weber ended his research of society and religion in india by bringing in insights from his previous work on china to discuss similarities of the asian belief systems he notes that the beliefs saw the meaning of life as otherworldy mystical experience the social world is fundamentally divided between the educated elite following the guidance of a prophet or wise man and the uneducated masses whose beliefs are centered on magic in asia there was no messianic prophecy to plan and meaning to the everyday life of educated and uneducated alike weber juxtaposed such messianic prophecies notably from the near east region to those found on the asiatic mainland focusing more on exemplary ways to live ones life it was those differences that prevented the countries of the occident from following the paths of the earlier chinese and indian civilizations his next work ancient judaism was an attempt to prove this theory