Born in 354 in Tagaste, Numidia, Augustine became bishop of Hippo in 396. Studied at Carthage and Rome before becoming imperial professor at Milan. His writings, including Confessions and The City of God, survive with over five million words. His distinctive theological style shaped Latin Christianity surpassing Scripture
Born around 1225, Aquinas became a Dominican friar and studied philosophy in Paris. He received his doctorate and became master of theology at the University of Paris. His works totaled over eight million words, with most surviving texts being theological
Religion concept originated from Latin "religio" meaning scrupulousness. Concept shifted from religious devotion to social genus in medieval period. Herbert identified five common elements of all religions. Tylor expanded concept to include diverse spiritual practices. James and Geertz expanded concept to include cosmic and supernatural elements
Summa was a medieval Latin didactic genre from 12th to 13th centuries. Summists used contradictory views and dialectic to explain truths. Peter Lombard (died 1160) was considered first great summist. Summists divided topics into res (things) and signa (signs)
Kabir lived from 1398 to 1518 CE in Varanasi, India. He was a disciple of Swami Ramananda and a Vaishnava yogi. His poems were written in Sadhukkadi and Bhojpuri dialects
Bodhisattva refers to someone who has made a resolution to become Buddha. Early texts describe Buddha as an unawakened bodhisatta before awakening. Jataka tales popularized bodhisattva teachings through stories of Sakyamuni