What is the OLDEST religion...I heard it was Wiccanism?...plz help...?

Question

.....AND...I also heard...well, actually read...that all other religions stemmed from Wiccanism, but that they were altered to become other religions.....this is a serious question.....

Answer 1

Wicca and neo-paganism are modern attempts to duplicate ancient religions. Even though there are claims of hereditary covens and such, there isn't very much evidence of Wiccan practices in earlier centuries.

Wicca probably only traces it's origins to 1921, when Margaret Murray wrote the book "Witch Cult in Western Europe," that described Witchcraft as an ancient religion. That generated interest which was followed up by Gerald Gardner and Robert Graves, among others.

I don't know how to answer what the Oldest Religion is. Most faiths has a creation story followed by a separation from God story (Gods, Goddess, etc.) So most religions think they're the oldest. And really old religions such as Hinduism have changed, so it's questionable whether the Hindus who wrote the Upanishads would identify themselves as the same religion as the Hindus who wrote the Bhagavad Gita.

As for organized religions; Judaism , Confucianism, and Buddhism are probably 2500 years old, and Zoroasterianism is probably 3000 years old. And they all left archeological evidence and a line of followers.

You might also poke around the internet for the Indus Valley Civilization, and read about the little we know about their religious beliefs. They influenced and/or evolved into Hinduism, and they were around 5000 years ago. (And Hinduism doesn't have many of the traits that Wiccans say caused others to distort their religion.)

Hope that helps. If you haven't already, consider taking a college level world religions class. It sounds like it might really interest you.

Answer 2

There are many throughout this world who believe in and follow what are called the Ancient Wisdom Teachings. When these teachings had a beginning I do not truly know, however, they are far older than any other religion, philosophy or thought. Also, they are considered to be the source behind all other religion.
Every so often a teacher comes forth to the world to bring a focus to these teachings: teachers such as Lao Tzu, Capilya, Buddha, Jesus.
The teachings are presented in a way that the local populace can best understand and utilize them. We see throughout history teachers appearing in different parts of the world and to different cultures and societies.
Unfortunately, man has such a keen ability to change and alter what is given him to his own thinking. This is how religions and teachings change and become so unlike what they were in the original form. Wiccanism is just one of these alterations.

For more information visit, http://meta.euleesway.com

Answer 3

Every religion today most likely has some aspect of an ancient belief in its philosophy or practice, but to say that one particular religion is the oldest is naive. The reality is-- we do not know. We have no basis for comparison. Most reference books list Hinduism as the oldest world religion. This is probably because Hinduism has the oldest recorded roots, which lie in Dravidianism. Dravidianism is estimated to have been practiced around 6,000 to 3,000 BCE and as such predates the Sumerian, Egyptian, and Babylonian cultures.

Wicca is actually pretty new by the way and Paganism pre-dates christianity.

Answer 4

Wicca is a relatively new religion founded by Gerald Gardner.

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 5

Wicca - no - it is just an attempt to recreate some of the practices of Celtic and European people. There is really no records of what these people actually practiced - just some traditions and folklore. Druid was one of the predominant religions of early pre-Christian Europe - though probably diffferent than what modern Druids practice.

The first spirituality was animism and shaminsim that was most likely first seen in Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals. Organized religion would probably have been Hindu.

Answer 6

It depends on how you look at it.
What constitutes a religion being the oldest? If it's religious writings, then Judeo-Christianity has them all beat. (Even the religious writings of Buddha, who lived before Christ, and of Zoroastrianism did NOT precede the Bible.)
If it's record of people practicing a particular religion, then it's unknown. If one goes far enough back in history, the lines become blurred, and there's no way to really tell.
No, it's not Wicca. Wicca, in the form it's taken now, is less than a century old. The first Wiccan writings were not published until around the 1930s.
Paganism is old, but whether or not it's actually older than Judeo-Christianity is unknown.

Answer 7

Everybody thinks their religion is the ONE! But none of mans religions are
100% accurate. The Wiccan slogan, "As long as it hurts noone, do what
you will," can easily be twisted to mean, "As long as I don't think I'm hurting
anyone, I'll do what I want."
The Road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't believe in imposing
my will on things. I don't even pray the same prayer over and over. I just
make my requests known to our Creator, and ask that His will be done.
Not that there aren't Wiccans who have learned the reality of spiritual
power, and attempt to use it wisely!

Answer 8

The practice of WICCA, called by another name in the earliest of days, started with Cain when he made a pact with Lucifer.

The first religion was the Church of God.
It is here today.

All religions stemmed from these two.
But the one is always for Satan and the others for God.
But only one religion is the true religion.

Answer 9

Nah. Wiccanism is a fad created by a bunch of non-conformist lesibans.

The earliest organized religions appeared in pre-historic times, when bands of troglodites worshiped the elemental forces that aided them in hunting food. They drew pictures on cave walls to represent them. Still visible in caves in the south of France.

Answer 10

Probably some sort of sun-worship. Note that christianity hasn't strayed too far from this - they only changed one letter. :P

Edit: Wow, people are actually claiming that their current god was the first one - when we have records going back many thousands of years about Zeus, Thor, etc before any of the current gods were concieved of.