HST103A/104A: World History
Unit 2
Lesson 12: Civilizations Flourish Unit Test
Graded Assignment
Unit Test, Part 2
Complete this teacher-scored portion of the Unit Test, and submit it to your teacher by the due date for full credit.
(25 points)
1. Choose EITHER Judaism OR Hinduism and describe its origin, major principles, and how it affected existing laws, social practices, or culture. Also describe whether and how the religion influenced other societies.
Answer: Hinduism began between 2300 B.C. and 1500 B.C. in India or Indus Valley, near modern-day Pakistan, and it comprises varied systems of belief, ritual, and philosophy. In Hinduism, there's unity of existence through love, religious harmony, and knowledge of the three Gs (Ganga, or sacred river; Gita, or sacred script; and Gayatri, or sacred mantra). Some other major principles are that God (known as Om) exists and all human beings are divine and should be treated as such. There's also the Holy Trinity, which is the basis for all cultures in India and consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara. Hindu ideas about reincarnation and karma augmented the caste system. The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories known as Brahmi...