Criticism of Zoroastrianism

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Criticism of Zoroastrianism has taken place over many centuries not only from the adherents of other religions but also among Zoroastrians themselves seeking to reform the faith.

Contents

Zoroaster

In the early 19th century, a Christian missionary based in British India, John Wilson, claimed that Zoroaster never had a genuine divine commission (or ever claimed such a role), [1] never performed miracles, or uttered prophecies and that the story of his life is "a mere tissue of comparatively modern fables and fiction." [2] [3] Others assert that all the available Zoroastrian sources regarding Zoroaster only provide conflicting images about him, [4] especially between earlier and later sources. [5]

Literature

The Dasatir-i-Asmani, while being accepted by Zoroastrian communities in Iran and India as genuine, especially by the Kadmi, it is generally believed to be a forgery. [6]

Wilson argued that the Avesta could not be divinely inspired because much of its text was irrevocably lost or unintelligible [7] [8] and Martin Haug, who greatly helped the Parsis of India to defend their religion against the attacks of such Christian missionaries as Wilson, considered the Gathas to be the only texts and only authoritative scriptures that could be attributed to Zoroaster. [9]

Polytheism

John Wilson attacked the Zoroastrian reverence of the Amesha Spenta and Yazatas as a form of polytheism, although the Parsis at the time immediately refuted this allegation and insisted that he had in fact addressed the Bundahishn , a text whose relevance to their practice was remote. [10] [11] Critics also commonly claim that Zoroastrians are worshipers of other deities and elements of nature, such as of fire—with one prayer, the Litany to the fire (Atesh Niyaesh), [12] stating: "I invite, I perform (the worship) of you, the Fire, O son of Ahura Mazdā together with all fires"—and Mithra. [13] Some critics have charged Zoroastrians with being followers of dualism, who only claimed to be followers of monotheism in modern times to confront the powerful influence of Christian and Western thought which "hailed monotheism as the highest category of theology." [14] Critics insist that the monotheistic reformist view is seen to contradict the conservative (or traditional) view of a dualistic worldview most evident in the relationship between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. [15] and arguing that Zoroastrians follow a belief system influenced by henotheism. Other Western scholars such as Martin Haug, however, have dismissed the concept of theological dualism as a corruption of Zoroaster's original teachings, gradually added by later adherents of the faith. [16] Critics add that the fact that such differing views have proliferated is a sign of the enigmatic nature of the Zoroastrian beliefs regarding the divinity. [17]

Intra-Zoroastrian divisions

Zoroastrian reformers, such as Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, have argued that literary precedence should be given to the Gathas, as a source of authority and textual authenticity. They have also deplored and criticized many Zoroastrian rituals (e.g. excessive ceremonialism and focus on purity, [18] [19] using "bull's urine for ritual cleansing, the attendance of a dog to gaze at the corpse during funerary rites, the exposure of corpses on towers [for consumption by vultures and ravens]") [20] [21] and theological and cosmological doctrines as not befitting of the faith. [22] This orthodox versus reformist controversy rages even on the internet. [23]

Divisions and tensions also exist between Iranian and Indian Zoroastrians and over such issues as the authority of a hereditary priesthood in the transmission and interpretation of the faith, ethnicity and the nature of Ahura Mazda. [24] Historically, differences also existed between the Zoroastrian branches of Zurvanism, Mazdakism and Mazdaism. [25]

Who is a Zoroastrian (Zarathushti)?

Much like the question of who is a Jew?, Zoroastrian identity, especially whether it is adopted through birth or belief (or both), "remains a cause for tension" within the community. [26] [27] Reformers have criticised the orthodox refusal to accept religious converts as one reason for the communities' declining population. [28]

Predestination

Zoroastrians have been criticized by Muslim authors for their rejection of predestination. [29] [30] This follows a famous hadith of Muhammad in which he negatively associates the Qadariyah Islamic sect with the Magians. [31] [32]

Patriarchy

Zoroastrianism has been criticized for the perception that it promotes a patriarchal system, expressed through such avenues as an all-male priesthood and its historical allowance of polygamy—practiced by Zoroaster himself. [33] [34] [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroastrianism</span> Iranian religion founded by Zoroaster

Zoroastrianism, also known as Mazdayasna and Behdin, is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ontology and an eschatology which predicts the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Zoroastrianism exalts an uncreated and benevolent deity of wisdom known as Ahura Mazda as its supreme being and Angra Mainyu as the opposing, destructive spirit and adversary to Ahura Mazda. Historically, the unique features of Zoroastrianism, such as its monotheism, messianism, belief in free will and judgement after death, conception of heaven, hell, angels, and demons, among other concepts, may have influenced other religious and philosophical systems, including the Abrahamic religions and Gnosticism, Northern Buddhism, and Greek philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroaster</span> Iranian prophet and spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism

Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, was the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is said to have been an Iranian prophet who founded a religious movement that challenged the existing traditions of ancient Iranian religion, and inaugurated a movement that eventually became a staple religion in ancient Iran. He was a native speaker of Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian plateau, but his exact birthplace is uncertain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahura Mazda</span> Highest deity of Zoroastrianism

Ahura Mazda, also known as Asura Mazda, Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ormusd, Hoormazd, Harzoo, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity and god of the sky in the ancient Iranian religion- Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the Yasna. The literal meaning of the word Ahura is "lord", and that of Mazda is "wisdom".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahriman</span> Personification of the "destructive spirit" in Zoroastrianism

Angra Mainyu or Ahreman is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the Spenta Mainyu, the "holy/creative spirits/mentality", or directly of Ahura Mazda, the highest deity of Zoroastrianism. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman 𐭠𐭧𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩. The name can appear in English-language works as Ahrimanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahura</span> Class of Zoroastrian divinities

Ahura is an Avestan language designation for a particular class of Zoroastrian divinities. The term is assumed to be linguistically related to the Asuras of Indian Vedic era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atar</span> Zoroastrian concept of holy fire

Atar, Atash, Azar or Dāštāɣni, is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire". It is considered to be the visible presence of Ahura Mazda and his Asha through the eponymous Yazata. The rituals for purifying a fire are performed 1,128 times a year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasna</span> Primary liturgical collection of Zoroastrian texts, and principal act of worship in Zoroastrianism

Yasna is the Avestan name of Zoroastrianism's principal act of worship. It is also the name of the primary liturgical collection of Avesta texts, recited during that yasna ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vishtaspa</span> Figure in Zoroastrianism

Vishtaspa is the Avestan-language name of a figure of Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of Zoroaster, and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophet's message. Although Vishtaspa is not epigraphically attested, he is – like Zoroaster – traditionally assumed to have been a historical figure, although obscured by accretions from legend and myth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amesha Spenta</span> Class of divine entities in Zoroastrianism

In Zoroastrianism, the Amesha Spenta are a class of seven divine entities emanating from Ahura Mazda, the highest divinity of the religion. Later Middle Persian variations of the term include the contraction 'Ameshaspand' as well as the specifically Zoroastrian 'Mahraspand' and 'Amahraspand'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zurvanism</span> Extinct branch of Zoroastrianism

Zurvanism is a fatalistic religious movement of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a first principle who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zurvanite Zoroastrianism", and may be contrasted with Mazdaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daeva</span> Demon, ogre or giant from Persian mythology

A daeva is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the daevas are "gods that are rejected". This meaning is – subject to interpretation – perhaps also evident in the Old Persian "daiva inscription" of the 5th century BCE. In the Younger Avesta, the daevas are divinities that promote chaos and disorder. In later tradition and folklore, the dēws are personifications of every imaginable evil. Over time, the Daeva myth as Div became integrated to Islam.

<i>Yazata</i> Zoroastrian divinities

Yazata is the Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept with a wide range of meanings but generally signifying a divinity. The term literally means "worthy of worship or veneration", and is thus, in this more general sense, also applied to certain healing plants, primordial creatures, the fravashis of the dead, and to certain prayers that are themselves considered holy. The yazatas collectively are "the good powers under Ahura Mazda", who is "the greatest of the yazatas".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroastrianism in Iran</span> Overview of the Zoroastrian populace in Iran

Zoroastrianism is the oldest remaining religion in Iran. Founded around the middle of the second millennium BCE, the religion spread through the Iranian area through conversions and eventually became state religion in the Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century BCE. The religion still survives to this day in small communities, mostly located in present Iran and India. The Zoroastrians in India are called Parsis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahuna Vairya</span>

Ahuna Vairya is the first of Zoroastrianism's four Gathic Avestan formulas. The text, which appears in Yasna 27.13, is also known after its opening words yatha ahu vairyo. In Zoroastrian tradition, the formula is also known as the ahun(a)war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Zoroastrians</span> Overview of hostility toward and/or discrimination against adherents of Zoroastrianism

The persecution of Zoroastrians has been recorded throughout the history of Zoroastrianism, an Iranian religion. The notably large-scale persecution of Zoroastrians began after the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE; both during and after the conquest of Persia by Arab Muslims, discrimination and harassment against Zoroastrians took place in the form of forced conversions and sparse violence. Muslims who arrived in the region after its annexation by the Rashidun Caliphate are recorded to have destroyed Zoroastrian temples, and Zoroastrians living in areas that had fallen under Muslim control were required to pay a tax known as jizya.

In Zoroastrianism, Spənta Ārmaiti is one of the Amesha Spentas, the seven divine manifestations of Wisdom and Ahura Mazda. While older sources present the Amesha Spentas more as abstract entities, in later sources Spenta Armaiti is personified as a female divinity with connotations of harmony and devotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visperad</span>

Visperad or Visprad is either a particular Zoroastrian religious ceremony or the name given to a passage collection within the greater Avesta compendium of texts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoroastrianism in Armenia</span>

Zoroastrianism is a religion which has been practiced in the West Asian country of Armenia since the fifth century BC. It first reached the country during the Achaemenid and Parthian periods, when it spread to the Armenian Highlands. Prior to the Christianization of Armenia, it was a predominantly Zoroastrian land. The yazatas (deities) Mithra (Mihr) and Verethragna (Vahagn) particularly enjoyed a high degree of reverence in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yenghe hatam</span>

The Yenghe hatam is one of the four major mantras, and one of the most important prayers in Zoroastrianism. It is interpreted as a call to pray specifically to the Amesha Spentas, or generally to all Zoroastrian divinities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancient Iranian religion</span> Ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism

Ancient Iranian religion or Iranian paganism was the ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism. The religion closest to it was the historical Vedic religion that was practiced in India. The major deities worshipped were Ahura Mazda and Mithra from Iran to Rome, but Atar was also worshipped, as names of kings and common public showing devotion to these three exist in most cases. But some sects, the precursors of the Magi, also worshipped Ahura Mazda, the chief of the Ahuras. With the rise of Zoroaster and his new, reformatory religion; Ahura Mazda became the principle deity and the Daevas were relegated to the background. A lot of the attributes and commandments of Varuna, called Fahrana in Median times, were later attributed to Ahura Mazda by Zoroaster.

References

  1. ↑ Sharma, Suresh K.; Sharma, Usha, eds. (2004). Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Zoroastrianism. Mittal Publications. pp. 17–18. ISBN   9788170999621.
  2. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 206–7. ISBN   9780857719713.
  3. ↑ Stausberg, Michael; Vevaina, Yuhan Sohrab-Dinshaw, eds. (2015). The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism. John Wiley & Sons. p. 75. ISBN   9781118785508.
  4. ↑ S. Nigosian (1993). Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research. McGill-Queen's Press. p.  10. ISBN   9780773564381.
  5. ↑ Sharma, Suresh K.; Sharma, Usha, eds. (2004). Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Zoroastrianism. Mittal Publications. p. 14. ISBN   9788170999621.
  6. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. p. 204. ISBN   9780857719713.
  7. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 205–6. ISBN   9780857719713.
  8. ↑ Kenneth Boa (1990). Cults, World Religions and the Occult (revised ed.). David C Cook. p. 48. ISBN   9780896938236.
  9. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 207–8. ISBN   9780857719713.
  10. ↑ Rose, Jenny (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. p. 205. ISBN   9780857719713.
  11. ↑ Stausberg, Michael, ed. (2004). Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (illustrated ed.). BRILL. pp. 479–80. ISBN   9789004131316.
  12. ↑ Hinnells, John R. (2005). The Zoroastrian Diaspora: Religion and Migration (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 706. ISBN   9780198267591.
  13. ↑ Stausberg, Michael, ed. (2004). Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (illustrated ed.). BRILL. pp. 50, 298–99. ISBN   9789004131316.
  14. ↑ Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1914). Zoroastrian Theology: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. p. 337.
  15. ↑ Nigosian, S. (1993). Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research. McGill-Queen's Press. p.  116. ISBN   9780773564381.
  16. ↑ Rose, Jenny (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 207–208. ISBN   9780857719713.
  17. ↑ Nigosian, S. (1993). Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research. McGill-Queen's Press. p.  23. ISBN   9780773564381.
  18. ↑ Kenneth Boa (1990). Cults, World Religions and the Occult (revised ed.). David C Cook. p. 48. ISBN   9780896938236.
  19. ↑ Stausberg, Michael, ed. (2004). Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (illustrated ed.). BRILL. p. 43. ISBN   9789004131316.
  20. ↑ S. Nigosian (1993). Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research. McGill-Queen's Press. p.  116. ISBN   9780773564381.
  21. ↑ Stausberg, Michael, ed. (2004). Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (illustrated ed.). BRILL. p. 471. ISBN   9789004131316.
  22. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. p. 208. ISBN   9780857719713.
  23. ↑ Stausberg, Michael, ed. (2004). Zoroastrian Rituals in Context (illustrated ed.). BRILL. p. 51. ISBN   9789004131316.
  24. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 221–2. ISBN   9780857719713.
  25. ↑ Leaman, Oliver, ed. (2006). Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy. Routledge. p. 608. ISBN   9781134691159.
  26. ↑ Jenny Rose (2014). Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B.Tauris. pp. 210–11, 220. ISBN   9780857719713.
  27. ↑ Ariane Sherine (2013). "Zoroastrianism needs to adapt its archaic laws – or die". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  28. ↑ Laurie Goodstein (2006). "Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  29. ↑ Ibn Taymiyyah (1976). Memon, Muhammad Umar (ed.). Ibn Taimiya's Struggle Against Popular Religion: With an Annotated Translation of His Kitab iqtida as-sirat al-mustaqim mukhalafat ashab al-jahim (reprint ed.). Walter de Gruyter. p. 117. ISBN   9783111662381.
  30. ↑ Tamim Ansary (2010). Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes (illustrated, reprint ed.). PublicAffairs. p. 9. ISBN   9781586488130.
  31. ↑ Richard C. Martin; Mark R. Woodward; Dwi S. Atmaja (1997). Atmaja, Dwi S. (ed.). Defenders of Reason in Islam: Mu'tazilism from Medieval School to Modern Symbol (illustrated ed.). Oneworld Publications. p. 86. ISBN   9781851681471.
  32. ↑ Muhammad Qasim Zaman (1997). Religion and Politics Under the Early ʻAbbāsids: The Emergence of the Proto-Sunnī Elite. BRILL. p. 62. ISBN   9789004106789.
  33. ↑ Ghada Hashem Talhami (2013). Historical Dictionary of Women in the Middle East and North Africa. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 186, 372. ISBN   9780810868588.
  34. ↑ Dale T. Irvin; Scott Sunquist (2002). History of the World Christian Movement: Volume 1: Earliest Christianity To 1453 (illustrated ed.). A&C Black. p. 202. ISBN   9780567088666.
  35. ↑ Solomon Alexander Nigosian (1993). The Zoroastrian Faith: Tradition and Modern Research (reprint ed.). McGill-Queen's Press. p. 13. ISBN   9780773511446.
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