The Spread of Religions Essay Example for Free

The Spread of Religions Essay Religion has played a fundamental role in shaping today’s history. Much of recent history in the Western hemisphere has been heavily influenced by Christianity and all that religion offers. Whilst in the Eastern hemisphere, Buddhism is one of the dominating religions. The spread of these religions have impacted many regions socially, economically, and/or politically. When the word Christianity is said, the things that come to mind for several people are church and God. Many people have heavily influenced the awakening of this religion and the way it was spread. Cortes played a pivotal role in the spread of Christianity in Mexico. The emperor of the Aztecs at that time allowed Cortes to speak to the people about Jesus Christ and his ways. Cortes instructed the people in the law of Christ. This region was heavily impacted socially because they were introduced to something new that they had never heard about and now they were asked to follow what was said. In 1519, Cortes and his men easily conquered the Aztecs helping them in the spread of Christianity (Document 3). Document 5 talks about a huge part of what the Christian religion is about, Church. The Church at that time played an important economic role as a circulator of money. The Church was a supplier of social services and helped as many people as they could in all ways. The Church was a provider of education, health care and poor relief to the general population. Christianity traveled across great distances bringing different ideas between regions. The spread of Buddhism was aided by trade, but it was the Buddhist Monks who truly spread this religion to many different regions. The Monks spread Buddhism using a very smart strategy. They traveled around for the welfare of the people. Buddhist missions were not large and well organized, and instead they took the form of Monks traveling the land spreading the religion. These Monks spread their ideas along with the traders and royal emissaries. â€Å"According to traditional accounts, the first foreign mission was to the island of Sri Lanka† (Document 7). Document 8 talks about the high period of Chinese influence in Japan which was heavily marked by Buddhism itself. Japan was divided into two parts due to the heavy impact Buddhism caused in Japan. The impact of Buddhism in Japan came to play three ajor roles, it brought a new system of beliefs, brought Chinese civilization, and it became a strong force in Japan’s political affairs. The Japanese people rapidly accommodated Buddhism along with their indigenous Shinto beliefs. Buddhism helped to foster harmony within the country. Many of the world religions today that have been introduced to other cultures have flourished, gaining the â€Å"vote† of several different people. So based on this essay, you can concluded that Christianity and Buddhism have truly changed the social, political, and economical aspects of several different regions.