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When you take into account the establishment of civilization in the Far East, we can see how Western religion originated from the Asian religious ideas which still affect people today. Yet, there are many contrasts between the two distinct systems, such as the Judeo-Christian faith distinguishing what is sacred and profane while the Eastern perspective sees everything that makes life possible as sacred. While Eastern religious customs are distinct from the West in a number of ways, Chapter 2 focuses primarily on the key factors that make up the main religions in Asia.

 While a writing system was created and adapted by every Asian culture, it's interesting how Hinduism, the oldest of all world religions, was never founded by a single original source as the Qur'an is for Islam and the teachings of Buddha is Buddhism. Hinduism was started in India, where the caste system separated the wealthy from the merchants (middle class people of the time) and those who were at the bottom of the social ladder. While the caste system was considered a Hindu practice in India, keep in mind that Hinduism focuses on morality and the importance of intellectual or philosophical perspectives over a rigid set of beliefs. To add, the caste system is observed by not only Indians, but other Asians who are Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. Therefore, the caste system is clearly a nonreligious system with the intention of imposing order on a somewhat chaotic society. However, the caste system (particularly the priests within it) still wanted control and influence over the daily Hindu rituals. The answer to this conflict between truth and power was the formation of Buddhism, which focuses on the individual dealing with their issues through meditation and unparallelled equality for all people. Buddha practices were developed out of the old Hindu beliefs of dharma, karma, samsara (reincarnation), devotion, and leading a life without violence. Buddhism gained such a massive following in Southeast Asia and it eventually spread east to Japan. While the Hindu gods were forgotten, Hinduism's basic monotheism was reaffirmed to adjust the religion's focus towards the individual.