Religion is a very important part of the society as it guides the moral boundaries upon which someone should limit themselves. It also acts as a point of reference to the social situations and the spiritual well being of a person.
Religion in India and how it structured the society
India has many religious groups but Hinduism is the major religion. At the helm of this religion was the priest. Locals’ referred to him as the Brahmin. Under the recognition of the priest as the social head, the Indian society was divided into different status groups or Caste. Under the caste groups there were classes of merchants to conduct the businesses, warriors to protect the community and the laborers
All the above groups looked upon the Brahmin for advice and spiritual guidance. Before the encroachment of the British colonization and culture into the Indian society, the wealth was shared among the status group in the society. The Brahmin had the power to oversee any of the wealth sharing and management as well as give his perspective on the appropriate management.
The Indian social group did not believe in one god, they worshipped many gods each having its significance or purpose in the society. Apart from gods, physical features (the sun, moon and stars) also served an important social aspect. They had to be referred as divine features. Therefore it was the duty of the Brahmin to oversee that the gods were well respected. During different seasons, the Brahmin had to lead a pilgrimage or harvest season.
Any form of social unity or marriage had to be blessed by the Brahmin. Other major ceremonies that he had to be involved were death, birth and ritual cleansing. From the above information it is evident that the Brahmin is at the helm of the society. All other people looked upon him.
Religion in china and how it structured the society
China is diverse and has the largest of the world population. Is also had many religions that shaped how people lived. People here were divided into two major religious beliefs. There were those that believed in a god or Supreme Being and those that believed their source of divinity was in magic.
In china the three major religions were Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. All three had the major aim of ensuring proper coexistence of people in the society. Buddhism involved religious heads who like in India ran most of the social activities. This leader had the sole responsibility of ensuring that people followed all the ceremonies and paid their due respects to god. Ceremonies were many and involved their sacred places called temples.
Taoism was different from Buddhism in that the religion did not involve much of religious leaders to run the everyday life. People themselves believed in the family ties of the chosen emperors or rulers. People co existed in the major cities through mutual consent and togetherness.
Responsibilities of leading were passed down from one generation to another in the chosen family. A central leader here was not the overall authoritative being like in Buddhism. In the Taoism and Buddhism, festivals had to be observed to commemorate important events in the past.
Confucianism was considered as the religion of the elite or educated. It was not based on a super natural being. People believed in moral responsibility of improving the society and properly co existing. This was a simpler religion orientation.
Religion was a major tool for outlining how the society could be run in the two countries. Religion provided a guideline and restrictions which people could follow. It also provided a system to resolve disputes or punish wrong doers. Most importantly, there was the need to live peacefully and develop.