1. Choose one religion or philosophy from the list below. Describe its origin, major principles, and how it affected existing laws, social practices, or culture. Also describe whether and how the religion or philosophy influenced other societies. • Judaism • Hinduism • Buddhism • Confucianism • Daoism

Hinduism effect on society.

Hindu ideas about karma and reincarnation strengthened the caste system. If a person was born as an upper-caste male-a Brahmin, warrior, or merchant-his good fortune was said to come from good karma earned in a former life. However, a person who was born as a female, a laborer, or an untouchable might be getting the results of bad deeds in a former life. With some exceptions, only men of the top three varnas could hope to achieve moksha in their present life. The laws of karma worked with the same certainty as the world's other natural laws. Good karma brought good fortune and bad karma resulted in bad fortune. Together, the beliefs of Hinduism and its caste structure dominated every aspect of a person's life. These beliefs determined what one could eat and the way in which one ate it, personal cleanliness, the people one could associate with, how one dressed, and so on. Today, even in the most ordinaryactivities of daily life, Hindus turn totheir religion for guidance