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Throughout history it has been shown that religions and civilizations can be changed or impacted by each other. They are impacted either by interpretation, something new come in, or even by highly appraised people. There are three main religions and three major regions that make a impact on each other. The three major religions that impacted the world are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Christianity is a religion based on the teaching of Jesus and his followers. Jesus was a Jew whose,

“teachings were firmly rooted in Jewish traditions. Jesus believed in one God and accepted the 10 commandments. He preached obediences to the laws of moses and defended the teachings of the Jewish prophets however, Jesus also preached new beliefs. According to his followers, he called himself the Son of God. Many people believed he was the long-anticipated Messiah. Jesus proclaimed that his mission was to bring spiritual salvation and eternal life to anyone who believed in him... Jesus emphasized God’s love and taught the need for justice, morality, and service to others. According to Jesus, a persons major duties were to observe the Jewish command to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart’ and to ‘love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus also emphasized the importance of forgiveness.” (FROM HISTORY BOOK). Buddhism is based on the teachings of Guatama Buddha who lived form 563 to 403 B.C. He was born in India, where this religion took root. The main teachings of Buddha were the four Noble Truths, which are, 1. All Life is full of suffering, pain, and sorrow. 2. The cause of suffering is non-virtue, or negative deeds and mindsets such as hatred and desire. 3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome non-virtue. 4. The way to overcome non-virtue is to follow the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is, “Right views, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.” (FROM HISTORY BOOK) Then the last or final goal to reach is Nirvana, or union with the universe, and the release of rebirth. Islam is another major religion, that impacted the world. It was started by the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was born by 570 A.D. in the town of Mecca. Islam is monotheistic, based on the belief in one god. The sacred text of Islam teaches that god is all powerful and compassionate. Muslims are to perform 5 individual duties know as the 5 pillars of Islam. 1. Declaration of faith, “There’s no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” 2. Daily prayer, 5 times each day. 3. Alms for the poor. 4. Fasting during Ramadan Muslims fast from Sunrise to Sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. 5. Hajj a pilgrimage to pray at the Kaaba in Mecca at lest once in their life time. These religions have made an impact on different regions in the world. Christianity is the religion that mostly impacted Europe. For instance Europe’s daily life was revolved around the Christian calendar. Like the different holidays, Easter, and local holy days dedicated to saints. The main events in a persons life took place in the church, like marriage, and baptism. It also impacted how scientific discoveries were discovered. Like Galileo discovering that the earth revolved around the sun instead of the sun revolving around the earth. He was expelled from scientific study because he agreed with Copernicus theory about the earth’s revolving around the sun. As well there were four Crusades between 1097 - 1202. These were holy wars that were between Christianity and Islam. Christianity was trying to keep Islam from spreading into Europe and trying to take back Jerusalem. A muslim leader, Saladin, warned Richard I that they will not give up Jerusalem because their prophet Muhammad made his journey to heaven from there. Like the Crusades which were an example of war and hatred and religion the Spanish Inquisition is another example of hatred and religion. During the Spanish Inquisition, Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain ordered all Jews and Jewesses to leave and never return. When Christianity became a part of Europe it really appealed to the lower classes because it said that all are were equal and equality would be achieved in the next life. It eventually became the official religion of Europe. Christianity also began to spread under Constantine when it became a favored religion over other religions in the empire. Constantine was given a vision to place a sign of Christ in the banners carried by his troops. After placing the sign of Christ on the banners he proceeded to demolish his rival, securing his place as emperor. Eventually Christianity became the state religion in 395 A.D.. Christianity continued to spread throughout Europe by Germanic conquers who converted to Christianity. They brought Christianity to the different lands they conquered. Even at the rate it was spreading it was blocked from spreading to the east due to the rise of Islam. Eventually as it spread different denominations came about, which was called the Reformation. Beginning around the early 1500’s the Protestant Reformation began which eventually weakened the control of the Catholic church and brought to existence of the many Protestant denominations that are in existence today. It also brought about the translations of the Scriptures into the common languages of that day such as German, and English. Asia was impacted by three major religions, Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Confucius developed a philosophy, or system of ideas, that greatly influenced the Chinese civilization. He was concerned with social order and good government. As well as emphasized five key relationships between people. Which were Ruler to subject, parent to child, husband to wife, elder brother to younger brother, and friend to friend. As well as filial piety, or respect for parents, was everyone’s highest duty. Daoism was founded by Laozi, and he emphasized that people should live in harmony with nature. As well as they should look beyond everyday cares and focus on the Dao, or “the way”. Both these men Confucius and Daoism replaced their old belief system in the supreme God Shang Di that could only be reached through important mortals like kings and nobles. As Chinese civilization spread, hundreds of millions of people in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam accepted Confucian beliefs. Nearly 1/3 of the worlds population came under the influence of these ideas. ( BOOK PG 98 ) Buddhism which began in India by Gautama Buddha spread from India to China by A.D. 100 and by A.D. 400 and spread throughout China completely. Not only did it spread through China it also spread to other countries like Japan, and Korea. It was noted by the Korean scholar, Gihwa, who lived from 1376-1433, If people relayed on the teachings of Buddhism they could bring peace to all the world. The Middle East and North Africa, were influenced mainly Islam. It affected this regions culture. Arabic replaced North Africa’s main language Latin. It also brought new ideas about military technology and business. As well as introduced their coinage and written language. Arabic allowed them to recorded about their history, laws and religious beliefs. “Early African religions were varied and complex. They involved many gods, goddesses, and rituals, and ceremonies. Many people believed in one supreme being, and some honored the spirits of ancestors. By A.D. 1000, Christianity and Islam had spread and absorbed many local practices and beliefs in many regions of Africa.” ( FROM BOOK ) Their belief in one supreme God caused some of them to associate the God of Christianity and Islam with their traditional supreme being. This allowed Christianity and Islam to incorporate many of their native customs. ( FROM BOOK pg. 360 ) “In the 690‘s, Muslim Arabs conquered and occupied the cities of North Africa. By the early 700s, they had successfully conquered the Berbers, a largely nomadic North African people. Under Arab rule, Islam eventually replaced Christianity as the dominant religion of North Africa, and Arabic replaced Latin as its language.” (Book p.344) As seen, religion can impact a region and its culture. A religion is kinda like a life style, like how Christianity there is a calendar that has events that are followed and celebrated. When a civilization or a region have a religion that impacts it, it starts to change how it looks at things. How people associate with other civilizations and other regions. Then other times regions and people end up changing the religion, and making it fit more for there lifestyle or they way that they interpret the religion. When people interpret a religion they can see something different then someone else and live by their interpretation. For example, from the excerpt from the Mahabharata, an ancient Hindu text, it says that a mighty egg, was the primal cause of creation, it created all created beings. Showing that a religion and or a civilization can be changed by each other.