History of religion

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The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). [1] The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. One can also study comparative religious chronology through a timeline of religion, or the interrelationships and historical diversification of religious ideologies through the use of evolutionary philosophy and broad comparativism [2] . Writing played a major role in standardizing religious texts regardless of time or location, and making easier the memorization of prayers and divine rules. [3]

Contents

The concept of "religion" was formed in the 16th and 17th centuries. [4] [5] Sacred texts like the Bible, the Quran, and others did not have a word or even a concept of religion in the original languages and neither did the people or the cultures in which these sacred texts were written. [6] [7]

The word religion as used in the 21st century does not have an obvious pre-colonial translation into non-European languages. The anthropologist Daniel Dubuisson writes that "what the West and the history of religions in its wake have objectified under the name 'religion' is ... something quite unique, which could be appropriate only to itself and its own history". [8]

History of study

The school of religious history called the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule , a late 19th-century German school of thought, originated the systematic study of religion as a socio-cultural phenomenon. It depicted religion as evolving with human culture, from polytheism to monotheism.

The Religionsgeschichtliche Schule emerged at a time when scholarly study of the Bible and of church history flourished in Germany and elsewhere (see higher criticism, also called the historical-critical method). The study of religion is important: religion and similar concepts have often shaped civilizations' law and moral codes, social structure, art and music.

In order to better understand the origin and current diversity of religious belief systems throughout the world, recent studies have attempted to focus on historical interrelationships and diversification of all major organized religions, applying modern evolutionary philosophy to the comparative analysis of putative ideological groups [9] . These studies take an agnostic, pluralistic approach in the hope of moving beyond chauvinistic cultural tribalism, which is increasingly interfering with our ability to understand "other" cultures and address growing global challenges.

Origin

The earliest archeological evidence interpreted by some as suggestive of the emergence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years, to the Middle and Lower Paleolithic periods: some archaeologists conclude that the apparently intentional burial of archaic humans, Neanderthals and even Homo naledi as early as 300,000 years ago is proof that religious ideas already existed, but such a connection is entirely conjectural. Other evidence that some infer as indicative of religious ideas includes symbolic artifacts from Middle Stone Age sites in Africa. However, the interpretation of early paleolithic artifacts, with regard to how they relate to religious ideas, remains controversial [ citation needed ]. Archeological evidence from more recent periods is less controversial. Scientists[ which? ] generally interpret a number of artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic (50,000–13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Examples of Upper Paleolithic remains that some associate with religious beliefs include the lion man, the Venus figurines, and the elaborate ritual burial from Sungir.

In the 19th century, researchers proposed various theories regarding the origin of religion, challenging earlier claims of a Christianity-like urreligion. Early theorists, such as Edward Burnett Tylor (1832–1917) and Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), emphasized the concept of animism, while archaeologist John Lubbock (1834–1913) used the term "fetishism". Meanwhile, the religious scholar Max Müller (1823–1900) theorized that religion began in hedonism and the folklorist Wilhelm Mannhardt (1831–1880) suggested that religion began in "naturalism" – by which he meant mythological explanations for natural events. [10] [ page needed ] All of these theories have been widely criticized since then; there is no broad consensus regarding the origin of religion.

Pre-pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) Göbekli Tepe, the oldest potentially religious site yet discovered anywhere [11] includes circles of erected massive T-shaped stone pillars, the world's oldest known megaliths [12] decorated with abstract, enigmatic pictograms and carved-animal reliefs. The site, near the home place of original wild wheat, was built before the so-called Neolithic Revolution, i.e., the beginning of agriculture and animal husbandry around 9000 BCE. But the construction of Göbekli Tepe implies organization of an advanced order not hitherto associated with Paleolithic, PPNA, or PPNB societies. The site, abandoned around the time the first agricultural societies started, is still being excavated and analyzed, and thus might shed light on the significance it had, if any, for the religions of older, foraging communities, as well as for the general history of religions.

The Pyramid Texts from ancient Egypt, the oldest known religious texts in the world, date to between 2400 and 2300 BCE. [13] [14]

The earliest records of Indian religion are the Vedas, composed c. 1500–1200 BCE during the Vedic Period.

Surviving early copies of religious texts include:

Axial age

Some historians have labelled the period from 900 to 200 BCE as the "axial age", a term coined by German-Swiss philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883–1969). According to Jaspers, in this era of history "the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently... And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today." Intellectual historian Peter Watson has summarized this period as the foundation time of many of humanity's most influential philosophical traditions, including monotheism in Persia and Canaan, Platonism in Greece, Buddhism and Jainism in India, and Confucianism and Taoism in China. These ideas would become institutionalized in time – note for example Ashoka's role in the spread of Buddhism, or the role of Neoplatonic philosophy in Christianity at its foundation.

The historical roots of Jainism in India date back to the 9th century BCE with the rise of Parshvanatha and his non-violent philosophy. [16] [17] [ need quotation to verify ]

Middle Ages

Medieval world religions Medieval-World-Religions.png
Medieval world religions

World religions of the present day established themselves throughout Eurasia during the Middle Ages by:

During the Middle Ages, Muslims came into conflict with Zoroastrians during the Muslim conquest of Persia (633–654); Christians fought against Muslims during the Arab–Byzantine wars (7th to 11th centuries), the Crusades (1095 onward), the Reconquista (718–1492), the Ottoman wars in Europe (13th century onwards) and the Inquisition; Shamanism was in conflict with Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims and Christians during the Mongol invasions and conquests (1206–1337); and Muslims clashed with Hindus and Sikhs during the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent (8th to 16th centuries).

Many medieval religious movements continued to emphasize mysticism, such as the Cathars and related movements in the West, the Jews in Spain (see Zohar), the Bhakti movement in India and Sufism in Islam. Monotheism and related mysticisms reached definite forms in Christian Christology and in Islamic Tawhid. Hindu monotheist notions of Brahman likewise reached their classical form with the teaching of Adi Shankara (788–820).

Modern Ages

From the 15th century to the 19th century, European colonisation resulted in the spread of Christianity to Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas, Australia and the Philippines. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century played a major role in the rapid spread of the Protestant Reformation under leaders such as Martin Luther (1483–1546) and John Calvin (1509–1564). Wars of religion broke out, culminating in the Thirty Years' War which ravaged Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The 18th century saw the beginning of secularisation in Europe, a trend which gained momentum after the French Revolution broke out in 1789. By the late 20th century, religion had declined in most of Europe. [18]

See also

Shamanism and ancestor worship

Panentheism

Polytheism

See also: Polytheism, Pantheon (gods), and Paganism

Monotheism

See also: Monotheism and Abrahamic religions

Monism

Main article: Monism

Dualism

New religious movements

Main article: New religious movements

Related Research Articles

Monotheism is the belief that one god is the only deity. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion</span> Social-cultural system

Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings.

Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliating with another. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Protestant Christianity to Roman Catholicism or from Shi'a Islam to Sunni Islam. In some cases, religious conversion "marks a transformation of religious identity and is symbolized by special rituals".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missionary</span> Member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith

A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asceticism</span> Lifestyle of frugality and abstinence

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterised by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on the practice of religion or reflection upon spiritual matters, which is thought by some to allow the practitioner's core of consciousness to expand and connect with the infinite universal consciousness. Some individuals have also attempted an ascetic lifestyle to free themselves from addictions to things such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, entertainment, sex, food, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comparative religion</span> Systematic comparison of the worlds religions

Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.

This is an index page of Wikipedia articles related to the topic of religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idolatry</span> Worship of an idol as though it were a god

Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic God as if it were God. In these monotheistic religions, idolatry has been considered as the "worship of false gods" and is forbidden by texts such as the Ten Commandments. Other monotheistic religions may apply similar rules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apologetics</span> Religious discipline of systematic defence of a position

Apologetics is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists. In 21st-century usage, apologetics is often identified with debates over religion and theology.

The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in different societies, but this practice has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism and other religions</span> Relationships between Hinduism and other religions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islam and other religions</span> Muslim attitudes towards other religions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in India</span>

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The term Abrahamic religion groups three of the major religions together due to their historical coexistence and competition; it refers to Abraham, a figure mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Bible, and the Quran, and is used to show similarities between these religions and put them in contrast to Indian religions, Iranian religions, and the East Asian religions. Furthermore, some religions categorized as "Abrahamic" also share elements from other categories, such as Indian religions, or for example, Islam with Eastern religions.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origins of Judaism</span> Overview of the early history of Judaism

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The following outline is provided as an overview of, and topical guide to, theology.

Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition.

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "The Origins of Writing | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art". Metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  2. ↑ Grande, Lance (2024). The Evolution of Religions. A History of Related Traditions. Columbia University Press. pp. 1–680.
  3. ↑ Humayun Ansari (2004). The Infidel Within: Muslims in Britain Since 1800. C. Hurst & Co. pp. 399–400. ISBN   978-1-85065-685-2.
  4. ↑ Nongbri, Brent (2013). Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept. Yale University Press. p. 152. ISBN   978-0300154160. Although the Greeks, Romans, Mesopotamians, and many other peoples have long histories, the stories of their respective religions are of recent pedigree. The formation of ancient religions as objects of study coincided with the formation of religion itself as a concept of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
  5. ↑ Harrison, Peter (1990). 'Religion' and the Religions in the English Enlightenment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN   978-0521892933. That there exist in the world such entities as 'the religions' is an uncontroversial claim...However, it was not always so. The concepts 'religion' and 'the religions', as we presently understand them, emerged quite late in Western thought, during the Enlightenment. Between them, these two notions provided a new framework for classifying particular aspects of human life.
  6. ↑ Nongbri, Brent (2013). "2. Lost in Translation: Inserting "Religion" into Ancient Texts". Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept. Yale University Press. ISBN   978-0300154160.
  7. ↑ Morreall, John; Sonn, Tamara (2013). 50 Great Myths about Religions. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 13. ISBN   9780470673508. Many languages do not even have a word equivalent to our word 'religion'; nor is such a word found in either the Bible or the Qur'an.
  8. ↑ Daniel Dubuisson. The Western Construction of Religion. 1998. William Sayers (trans.) Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. p. 90.
  9. ↑ Grande, Lance (2024). The Evolution of Religions. A History of Related Traditions. Columbia University Press. pp. 1–680.
  10. ↑ "Religion". Encyclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana, 70 vols. Madrid. 1907–1930.
  11. ↑ "The World's First Temple". Archaeology magazine. Nov–Dec 2008. p. 23.
  12. ↑ Sagona, Claudia (25 August 2015). The Archaeology of Malta. Cambridge University Press. p. 47. ISBN   9781107006690 . Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  13. ↑ Budge, Wallis (January 1997). An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Literature. Courier Corporation. p. 9. ISBN   0-486-29502-8.
  14. ↑ Allen, James (2005). The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Society of Biblical Lit. ISBN   1-58983-182-9.
  15. ↑ Abegg, Martin G.; Flint, Peter; Ulrich, Eugene (1999). The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English. Harper Collins (published 2012). p. xvii. ISBN   9780062031129 . Retrieved 18 November 2019. The Dead Sea Scrolls include more than 225 'biblical' manuscripts [...]. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions [...] almost all these manuscripts are in fragmentary form. Parts of every book of the Jewish and Protestant Old Testament are included, with the exception of Esther and Nehemiah.
  16. ↑ Dundas 2002, p. 30.
  17. ↑ Zimmer 1953, p. 182-183.
  18. ↑ Norris, Pippa (2011). Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge University Press.
  19. ↑ https://www.profligategrace.com/documents/Grant/Ware_God%20Immanent%20yet%20Transcendent.pdf

Sources

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