The Growth of World Religions - Essay Example

Most important, however, was institutionalization, a further component of ‘religion-building’, to give this fledgling belief systems stability and resilience. Thus Buddhism underwent this process in India, well into the second decade of its existence, from where it emerged as a world religion in the case of Christianity and Islam, Constantine and the Abbasids performed this function. 2. 2Older religions were more localized and lacked the institutional underpinning that can be found in Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam.

Each of these religions in turn facilitated its broad geographical spread through institutional mechanisms, such as monastic communities in the case of Buddhism, the church for Christianity, and an efficient communication network along the trade routes, based on merchant networks, for Islam and Buddhism. In addition, older religions were elite structures, excluded the masses from their power structure, and usually had a large number of gods that need to be satisfied. In contrast, the three big religions facilitated more direct access to one God via easy-to-understand rituals.

In the case of Hinduism, the attraction of Buddhism also included a departure from the caste system. 3. 3Rulers often used religion to underpin their power with divine approval. By claiming divine endorsement, they were able to obscure the boundaries between secular power and divine sanction. By claiming to derive power directly from God, the ruler was not accountable to anyone else, not subject to criticism by any other than God. More significant was that critique of the ruler amounted to the critique of God and was therefore heresy.

This royal absolutism began with Constantine and Theodosius but references can be found as early as Peter 2:13-17 in the New Testament.