Spread Of Buddhism Christianity And Islam

Throughout history, religion has played a major role in the emergence and shaping of civilization. Religion undoubtedly has transformed the way of life for many individuals—individually developing character traits and collectively developing culture. Three major world religions—Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—have shaped the lives of many through the spread and evolution of the religions over time. Buddhism was founded in northern India in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama. At the age of twenty-nine, Siddhartha traveled outside of the kingdom and saw four sights: a dead man, a monk, an old man, and a sick man. He then abandoned his family in order to uncover the cause and find the cure for human suffering. After much fasting,

All of these concepts go hand in hand, meaning that in order to achieve one, an individual must have achieved others as well. The teachings of Buddha were spread throughout India by many disciples and through the construction of monasteries. Another contributing factor to the spread of Buddhism was through the ruler of the Mauryan Empire, Ashoka. Ashoka is considered to be one of India’s greatest rulers, in part due to his conversion to Buddhism. Ashoka’s transformation helped to spread Buddhism all throughout India, as well as encourage positive changes in the region. He sent Buddhist missionaries throughout India to spread the ideals of the religion. These missionaries engraved Ashoka’s edicts and Buddhist inscriptions into stone pillars to instruct people in the proper way. The spread of Buddhism went hand in hand with the evolution of Buddhism. The earliest written sources of the religious teachings were recorded nearly two hundred years after Buddha’s death. Therefore, the religion was reinterpreted by different individuals as it became a part of the society’s everyday life. The ideals of Nirvana were difficult to describe and eventually began to be replaced while a

Before Islam originated, the Arabs had a polytheistic religion believing in one supreme God over all of the others gods, known as Allah. The spirits of the gods were said to have resided in natural objects including: mountains, rivers, and trees, while Allah resided in a sacred stone. In 570 A.D., the founder of Islam, Muhammad, was born in Mecca. As he grew older, Muhammad became concerned with the difference between the behaviors and values exhibited in his community. He fled to nearby hills to be alone and meditate. During this time, he was introduced to an angel named Gabriel who instructed Muhammad to preach and share the revelations that he would be given. Similar to Christian beliefs, Muhammad believed that Allah had revealed himself through Gabriel, as God had revealed himself through Jesus, and these revelations were the final revelations being presented to him. These revelations were the guidelines of the Islam faith, and would later be composed into the Qur’an. The Qur’an outlined how Allah’s followers were supposed to live their lives. Like Christians, Muslims were to be strict followers of their written scripture and remain monotheistic in faith. However, unlike Buddhism and Christianity, Muhammad was seen as a prophet, not as a divine being like Jesus. It took many years for Muhammad to gain followers, but he finally conquered Mecca and converted its occupants to Islam. After Muhammad’s death,