94 i PERIOD 2 Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies
❯ Answers and Explanations
- E—None of the above. Whereas Hinduism sup-
ported the caste system, Buddhism did not (A).
Buddhism showed respect for women; Hinduism
did not (B). Only Hinduism became increasingly
popular in India (C). - B—Forgiveness of sins was a central teaching of
Christianity. Christianity spread beyond the bor-
ders of the Roman Empire to Africa and Asia (A).
Christian missionaries, especially Paul of Tarsus,
actively promoted their faith (C). Missionary
efforts were facilitated by the system of Roman
roads (D). Roman emperors tended to fear
the new religion and some of them, especially
Diocletian, persecuted Christians. Later Roman
emperors such as Constantine and Theodosius
treated Christians favorably (E). - D—Neither Confucius nor the Buddha believed
himself to be a god. Later Buddhists, how-
ever, sometimes deified the Buddha. Although
Confucianism became the dominant phi-
losophy throughout most of Chinese history,
Buddhism lost popularity to Hinduism (A). Only
Confucianism emphasized the importance of
effective government (B). The concept of nirvana
was a Buddhist belief only (C). Confucianism
kept women in a subordinate position (E). - E—Confucianism embraced the traditions of
centralization of government and veneration
of ancestors, whereas Daoism used the con-
cepts of yin and yang to explain its teachings.
Confucianism stressed the importance of edu-
cation (A), whereas Daoism taught personal
ref lection (B). Confucianism encouraged active
political involvement (C). Confucianism sought
to end political turmoil by creating educated
leaders, whereas Daoism held to the belief that
eventually the problems following the fall of
the Zhou would be resolved by the balance of
nature (D).- D—Buddhism was spread primarily by traders
who followed the Silk Roads. Polytheism (A) was
found in numerous locations worldwide and was
not spread along the Silk Roads. Confucianism
(B) spread to Korea and Japan, areas not included
in the Silk Roads. Daoism (C) was essentially
a Chinese philosophy. Judaism (E) remained a
faith of the Middle East and of Jewish diaspora
communities; it was not a religion that actively
sought converts. - A—During the late Roman Empire, Christianity
became the official religion of the Roman
Empire. Persecution only increased its num-
bers (B). During the latter days of the empire,
the Christian religion was acquiring a detailed
organization from parish priest to pope (C). The
new religion appealed to members of all classes,
especially the poor (D) and treated women and
men with respect and equality in matters of
faith (E). - B—Hinduism held its followers responsible for
their actions. It was based on the traditions of
the Aryan society (A). Offering lower classes the
hope of reaching moksha (C), Hinduism became
popular in Southeast Asia as well as India (E). It
became the dominant religion of India (D). - E—The Buddhist belief of bodhisattvas, devel-
oped after the faith spread out from India,
taught that common people could reach nirvana.
Buddhist women were allowed to become nuns
(A). Hinduism was adopted by the Gupta (B).
In China, Buddhism eventually blended with
Confucianism to support the concept of patriar-
chal families (C). Over time, Buddhism changed
from spreading through contacts with Buddhist
monasteries to being spread by traders (D).