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9th grade · Social Studies · Unit 12 of 16

Belief Systems Compared

Beliefs, practices and how they shaped societies

What your child practices

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism and Daoism compared: where each began, its main teachings and texts, how it spread, and how belief systems were used to unify people and shaped social order and gender roles.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 9.2; 9.2a; 9.2b; 9.7a · the beliefs, practices and spread of major belief systems, and how they unified people and shaped social order and gender roles

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Know where each began: Hinduism and Buddhism in South Asia; Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Southwest Asia; Confucianism and Daoism in China.
  2. Match teachings and texts: the Analects record Confucius; the Five Pillars are duties in Islam; the Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama.
  3. Beliefs spread by trade and rulers: Buddhism along the Silk Road; Christianity made legal by the Edict of Milan (313).

Example: The Five Pillars, such as daily prayer, are duties in which belief system? The Five Pillars guide Muslim life. So they belong to Islam. Answer: Islam

Belief Systems Compared in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 12 of 16 in 9th grade Social Studies, after Renaissance & Reformation and before Crusades & the Black Death.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Buddhism began in South Asia with the teachings of…

    • Confucius
    • Abraham
    • Laozi
    • Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha

  2. Question 2

    The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are central teachings of…

    • Legalism
    • Buddhism
    • Judaism
    • Daoism

  3. Question 3

    The pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims make at least once if they are able is called the…

    • diaspora
    • hajj
    • nirvana
    • Dao

  4. Question 4

    Islam began in the 600s CE in…

    • the Andes Mountains
    • the Arabian Peninsula
    • the Yellow River valley
    • northern India

  5. Question 5

    Which question do belief systems often try to answer?

    • Which crop grows fastest?
    • What does it mean to live a good life?
    • How many miles long is the Nile?
    • How are bricks fired?

  6. Question 6

    After the Prophet Muhammad died, Muslims divided into Sunni and Shia mainly over…

    • which language to speak
    • who should lead the Muslim community
    • where to build roads
    • whether to trade with China

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