Comparative Essay 3 

Diffusion of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam from

their origins to 1450 (Compare 2 of the 3)

 Thesis MUST include a valid

SIMILARITY and a valid DIFFERENCE

Similarities 1• BC: Spread by

missionaries• BC: Appealed to

women and lower classes

• BC: Persecuted by governments/empires (Rome with Nero & Tang/Song)

• BCI: Spread on trade routes (Silk Road and Indian Ocean Trade)

Similarities 2• BI: Had to compete with

already established religion like Hinduism in India

• CI: Both arose in the region of Southwest Asia

• BC: Both are ultimately supplanted as the major religion in the place where they began. Buddhism by Hinduism and Christianity by Islam

Differences 1 - Buddhism • Spread to Asia: India,

China, Japan, Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand)

• Had to compete with already established religion Confucianism in China

• Mixed with other religions: creating Neo-Confucianism

Differences 2 - Christianity • Jesus’s 12 disciples

spread after his death with the help of Paul

• Adopted by Roman Emperor Constantine and people under empire converted

• Holy Roman Empire, Byzantine, England, France, Spain Christianity supported by king –allowing people to freely practice the religion

Differences 3 - Christianity

• Spread to Western Europe

• Powerful Catholic Church during the Middle Ages helped spread & convert those in Europe

• Crusades fought other religions to maintain control

Differences 4 - Islam• Spread from Arabian Peninsula to Southwest

Asia, Persia, Indian subcontinent, North Africa, and East Africa

• Spread through military conquest and economic contact

Differences 5 - Islam • Significant conversions of

the Turkic tribes in Central Asia and peoples living in regions south of the Sahara in Africa occurred through contact with Muslim traders active in the area

• Remains the dominant religion in the place where it arose

Third Direct Comparisons Examples (specifics of the similarity or

difference)Ashoka converted to Buddhism and Constantine converted to Christianity, allowing the people! In their kingdom to do the same (the second part of this sentence, starting at “allowing” would also be considered analysis).

Third Direct Comparisons Examples (specifics of the similarity or

difference)• Christianity had a split in 1054 between the

Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Church, causing division in their followers whereas Buddhism did not have as strict of a hierarchy maintaining their basic beliefs nor did Buddhism have an official division of the faith.

• OR• Christianity had a split in 1054 between the

Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Church, causing division in their followers and, in a similar manner, Islam split over the issue of the succession to the Prophet into the Sunni and Shia branches.

Third Direct Comparisons Examples (specifics of the similarity or

difference)Bodhisattvas helped teach about Buddhism, much like Jesus’s disciples taught others about Christianity.

Analysis of Similarity or Difference

WHY they are the same or different?