AP World History: Modern › Religions 600 BCE to 600 CE
Which of these groups were most likely to be attracted to Christianity in the Roman Empire?
All of these groups were likely to be attracted to Christianity
Noncitizens
Slaves
Women
The urban poor
One of the reasons that Christianity spread around the Roman Empire was because it was so popular among those who were powerless or disenfranchised in Roman society (which was the vast majority of the population). Christianity was rapidly embraced by non-citizens, slaves, the rural poor, the urban poor, and women.
Eventually, Christianity became the official religion of _____________.
the Roman Empire
the Athenian Empire
the Nabataeans
the Hunnic Empire
the Mongol Empire
Although initially Rome's government persecuted early Christian communities, the Roman emperor Constantine tolerated Christians and even converted to Christianity himself; Christianity became the official state religion. The Athenian Empire and the Nabataeans existed before Christianity. The Hunnic Empire, a great enemy to Rome, was never Christian. The Mongol Empire had a Christian population that was tolerated but was never officially Christian.
Which early heretical interpretation of Christianity became incredibly popular among migratory Germanic tribes, particularly the Goths, during the fall of the Western Roman Empire?
Arianism
Catharism
Nestorianism
Manichaeism
Catholicism
Arianism, proposed by Arius in the Third Century CE, proposed that Jesus Christ could not be God because God himself is unique and immutable. This would mean that Jesus Christ was created by God and therefore lesser. This was considered heretical and banned from Orthodoxy, but caught on in Germanic cultures.
In the Hindu faith who is Brahma?
The Creator of the world
The Savior of the world
The Destroyer of the world
The divine incarnation of wealth and good fortune
The divine incarnation of pain and suffering
In the Hindu faith Brahma is known as the Creator or the World Soul. Brahma is one of the most popular deities in the polytheistic Hindu faith.
Prior to conversion to Islam, most Persians (present-day Iran) were followers of which religion?
Zoroastrianism
Judaism
Hinduism
Buddhism
Yarsadism
Prior to the Muslim conquest of Persia, the primary religion in the area was Zoroastrianism.
Zoroastrianism could most closely be defined as which of the following?
The official religion of pre-Islamic Persia, currently exists though practiced by relatively few adherents
A monastic based religion still widely practiced in Central Asia
A Persian religion developed in opposition to Christianity during the early centuries CE
A missionary religion that developed in Persia, and subsequently found widespread popularity within the Roman Empire
A religion developed in India around 200 BCE that synthesizes the teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism
Zoroastrianism was the official religion of both the Achaemenid and Sassanid Persian empires. It is still practiced today, though the number of followers that adhere to Zoroastrianism is low in comparison to religions such as Christianity or Islam.
Although Greeks and Romans had similar pantheons of gods and goddesses, _____________________.
Greek deities were often presented as human and lifelike, inspiring great works of art and literature, whereas Roman deities were somber, remote, and business-like; their job was to ensure the safety and prosperity of the state
Roman deities were less warlike than their Greek counterparts, a difference probably attributed to the relative power of the Roman state versus its more fragile, and constantly invaded, Greek neighbors
Romans considered Greek religion to be barbaric, more akin to Celtish or Germanic folklore religion
Roman political and religious leaders themselves never officially remarked upon the similarities
the Greeks celebrated their gods with festivals and feasts, which the Romans found irrational and a waste of resources
While Greek and Roman gods often had different names, they were essentially similar characters, but with certain different attributes largely relating to the nature of Greek vs Roman political life; Roman deities were preoccupied with the running of the Roman state, whereas Greek deities were interested in all aspects of life.
The Romans were invaded many times, including very early on by a tribe called the Etruscans. While the Greeks and Romans both worshipped warlike deities, Greek gods of war were often considered fundamentally destructive, whereas the Roman god of war, Mars, was also the Roman god of agriculture; essentially, for the Romans, war could bring peace, stability, and order rather than just death and destruction.
The Romans considered Greek religion to be very similar to their own, and used the religious similarities to attempt to build trust in the government within the Greek communities of the Roman empire.
Many Roman religious and political leaders wanted to use the similarities between Greek and Roman deities to instill trust amongst the Greek speaking people of the Latin speaking Roman empire.
While the Romans often chastised Greek culture for being more emotional and irrational, Romans held large festivals and feasts for their supernatural deities.
Which religion's followers seek enlightenment as a path to nirvana?
Buddhism
Daoism
Confucianism
Hinduism
Sikhism
The path of Buddhist philosophy is to attempt to reach Nirvana, this is done through meditation and the philosophy of the eight-fold path. Nirvana is the state reached were the practitioner abolishes ignorance and worldly cravings, and is therefore released from suffering.
In Buddhism, a Buddha is one who has attained enlightenment, whereas Bodhisattvas ________________.
are those who aspire to attain enlightenment, and to help others achieve it
are those who aspire to attain enlightenment, but enlightenment can only be attained by oneself and so they were never teachers
are the opposite; those who are supremely ignorant
were the enemies of the original Buddha, Shakyamuni
were born enlightened
Bodhisattvas are those who aspire to attain enlightenment and help others achieve it.
In Buddhism, teachers, such as Bodhisattvas, can be integral in attaining enlightenment.
Bodhisattvas are not considered enlightened, yet, but certainly not supremely ignorant; they're on the right path.
Bodhisattvas were never the enemies of the Buddha.
In Buddhist theology, Bodhissatvas were not born enlightened; if they attain enlightenment that is due to their spiritual work.
Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, was born into ___________.
a noble family
a poor family
a family of carpenters
a family of merchants
a household that could not afford to raise a child and so put him in a basket and sent him down the river
Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, was born into a wealthy and powerful noble family.
His family was neither poor, nor carpenters, nor merchants but rather warriors and landowners.
Moses, and the more secular historical figure Sargon, were both leaders who were recorded as being placed in baskets and sent down rivers as infants (for Moses this was the Nile, for Sargon the Euphrates). The Buddha, on the other hand, was raised in a pleasure palace with his family.