Judaism The Backstory – Ancient Israelites were actually Egyptian slaves, and wanted freedom To free the Israelites, Moses makes a covenant (deal) with God, to free the slaves in return for praise God rains down the 10 Plagues of Egypt on the pharaoh of Egypt, until he agrees to let the Israelites go When the Israelites get to Israel, they must follow the 10 Commandments, the first one being to ONLY PRAISE ONE GOD

Judaism Prophet - Abraham Mono or Poly – Mono Codes of Behavior – 10 Commandments (Treat others as you want to be treated) Key Beliefs - Holy Book- The Torah Ultimate Goal – To abide by the 10 Commandments and therefore reach Heaven Nation of origin - Israel

Hinduism – The Back Story 1st People known as Aryans move south from Russia into present day India 2nd The Aryans take control of the early river valley civilizations in the area (The two below) Indus River Valley; Ganges River Valley 3rd The Aryans will create a social class system, better known as the Indian Caste system The Aryans also combine their polytheistic beliefs with Indus and Ganges polytheistic beliefs, to create Hinduism

The Aryans create… Hinduism The Caste System  If you build up your karma, you will be reincarnated into a higher caste, until moksha is reached  Low karma reincarnates you in a lower caste  Untouchables

Judaism Prophet - Abraham Mono or Poly – Mono Codes of Behavior – 10 Commandments (Treat others as you want to be treated) Key Beliefs - Holy Book- The Torah Ultimate Goal – To abide by the 10 Commandments and therefore reach Heaven Nation of origin – Israel Hinduism Prophet – Unknown Mono or Poly – Poly Codes of Behavior – Karma and Dharma (Good karma reincarnates you into higher class, bad karma means lower class) Key Beliefs - Holy Book – The Vedas Ultimate Goal – To abide by the rules of Dharma and therefore reach Moksha Nation of Origin - India

Buddhism – The Backstory  Siddhartha Guatama was born with strange tattoos on his body  The tattoos said that Siddhartha was destined for two futures  Future 1 –He will be a rich powerful political leader  Future 2 – He will be a poor religious leader  Siddhartha’s father keeps him in the palace and gives him any desire he could possibly want

Buddhism –The Backstory Pt.2  At age 29 Siddhartha leaves the palace and goes out into caste system India, introduced to suffering and pain for the first time  To come up for a solution to the suffering, Siddhartha meditated underneath a tree for 49 days  On the 49 th day, Siddhartha realized the answer, and from that day on was known as the Buddha (Enlightened One)

Buddha declares life has 4 Noble Truths All of life is suffering Suffering is caused by desires To end suffering, end all desire To end desire, follow the Eightfold Path

Judaism Prophet - Abraham Mono or Poly – Mono Codes of Behavior – 10 Commandment s (Treat others as you want to be treated) Key Beliefs - Holy Book- The Torah Ultimate Goal – To abide by the 10 Commandme nts and therefore reach Heaven Nation of origin – Israel HinduismBuddhism Prophet – Buddha Mono or Poly – Neither Codes of Behavior – Eightfold Path (Follow the path to end all desires) Key Beliefs Holy Book – None Ultimate Goal – To abide by the rules of Eightfold Path and therefore reach Nirvana Nation of Origin – India Nation of Influence – China (Buddhism never catches on in India, cause Hinduism was there first)

Hinduism affects on political and social lives  Politically – Chandragupta Maurya uses Hinduism to run his empire. He makes people adhere to strict castes. Keeping his people repressed (keeping power for himself) causes him to become paranoid and his police force and bureaucracy to become corrupt  Socially – Every person has a place in Indian society. This will create animosity (anger and jealousy) between different social classes. Unequal rights, human rights violations, and racial prejudices will be created as a result.

Buddhism effects on political and social lives  Politically and Socially – Asoka Maurya will convert to Buddhism after taking power from his grandfather, Chandragupta. He will be religiously tolerant of other religions.  As a result of Asoka’s tolerance, his empire makes great achievements, such as:  Builds Roads  Sends out missionaries to spread the word of Buddhism  Improves Education