While Christianity was popular in Europe, particularly in the Roman Empire after 300 C.E., Hinduism was popular in South Asia, which Buddhism arose from. Christianity and Buddhism both were started from the ideas of one man, Jesus of Nazareth and Siddhartha Gautama, who were upset with some of the practices of their original religion. Christianity is a monotheistic religion, meaning its followers believe in one God, while Hinduism is polytheistic, as it followers believe in many deities. Christianity spread slowly, as the followers of Christ’s teachings were persecuted until Roman Emperor Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire; Buddhism was popular to Hindus of lower status longing to escape the strict caste system and was endorsed by Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty, but Buddhism eventually declined in popularity.
Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism. Gautama was a Hindu of high status and was kept in a castle for many years; however, he snuck out of confinement and came across people who were suffering. Wanting to know how people could find happiness despite suffering, Gautama became a monk. He one day went into a forest and after meditating
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Christianity is a monotheistic religion, meaning Christians believe in one God. Hindus believe in many different deities. The earliest form of Christianity (know as Catholicism in the current era) believes in the “three in one”: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Many may confuse this belief with polytheism; however, it is not because all three titles are just a representation of the same God. In Hinduism, the Trimurti, also known as The Hindu Trinity, is the personification of the creation and destruction of the Earth. The three gods are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector, and Shiva the destroyer. This is different than Christianity, where God is in charge of all three of those