Portfolio Reflection

Justin Sandelin
History 134
Professor Errin Stegich
14 December 2014

Sandelin 2
Religion and morality have had a huge impact on society since the earliest of human
existence. Every civilization, from the most ancient to the most recent, has had some kind of
value and belief system in place. These beliefs have influenced how individuals act in their daily
lives and how entire nations progress within themselves and interact with other nations. Different
religions have spread to different parts of the world, some with relative ease and others with a
fight. It is a benefit of society to have these morals in place; without values, there is nothing
stopping entire civilizations from destroying themselves by becoming crime ridden or having
individuals killing one another on a whim. The way these belief systems are spread, however,
must be done in the right way. Based on the material from this semester, it is evident that the
spread of religion or any other set of moral values must be done peacefully and without harm to
others if society is going to move forward in a responsible manner.
One such religion that used peace to promote itself and empowered a society was
Buddhism. An early supporter of Buddhism was Ashoka, who ruled India in the third century,
B.C.E. After embracing the Buddhist lifestyle, he used his position of power to harmlessly
expand his beliefs through the country. By building temples, pillars, and other art with Buddhist
inscriptions and teachings on them, it quickly caught on with the people of India. Soon, other
rulers in Asia also began supporting it and the Buddha's teachings began spreading by word of
mouth through those traveling around the continent. Buddhism began having a big impact on the
Asian civilization, with monks becoming scholars and philosophers and educating the people of
the continent, creating a progressive society. It created a more sophisticated culture that quickly
spread (patheos.com).
Another religion that helped the betterment of its society was Islam. The founder of
Islam, Muhammad, preached respect and understanding for not only all individuals, but for other

Sandelin 3
religions as well. Other religions in the region at the time, such as Christianity and Judaism, were
tolerated by the followers of Islam. It was seen that they all recognized the same God as the
supreme being and their views should be respected. Islam also broke down social and ethnic
barriers between people. Anyone could convert, regardless of race or class standing. It had an
appeal to those who were not as economically well off, as it was one of the first religions that
was accepting of them. No one was forced into Islam, which was another draw for a variety of
people. The respect shown for people and religions of all different walks of life helped Islam
spread throughout the region (history-world.org).
During the Imperial Roman Empire, Emperor Augustus used religion and traditional
Roman values to push his agenda during his rule. He re-established the Roman gods as important
roles in everyday life and restored the many temples around the Empire. In addition to that, he
reintegrated many of the religious ceremonies and traditions that had been lost. During his time,
he expanded the Roman Empire throughout the region. He was highly regarded by those he ruled
over and it was a commonly agreed upon that he was building the Roman Empire up to the
powerhouse it was meant to be and that he was using it to its maximum potential. By using
traditional morals and values, he gave his people a leader they could believe in and they highly
regarded him. In this time, Augustus ended civil war and created a peace within the Empire. He
created a viable and stable economy and thriving trade system within the nation (pbs.org).
These models can easily be applied to modern society. All over the world, there is still a
constant battle between religion/traditional values because of the way people handle these issues,
they carry too many negative connotations. Some are found on a small scale; in the United
States, a major social issue being dealt with right now is gay rights. Without getting too political,
there are many people who do not want gays to have the opportunity to marry and they use their

Sandelin 4
religious practices as the reasoning. Many times these people can get very hateful. While their
opinions should be respected, they should not be trying to force their beliefs on anyone else. This
does nothing positive for a society. As the examples above show, peace and respect move a
society forward, not hate and anger.
A more large scale example would be radical Islamists, specifically the terrorist group
ISIS. While their view of Islam is very different than what Muhammad had envisioned, they use
violence and murder to try to spread their word. Once again, this does nothing to better a society;
instead, it starts to destroy it. As individuals, people can try to move society forward by acting in
a responsible manner when it comes to these issues. Do not try to force a religion or beliefs onto
anyone else; lead by example, and maybe the rest of the world will start following.
Religion was and continues to be a powerful influence on societies all over the world.
Caution must be used when promoting a religious agenda; it must not be used in a forceful
manner, but in a peaceful one. As with the spread of Buddhism and Islam, the spread of any
belief system should not harm others or impede on their rights. This will cause a better society
and a progressive movement, such as the direction Augustus took the Roman Empire by
returning it to its more traditional roots. This can be seen on a small scale with people using
religion to force social issues or a large scale with terrorist groups using religion to justify
murder. An individual can help society move in a responsible direction by stepping up and trying
to lead by example and by respecting everyone's beliefs, like Ashoka and Muhammad.

Sandelin 5
Works Cited
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Buddhism/Historical-Development/Missions-Spread-ChangesRegional-adaptations.html
This link provided the information for Buddhism. It gives details about the spread of Buddhism
and discusses Ashoka's role in the expansion.
http://history-world.org/islam4.htm
This article provided the information about Islam. It discusses Muhammad's views, how the
religion was spread, its appeal to the people, and how it helped society.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/augustus_religion.html
This article gave specific examples as to how Augustus used religion to better the Roman Empire
and the peoples' reception of it.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/augustus.html
This article gave more of an overview of Augustus and what he did to contribute to the
progression of the Roman Empire.