do you have to do just one??
i can see how christianity could fit in here, some of our western notions of rights and governance arose with the rise of the various protestant churches and later puritans and we got a whole heap of history where people challenged the king for the greater good (referring to england in the 1600s)
But i think the above question would best be answered with a reference to islam. Look for the PBS documentary: "Islam: the empire of faith".
Herodotus once described Arabia as some wasteland that no one wants- it was overlooked by the Romans/byzantines and the persians who fought each other on either side of it but never thought it worthwhile taking it down
Islam's concept of "one God" was more than just theological, it meant that from now on, that will be our point of reference, everyone being equal under God, and tribalism is dead, even slaves have equal stature before God.
And this was a revolutionary concept back then, i'd argue that it still is today.
It also transformed a barbaric society (which had its notable traits also as there's no such thing as an absolute barbarian), to an enlightened culture that exceeded previous civilisations in science, law and culture.
have a non muslim friend now who wants to look at the role of islam in prisons- why are people converting to it: what does it mean to them from the perspective of finding a purpose in life.
funny article:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=165143
you've probably done it already, but i think the questioner would have had this in mind for those who knew about it
