Spiritual traditions have come and gone throughout history with the same frequency as empires, even though most faiths insist their teachings have been continuous from the beginning of time (whenever that was). Even though Manichaeism, Mithraism, and Tengriism are almost extinct, some of the earliest religious and cultural activities are still widely practiced today. Take a look at them below.
Here is a list of the world’s oldest religions:
1. Hinduism
To the best of our knowledge, Hinduism was established more than four thousand years ago, making it one of the world’s oldest religions. Given that it lacks a single founder and is an amalgam of disparate tenets, its genesis is murky at best. Hinduism is not a monotheistic faith like Christianity or Judaism.
Because of its welcoming attitude, it is sometimes called the “family of faiths”. Hinduism emerged through a cultural collision. Around 1500 B.C., the Indo-Ayran people came to the Indus Valley in Pakistan, assimilating with the locals and sharing a common language and culture. Because of this special circumstance, Hinduism expanded to include elements of both civilizations as its adherents eventually merged into a single group.
2. Confucianism
As a religion, Confucianism is acknowledged, although it is not followed in the conventional sense. Confucianism was named after its founder, Confucius (an anglicization of K’ung-fu-Tzu or Master K’ung). For Confucius, it was important to bring back the ideals and tenets of the Zhou period.
Those who adhere to Confucianism see it as a moral and social ethos. Confucianism has profoundly influenced the spiritual and political lives of the Chinese people throughout the centuries. Korea, Vietnam, and Japan are just a few East Asian countries that have felt its impact.
3. Zoroastrianism
Historians believe the reforming prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra) lived between the 10th and 6th century BCE. Still, the religion we know today, Zoroastrianism (known to residents as Mazdayasna), evolved from his teachings around the 2nd millennium BCE (they disagree somewhat). Until the Muslim invasion in the 7th century C.E., it was the official religion of different Persian empires. It is still practiced today by an estimated 200,000 individuals in portions of Iran, India, and Iraq.
Yazdânism: Yazdânism (Cult of Angels) is a neologism that encompasses three distinct Kurdish religious traditions (practiced by the Yazidis, Goran, and Ishik Alevis) that originated from a synthesis of Islam and a Hurrian forerunner to Zoroastrianism. They make sense of the prophets of the Abrahamic religions, reincarnation, and the idea that seven ‘angels’ protect the planet from evil. This suggests that these faiths are at least as ancient as Zoroastrianism.
4. Yahwism and Judaism
Over four thousand years ago, the Hebrew people followed a religion called Yahwism. Abraham was the first Yahwist when Yahweh commanded him to establish a country. The patriarch, who would shape the lives of Hebrews for millennia, was formed in part by his son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob. The Israelite nation may trace its lineage back to these people.
After hundreds of years of Egyptian slavery, Moses finally released the Israelites in God’s direction. The Jewish legal code may be traced back to the ten commandments that Moses delivered to the Israelites. Yahwism evolved into modern Judaism over time. Judaism originated in the Middle East circa 2085 B.C. and is rooted in Moses’s teachings and the Ten Commandments. The Jewish people turned to the five books of the Torah, which tell the story of the world from its beginnings through Moses’ death, for spiritual guidance and guidance in living their lives.
5. Buddhism
Two thousand five hundred years ago, in what is now Nepal, a prince named Siddhartha Gautama is said to have given birth to Buddhism. Upon first seeing human misery, Siddhartha abandoned his privileged lifestyle. Sitting under the Bodhi tree, he reflected on the purpose of life, reached enlightenment, and became the Buddha (the tree of awakening).
Since then, every Buddhist has followed their nonviolent teachings and sought the way to enlightenment. Buddhists are encouraged to begin their quest for liberation from the cycle of birth and death by contemplating the four noble truths, which are as follows: Existence is suffering (dukhka); suffering has a cause, namely craving and attachment (Trishna); there is a possibility of cessation of suffering, which is nirvana; there is a path to the end of suffering.
6. Jainism
The Indian religion of Jainism, which inspired both Buddhism and Confucianism, originated in the Ganges area of modern-day India. Tirthankaras, according to Jain belief, are those who have achieved complete control over their baser emotions, including wrath, pride, dishonesty, and want. But in any half-cycle of human history, there can be no more than 24 Tirthankara.
Two human eras are divided into four phases, according to Jainism. For Jains, time is symbolized by the rotation of a wheel. One generation is equal to one whole revolution. It is believed that the 24 Tirthankara are distributed evenly over the two halves of the eternal wheel of time. A historical record shows that 599 B.C. marked the birth of Mahavir Swami, the 24th and last Tirthankara of the current cycle. According to Jainism, the first Tirthankara of the next and previous half cycle would be born very soon.
7. Taoism
Originating in China between the years 450 and 500 A.D., Taoism spread across the world. It evolved from ancient Chinese customs and beliefs. Those who established Taoism saw the growth of Buddhism as a danger to traditional Chinese culture and set out to counter it. The first adherents of Taoism were members of the educated and rich elite, but as time passed, the religion also gained followers from the working class. Thus, several subsets of Taoists have their particular rituals and tenets. For instance, Ch’üan-Chen Taoism, a branch of Taoism popular among women, is one example.
The Tao, literally “the path,” refers to the ultimate principles at work in the universe. Taoism and the Yin Yang symbol, which represent the universe’s ongoing capacity for change and development, are compatible. The crane is another emblem, this one standing for finality. The Taoist notion of sham, or goodness, motivates the practice of self-improvement and self-control.
Both a central figurehead and a canonical text are lacking in Taoism. Because many Taoist components originated from indigenous rituals and its priests worked as ceremonial leaders rather than preachers of a message from a higher power, the religion never established a central set of ideals.
8. Shintoism
Shintoism is a direct descendant of the animistic folk religion of the Yayoi, whose culture spread from north of Kyushu to the rest of Japan from the 3rd century BCE onward. However, the religion was not codified until 712 CE in response to touch with mainland religions (namely, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism).
Present-day adherents adhere to a coherent interpretation of ancient Japanese mythology with clear Buddhist elements (though only a small minority identify it as an organized religion). I think it’s important to note that there is no universally accepted definition of religion. Therefore, the question of how old a religion is will always depend on the purpose used. Since all spiritual traditions build on ancient beliefs, their fundamental distinctions lay in the degree to which they have been formalized and standardized and in the length of time through which their broader principles have been in place.
Therefore, Neopaganism and Mexicayotl (a contemporary revival of ancient faiths) are not included, nor are the many animistic and shamanistic traditions (including the Chinese folk religion, which lacks coherence and is partially founded on Taoist and Confucian ideas).
Atheism is also left out of the discussion, even though it has been around since at least the sixth century BCE (though we assume it predates even the first religious ideas).
Conclusion
Understanding how religion has changed through time and into the contemporary world is an enormously interesting journey. Many people’s worldviews and the paths they pick in life are profoundly influenced by their religious beliefs. Grasping the world’s earliest faiths allows us to evaluate the merits of the concepts and ideas we’ve decided to scrap and the ones we’ve deemed worthy of keeping.
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