Whitney L.
9/20/12
COMP Essay Hinduism and Confucianism were similar because they both affected the political systems of society and they both had sacred books, yet they were different in the fact that Confucianism had one single founder, whereas Hinduism did not. These two religions were similar because they both had a set of sacred books. Confucianism’s sacred books were the Five Classics and Hinduism’s sacred books were the Vedas. The Five Classics were used as the basis of studies for Confucianism. Confucius himself, either wrote part of them, or edited them. There were only three sacred books for Hinduism however, the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, and the Ramayana. Like with Confucianism, these books were also used in teaching the religion. The sacred books for Hinduism and Confucianism were important because they informed people about the values of practicing these religions. Confucianism and Hinduism were different because Confucianism had a single founder, whereas Hinduism did not have a single founder. Rather it “unfolded gradually over time” during the Vedic and Epic Ages. Confucianism was founded by Confucius in Classical China. Hinduism, on the other hand, opened up in India as the Aryan religion furthered in its practices and became more advanced. One of the reasons Hinduism took so long to develop was because it waited for Buddhism or Islam to develop before it did. Confucius created Confucianism as a system of ethics – “do unto others as your status and theirs dictate.” The difference between these two religions was important because the difference in creators led to two very different religions. Another similarity between Confucianism