"The Origins Of World Religions" by Anita Ravi — Analysis

What is Ravi’s RESEARCH QUESTION?	What EVIDENCE does she provide? Summarize each piece of evidence.	What INFERENCES/ANALYSIS does she provide for each piece of evidence? What does she think the evidence means?	What are her CONCLUSIONS? Her answer to the research question
How and why did early religions (specifically Hinduism and Buddhism) spread so far and how was their religious ideology established?	1. Many people, from urban dwellers to the marginal and poor, found that religion could bring them together like a tight-knit village and give meaning and value to lives. Religion also helped stabilise society by making its unfairness tolerable. 2. There were 5 levels of society (castes) in Hinduism, untouchables, sudras, vaisyas, kshatriyas, and brahmins. Also, they believed in karma and reincarnation — what a person does in their life determines what caste they will be in the next life. There were also 4 goals in life: dharma (living a virtuous life), kama (pleasure of the senses), artha (wealth and success), and moksha (nirvana). 3. The whole purpose of ending dukkha (suffering) in this world was to achieve  enlightened (nirvana). You can achieve nirvana by understanding the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path.	1. Religion provided structure and meaning for large groups of people, and when these faiths were shared, they provided stability in society. Religion appealed to thousands of people in different classes, which made the spread of such ideas easier along trade routes, unlike earlier village-based religions. 2. The caste system would make it easier to maintain the social hierarchy and control the population. It would also motivate people in lower castes to “live a virtuous life” (dharma) to be reborn into a higher caste instead of moping about how their life is now. It might’ve also appealed to people because kama and artha were about living a good daily life, making the path to moksha seem enjoyable. 3. The eight tenets of Buddhism are about how people should relate to each other and develop self-discipline to ease suffering in life. They are pretty much another form of what every religion says: be kind, don’t gossip, don’t kill or steal, be loyal, make good choices, learn, and stay calm.	Religious ideology in both religions was closely linked to already established social hierarchies. Each religion provided more structure and guidance for how people living in those social hierarchies should related to each other,  live their lives, and earn salvation.