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The material suggests that all religions have the same basis of believing in some sort of higher power which has say over people on earth. Religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism were often imposed by rulers onto their people, being blended with political systems which influenced one another. Every religion has a similar overall idea of a deity of some sort which people look to as a form of fair, unbiased judgement. Religions such as Confucianism were often used as a way of enforcing ethical values when situations came to a moral crossroads.

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The Material challenges the idea of all religions are alike. There is many different religions : Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism. True some religions do share some of the same concepts like there is different types of Christianity beliefs , which is the denomination of Christianity there are the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism. But all of them have very similar beliefs with different key ideas which makes them into their own form of christianity. Also You can not say all religions are alike when religions like Mormonism and Buddhism exist , those two religions are completely different religions in which have complete different beliefs and culture. So therefore you cannot really say the idea of all religions are alike because they are not every religion is.

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Material does support the idea that religions are all basically alike.  First of all most religions are different variants of other religions second of all the religions have some sort of god also the religions are enforced by government. For example the religion Buddhism and Christianity were both religions that were enforced by the government.

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The material supports the idea that religions are similar. Religions are based on the principle of Devine judgment, a moral code, and some form of an after life. Some religions going as far as to have a deviner, such as the Christian peace or the  Chinese emperor. All religions run on the pr

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The material supports the idea of all religions being alike. Many religions were enforced by the government. Not just that but most religions have some sort of  almighty god or gods for their religion.  Most religions also have some form of an after-life. For example, Christianity has heaven and Buddhism has Nirvana.

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The material does support the idea that all religions are alike through the comparison of their major values. For example, confucianism while it did focus on the major aspect of political and social tendencies, it was most often centered around the idea of bettering one’s self and the values of family life. The basic theme was of social harmony and self-improvement. Daosism also had the idea of benevolent morals and human improvement. Even though Daoism had an opposite ideal to society's social and political aspects as a whole, it's fundamental values laid on the humanitarian ideals. The morals and lessons of religion were not also a characteristic that laid on the religion, but also the gods or figures that they worshipped. Christianity and Buddhism have their roots on a prophetic founder and their pilgrimage, teaching the religion’s disciples about human morals.However, it might be said that their early lives might have been different, but the end result were two uniquely-similar religions that have values based on human benevolence and compassion. It is undeniable, that each religion has its own method of reaching a goal, but that goal is the same where every man can live with love and sympathy from his fellow men.

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The material-- three sources which were discussed--definitely supports the argument that religions are basically alike. The most significant example being the methods that civilizations during this period used religion in an effort to control and organize their citizens that directly tied into their legal system. Religious beliefs were enforced by the government in both Christianity and Buddhism. Additionally, almost all of religions were based on the same foundations in which sinners were punished and good were rewarded. Removing all mythological aspects from a religion leaves the back-bone, which is observed as a system of unifying human civilizations; henceforth, allowing societies to thrive and prosper which resulted in expansion and many technological advancements. Another rudimentary similarity between these early religions was the idea of male dominance and female inferiority which still affects modern-date society. Religions shared the ability to legitimize actions which included, consequence, construction of laws, and ultimately the natural behavior of citizens which built a sense of moral values. Although their were many religions that seemed to be very alike, they usually differed in terms of method of practice, ideas, and social hierarchies.

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I believe the material supports the idea that religions are alike for the reason that religions, specially nowadays, are  based on one another. A good example of very similar religions are Zoroastrianism and Judaism who believe in one god, the battle between that god and evil as well as a “judgement” day that brought the defeat of evil and the coming of a savior. Both of  these small religions, that were only fairly common in a certain area where the basis for the two biggest religions in the present day.  Many religions have branched out from Islam and Christianity further proving the statement that many religions are alike. Many many religions also share the ideology that women are inferior and the man is the “head” of the household and/or society. Both Confucianism and Taoism viewed family as central [key] to Chinese society, and although there were differences that made them different, there were enough similarities for these two religions to complement each other instead of contradicting each other. Many religions are version,slightly different, of each other, and we have seen that through the material we have studied these weeks.

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The material challenges the idea of religion stating that all religions are somewhat alike but do have a few modifications involved. Throughout history groups of people either believe in god(s) or unseen realm that all people should either achieve or avoid.  One example is the difference between Christianity and Catholicism another in some ways similar have large differences. Christians are people who believe in Jesus Christ as the son of the gods. Catholics are people who believe in the virgin Mary. Christians believe in the ten commandment and canon law meanwhile Catholics believe the pope’s word, his words are the words of saint peter himself. In confession Catholics confess to priest of their sins but Catholics believe confession is only between god and themselves. Religion is also different based off the way they practice, with different civilizations and the way to reach a way of enlightenment. Like Buddhism they believe the way to reach enlightenment it requires you to do it on your own. In comparison the Greeks believed in their gods in order to create and command their civilizations in return by worship of gods with large celebrations. Overall all religions do have some features/similarities but larger difference between them.

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According to the material in the fourth chapter, the idea of all religions being fundamentally alike is only partly true; granted, some religions are similar in the fact they shared similar ideas in teachings and organizing people, but all were unique on their own. For instance, Judaism was born from the Hebrews, whom later called themselves Jews, and had one God that demanded for social justice and moral righteousness, instead of sacrifices and rituals. This masculine God, Yahweh, asked to be the only God his people would believe in, similar to the Christianity’s New Testament that states “for you all are one in Christ Jesus.” The Christian religion was said to bring salvation when having faith in Jesus Christ. Buddhism, with similar teachings to Hinduism’s karma, taught that all suffering ends once you achieved the state of nirvana which can be done by living a modest, moral life combined with meditation practice. Both Christianity and Buddhism had a similar sense in the ending of suffering. Buddhism can also be related to Daoism, since both wanted their followers to retreat themselves to a more self sufficient way of living. Religions also tied into social structures of civilizations. For example, both Confucian and Brahman/Hinduism, had a very patriarchal beliefs of men above women, where women were only to serve husband's. In Confucius, roles of men and women were rooted in the cosmos, so women had to be educated in how to be more useful to their husbands. In Hinduism, female embryos were weak compared to male ones, and women always had to serve men in their family. Overall, this is how I think the material in the chapter both shows how the religions were alike and different to each other.

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In all honesty I'd say that the material challenges the idea that all religions are alike due to the fact that yes there are many similarities but the similarities are like between denominations more than two different religions. For example, a religion is Christianity and Catholicism is a denomination. Some may say like those religions are similar but little parts of the religion itself believe in other things. I'd say that's why Catholicism is a denomination because the sole point of the religion is it's God, it's just sort of practiced in a different way. Now in chapter four, the religions are similar yes but also different in very important ways, that's why they're all different religions and not denominations. Like the way they practiced they're religion was different, what god(s) they believed in and what spirits they believed in if they believed in any. All in all, I'd say that the differences between religions is more distinct than the characteristics that make them similar.

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In my opinion the material challenges the idea of religion, since there are differences in religions, nevertheless there are some similarities. An example of two religions that have both similarities and differences are Catholicism and Christianity. They both have a person who is above all for Catholicism it is God and for Christianity it is Jesus, yet Catholicism aswell believes in Jesus. There are also events/holidays that religions celebrate differently or dont celebrate it at all. For example, Christians do not celebrate Halloween, because it is against their religion, yet for Catholics do and arent against this holiday. Then there is also Christmas, Catholics celebrate it, yet Jewish people do not celebrate it the same way, but differently in a way called Hanukkah. This was a big factor for civilizations and each civilization had different reliogions, which caused them to enhance their religion and passed from generation to generation

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The material provided does challenge the idea of religion because there are many similarities but there are also many differences. One similarity can be that in a religion a god is always nessecary to make the believe be considered an actual religion. Religions also have practices which are carried throughout the believers. Differences between religious is that they all have a different god, not everything is the same to one another. Their practices are also different which allow people to distinguish one religion from another.

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In in my opinion material challenges this idea since there are many differences in religion. Although they might be some similarities in religion such examples as in Christianity and Catholicism there are major examples that contradict this statement. For example, in Catholicism one of their major saints is the Virgin Mary. Catholics believe in her deeply and praise her the same way they do with God and Jesus Christ. However, apposed to what Christians believe, since Christians don't believe in the Virgin Mary.

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In in my opinion material challenges this idea since there are many differences in religion. Although they might be some similarities in religion such examples as in Christianity and Catholicism there are major examples that contradict this statement. For example, in Catholicism one of their major saints is the Virgin Mary. Catholics believe in her deeply and

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I believe that this material challenges the idea that all religions are alike. Although a few religions have similar characteristics, like the belief of Jesus Christ in Christianity and Catholicism, there are still distinctions between the two. For example, Catholic people believed the Virgin Mary was sexually abstinent, while the Christians did not. Another instance of these differences in today’s world is the celebration of Halloween. Catholics celebrate while Christians do not because it is a dark holiday celebrating death. Religions also differ in the ways they are practiced. Within distinctive civilizations, there was polytheism, monotheism, or no deities at all. An example of these differences is shown in Buddhism and the Greek gods of Olympus. Buddhists did not rely on a deity or higher power to reach enlightenment, they must accomplish it on their own. On the other hand, the Greeks heavily counted on their gods to bring harvest and they ecstatically worshipped their god of wine Dionysus. Finally, the last difference between religions is foundation. Hinduism grew over time in the Middle East; however, the belief system of Buddhism and many others were founded by people or groups.

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This material challenges this idea that religions are alike because they are alike some what but have many differences. For example with Christianity and Catholicism. Both Christianity and Catholicism believe in God and Jesus Christ but they both have other different beliefs. Christians believe that they should not worship any idols because it against their religion. Unlike Christianity, Catholicism believes in different types of Idols and Saints. Another is example is with Buddhism and Judaism. Both Buddhism and Judaism are religions but they both have different beliefs . Buddhism did not care about the creation of earth or God. Dissimilar Judaism did believe in a God named Yahweh who they afford much  loyalty. In conclusion, the statement that religions are alike is challenged because each religion may have some similarities but  can have different beliefs.

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I think that the material supports the idea of religions being alike because all religions need a god that rules over everything. They also have a place were the bad and good people go after death depending on how the were during their lifetime. Another similarity that religions share is that they all have some type of written form of the religion such as the bible or engraved onto a stone. Religion also has an effect on government from ruling over the country to arguing over it.

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Most religions are basically alike, however, they do have some differences which somewhat challenges this idea. For one thing, all religions are monotheistic or polytheistic, meaning that people believe in one God, multiple Gods, or in some kind of unseen realm. Religion would and still plays a great part in the way a society is structured, it is what legitimated the hierarchies of class and gender. In addition, many religions came to be because they were based on other religions. For example, in Judaism, prophets such as Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah were adopted by Christians and Islamic people. Furthermore, Buddhism teachings reflected the Hindu traditions from where it sprang from. Although this is true, Buddhist did not believe in God, but instead in karma and rebirth/reincarnation. Another difference is that Buddhism allowed more freedom and independence to women and those of lower class, while Hinduism was similar to China in the way that they enforced the idea that females could never be independent and had to always treat their husband like a God. Similarly, in Christian churches, there continues to exists a male-dominated hierarchy. In addition to this, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all integrated the idea that if God existed, so did Satan, his evil counterpart, as well as Heaven and Hell, they based this element from Zoroastrianism. In conclusion, although religions had their differences here and there, it is what manipulated the way people lived.

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The material challenges this idea because it describes some religions or teachings, such as Confucianism to be deemed as synonymous with the culture of ancient china. Meanwhile other teachings such as legalism may be interpreted as the basis for legal action in china, but that form of thinking only sparked the integration of politics and not of the commoners. We can also see a change exhibited when the book compares Taoism and Confucianism. The latter was made to restore the golden age of china and exemplify good behavior among citizens, and further the education of those who could afford it. Taoism on the other hand entitled the search for harmony with nature, and they viewed education and the need to strive for moral improvement as ridiculous and unnecessary. Although these two religions are part of the same culture they influence it in different ways. They all culminate into a giant mess of religion and hatred towards religion because no one really knows what to follow. That is why there is a division between people who think logically and people who think with a political mindset, they may intertwine but they are two very different things.

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The material supports the idea of religions beginning all alike, as they needed a form of deity to believe in to gain the trust of their people, and believe there was such a place as the "afterlife." In Rome they had believed in Christianity, and began to belief in a monotheistic way where there was no beliefs in multiple gods. A religions seemed to play a major role  in the hierarchy and the status over gender. In India, Buddhism was created there and became part of a distinct part of each other. Hinduism lived along-side in that in India, and was brought that here where they believed in Nirvana as it was the perfect moral place path, and Christianity had  enforced the act of generosity to enter heaven. When comparing the both religions together, there seems to be clear distinctions as to which characteristics are alike and disliked. In China, they were the first to begin with a conception of there even being such a place as "heaven" which was later adapted on by other religions. In conclusion, the material indeed supports the this idea as it has been shown shown through the many examples of religion being used.

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The material challenges this idea because it delineates how people had two basic distinctive forms of beliefs. For instance, Indian, Persian, and Jewish intellectuals explored the spiritual realm of the divine and the relationship they had with God(s). On the other hand, Chinese and Greek philosophers focused more on the occurrences of this world and the human beings that surrounded it. These religions also differed because some religions had a founder while others did not. Hinduism, for instance, had no historical founder and simply developed over time along with the Indian civilization. In contrast, other religions like Buddhism, Christianity, or Confucianism, originated from founders like the Buddha, Jesus, and Confucius. Another disparity between religions was the fact that some religions focused only on one specific belief while others had many. For example, Hinduism had a diversity of gods, spirits, beliefs and rituals. In contrast, a religion like Judaism believed in one God, known as Jesus, and praised and worshiped him only. Overall, all these religions had distinct features and characteristics to them; ultimately, they were almost nothing alike to each other.

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The material does challenge the idea of religion because religions are alike in the aspects of, a religion must always have a god they pray to. All religions also have practices that  their believers through

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The material challenges the idea. Even though religions do have similarities they also have their diversities. Ultimately though i actually believe that the material supports the idea because of the fact that many religions have some type of god, they each have a founder, and most of the time their is some type of a "holy book" for example, the bible or the Qur'an. Every religion does stem from a few very similar ideologies, in my eyes i like to think of religion like a tree, most of the time the roots are the same but the leaves and flowers are different, so in the end i do believe that it supports it rather than challenges it.

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The material challenges the idea
of religion. It's true they might have things in common like Christianity and Catholic people believe in Jesus Christ, but they have their differences. As whereas Christians do not view the Virgin Mary as a Virgin. In which Catholic people believe she is in fact a virgin. This material challenges religions,because although they might share common characteristics they are different. If all the religions were the same, why wouldn't we all just practice one religion as a nation?

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The material is supporting that at a fundamental level all religious beliefs are basically alike in one way or another. Take Theravada and Mahayana, as an example for the statement above. Both of these are different versions of the same religion, originating from Buddhism. Theravada took more psychological view of Buddha's teachings and practices, showing that people were on their own. Buddha, himself was seen as a teacher and a person that everyone should be  similar to. Mahayana saw Buddhas as guides helping those who are still suffering reach salvation, postponing their own enlightenment. In this version of religion, Buddha was seen as a sort of god. As shown, both versions of Buddhism were differing; however, the underlying constant is suffering and the goal to reach nirvan

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I believe the material does not challenge the idea of religions being alike. Usually all religions and beliefs are alike with one another. Religions often have a god and are enforced by their government. For instance, Buddhism and Christianity experienced reality in another universal way. Most religions influence their followers to stop cruelty among each other. Buddhism and Christianity shared similar traditions and beliefs. They taught morals and how to live life with compassion. Theravada and Mahayana were different versions of the religion Buddhism. Most religions believe in a higher after life. Some religions did not give the men and women equal opportunities. Women had little to no freedom. Religions were mostly similar than different

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The material supports this idea because two religions that share some similar traditions, beliefs, and origins are that of Buddhism and Christianity. Jesus and Gautama, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, were both spiritual seekers claiming to have experiences another unseen level of reality. Both founders of their respective religions were teachers that challenged general beliefs and emphasized a  moral life of love and compassion. Many religions (like Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Hinduism and Christianity) believed in a higher power, in one supreme divine being. Almost all religions during the second wave era believed in being virtuous, righteous, and most importantly moral in order to go and pass onto a higher state of living in the next life. Though in some parts of the book it does testify that religions aren’t entirely similar; for example, Jesus came from a poor lower class background and preached on behalf of lower class people by criticizing the hypocrisies of the rich class, or higher born. On the other hand, Gautama was formerly a prince who did not experience any of these situations that Jesus lived through. The material however helps support the  overall idea by mentioning that Zoroastrianism was almost a basis or a guide for many religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam because of their belief in Heaven and hell, God vs. counterpart, last judgement, and arrival of a savior were all incorporated and helped create these religions we know today. Furthermore, early Christianity and Buddhism both held Patriarchal beliefs which restricted women from many opportunities that men have, but either way during those times women flocked to obtain even a little piece of freedom through religion, thus supporting the idea that most religions are practically the same with few minor differences within each religion.

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All religions are all basically alike because often times they were enforced by the government, many of them have some sort of god, and also many of them are basically slightly different versions of each other. The material does support this idea. For example, religions such as Christianity and Buddhism were enforced upon the people by their governments. In India, the leader Ashoka supported Buddhism and allowed it to become a distinct religion from Hinduism while in Rome, emperors from Constantine and on wards used Christianity to unite the weakening empire by banning all polytheistic rituals. Many religions also were based off each other. Zoroastrianism was a monotheistic religion that eventually lead to Judaism among the Hebrews. In a way, Judaism then lead to Christianity since Jesus was Jewish man who caused the largest religion in the world which goes to show how some of the world’s largest religions are all connected in way. Not all the religions have a single god in which they believe in, but the material does support the fact that all religions seem to control the way people think or act. The book mentions that Buddhists followed the path to nirvana which they had to live a modest and moral life, Hinduism had this idea of Karma which encouraged people to be kind to others, and Christianity encouraged kindness. In addition, beliefs such as Confucianism and the rational and non religious philosophy the Greeks had the beliefs that humans should at very least not be cruel to each other. Even though beliefs such as Confucianism were very patriarchal, all the religions seem to encourage people to be fair with one another. Overall, all the religions in the world are slightly different, but the message that they send to people, their purpose, and in some cases, their origins, all seem to be similar to one another according to the text.

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The material challenges the idea because the people don't believe in the same things/or gods. For Instance christians and catholics are technically the same religion but they are different in many ways. Some ways they are different are that christianity just believe in Jesus Christ and in catholics you also believe in Jesus Christ but also in the Virgin Mary and in different saints. In different religions the people that believe in a certain religion they praise their god in different way. Another thing  how religions are different is because when people die how they treat them. For example in egypt they used to mummify their pharaohs and in chinese they would put them lie in a maze with play soldiers and horse to protect them in the afterlife

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I believe that the material challenges this idea, because not all religions are basically a like. But, at the same time i feel like the material supports this idea because all religions have either gods or a certain belief. From my knowledge I understand that all these religions believe that we should help the less fortunate,and live by a code of morality. For example: christianity's  are setting up orphanages, Hindu and Buddhist believe that the good you  do comes back to you. Zoroastrians go by the same thing too, they believe that as you do unto others that will return to you as well. These religious aren't also just alike just because they live by a code of conduct and say that we should help the less fortunate. In Buddhism they do not believe in gods, in Islam they believe there is one almighty god ,and  in christianity they believe and love god. So due to all these I am stuck in the middle, because at the same time this material supports this idea but at the same time this material challenges this idea because all religions are different as well as unique.

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The material supports this idea. Although these religions do have some differences, they are far more similar than different. I think this supports the prompt because all of these religions share the same roots, such as a god/gods, a spiritual book of their religion's history, and some form of a heaven. I don't mean to say they're all cookie-cutter religions, with the same exact details. Although they each have different versions of their gods, holy book, heaven, ect., they all emerged from the same roots of these ideas.