What is the oldest (first formed) major religion. whn did it start and where?

Answer 1

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.

Hinduism is also known as "Sanatana Dharma" to Hindus. In Sanskrit, the original language of India, 'Sanatana' means Everlasting and 'Dharma', by a crude translation, means Religion. The Everlasting Religion, Hinduism was founded, exists and flourishes in India.

What is Hinduism? Is it a religion or is it a culture? The truth is - it is both a religion and a way of life. India gave to the world the original, oldest and most profound philosophy of life. The brilliant ancestors of present-day indians explored the Truth behind our existence and gave several philosophies and theories to define the Truth. At the same time, they created a set of rules for "good living" on this earth. The philosophical concepts that Indians gave to mankind are eternal and constitute no religion by themselves. However, the rules for good or "Dharmic" living that they laid down constitute the Hindu religion. This article will refer to "Hinduism" for both the philosophy and the religion, for purposes of simplicity.

Sanatana Dharma does not have a starting point in history, does not have a founder, and has no Church. The sages who shaped the Hindu religion merely reiterated the teachings of the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures (most of which is unwritten). The Vedas are believed to have no origin. In ancient India, the Vedas formed the educational system and broadly comprised all the different spheres of life, such as spiritual, scientific, medical and so on.

The ‘Vedas’ are the primary scriptures of Sanatana Dharma. The Vedas shaped ancient Indian society and governed ethics and morality. The Vedas can be divided in terms of their origin into “Shruti” and “Smriti”. Shruti, which constitutes the majority of the Vedas represents the unwritten form, passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. Naturally, it is not known who authored the Shruti. The Hindu belief is the Vedas are transcendental, because they represent the Absolute Truth and therefore, have no beginning nor end. Smriti, on the other hand, represents the portion of the Vedas that were authored by various Hindu seers.

Are the Vedas a book of several thousand pages like the Bible? No. In fact, a significant majority of the Vedas are not written but memorized and passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. However, the Vedas may be broadly divided into four groups - the Rig Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama Veda, and the Atharva Veda. Each Veda is considered a separate branch of knowledge and together, the four present a 'comprehensive science'. No wonder, Professor Max Mueller remarked, "India is like a donkey with a bag of gold on its back". The word Veda is a derivation of the word 'Vid' which means Knowledge. Both transcendental (spiritual) knowledge and material (worldly) knowledge can be found in the Vedas. As mentioned before, the Vedas formed the Education system in ancient India.

As mentioned earlier, "Smriti" represents written texts. Of the written texts, the most important and the founding pillars of Hinduism are the "Itihasas" or Epics, and the "Bhagavad Gita". The two greatest epics, "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana", are also known as the "Mahakavyas" or "Great Poems". The Mahabharata contains the "Bhagavad Gita".

Answer 2

Well, even cavemen had religion. It was a general paganism, not an organized religion. Christianity has many elements of Egyptian and Middle Eastern pagan beliefs. Some other gods/godesses who have gone to the afterlife and come back are Inanna, Persophone, and Osiris. CS Lewis says that this was because people were getting ready to learn the real truth. I think it was because the Jews and Christians lived near these cultures and absorbed their mythologies. The difference between the others and Jesus is that Jesus was supposed to be doing it to save sins--it wasn't like an agricultural myth. This is in common with Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism has God and a devil, heaven and hell, a savior, and resurrection. It was created in Iran in about 1000 BCE. The Sumerians even had a myth similar to Moses--Sargon was found in the rushes, and all that. I think they are similar just because people are the same all over. Zoroastrianism is supposedly the oldest one that is still around. Hinduism is about the same age, but evolved out of many different traditions. Zoroastrianism was the first that was really organized.

Answer 3

Major Religion Of India

Answer 4

This is difficult to answer, as some religions today do not have a marked beginning. Of the major world religions alive today, both Hinduism and Judaism can lay claim to that title, due to sheer antiquity. Both also have similarly amorphous roots.

Despite Old Testament claims, Judaism was in actuality a slow evolution from semitic worship of a single god-force to a set of structured beliefs over time. In that context, there are records of El-Shaddai worship as far back as 3,000 BCE.

Hinduism was a confluence of several deity worshipping groups whose origins are somewhat in contention, but are generally assumed to be some mix of Aryans from the North (Caucasus region of Turkey) and Dravidians (of unknown or indigenous origin). The first traces of the Hindu gods we know today can be traced back as far as 3500-4000 BCE, but the real practiced form we know today was probably cemented around 1000 BCE.

Answer 5

In fact, the oldest of the four major religions (Christainity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism) is Hinduism. Hinduism has the oldest recorded roots in Dravidianism. Dravidianism was estimated to have been practised around 6000 to 3000BCE and as such predates Sumerian, Egyptian and Babylonian cultures.

Answer 6

I've always been under the understanding that Taoism is the oldest natural religion.

I could be wrong, but Judaism and Christianity are definitely the wrong answer.

Answer 7

the religion of Abel. He is the first person who is actually sacrificing to God. All the world religions began there, most just veered off from that and made their own definitions, but all come from the same source.

Answer 8

The oldest religion might be called primary monotheism. It is the worship of God, who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. He was first worshipped by Adam and Eve.

Answer 9

Judaism. That is when God (the one True, Living God) gave His promise to Abraham to make his seed as numerous as the grains of sand. The Hebrews were required to be circumcised by law, but now, all Christians are Abraham's seed and heirs to all of the promises God gave Abraham and his decendants.

Answer 10

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