Perhaps my favorite part of the chapter four examination of the culture and religion in Eurasia and North Africa is Strayer's discussion on traditionally "Eastern" religions. It is unfortunate that the Western-centric world has instilled in the rest of the world such a bias in the means of praising Christian religions, but in studying world history we might be able to focus on Eastern religions.
Having been raised Catholic, I have learned a lot about Christianity and its roots in Judaism, but never until college did I learn, at an extensive level, more about Islam (which is far closer to Christianity and Judaism than other Eastern religions in terms of ideas), Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism.
My favorite to have studied of all these religions is Hinduism. However, the Strayer text emphasizes Hinduisms' commitment to duty and devotion, which, while that aspect is a large part of practicing the Hindu tradition, does not fully communicate Hindu values. Hinduism respects an individual's praying rituals as a part of that individual's routine; Hindu services are not routinely held like Sunday church in Christianity. One practices her religion at her own pace, practicing prayer, yoga, and other offerances to the Hindu gods (which are actually different representations of ONE god) in her own time. Strayer's focus on duty and devotion to studying the Bhagavad Gita are accurate, but overblown--I think part of the reason for this is to emphasize the individualism practiced in Buddhism and Confucianism. Of course, we understand that Strayer's representation cannot fully capture the reality of an age-old religion in two paragraphs or so, but I do wish that Strayer had covered a little more fully the extent at which Hinduism is individual, as well as unity through duty and devotion.
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