What is the oldest religion in the World, that is still widely practiced?

Question

I mean out of all religions. Including, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judasim, Budism, etc.

Answer 1

Hinduism. One of their books, the Mahabharata, dates to 5000 BC, from stories probably much older.

Answer 2

There are a number of old indigenous religions that have been practiced for a great deal of time. Some Native American religions are quite old.

Hinduism, already mentioned, is very old.

What most people call today as Paganism is actually a reconstructed, or in some cases invented religion. Wicca is very new. Calling it "the old religion" is a disservice. It tries to recover the old, but uses a great deal of new ideas.

Reconstructionist religions, such as Celtic or Roman reconstructionist is merely an attemtp to glean from what's left of these religions, how exactly they worked. Calling them "old" simply doesn't work because there is no continuity at all.

Had the ancient Egyptian continued, it would have probably been the oldest. As old as it is, the Egyptian Book of the Dead was written rather late in Egyptian history. It's been theorized that much of Judaism is a result of Egyptian beliefs. There are a number of prototypes for Christian and Jewish teachings in earlier Egyptian religion.

Answer 3

I think that Hinduism is the oldest documented religion that is still in practice today. The keywords are "documented" and "still in practice today". Although there may have been other older religions, often times they were practiced in oral societies or they do not have an unbroken history of practice. Also, Hinduism does not have a central leader and contains many different beliefs and practices.

"... The Sanskrit word ric, which for euphonic reasons is changed to rig, means literally "praise". ... The Sanskrit word veda means literally "knowledge" or "wisdom". ... The Rig-Veda is the oldest book in the Sanskrit language, indeed in any Indo-European language. More than that, if we are correct, it is the oldest book in the world ... The fact that the Rig-Veda mentions a stellar configuration that corresponds to a date from 6000 B.C. to 7000 B.C. - the astronomical Ashvini era ..."
http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/RgVeda.html

"Hinduism is generally regarded as the world's oldest organized religion."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hinduism.htm

"Hinduism is the major religion of India, practiced by more than 80% of the population. In contrast to other religions, it has no founder. Considered the oldest religion in the world, it dates back, perhaps, to prehistoric times."
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001469.html

Answer 4

The oldest religion still in practice is Hinduism. The first religion dealt with worshiping the elements, like praying for rain. In this same fashion animals were also revered. Eventually, the constellation was esteemed. The stars, sun, and moon mapped out the year. The start of spring, the beginning of the life process, was still important. The sun, what causes plants to grow, is the ost adored object on the planet. It became synonymous with the god creator. Many religions have deity that similar characteristic: -born on December 25 -miracles -virgin birth -called "king of kings" -crucified with resurrection -with 12 disciples Why are there so many similarities? It's astrological. The brightest star "Sirius" which on one day of the year is aligned with the sun rise and the three king stars on December 25. This signals the birth of the sun god. Mary, the virgin, represents the constellation Virgo. This constellation was also called the "house of bread". Bethlehem translates to house of bread. The 12 disciples are the another reference to the zodiac.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

Hinduism and Zoroastrianism are considered the oldest of recorded religions but if you also consider traditions that were oral first, then you would have to include all the variations of Paganism that have existed. That would include Native American Shamanism, the ancient oral traditions that originated in Sumeria as well as the African Voodoo religious traditions. Of the three oral traditions that I've mentioned, all are still practiced to this day.

Answer 7

Hinduism

Answer 8

Hinduism

Answer 9

The oldest religion in the world, requires the shedding of blood for the remission of sins, it goes all the way back to Adam and Eve,
and yes it is still widely practiced.

Answer 10

Hinduism is the oldest of the major religions still practiced, but Zoroastrianism was the first of the monotheistic religions. Of course, that's not counting primary religions that existed in prehistory.