How Do Religions Grow and Change?
Teacher Resources
Driving Question: How did belief systems transform as they spread along networks?
Trade networks continued to expand as portable belief systems developed and spread. Beliefs and ideas spread along long-distance trade routes, thanks to merchants, armies, and religious missionaries. As beliefs spread, some religions blended with local cultures and took on new traditions.
- Investigate how and why belief systems spread.
- Assess how belief systems changed as they moved into new regions.
- Learn about the historical thinking practice of sourcing.
- Use quick-sourcing skills to analyze how belief systems impacted communities and networks during this historical era.
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- What are some ways in which Christianity changed as it spread to new societies, especially in Asia?
- What are some ways in which Buddhism changed as it spread?
- How did the adoption of Buddhism and Christianity by political powers help those religions spread?
Evaluate
- 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?
- How does syncretism help explain how a belief system could be a network? Does that change how you think about belief systems as communities?
As you read the primary source excerpts in this collection, use the accompanying Quick-Sourcing Tool to guide your analysis.
Extension Materials
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Guiding Questions
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Note: For more detailed directions on completing the three close reads below, refer to the Three Close Reads – Introduction activity.
Skim
Before you read, you should quickly skim the article, by looking at the headings of each section and the charts. Read the questions below as well, so you know what to look for when you read!
Key Ideas
- What are some reasons why Buddhism became popular in China?
- Who is the main person who brought Buddhism to China, according to the traditional story?
- What is one example of how Buddhism Sinicized in China, according to the article?
- Why and how did the Sinicization of Buddhism happen, according to Zenryū Tsukamoto?
- How did systems of belief change people’s behaviors?
Evaluate
- What does the Sinicization of Buddhism tell us about the nature of a belief system as a community? As a network?