what are the world's oldest religions?

Answer 1

Hinduism is generally considered to be the oldest religion still being practiced today. It began 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. 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 2

Just about all people , all the way back to the stone age worshipped the forces of nature. They all had their god of the sun , god of lightning and thunder , a rain god , a god of reproduction , a god of war , a harvest god , and a god of the underworld .
All primitive people worshipped nature gods . I was only within the last couple of thousand years that a single "almighty " god was invented by the Jews . Their belief in one god was the base of the Christian three-in-one god . The Muslims have a big advantage , in that they had both the Jewish and the Christian beliefs to study - - take out what they thought was the best and drop what they didn't like or was impossible to understand .
It's the same with everything. A 2007 car is a far cry from the model T Ford . The new is always an improvement on the old .
The Muslims brag that their religion doesn't change - - but it only goes back to 633 A D. The Jewish religion goes back to who-knows-when .
You'll have to dig out whatever you can on Oriental , American Indian , Polynesian , and other religions . Otherwise , I'll be here three or four days explaining them all .

Answer 3

Wikipedia, Britanica Encyclopedia, National Geographic, all major humanity museum sites etc. mentioned that Hinduism is the oldest extant major religion of the world. There could be other older belief systems (not major) pre-dating HInduism might also be existing in the world, but the oldest major existing religion is Hinduism as accepted by all resources and scholars.

Answer 4

There are many evidences that what is known as "Hinduism" today is the oldest religion, closely followed by Jewish religion.Buddhism.Jainism,Slikhism are all come under Hindu cluster.Jewish religion,Christianity,Islam all come under Abrahmic religions cluster.

Answer 5

HINDUISM is considered to be the oldest religion, its scripts (the Vedas) have been traced back to 1500 BCE.
JUDAISM is a close second; Abraham, the founder lived around 1800 BCE, and Moses was in about 1400 BCE. ZOROASTRIANISM is sometimes called the world's oldest prophetic religion (and it is one of the only religions that was founded by a single person). People think that Zarathustra lived in the 6th century B.C.E., while others think he lived 14th or 13th centuries B.C.E.
JAINISM is next. The first of Jainism's lords, lived in the 8th century B.C.E. The last of these lords was Mahavir, who lived in the 5th century B.C.E.
The teachings of the BUDDHA, spread around Asia after his death in 483 B.C.E.
CHRISTIANITY and ISLAM, although the 2 religions that dominate the world today, are relatively new. Christianity spread quickly around 30 CE and Islam in 610 CE.

Hope this helps... the link is actually quite interesting too!

Answer 6

Hinduism is considered to be the oldest religion that is still being practiced today. It has it's roots in Dravidianism. Zoroastrianism is the world's oldest prophetic religion. But archaeologists have discovered remains of the world's earliest religious worship site in the remote Ngamiland region of Botswana.

Answer 7

Judaism is the oldest of the three primary monotheistic faiths.

Christianity and Islam came later.

Answer 8

I thought officially, one of the oldest religions still in practice is Hinduism?

Answer 9

I think Hinduism, in some form, is the oldest extant religion.

Answer 10

Jainism is the oldest religion of the World.