed as they moved along networks of exchange.

Think about the following prompt as you read the article: Using evidence from the article, explain the extent to which belief systems changed over time. Write this prompt at the top of the Three Close Reads worksheet. You will be asked to respond to this prompt again after the third read in the Evaluating and Corroborating section of the worksheet.

Preview—Skimming for Gist

Fill out the Skimming for Gist section of the Three Close Reads worksheet as you complete your first close read. As a reminder, this should be a quick process!

Key Ideas—Understanding Content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What are some ways in which Christianity changed as it spread to new societies, especially in Asia?
2. What are some ways in which Buddhism changed as it spread?
3. How did the adoption of Buddhism and Christianity by political powers help those religions spread?

Evaluating and Corroborating

At the end of the third close read, respond to the following questions:

1. Using evidence from the article, explain the extent to which belief systems changed over time.
2. This article begins and ends with the example of a Nestorian Christian gravestone in Central Asia. Why do you think this gravestone had both a western calendar year and a Chinese Zodiac year?