What are the 10 (or more) oldest religions? That have sacred texts?

Question

My question is what are the 10 (or if you can name more) oldest religions that have sacred texts. If you can name the time when the text was written down beside the sacred text name or religion that would be great.

Answer 1

1)Hinduism--Vedas, Baghavita(sp.), Upanishads Piranhas.

2)Zoroastrianism--Zend Avesta.

3)Judaism--Torah.

4)Buddhism--Tipakata

5)Chinese religion(Both Confucian & Taoist)--I Ching.

6) Christianity--Bible

7) Mandeanism--Book about St. John the Baptist(can't remember what it is called).

8)Islam--the Koran.

9) Sikhism--Guru Granth Sahib

10)Bahai--Kairatai(sp.)

Answer 2

Hinduism is generally considered to be the oldest religion still being practiced today. This ancient religion was born when the Aryan peoples migrated to Northern India and first put their religious tradition into writing. The texts they created are the Vedas, which were written around 1,500 B.C.E. (before common era) and have greatly influenced Indian culture ever since.

Several other religions are almost as old as Hinduism. Judaism traces its roots back to the patriarch Abraham, who lived around 1,800 B.C.E. While the Jewish people are descended from Abraham, it was Moses who first recorded the Torah, the Jewish holy text, in 1,400 B.C.E. Most sources consider the date of the Torah as the beginning of Judaism.

Zoroastrianism is sometimes called the world's oldest prophetic religion. It's certainly one of the earliest religions founded by one person. Scholars are not certain when the founding prophet Zarathustra actually lived. Some believe Zarathustra lived in the 6th century B.C.E., while others trace his writings to the 14th or 13th centuries B.C.E.

India has been a veritable cradle for world religions -- in addition to Hinduism, both Jainism and Buddhism originated in India. The first of Jainism's sacred lords, called a Tirthankara, lived in the 8th century B.C.E. The last of these lords was Mahavir, who lived in the 5th century B.C.E. and was a key figure in spreading the religion. The philosophical teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, spread around Asia after his death in 483 B.C.E.

Oddly enough, the two religions that dominate the world today are relative newcomers to the spiritual scene. Christianity began with the teachings of Jesus Christ around 30 C.E., and Islam started in 610 C.E. with the prophet Muhammad's revelation.

Answer 3

Ancient Egypt - Khemeticism. One text in particular is the Papyri of Ani (The book of going forth by day, which we commonly know as the Egyptian Book of the Dead) which I believe scholars have dated back to 1240 B.C.E. (possibly older).

And then there's the Corpus Hermeticum. A collection of texts from the second and third centuries of our era that survived from a more extensive literature that reflected the generalized spiritual orientation of late Hellenistic gnosis. Some people believe Hermetic principles were the foundation of the religions of ancient Egypt.

Answer 4

The ones I know are as below:

Hinduism - their sacred texts the Vedas are composed about 1500 BC

Buddhism - The Tripitaka and other sutras/texts ranged from 600BC

There's probably more

Probably also, the Egyptians but I am not sure about text since they smeared almost everything on the walls

Answer 5

Campus Crusade for Cthulhu.

Answer 6

the worship of Shang Di

Answer 7

Patience required my friend just go through below mentioned URLs they will answer all your questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas
http://www.indhistory.com/vedas-upanishads-puranas.html
http://ask.yahoo.com/20011106.html
http://agnosticwitch.catcara.com/oldest-religion.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15318a.htm

cheers,Sai Ganesh