| The interregional religious communities developed comprehensive articulations that became the standard for religious establishments in the regional civilizations. NEO-CONFUCIANISM in China, especially as presented in the writings of Zhu Xi (1130–1200) (See Political, Social, and Cultural Patterns), provided a comprehensive statement of the Confucian tradition that became basic for the scholar-gentry-dominated state. CHRISTIAN SCHOLASTICISM in western Europe was the product of a similar comprehensive definition by teachers like Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) (See 1270), whose writings became fundamental for Catholic Christianity. JUDAISM received an influential and comprehensive presentation by Maimonides, or Moses ben Maimon (1135–1204). In ISLAM, a broad standard synthesis also emerged but was not as identified with a single person. In SUNNI ISLAM, four standard law schools developed, and Sufism was integrated into the broader canon by al-Ghazali (d. 1111) (See 1111). In HINDUISM, teachers like Sankara (c. 800) and Ramanuja (1017–1137) created a comprehensive philosophical framework for the immense diversity of Hindu thought and practice. In this way, the major religious traditions experienced an important standardization and rearticulation of basic worldviews with roots in the earlier Axial Age (See The Axial Period). | 1 |
