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Humans have always expressed a need to understand
natural phenomenon and to answer questions regarding
their way of life and what happens once they die. These
needs resulted in the development of a variety of
religions and philosophies that can be found throughout
the world today.
At first, humans developed belief systems that were
localized to the area in which they lived. As
civilization developed,
polytheism, or worshipping many
gods, became quite common. Often cities, such as Athens,
Greece, would worship
patron gods who were seen as
their protector.
In the Middle East, the Hebrews first established the
concept of
monotheism,
or the belief in a single god. This laid
 the foundation for later religions such
as
Christianity and
Islam.
In Asia, many
philosophies were developed in order to
establish a way of life for people. Some of these
philosophies stressed order and structure in society,
while others taught that humans should find harmony in
nature, and be devoid of artificial rules on behavior.
This site is designed to aid students in reviewing
nine of the world's major belief systems in preparation
for the New York State Regents Exam in Global History
and Geography. In addition, students may test their
knowledge of the material presented here by accessing
multiple-choice questions from past Regents Exams.
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