The time of the appearance of religions. world religions

There are countless religions in the world. Some of them have long been forgotten, and some are only gaining momentum. And which of them is the oldest religion on earth?

Which religion is recognized as the most ancient?

When determining the most ancient faith, several facts must be taken into account. There are some religions, the mention of which remained only in old traditions and legends. Among these are the religions of the Incas and Aztecs. This is a developed religion, which has many followers in its ranks. The Inca faith is rich in a variety of gods. This is due to the military activities of the tribes. When new peoples were captured, deities from the traditions and legends of the captives were added to the existing religion. Due to the possibility of the emergence of new deities, this belief did not disappear without a trace, but simply transformed into new currents.

Of the existing ones, one of the first was the religion of the Sumerians. It was distinguished by many gods, each of which had its own followers, called the Anunnaki. They were priests who helped ordinary people communicate with their idols and conveyed the wishes of the gods to the people.

The oldest of the world's religions is Judaism, born on the teachings of Vedism. It is based on religion, which later laid the foundation for Christianity. But imperfection existing gods and the many contradictory statements of this creed served to make it one of the shortest.

What is the latest religion to appear?

The concept of "young" is very relative, because when the count goes on for millennia, several centuries does not matter much. That is why the earliest faith - "Islam" seems to us to have long been known and widespread.

The belief is based on serving Allah, a Muslim puts the teachings of God above his own wishes. Nowadays, Islam is quite popular, Muslims live in 50 countries of the world. Almost a quarter of the world's population are Muslims. This religion appeared in the seventh century AD, when the prophet Mohammed received the first verses of the Koran. The common teaching is more than thirteen centuries old, but the younger religions of modern times are not known.

The popularity of this belief is due to strict rules and a righteous lifestyle. Many children are born in Muslim families, which is why there are more and more adherents of Islam. A mullah serves to communicate between God and man. He conducts rituals and reads prayers, whether it be nikah, ayah or other ceremonies.

When did early Christianity appear?

The current reckoning begins from the Nativity of Christ, therefore the beginning of the first century AD in the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean is considered the birth of Christianity.

Before the advent of this religion, people worshiped many mythological deities. In Christianity, there is one God who will understand and forgive everyone if a person sincerely repents of his misdeeds. It combines all the positive qualities of pre-existing deities.

Christianity is based on the suffering and pain of Jesus Christ, who chose this path in order to atone for human sins. That is why the path to true enlightenment lies through suffering. The one god is ready to accept any person of any faith, if he really wants it. A Christian is associated with a peace-loving wanderer who preaches the path of truth and wants to help every lost soul.

Thanks to its peaceful teachings, Christianity gained great popularity and became one of the three most widespread beliefs in the world along with Islam and Buddhism. Now this religion is divided into three currents:

1. orthodoxy;
2. Catholicism;
3. Protestantism.

What ancient religions existed before?

Buddhism is another equally old religion. It originated in the fifth century BC. The appearance of Buddhism was preceded by a change in the teachings and basic provisions of Brahmanism.

This faith is based on the doctrine of erasing the boundaries between closed castes and divisions of society. All people are equal before God, regardless of their material wealth and position. Buddhism originally appeared in India, but quickly spread to other countries such as China, Mongolia, Tibet and others. AT modern world Almost half a million people are considered adherents of Buddhism.

Other less popular ancient religions include Finnish deities in Finland, the Canaanite faith, and Atonism. On the shores of the island of Crete, the Minoan religion was known, headed by the goddess of nature. The Assyrian people worshiped the god Ashur.

Mithraism was popular in European lands. Its spread became possible thanks to the conquests of Alexander the Great. Mithra is the god of heaven and justice.

What is the oldest faith in the world?

Some believe that Hinduism is the very first religion. He combined pagan deities and the foundations for the birth of Christianity. At one time, Hinduism was as popular as the three most widespread religions in our time.

In the third century BC, the Tengrian religion, which originated in Central Asia, was known. It is based on belief in the spirits of ancestors. The teachings were passed down from generation to generation, although there is no written confirmation of this fact.
Buddhism appeared in the fifth century BC, which also makes this belief one of the oldest.
Zoroastrianism is considered one of the first beliefs. There is no exact data on the origin of this religion, although the first mention of it appeared in the sixth century BC in the lands of Iran. The first written references appeared around the first century BC, but then Zoroastrianism was already considered ancient faith. The main sacred collection of religious laws is the Avesta. This book is written in a now dead language. Chief god is Ahura Mazda, the creator of the whole world. He sent to earth only one prophet - Zarathustra.

One of ancient religions, numbering tens of millennia, is and . This belief was common among most peoples on earth, for example, among the Siberian Yakuts. Shamanism is based on the unity of man and nature, and the shaman acted as a link between them, he knew how to communicate with spirits and apply methods traditional medicine. This belief had a greater impact on the formation of culture and lifestyle of people.

It is possible that there were more early religions, but due to the lack of written evidence, this cannot be proven.

Science does not know such a people who would be completely unfamiliar with religion. Early forms religious beliefs were very primitive. Ancient people some magical and totemic beliefs were characteristic.

Magical beliefs are ideas about the ability of a person to supernaturally influence other people and nature.

Totemism consists in the belief in a supernatural relationship between a group of people, on the one hand, and a certain type of animal or plant, on the other.

The culture of some peoples is characterized by shamanism - the idea that a person can, having brought himself to a state of ecstasy, communicate with spirits and use their power for healing, causing rain and other purposes.

A developed tribal community is also characterized by fetishism - the veneration of inanimate material objects; and animatism, the belief in some impersonal force dispersed throughout nature.

One of the oldest religions is Judaism. Its beginnings date back to the 2nd millennium BC, when the ancient Jews were a nomadic people.

The main tenets of Judaism include faith in the one God Yahweh, in the coming of the Messiah - a savior who will come to perform a righteous judgment, to reward people according to their merits - in the immortality of the soul and existence afterlife. holy book Judaism is the Tanakh, identical to the Christian Old Testament. The Talmud is also recognized, which gives an interpretation of the religious, ethical, legal and everyday prescriptions contained in the Tanakh.

Some of the instructions of the Talmud are as follows: “Do not forgive yourself, and then it will be easy to forgive others”, “Whoever pursues fame, glory flees from him, whoever avoids it, she follows it”, “I learned a lot from my mentors, more more with their comrades, but most of all with their disciples.”

The ethical norms of the Jews are the commandments of Moses. There are 613 biblical-Talmudic prescriptions regulating the life of Jews. Judaists observe the rite of circumcision, fasting, prescriptions for permitted (kosher) and forbidden (tref) food. In addition to the Torah, which pursues the goal of moral improvement of a person, Jews honor Halakha - the prescriptions governing religious, family and civil life, and Haggadah - a book of fairy tales, parables, myths, fairy tales, fables and proverbs.

In the first centuries of the 1st millennium BC. Zoroastrianism arose in Asia Minor. This religion arose in an atmosphere of acute hostility between neighboring agricultural and pastoral tribes. It was based on the position of the confrontation between light and dark principles. The good beginning is personified by Ahura Mazda - the creator of heaven, earth, man, useful animals, etc. The personification of the evil principle is Angra Mainyu, the fruits of his creativity are harmful to people - the desert, illness, death, harmful animals. The sacred book of the Zoroastrians is the Avesta, which is attributed to Zarathushtra. Zoroastrians revere fire, attribute to it a cleansing power, therefore they are called fire worshipers. They are very specific about human corpses, considering them to be something unclean. Zoroastrians do not bury their dead in the ground and do not cremate, but they bury them in special “towers of silence”, where the corpses placed in niches are eaten by birds of prey. Zoroastrians believe in an afterlife and have an idea of ​​the imminent end of the world.

Zoroastrianism became the state religion of Ancient Persia and spread widely in the territories it conquered - Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, etc. However, the boundaries of Zoroastrianism narrowed due to the Arab conquests in the seventh century.

Hinduism is not one religion, but the totality of religious systems, which are characterized by the absence of governing bodies, although they have temples. Among the deities stand out: the guardian god Vishnu, the god-destroyer and creator Shiva. An important place in Hinduism is occupied by the provisions:

About dharma - the order of life established for each caste;

About karma - the reward that a person receives depending on the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of dharma;

About rebirth - the incarnation of the human soul into one or another bodily shell in accordance with the principle of karma.

If a person led a righteous life, his soul can incarnate in the body of a representative of a higher caste or even in the body of a celestial. If the dharma is not fulfilled, the soul is threatened with incarnation in the body of a person occupying a lower caste position, an animal or a plant. In Hinduism, there are provisions on ahimsa (non-causing evil), avatar (the possibility of incarnating God in another supernatural being, person or animal).

In the VI-V centuries BC. In China, two very different philosophical teachings containing religious elements arose: Taoism and Confucianism.

Taoism based on philosophy Lao Tzu considers Tao to be the basis for the emergence, change and end of all things. Taoism has a numerous priesthood, which is engaged in divination, performing magical rites, trading in amulets, etc. The senior Taoist priest is considered to be “tienshi” (Taoist dad).

Confucianism, created on the basis of the teachings of Kung Tzu, does not have a priesthood. Religious rites are performed by heads of families and elders of clans. One of the main provisions is the requirement of unconditional obedience to a higher, senior, authority. The sky is revered as the supreme deity, Confucius himself, his students and faithful followers are also deified. They believe in the afterlife of souls and sacrifices are made to propitiate them.

Scientists agree that the beginnings of modern religion could have appeared about a hundred thousand years ago. This fact is confirmed by numerous archaeological finds, as well as those rock paintings that were made by primitive man. Not understanding the essence of many natural phenomena, our ancestors classified them as supernatural. The sun, moon, wind, lightning, fire, thunder, rain, animals, rivers, sea and ocean, according to their deep conviction, were of divine origin, which means they had to be worshiped. For the same reason, people considered the bear and the wolf to be their ancestors, and therefore they were honored and made sacrifices to them. Only in this case they could be favorable to people. If a person fell ill, it was believed that his soul was taken over evil spirits, and for their expulsion, you need to seek help from the Gods.

Man learned the world in the process of long evolution. He learned how to make fire, tamed animals, mastered the science of agriculture, created tools, and so on. But all this did not happen immediately. The universe was reluctant to reveal its secrets to man. And although modern science has been able to explain most natural phenomena, the same mystery of the origin of life remains unsolved to this day. On this account, there are only various hypotheses, and nothing more. Well, everything that cannot be explained, a person refers to higher, divine forces. This is how religion appears, which gives its answers to many questions that interest a person.

But back to our ancestors, who lived in incredibly difficult conditions. They did not understand why the river that gave them food suddenly overflowed its banks and flooded their homes, why a hurricane destroyed grain crops, why hail fell in summer. They did not understand the cause of forest fires. They believed that in this way the Gods punish them for their sins. It was helplessness and ignorance of the essence of what was happening that made a person believe in supernatural powers, which, ultimately, led to the emergence of religion. People turn to the Gods with a prayer and a request, believing that they will be able to protect them from evil spirits and dark forces.

It is for this reason that such religious movements as fetishism, magic, witchcraft, totemism appeared. They are based on the possibility of the existence of the human soul separately from his body. Well, if so, then the path to immortality is open to man.

And so, we came to the conclusion that religion owes its emergence to a misunderstanding of the essence of the ongoing processes, and to the impotence of man in front of nature. It happened at the moment when people began to think abstractly. In the process of various arguments and conjectures, they came up with explanations for certain natural phenomena, which, of course, were far from reality. This is how a person, without realizing it, created for himself a world of supernatural beings endowed with mythical power, able to control the world. He believed that spirits, Gods, and dark forces really exist. Well, if so, then they need to be worshiped. After all, they can both help a person and bring trouble on him. And although there is nothing wrong with modern religion, it affects the consciousness of a person and prevents him from knowing the world. And everything is to blame for the fear of Nature and the processes taking place in it.

It was religion that instilled in the human soul faith in Gods and spirits. Over time, all this is transformed and modified. Like people who began to be divided into poor and rich, spirits also begin to be divided into strong and weak. As a result, various religious movements sprout from the main religion, which interpret certain natural phenomena in their own way. And although many religious concepts got over time scientific explanation, most human delusions are still religious in nature. So it turns out that religion becomes necessary for a person only when it gives him answers to pressing questions concerning the foundations of the universe, and only if a person needs such explanations.

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 rituals were performed to prepare the dead for the 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 the early forms of religion, it is impossible not 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.

As well as their classifications. In religious studies, it is customary to distinguish the following types: tribal, national and world religions.

Buddhism

- most ancient world religion. It originated in the 6th century. BC e. in India, and is currently distributed in the countries of South, Southeast, Central Asia and the Far East and has about 800 million followers. Tradition links the emergence of Buddhism with the name of Prince Siddhartha Gautama. His father hid bad things from Gautama, he lived in luxury, married his beloved girl, who bore him a son. The impetus for a spiritual upheaval for the prince, as the legend says, was four meetings. At first he saw a decrepit old man, then a leprous sufferer and a funeral procession. So Gautama learned old age, sickness and death are the fate of all people. Then he saw a peaceful, impoverished wanderer who needed nothing from life. All this shocked the prince, made him think about the fate of people. He secretly left the palace and family, at the age of 29 he became a hermit and tried to find. As a result of deep reflection, at the age of 35 he became a Buddha - enlightened, awakened. For 45 years, the Buddha preached his teaching, which can be briefly reduced to the following main ideas.

Life is suffering, the cause of which are the desires and passions of people. To get rid of suffering, it is necessary to renounce earthly passions and desires. This can be achieved by following the path of salvation indicated by the Buddha.

After death, any creature, including man, is reborn again, but already in the form of a new living being, whose life is determined not only by its own behavior, but also by the behavior of its "predecessors".

We must strive for nirvana, i.e., dispassion and peace, which are achieved by renunciation of earthly attachments.

Unlike Christianity and Islam Buddhism lacks the idea of ​​God as the creator of the world and its ruler. The essence of the doctrine of Buddhism boils down to a call to every person to embark on the path of seeking inner freedom, complete liberation from all the shackles that life brings.

Christianity

It arose in the 1st century. n. e. in the eastern part of the Roman Empire - Palestine - as addressed to all the humiliated, thirsting for justice. It is based on the idea of ​​messianism - the hope for the Divine deliverer of the world from everything bad that is on Earth. Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of people, whose name in Greek means "Messiah", "Savior". By this name, Jesus is associated with the Old Testament traditions about the coming to the land of Israel of a prophet, a messiah who will free the people from suffering and establish a righteous life - God's kingdom. Christians believe that the coming of God to Earth will be accompanied by Doomsday when He will judge the living and the dead, direct them to heaven or hell.

Basic Christian ideas:

• Belief that God is one, but He is a Trinity, i.e. God has three "persons": the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, which form the one God who created the Universe.
• Faith in the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ - the second person of the Trinity, God the Son - this is Jesus Christ. He has two natures simultaneously: Divine and human.
• Faith in Divine grace - a mysterious power sent by God to free a person from sin.
• Belief in the afterlife and afterlife.
• Belief in the existence of good spirits - angels and evil spirits - demons, along with their master Satan.

The holy book of Christians is Bible, which means "book" in Greek. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Old Testament is the oldest part of the Bible. New Testament(actually Christian works) includes: four gospels (from Luke, Mark, John and Matthew); the deeds of the holy apostles; Epistles and Revelation of John the Theologian.

In the IV century. n. e. Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. Christianity is not one. It split into three streams. In 1054 Christianity split into Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church. In the XVI century. The Reformation, an anti-Catholic movement, began in Europe. The result was Protestantism.

And recognize seven christian sacraments: baptism, chrismation, repentance, communion, marriage, priesthood and unction. The source of doctrine is the Bible. The differences are mainly as follows. In Orthodoxy there is no single head, there is no idea of ​​purgatory as a place of temporary accommodation for the souls of the dead, the priesthood does not give a vow of celibacy, as in Catholicism. In charge of catholic church stands the Pope, elected for life, as the center Roman Catholic Church is the Vatican - a state that occupies several quarters in Rome.

It has three main streams: Anglicanism, Calvinism and Lutheranism. Protestants consider that the condition for the salvation of a Christian is not formal observance of rituals, but his sincere personal faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Their teaching proclaims the principle of a universal priesthood, which means that every lay person can preach. Virtually all Protestant denominations have reduced the number of sacraments to a minimum.

Islam

It arose in the 7th century. n. e. among the Arab tribes of the Arabian Peninsula. This is the youngest of the world. There are followers of Islam more than 1 billion people.

Founder of Islam historical figure. He was born in 570 in the city of Mecca, which at that time was a fairly large city at the crossroads of trade routes. In Mecca, there was a shrine revered by most pagan Arabs - the Kaaba. Muhammad's mother died when he was six years old, his father died before his son was born. Muhammad was brought up in the family of his grandfather, a noble family, but impoverished. At the age of 25, he became the manager of the household of the wealthy widow Khadija and soon married her. At the age of 40, Muhammad acted as a religious preacher. He declared that God (Allah) chose him as his prophet. The ruling elite of Mecca did not like the sermon, and by 622 Muhammad had to move to the city of Yathrib, later renamed Medina. 622 is considered the beginning of the Muslim chronology according to lunar calendar and Mecca is the center of the Muslim religion.

The Holy Book of Muslims is a processed record of Muhammad's sermons. During the lifetime of Muhammad, his statements were perceived as the direct speech of Allah and were transmitted orally. A few decades after the death of Muhammad, they were written down and will compose the Qur'an.

plays an important role in the beliefs of Muslims Sunnah - collection of instructive stories about the life of Muhammad and Sharia - a set of principles and rules of conduct binding on Muslims. The most serious ipexa.Mii among Muslims are usury, drunkenness, gambling and adultery.

The place of worship for Muslims is called a mosque. Islam forbids depicting a person and living creatures; hollow mosques are decorated only with ornaments. There is no clear division between clergy and laity in Islam. Any Muslim who knows the Qur'an, Muslim laws and rules of worship can become a mullah (priest).

Ritualism is given great importance in Islam. You may not know the intricacies of faith, but you should strictly follow the main rites, the so-called five pillars of Islam:

• pronouncing the formula of the confession of faith: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet”;
• making a daily five prayers(prayer);
• fasting in the month of Ramadan;
• giving alms to the poor;
• making a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).