Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Why the rise of universalizing religion?

I think that the best theory for this is that they needed structure. Things were very disconnected and there was not a lot going on at the time. Religion gave them structure and something to follow. Without religion they would have no structure and nothing for them to do so they would still be doing nothing.
-Christina Aguilera

11 comments:

  1. The rise of universalizing religion was due to the theory that all people have a basic need of structure and a guide. Religion would provide a place or a sense of comfort for those who were seeking structure. Had religion not existed we as a race might still be living and tents and herding cattle or barely scratching the surface of technology and our hunger for advancement.
    -Richard Simons

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  2. I agree with this comment.
    The absence of government would normally cause anarchy but since they had religion dictating their moral code, people did not descend into morally anarchy.
    AHong

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  3. I agree. They needed something to pull them together, at the time that was religion because there were no real empire. Normally they would follow the emperor but since there was none they followed religion.

    Houdini

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  4. I agree with Christina
    Structure and having something to believe in was very important at this time. Believing in a religion or having a belief or faith of some sort was a common factor that the groups and dynasties could share. Though the objects and god or gods they believed in were somewhat different, the surface of just having a belief gave them a solid structure. It made it easier to communicate and share beliefs with other people from other places. Trading ideas and beliefs were important factors in universalizing religions. Having the basis of believing in something gave them the ideas and they shared their beliefs with other people. This caused the rise of universalizing religion.

    -- Mary Queen of Scots

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  5. I agree, I think that the need for structure had a lot to do with the rise of religion. People needed structure, and religion gave all these people some kind of structure and a common bond and something to follow even though the religions were different.
    -Harriet Tubman

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  6. I also agree with Christina. 400-600 CE was kind of boring after the fall of the Han and Roman empires. With little structure and not much happening at that time, religion was a way of supporting themselves and giving them something to do.

    Another reason for the rise of religions was because of the Silk Road. With many different people participating in the trade of the Silk Road, many foreign religions were experienced and carried back to their homeland. This helped the world religions of the time to grow and spread throughout the world.

    -Jane Austen

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  7. I agree.

    After the fall of the Han and Roman empires there was nothing for the people to look to as a guide. The decentralized governments also allowed the spread of new ideas without interference from the government because all of the governments were too weak to do anything, which is a good thing.

    -Robert E. Lee

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  8. I agree as well. Due to the shattering of the Roman and Han empires, there was no strong force which was able to impose structure on the people. Religion allowed people to live a somewhat structured life and devote energy to something constructive.

    - Benito Mussolini

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  9. I agree with this theory, structure is very important to have in an empire and religion made that possible. There was never really anything happening in this time period because of the government not doing anything to spark the interest of the people. To do something with their lives the people made religions that became widespread. This gave them something to follow that was liked throughout and that was in a sense fun for them. Ideas were brought about other religions which was interaction between others. The structure really grew with the adoption of religion and the people had a way to make themselves feel productive and not worthless like the government seemed.

    -Martha Stuart

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  10. I agree. The lack of a major power in this time period led people to seek structure in their lives. For this they turned to religion. It seems unlikely that people turned to religion for fun. I think they turned to religion for structure and hope.

    ~Mary Magdalene

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  11. I agree with this comment, because religion gave the people structure. Religion became the new government and offered people guidance, rules and moral codes. This strengthened the relationships of the people as well.
    -Cleopatra (SA)

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