The notion of religion being a mean by which people increase or decrease the amount of/use of power in society is a very prominent throughout history, and even in modern history. Although, (one of) the first religious-social societies which heavily combined the two aspects of life into one powerful and eminent force was the origins of Hinduism in the Indus Valley Region between 3500 and 1800 BCE. There were rankings of groups of people who were all involved in society, but in different, unique ways. The highest ranking that one could be in was the “Brahmins”. This level of society included priests, teachers, scholars, and other highly educated and exposed individuals. I believe that they were the highest ranked because they had the most to offer throughout society as they were the ones to educate others which would eventually follow them; naturally, those in the highest rankings tend to also have the highest priority and significance, so it makes sense that the teachers would preside first. Second, there are the “Kshatriyas”. This rank consisted of warriors, fighters, and royalty. Interestingly enough, royalty in this case was not the highest priority (as history plays out it becomes clear that royalty, sometimes as a result of religion, is the number one), and I think it is because in the time period back then, religion was their government, and once that governing need was fulfilled the royalty really had nothing to do except carry out family name and tradition--and control/maintain the region, somewhat. Next there was the “Vaishyas”, mostly traders and economic workers. This makes sense because an economy as a very functioning and somewhat essential part of life throughout history, and there is a pattern that when an economy disfunctions, the surrounding society(s) disfunction as well--so the ones who controlled and participated in the economy were definitely above the lower ranks of society. Lastly there was the “Shudras”, which were made up of farmers, servicemen, artists, laborers, and the working class in general terms. This sort of set the foundation for societal classes throughout history, as almost always until very modern history, the working class/the ones who provided the living essentials and add ons (like art, etc.) were at the lowest ranks of society since they were the ones that allowed everyone else in society to prosper and fulfill their roles in their respective ranks. They were the basis of society--literally. Surprisingly though, that is not all! There was an even lower class of people which were labeled as “Untouchables”. The name speaks for itself, as they were so low in ranking that even the people in the “Shudras” would consider them as inferior, and could not comprehend to even touch them--a little extreme, much? Regardless, this was the Caste system which ruled India and Hindus life for a while, and it was all based off of religion, indirectly though.
The whole system of the Caste was hereditary, which meant that the people in each ranking didn’t have to do anything to be classified that way except being born--and once they were in, they could not get out for as long as they lived. The higher the rank, the higher the wealth and importance. As a result of the high influence of Hinduism (a religion), the Caste system implied that the ranks determined the religious rankings and significance of each individual. This makes sense as the priest, religious figure, made the cut off for the top priority. Anyways, the religious classifications also instituted a social, economic, and power system by which society operated, but the power classes were heavier than all the others, outweighing them. The Caste system is a perfect example of religion being used as a mean to gain or in this case, maintain power. The people in the higher rankings of the system used religion as an excuse to be powerful and used religion as their way to distribute and effectually use their power to their intention. Here, we see that religion itself becomes the institution in history by which social status (and thus economic, political, etc. statuses) were gained and maintained. Religion had begun to classify people and control how they live their lives. For our purposes, it perfectly exemplifies a way that would make someone in history think a certain way or do a certain thing. We’ve been asking what makes someone do something...this is a potential answer: in the case of a person living in this period in history, their religion would classify them in a specific ranking, therefore dictating to them how they should live their lives--and what ever they do, their incentive is based off of their religious-social placement. Their ranking and means by which they live their life would make people do or think a certain way, thus answering our overarching, historiographical question. Someone’s religion would transform their reality into something unique from any other’s because their religion would place them in such a classification/ranking (in this case, the Caste system), and whichever placement they are in, the way they see the world, act, and form realities are all an outcome of their religious-social organization and placement, thus answering the question of how religion contributes to constructing one’s reality in history.
No comments:
Post a Comment