Factors Spreading of Buddhism and Christianity - Research Paper Example

  WHAT FACTORS LED TO THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY? IN PARTICULAR, WHAT WAS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENTS IN THIS SPREAD? THE SPREAD OF BUDHISM Initiating in Northern India, Buddhism began to spread southwards till Srilanka and spread as far as Burma, Indo China, other south East Asian countries and even Thailand. In the north, Buddhism spread towards the Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal and also encompassed areas such as Mongolia, Tibet, and other parts of central Asia (Hierman, 2007). The rise of Buddhism has a close relation with the contemporary religious practices of the early Hinduism. This Brahamical religion had started persecuting the lower class of the society and isolated the religious practices only to the exclusive class of the society. The ethnocentric attitude of the elite class of the Hindu society made a pavement for the Buddha’s teachings to penetrate into the society and provide a new paradigm for their religion. The teachings of Buddha proved to be very appealing for the population and the religious concepts seemed realistic too. Another important reason for the popularity of Buddhism is that, the Buddhists preached in local language. Buddha also tried to be conspicuous to the people by making monasteries (Sangha).A religion that made distinction between the classes only on the basis of piety was really attractive for the lower socioeconomic class of the Hindus.The Buddhist monks led simple lives that were characterised by simple clothing, simple food and pure emphasis on meditation made the people realise that this religion was more suited to their lives than their own religion (Saunders, 1923). So in all, 2 factors were most important in the pervasiveness of Buddhism. Population Support: The Buddhist monks targeted the deprived of the society and gave him the hope of a better standard of living. They even tried to please the travellers who travelled on the routes on which, these monasteries lied. The travellers in return gave them lots of donations, The support of Royal Elites: The Indian emperor Asoka was perhaps the most prominent supporter of Buddhism. He took steps to spread Buddhism to as far as Syria. Another major power wielder who purported the cause of the Buddhist was King Bimbisara of Magadha. With his 52 year rule and a strong army as well as an expansionist approach, the king proved to be real help for the Buddhist expansion. He understood the message of Buddha and became a convert. At one instance he also offered half of his kingdom to the Buddhists. Bimbisara also became a true aid of Buddha and used to advise him on important issues. In China, the emperor Ming-Ti got impressed by the new religion. He officially worked for understanding the religion and coaxed the court to support the Buddhist religion. Also the Chinese policy of moving conquered territory also proved beneficial for the Buddhists. Hence, there are two major reasons for the spread of Buddhism, the target population and the unparalleled effort of the political rulers of the contemporary era who converted to Buddhism and used their power to spread the religion. THE SPREAD OF CHRISTANITY. The Christian religion started in the Middle East and tried to creep into the Roman Empire. Subsequently, Christianity emerged as a leading religion in the Imperial Roman age. The ideology of life after death and the phenomenon of socio economic equality were integral factors that led to the spread of Christianity. In those times, People would start drawing towards anything that offered them the hope of a better standard of living. The main attraction for the people to convert to Christianity was it main proposition that there was no difference between the rich and the poor and the slave and the noble. The proposition of a Supreme entity, God, made it clear to the population that they can no longer be dominated by the elites of the society. The religion also promised salvation to everyone in the life after death and this attracted many people towards it. Another major aid in the spread of Christianity was the similarity in the anecdotes of Jesus and Mithras. As the armies travelled across the Empire, the Mithras and their stories travelled with it. The Christian stories also had similarities with the Cult of Dionysus. These intriguing similarities between the Christian and other prevalent mythologies helped the people to recognize the integrity of the Christian religion and attracted them towards the religion (Cross, 1917). Probably the greatest aspect of the Christian religion that led to its spread was its appeal to the masses in general. The Gentiles, who were the major players in the spread of Christianity, were unwilling to convert to Judaism due to the Kosher laws. This seemed to be the problem for the general masses as well so the new Christian religion that was free from such laws was appealing to the population. The Gentiles used their own credibility to attract people to Christianity. The missionary work at that time also proved helpful in spreading the Religion. To the people, spreading the word of the god was considered an honour. People such as Apostle Paul travelled the world converting people to the new faith. As a result churches sprang up throughout the world spreading the Voice of the religion. POLITICAL FACTORS People associate the fall of Roman Empire with the spread of Christianity. Beginning from the Etruscan Kings, Rome had had constant social disorders. The constant political instability led to the people being desperate about the introduction of a new religion to solve their social issues.Under such desperate circumstances, the Christian proposition of God being the supreme, even above the Emperor greatly appealed to the people. The most important political factor that contributed to the spread of Christianity was the domination of the Orthodox Church in the Eastern Empire and the Catholicism in the west. The Catholic Church strengthened the religion and converted it into a political power rather than defining it only to the small communities. The religion was converted into a public institution. The church used all its power to crush the divergent views and religious thoughts and make Christianity the supreme religion. Its laws were derived from the religious doctrines and these laws were made stringent.The Catholic Church kept a long stride forward to wipe out Paganism from its era (Hutchinson, 1922). The church manipulated the customs and moors of the Pagan Empire to make its religion more appealing to the masses. The early preachers made huge efforts to make people believe in a single God and relinquish all religious practices that they were used to doing. Subsequently, the office of the Pope began to replace the office of the Emperor and peoples started perceiving the Pope as an incarnation of God on earth. The Church used its military power to crush all anti-Christian rulers. The religious driven society was organized in a way which greatly struck the consciences of the population and they subsequently got attracted towards the religion. In their drive to establish Christianity as the supreme religion, the proponents took some strong measures. The historical artefacts of the anti-Christian thought were pointed out and burned. Hence the anti-Christian ideology was subjected to censorship and eventually there was little evidence to restore the lost legacy of the Greek and Roman mythology. The Christian mythology had already become the supreme. REFERENCES Saunders, Kenneth J. "Buddhism in China: A Historical Sketch." The Journal Of Religion (1923): 157-169, Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1195125. Cross, George. "Rival Interpretations of Christianity: I. Catholicism." University of Chicago Press, The Biblical World, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Jan., 1917), pp. 12-24, Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3136072. Heirman, Ann, and Stephan P. Bumbacher. The Spread of Buddhism. Leiden: Brill, 2007. Print. Hutchinson, Paul. The Spread of Christianity. New York: The Abingdon press, 1922. Print. Top of Form Bottom of Form Read More