Which monotheistic religions originated in the Eastern Hemisphere and where did each originate?

• A. Hinduism (India), Buddhism (Nepal), Confucianism (China)
• B. Judaism (Canaan/Israel), Christianity (Judea/Palestine), Islam (Arabian Peninsula)
• C. Taoism (China), Shinto (Japan), Zoroastrianism (Iran)
• D. Islam (Mecca), Judaism (Jerusalem), Christianity (Rome)

Answer: (B)

Monotheism—belief in a single God—ties these three faiths to a common historical thread in the Eastern Hemisphere. Judaism took shape among the Israelites in the land of Canaan, the area that corresponds to modern Israel and the Palestinian territories. Christianity emerged in the same broad region, specifically in Judea/Palestine, during the first century CE, and it spread from there. Islam began on the Arabian Peninsula, with Mecca as its traditional birthplace, where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have received revelations.

This combination—one God, and origins in Canaan/Israel, Judea/Palestine, and the Arabian Peninsula—best fits the question about monotheistic origins in the East. Other options mix in faiths that are not monotheistic or place origins in locations that don’t align with those traditions’ historical roots.