What is the very first faith appeared. ancient religions

Religious feelings are inherent in all of us. Faith is necessary for people for the integrity of the worldview. Even scientific thinking cannot exist without religion: there will be no adequate picture of the world. There are billions of people on our planet. They all have different beliefs. This fact indicates that for many millennia mankind has not come to a single God. There are also relatively new ones. Islam is the youngest religion.

Major Religions of the World

Among the many religious movements, the most common can be distinguished:

• Islam;
• Judaism;
• Buddhism;
• Christianity;
• Shintoism.

Different parts of the world have their own religions. In European countries, Christianity is mainly practiced - far from being the youngest religion. It arose in Palestine at the beginning of the first century AD. Christian believers pray with a rosary in their hands or with a crucifix. Parishioners listen to sermons and sing hymns as they attend prayer houses. The idea of ​​Christianity is to establish the kingdom of God on the whole Earth after the second coming of the Messiah.

Buddhism is the most ancient world, which originated in the sixth century and was most widespread in India. Now Buddhism is practiced in the countries of Asia and the Far East. It has about 850 million believers.

Unlike Christian priests, they wear red or yellow robes.

Shintoism is common in Japan. Family altars are practiced here. Believers ask for help from their gods for the implementation of insignificant, quite earthly affairs: successful work, passing exams, successful marriage.

Atheism involves the absence of any form of belief. Atheists are people who do not belong to any religion in the world. This belief was mainly spread in the so-called countries of victorious socialism.

Along with atheists, there are agnostics who believe that God is unknowable and can never be known.

Islam is most widespread in Asian countries, although in recent times this religion is becoming popular in some Western states, as well as in Africa. make up one fifth of the world's population, which is more than a billion people. Believers visit the minaret, where the voice of a Muslim herald is heard calling for five daily prayers. The place of worship for believers is the mosque. Islam is the youngest world religion.

Rise of Islam

So Islam is the youngest religion. It originated in the seventh century AD on the Arabian Peninsula, which was inhabited by Arab tribes. historical personality Muhammad, who founded Islam, was born in 570 AD in the city of Mecca. The Prophet was educated in the family of his own grandfather, since his father died before the birth of his heir.

Muhammad's mother died a little later, when the boy was six years old. When the prophet was 25, he married a rich widow, and at 40 he was already acting as a religious preacher. Once, secluded in a cave for reflection, he was called by the angel Gabriel to read sermons in the name of Allah. These were the first revelations that made up the Koran. And from the moment when Muhammad moved to the city of Medina in 622, the Muslim chronology began. At the same time, Mecca itself is considered the center of the Muslim religion.

The path to God through humility

What is the youngest world religion? This is Islam. This very word for all Muslims is fraught with special meaning. It can mean both humility and surrender to the will of Allah. For any Muslim, his religion is the pinnacle of revelation that was once sent down to believing Christians and Jews, although there are differences in matters of biblical and Islamic teachings. Islam is a reflection of all the feelings and moods of those who listen to the sermons of Muhammad.

Koran

The Quran is the holy book of Muslims. He is God's revelation. The Quran is the recorded speeches and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad decades after his death. This is a record of the so-called speeches of Allah put into the mouth of the prophet. And although Islam is the youngest religion, the Arabs at that time did not yet know paper, and all the words and sermons of the prophet were recorded on primitive media: palm leaves, parchment, camel shoulder blades. Sometimes the text of the Qur'an was memorized and transmitted orally. Muslims do not like the idea of ​​translating the Qur'an into other languages, believing that in this case the divine texts will lose their harmony.

The historical narrative of the Qur'an coincides with the course of events described in the Bible. In parallel, prominent personalities also act:

• Abraham;
• Adam;
• Moses;
• Joseph;
• David;
• Solomon;
• Or me;
• John the Baptist;
• Maria;
• Jesus.

It also mentions events such as:

• the fall of the first man;
• flood;
• the death of Sodom.

Sharia

Sharia is a set of rules and principles of conduct that are obligatory for Muslims in Muslim creeds.

The most serious sins for a Muslim are:

• drunkenness;
• adultery;
• participation in gambling;
• the image in the mosque of any drawings, except for the ornament.

Islam attaches great importance to the performance of the main rites - the pillars of Islam:

• the formula of confession must be pronounced;
• five prayers must be performed;
• fasting in Ramadan must be observed;
• mercy must be shown to the poor;
• a visit to Mecca must be made.

Schism in Islam

There are three main ones in the world. These are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Which religion is the youngest of them? This, of course, is Islam. From the point of view of Muhammad, is this the only religion that has taken the “straight road”?

The prophet believed that Christianity and Judaism had gone astray. The Jews unleashed a great lie on Jesus and Mary, thus violating their Covenant, and the Christians made Jesus equal to God, exalting him too much in view of the doctrine of the Trinity. The Qur'an says about this: "Believe in Allah and do not say - three!".

The moment of crisis in Islam came with the death of Muhammad, who left no successor. And this question became the reason that divided the ranks of Muslims. Thus, in determining the supreme power, the Sunnis rely on the consent of the community, believing that the caliph may not be a direct descendant of the prophet. According to the Shiites, power is inherited only through the bloodline of relatives.

Spread of Islam

Islam, the youngest religion in the world, gradually began to spread both to the east (to India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan) and to the west - to the countries of North Africa. As a result, armed conflicts catholic church that accomplished its famous Islam spread, and the Roman Church was in an internal crisis, maintaining the unity of its ranks. Other times and events awaited everyone.

Faith in God surrounds a person from infancy. In childhood, this still unconscious choice is associated with family traditions that exist in every home. But later a person can consciously change his confession. How are they similar and how do they differ from one another?

The concept of religion and the prerequisites for its appearance

The word "religion" comes from the Latin religio (piety, shrine). This is a worldview, behavior, actions based on faith in something that surpasses human understanding and supernatural, that is, sacred. The beginning and meaning of any religion is faith in God, regardless of whether he is personified or impersonal.

There are several prerequisites for the emergence of religion. First, from time immemorial, man has been trying to go beyond the boundaries of this world. He seeks to find salvation and consolation outside of it, sincerely needs faith.

Secondly, a person wants to give an objective assessment of the world. And then, when he cannot explain the origin of earthly life only by natural laws, he makes the assumption that a supernatural force is applied to all this.

Thirdly, a person believes that various events and occurrences of a religious nature confirm the existence of God. The list of religions for people of faith already serves real proof the existence of God. They explain it very simply. If there were no God, there would be no religion.

The oldest types, forms of religion

The birth of religion took place 40 thousand years ago. It was then that the appearance of the simplest forms was noted. religious beliefs. It was possible to learn about them thanks to the discovered burials, as well as rock and cave art.

In accordance with this, the following types of ancient religions are distinguished:

• Totemism. A totem is a plant, animal or object that was considered sacred by a particular group of people, tribe, clan. At the heart of this ancient religion was belief in the supernatural power of the amulet (totem).

• Magic. This form of religion is based on the belief in the magical abilities of man. The magician with the help of symbolic actions is able to influence the behavior of other people, natural phenomena and objects from a positive and negative side.
• Fetishism. From among any objects (the skull of an animal or a person, a stone or a piece of wood, for example), one was chosen to which supernatural properties were attributed. He was supposed to bring good luck and protect from danger.
• Animism. All natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. She is immortal and continues to live outside the body even after his death. All modern types of religions are based on the belief in the existence of the soul and spirits.
• Shamanism. It was believed that the head of the tribe or the clergyman had supernatural powers. He entered into conversation with the spirits, listened to their advice and fulfilled the requirements. Belief in the power of the shaman is at the heart of this form of religion.

List of religions

There are more than a hundred different religious directions, including ancient forms and modern trends. They have their own time of occurrence and differ in the number of followers. But at the heart of this long list are the three most numerous world religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Each of them has different directions.

World religions in the form of a list can be represented as follows:

1. Christianity (almost 1.5 billion people):

• Orthodoxy (Russia, Greece, Georgia, Bulgaria, Serbia);
• Catholicism (states Western Europe, Poland Czech Republic, Lithuania and others);
• Protestantism (USA, Great Britain, Canada, South Africa, Australia).

2. Islam (about 1.3 billion people):

• Sunnism (Africa, Central and South Asia);
• Shiism (Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan).

3. Buddhism (300 million people):

• Hinayana (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand);
• Mahayana (Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam).

National religions

In addition, in every corner of the world there are national and traditional religions, also with their directions. They originated or gained special distribution in certain countries. On this basis, the following types of religions are distinguished:

• Hinduism (India);
• Confucianism (China);
• Taoism (China);
• Judaism (Israel);
• Sikhism (Punjab state in India);
• Shinto (Japan);
• paganism (Indian tribes, peoples of the North and Oceania).

Christianity

This religion originated in Palestine in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD. Its appearance is associated with faith in the birth of Jesus Christ. At 33, he took martyrdom on the cross to atone for human sins, after which he resurrected and ascended to heaven. Thus, the son of God, who embodied supernatural and human nature, became the founder of Christianity.

The documentary basis of the doctrine is the Bible (or Holy Scripture), which consists of two independent collections of the Old and New Testaments. The writing of the first of them is closely connected with Judaism, from which Christianity originates. New Testament was written after the birth of religion.

Symbols of Christianity - Orthodox and catholic cross. The main provisions of faith are defined in dogmas, which are based on faith in God, who created the world and man himself. The objects of worship are God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Islam

Islam, or Moslemism, originated among the Arab tribes of Western Arabia at the beginning of the 7th century in Mecca. The founder of the religion was the prophet Muhammad. This man from childhood was prone to loneliness and often indulged in pious reflections. According to the teachings of Islam, at the age of 40, on Mount Hira, the heavenly messenger Jabrail (Archangel Gabriel) appeared to him, who left an inscription in his heart. Like many other world religions, Islam is based on the belief in one God, but in Islam it is called Allah.

Holy Scripture - Koran. The symbols of Islam are the star and the crescent. The main provisions of the Muslim faith are contained in dogmas. They must be recognized and unquestioningly fulfilled by all believers.

The main types of religion are Sunnism and Shiism. Their appearance is connected with political disagreements between believers. Thus, the Shiites to this day believe that only the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad carry the truth, while the Sunnis think that it should be an elected member of the Muslim community.

Buddhism

Buddhism originated in the 6th century BC. Homeland - India, after which the teaching spread to the countries of Southeast, South, Central Asia and the Far East. Considering how many other most numerous types of religions exist, we can safely say that Buddhism is the most ancient of them.

The founder of the spiritual tradition is Buddha Gautama. He was an ordinary man, whose parents were granted a vision that their son would grow up to be a Great Teacher. The Buddha was also lonely and contemplative, and turned to religion very quickly.

There is no object of worship in this religion. The goal of all believers is to reach nirvana, the blissful state of insight, to be freed from their own fetters. Buddha for them is a kind of ideal, which should be equal.

Buddhism is based on the doctrine of the four Noble Truths: on suffering, on the origin and causes of suffering, on the true cessation of suffering and the elimination of its sources, on the true path to the cessation of suffering. This path consists of several stages and is divided into three stages: wisdom, morality and concentration.

New religious currents

In addition to those religions that originated a very long time ago, in modern world still new creeds continue to emerge. They are still based on faith in God.

The following types of modern religions can be noted:

• scientology;
• neo-shamanism;
• neopaganism;
• Burkhanism;
• neo-Hinduism;
• raelites;
• oomoto;
• and other currents.

This list is constantly being modified and supplemented. Some types of religions are especially popular among show business stars. For example, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, John Travolta are seriously passionate about Scientology.

This religion originated in 1950 thanks to science fiction writer L. R. Hubbard. Scientologists believe that any person is inherently good, his success and peace of mind depend on himself. According to fundamental principles of this religion, humans are immortal beings. Their experience is longer than one human life and the possibilities are unlimited.

But everything is not so clear in this religion. In many countries, it is believed that Scientology is a sect, a pseudo-religion with a lot of capital. Despite this trend is very popular, especially in Hollywood.

You can often hear the point of view that Islam is the youngest religion in the world, which appeared much later than Christianity, Judaism and other religious teachings. In addition, another opinion is widespread that the Koran is the only holy book for Muslims, that they believe only in it and deny others. scriptures. Many believe that Muslims recognize only Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as the only prophet, indicating that he is the founder of the Islamic doctrine.

But is it really so? To answer this question, first of all, consider the meaning of the word "religion". Religion is faith, spiritual faith, worship of God. Religion is divided into monotheism, belief in one single Creator, the Almighty, and pantheism - polytheism, belief in several deities at the same time. Monotheism is sent down by the Almighty, and pantheism is invented by people themselves. Humanity learned about this through the divine Scriptures: the Scrolls sent down to certain prophets and the Books (Torah, Gospel, Koran), with which the Messengers of the Almighty were sent to people, in different eras of human development. Also, this divine information was conveyed through numerous prophets who called to believe in the One Creator, in His Scriptures, Angels, Messengers, on the Day of Judgment. In their calls, all the prophets and messengers were the same, repeating the same Commandments or confirming what previous prophets had said.

Proceeding from this, it is clear that monotheism as a belief in the One, the Supreme Creator, was originally. But for each era of the development of mankind, the Almighty sent down certain information, the Book, through His Messenger chosen from among the people. And, as we see, all this consists of a single chain of divine revelations and a single chain of prophets. Faith, religion, in each era was called in its own way, on different languages. But it always meant one thing - the recognition of the One Almighty, Creator, Lord, Allah and worship only Him alone.

Each Book, each messenger complemented each other, explaining in the language of the people to which they were sent. Mankind developed and, naturally, the Almighty made some adjustments to the Books that He sent down. That is, in each Book, certain points relating to the spiritual and secular life of a person were consistently indicated in more detail.

In the Qur'an, the words of Almighty Allah are heard that the one who does not believe in the previous Books and prophets, denying them, he is considered not a believer and hell is prepared for him. And the same awaits those who believe in some prophets and deny others. The Koran also says that Allah, sending down His Revelation through Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, does not create any new religion, but completes the one that was sent down to people at all times, starting from Adam. And he calls the religion Islam, which means: peace, submission to the laws of the Almighty. From all of the above, it becomes clear that Islam as a religion is not new, but original.

Based on this, Muslims recognize all previous Scriptures and believe in their divinity. They also believe that all the prophets were sent by the One Creator to bring the Revelations of the Most High to people. This is about what concerns religion as a faith. As for the ritual side, Sharia and the messenger mission of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, here we can say that this is the last “stroke” in completing the religion in understanding the essence of worship.

Answered by Vasily Yunak, 06/11/2007

3.693 Dmitry ( [email protected]???.ru) writes: "Good afternoon, Vasily Dmitrievich! What is the oldest religion in the world and what is it based on? Christianity follows from Judaism. I wonder what is ancient and where Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism comes from. Which religion is primary, maybe from which "If Christianity is not primary, but it turns out like that, then how can one perceive that everything beginning (heaven, earth, life) comes from the Creator, the Christian God?"

Do you want an answer based on the Bible or based on modern history? The Bible tells the history of the world from creation to the very end, until the second coming of Christ, which we all expect. And from this it is clear that God initially gave man commandments that have remained to this day. He made the promise of the Messiah immediately after the sin of man, and this promise was fulfilled in Christ. Of course, throughout history, starting from Adam himself and his son Cain, humanity has retreated from the true God and created idols for itself. However, true god one, just as true religion is also one. Christianity originates not in the first century, when Jesus Christ died on Calvary, but much earlier - when God dressed Adam and Eve in leather clothes made from the skin of an innocent lamb, symbolizing the promised Messiah.

But I know that modern historical science does not want to take on faith the evidence of the Bible or other sacred books. scientific history is based only on those facts that were found during excavations in certain places of the earth, as well as on the information that was obtained from the most ancient manuscripts. And although much more manuscripts of the Bible have been found than manuscripts of other documents, nevertheless, by some irony, science does not take the evidence of the Bible into account. However, the found descriptions of ancient myths and legends of various peoples indicate that the stories of creation, the fall, the flood and the resettlement of people around the world are more or less identical in almost all peoples. Maybe Confucius or Buddha were historically earlier than Christ, and ancient egyptian religion was written before the first book of the Bible was written. But this is not at all a fact that those religions are older than the Biblical ones.

The fact that Christianity as a separate religion historically appeared only two thousand years ago does not mean that Christianity practically did not exist before the birth of Christ. The Greek word "Christ" is a translation of the Hebrew word "Messiah" ("Mashiach"), which means "anointed one." The Jews initially believed in the Messiah (in Greek, Christ), but the problem was that they were unwilling to recognize Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. Nevertheless, the religion of Jesus the Messiah is not based on the Gospels, as many people think today, but on the law of Moses, on the writings and prophecies of the Tanakh - holy book Jews, and Christianity is not new religion but a continuation of the Jewish religion.

According to the Bible - Christianity is primary. Jesus Christ is called the Creator of everything that exists in the universe. Well, if someone thinks otherwise, everyone has the right to choose their religion. I, in my article "Why Christ?", which is presented on our website http://www.biblestudy.ru, substantiated my belief in why Christianity is the first and last religion.

Read more on the topic "Miscellaneous":

The birth of primitive religions

The simplest forms religious beliefs already existed 40 thousand years ago. It was to this time that the modern type (homo sapiens) appeared, which differed significantly from its supposed predecessors in physical structure, physiological and psychological characteristics. But his most important difference was that he was a reasonable person, capable of abstract thinking.

The practice of burial of primitive people testifies to the existence of religious beliefs in this remote period of human history. Archaeologists have established that they were buried in specially prepared places. At the same time, certain ceremonies were previously performed to prepare the dead for afterlife. Their bodies were covered with a layer of ocher, weapons, household items, jewelry, etc. were placed next to them. Obviously, at that time religious and magical ideas were already taking shape that the deceased continued to live, that along with the real world there is another world where the dead live.

Religious beliefs of primitive man reflected in the works rock and cave art, which were discovered in the XIX-XX centuries. in southern France and northern Italy. Most of the ancient rock paintings are hunting scenes, images of people and animals. Analysis of the drawings allowed scientists to conclude that primitive believed in a special kind of connection between people and animals, as well as in the ability to influence the behavior of animals using certain magical techniques.

Finally, it was established that the veneration of various objects, which should bring good luck and avert danger, was widespread among primitive people.

nature worship

Religious beliefs and cults of primitive people developed gradually. The primary form of religion was the worship of nature.. The concept of "nature" was unknown to primitive peoples, the object of their worship was an impersonal natural force, denoted by the concept of "mana".

totemism

Totemism should be considered an early form of religious beliefs.

totemism- belief in a fantastic, supernatural relationship between a tribe or clan and a totem (plant, animal, objects).

Totemism is the belief in the existence of a kinship between a group of people (tribe, clan) and a certain type of animal or plant. Totemism was the first form of awareness of the unity of the human collective and its connection with the outside world. The life of the tribal collective was closely connected with certain types of animals that its members hunted.

Subsequently, within the framework of totemism, a whole system of prohibitions arose, which were called taboo. They were an important mechanism for regulating social relations. Thus, the age-sex taboo excluded sexual relations between close relatives. Food taboos strictly regulated the nature of the food that was to be given to the leader, warriors, women, old people and children. A number of other taboos were intended to guarantee the inviolability of the home or hearth, to regulate the rules of burial, to fix positions in the group, the rights and obligations of members of the primitive collective.

Magic

Magic is an early form of religion.

Magic- the belief that a person has supernatural power, which is manifested in magical rites.

Magic is a belief that arose among primitive people in the ability to influence any natural phenomena through certain symbolic actions (conspiracies, spells, etc.).

Originating in ancient times, magic was preserved and continued to develop over many millennia. If initially magical ideas and rituals were of a general nature, then their differentiation gradually occurred. Modern experts classify magic according to the methods and purposes of influence.

Types of magic

Types of magic by methods of influence:

• contact (direct contact of the carrier magical power with the object to which the action is directed), initial (a magical act directed at an object that is inaccessible to the subject of magical activity);
• partial (indirect effect through cut hair, legs, food remnants, which in one way or another get to the owner of mating power);
• imitative (impact on some similarity of a certain subject).

Types of magic by social orientation and goals of impact:

• malicious (spoiling);
• military (a system of rituals aimed at ensuring victory over the enemy);
• love (aimed at invoking or destroying sexual desire: lapel, love spell);
• medical;
• fishing (aimed at achieving good luck in the process of hunting or fishing);
• meteorological (weather change in the right direction);

Magic is sometimes called primitive science or ancestral science because it contained elementary knowledge about the surrounding world and natural phenomena.

Fetishism

Among primitive people, the veneration of various objects that were supposed to bring good luck and ward off dangers was of particular importance. This form of religious belief is called "fetishism".

Fetishism The belief that a certain object has supernatural powers.

Any object that struck the imagination of a person could become a fetish: a stone of an unusual shape, a piece of wood, an animal skull, a metal or clay product. Properties that were not inherent in it were attributed to this object (the ability to heal, protect from danger, help in hunting, etc.).

Most often, the object that became a fetish was chosen by trial and error. If, after this choice, a person managed to achieve success in practical activities, he believed that a fetish helped him in this, and kept it for himself. If a person suffered any failure, then the fetish was thrown out, destroyed or replaced by another. This treatment of fetishes suggests that primitive people they did not always treat their chosen subject with due respect.

Animism

Speaking of early forms religion, one cannot fail to mention obanimism.

Animism- Belief in the existence of the soul and spirits.

Being at a fairly low level of development, primitive people tried to find protection from various diseases, natural disasters, endowing nature and the surrounding objects on which existence depended, with supernatural powers and worshiping them, personifying them as the spirits of these objects.

It was believed that all natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. Souls could be evil and benevolent. Sacrifice was practiced in favor of these spirits. Belief in spirits and in the existence of the soul persists in all modern religions.

Animistic beliefs are a very significant part of almost everyone. Belief in spirits, evil spirits, immortal soul- all these are modifications of the animistic representation of the primitive era. The same can be said about other early forms of religious belief. Some of them were assimilated by the religions that replaced them, others were pushed into the sphere of everyday superstitions and prejudices.

shamanism

shamanism- the belief that an individual (shaman) has supernatural powers.

Shamanism arises at a later stage of development, when people with a special social status appear. Shamans were the keepers of information great importance for a given family or tribe. The shaman performed a ritual called kamlanie (a ritual with dances, songs, during which the shaman communicated with the spirits). During the ritual, the shaman allegedly received instructions from the spirits about how to solve a problem or treat the sick.

Elements of shamanism are present in modern religions. So, for example, priests are credited with special power allowing them to turn to God.

In the early stages of society development primitive forms religious beliefs did not exist in their pure form. They intertwined with each other in the most bizarre way. Therefore, it is hardly possible to raise the question of which of the forms arose earlier and which later.

The considered forms of religious beliefs can be found among all peoples at the primitive stage of development. As social life becomes more complex, the forms of worship become more diverse and require closer study.