Belief systems

Religious ideas and practices change over time. These changes may be driven by the religious group itself, something happening to the population of believers, or interactions with other belief systems. This article is going to focus on changes in a few major world religions. It is important to remember that while there was change, there were things that went unchanged. Some practices and ideas continued.

Judaism

In the first millennium BCE, ideas that had been handed down with oral stories were written down for the first time in many places. Among these texts are those created by the Hebrews. These stories and laws formed the basis of Judaism. Judaism is a monotheistic faith, meaning people believe in one God. Judaism is based on the concept of a Covenant, or an agreement between the people and God.

The early Hebrews were herders. They moved around a lot and took care of animals like sheep and goats. They were organized into tribes. The shared faith of Judaism helped these tribes to work together and unify.

The Hebrews—now Jews—lived in area that other groups wanted to take over. The area was attacked frequently. Although the Hebrews managed to unify in the first millennium BCE, their small states were conquered. The Jews were scattered widely across the Mediterranean regions of Asia, Europe, and North Africa. This dispersal is called a diaspora.

If we look more than a thousand years later, in the period 1200 to 1450 CE, Jews mostly lived in states ruled by others. Many Jews lived in the Islamic states of Spain and North Africa and the Catholic states of Europe. Partly because they were so dispersed, Jewish communities didn’t have a centralized priesthood. Each community had a rabbi.

Jewish communities were sometimes treated harshly by Christian and Muslim rulers. They were considered outside of the normal social order, like Europe’s system of knights and serfs. They were a minority with rabbis as community leaders.

Hinduism

Hinduism arose in northern India between 1500 and 500 BCE. People created a body of sacred works and ritual texts known as the Vedas. Their belief system recognized numerous gods and goddesses and a class of priests, the Brahmins. Brahmins could help people achieve union with the source of the universe. Around 300 BCE, these ideas developed into Hinduism. Hinduism allowed people to show devotion to the gods without priests, although they remained important.

Texts known as the Upanishads explained the process of reincarnation. Cycles of reincarnation enabled Hindus to achieve unity with the source of the universe. Social division among Hindus deepened. People were born into the social class of their parents, and it was hard to change into a different social class.

Hinduism spread throughout South Asia and Southeast Asia by 1200 CE. Hinduism included ideas from some of the local faiths and practices of these regions. Hindu rulers were often tolerant of other faiths.

Buddhism

Buddhism grew from similar roots as Hinduism in North India. In the sixth century BCE, it began to move away from the dominance of a priestly class. Most of Buddhism’s main ideas are attributed to Prince Siddhartha Gautama (563–483 BCE). Gautama gave up his privilege and tried to live a disciplined life of study and enlightenment. Known as Buddha, Gautama pioneered the “Four Noble Truths”:

Buddhism gave people a map to get to enlightenment. Some Buddhist thinkers called for people to join monasteries, or places to practice Buddhism. Others emphasized everyday activities.

Buddhism spread and took on new practices. Because it did not have a centralized class of priests, it could easily adapt to new places. China became an important Buddhist center in the seventh century CE, and then it spread rapidly throughout East Asia. The Chan school of Buddhism became important. Chan Buddhism emphasized meditation and a focus on natural ways of reaching personal enlightenment. It existed alongside many other schools of Buddhism.

Christianity

Christianity appeared in the early Roman Empire. There was a great mixing of cultures and traditions in the Empire, and Christianity began among the Jewish population.

According to Christian Scripture the preacher Jesus of Nazareth (c. 3 BCE–29 CE) was born to deeply religious Jewish parents. Oral accounts of his sayings were written down by his followers in the century after his life.

Jesus’ followers agreed that Jesus preached of a kingdom of eternal happiness in a life after death. Devotion to God and love of others were important. His teachings were based on Hebrew Scripture and reflected a conception of God and morality that came from Jewish tradition. He said that he was the Son of God and the Messiah who had come to establish a spiritual kingdom. He declared that he would return to save people.

Christianity developed around groups of priests. It became quite hierarchical, following the model of the Roman Empire. Splits developed early, as followers in different regions applied different theological ideas. The support of later Roman Emperors meant that a large and centralized church could be built.

The decline of the Roman Empire left a vacuum in Europe after the sixth century. As state power declined, the Christian church and its leaders provided a unifying set of beliefs and practices. However, there was a great break in 1054 CE between the Catholic Church in Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople. This split was about differences in beliefs as well as disagreements between states.

Islam

Islam was founded by religious reformer and prophet Muhammad (c. 570–632 CE), who lived in Arabia and was influenced by Jewish and Christian ideas. Muhammad was about 40 years old when he began to experience visions instructing him to preach. Muhammad described his revelations in prose known as his Qur’an, or “recitation.” A recitation is when someone repeats something from memory. Muhammad’s followers memorized his words, and after his death they were collected into an official written version. Muslims regard the Qur’an as the direct words of God to Muhammad.

Muhammad gathered followers and brought the Arabian Peninsula under Muslim rule. Core elements of Islam were established. Muslims were obligated to submit to God and spread God’s word. Five practices constitute the Five Pillars of Islam. They include faith in God and in Muhammad as God’s prophet, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, giving to the poor, and making pilgrimage to Mecca.

After Muhammad’s death, Islam continued to spread. It also experienced splits between groups. Mystical movements arose in many areas that combined Islamic thought with local ideas, and often included worship of local saints.

The Islamic political system tore apart, but Islam provided a bridge between many states. It became the chief religion of the Mongols and other powerful states.

Conclusion

Religions have their own histories of continuity and change. Religious thinkers developed new ideas, responded to changing populations, and engaged with each other. The history of religion is an important part of an integrated look at the global past.