Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from
pre-historic to
modern times. The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates
written history. Written history (the
age of
formal writing) is only roughly 5,000 years old.[1] A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from
archaeological records and other indirect sources, and from suppositions. Much pre-historic religion is subject to continued debate.
Religious practices in prehistory
Middle Paleolithic (200,000 BC – 50,000 BC)
Despite claims by some researchers of
bear worship, belief in an afterlife, and other rituals, current archaeological evidence does not support the presence of religious practices by modern humans or
Neanderthals during this period.[2]
38,000 BC: The
Aurignacian[9]Löwenmensch figurine, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world and one of the oldest known sculptures in general, was made. The sculpture has also been interpreted as anthropomorphic, giving human characteristics to an animal, although it may have represented a deity.[10]
35,000 BC – 26,001 BC: Neanderthal burials are absent from the archaeological record. This roughly coincides with the appearance of Homo sapiens in
Europe and decline of the Neanderthals;[3] individual skulls and/or long bones began appearing, heavily stained with red
ochre and separately buried. This practice may be the origin of sacred relics.[3] The oldest discovered "
Venus figurines" appeared in graves. Some were deliberately broken or repeatedly stabbed, possibly representing the murders of the men with whom they were buried,[3] or owing to some other unknown social dynamic.[citation needed]
25,000 BC – 21,000 BC: Clear examples of burials are present in Iberia, Wales, and eastern Europe. These, too, incorporate the heavy use of red ochre. Additionally, various objects were included in the graves (e.g. periwinkle shells,
weighted clothing, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth
pendants, panoply of ivory
artifacts, "baton" antlers, flint blades etc.).[3]
13,000 BC – 8,000 BC: Noticeable burial activity resumed. Prior mortuary activity had either taken a less obvious form or contemporaries retained some of their burial knowledge in the absence of such activity. Dozens of men, women, and children were being buried in the same caves which were used for burials 10,000 years beforehand. All these graves are delineated by the cave walls and large limestone blocks. The burials share a number of characteristics (such as use of ochre, and shell and mammoth ivory jewellery) that go back thousands of years. Some burials were double, comprising an adult male with a juvenile male buried by his side. They were now beginning to take on the form of modern
cemeteries. Old burials were commonly re-dug and moved to make way for new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and
cached together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers were sometimes mounted on poles within the cave; this is compared to the modern practice of leaving flowers at a grave.[3]
10th to 6th millennium BC
10,000 BC – 8,000 BC: The
Baghor stone from presumably one of the oldest
Shaktishrines in India, is estimated to have been formed during this period (9000-8000 BC). However, it may predate 10,000 BC as samples were dated to 11,870 (± 120)
YBP in a 1983 publication.[11] The living shrine at which it was found is currently used as a place for worshipping
Devi by both
Hindus and Indian
Muslims. The triangular shape of the stone is that of the
KaliYantra which is also still in use across India. The Kol and Baiga tribes consider the triangular shape to symbolize the mother goddess 'Mai', variously named Kerai, Kari, Kali,
Kalika or Karika.[12]
9130 BC – 7370 BC: This was the apparent period of use of
Göbekli Tepe, one of the oldest human-made sites of worship yet discovered; evidence of similar usage has also been found in another nearby site,
Nevalı Çori.[13]
7500 BC – 5700 BC: The settlements of
Çatalhöyük developed as a likely spiritual center of
Anatolia. Possibly practicing worship in communal shrines, its inhabitants left behind numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine, and hunting scenes.[citation needed]
7250 BC – 6500 BC: The
ʿAin Ghazal statues were made in
Jordan during the Neolithic.[14] These statues were argued to have been gods, legendary leaders, or other figures of power. They were suggested to have been a representation of a fusion of previously separate communities by
Gary O. Rollefson.[15]
3100 BC: The initial form of
Stonehenge was completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about 110 metres (360 ft) across, may have been completed with a
timber circle.
2600 BC: Stonehenge began to take on its
final form. The wooden posts were replaced with
bluestone. It began taking on an increasingly complex setup (including an
altar, a
portal,
station stones, etc.) and shows consideration of solar
alignments.
2200 BC: The
Minoan civilization developed in Crete. Citizens worshipped a variety of goddesses.
2150–2000 BC: The earliest surviving versions of the
SumerianEpic of Gilgamesh—originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī)—were written.
1600 BC: The ancient development of
Stonehenge came to an
end.
1500 BC – 1000 BC: The oldest of the
HinduVedas (scriptures), the
Rigveda was composed.[21][22][23] This is the first mention of
Rudra, a fearsome form of
Shiva as the supreme god.
800 BC – 300 BC: The
Upanishads (Vedic texts) were composed, containing the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of
Hinduism and
Buddhism.
8th to 6th centuries BC: The
Chandogya Upanishad is compiled, significant for containing the earliest to date mention of
Krishna. Verse 3.17.6 mentions Krishna Devakiputra (
Sanskrit: कृष्णाय देवकीपुत्रा) as a student of the sage Ghora Angirasa.
6th to 5th centuries BC: The first five books of the Jewish
Tanakh, the
Torah (
Hebrew: תורה), are probably compiled.[27]
6th century BC: Possible start of
Zoroastrianism;[28] however some date
Zarathustra somewhere between 1400-1200 BC.[29] Zoroastrianism flourished under the Persian emperors known as the
Achaemenids. The emperors
Darius (ruled 522–486 BC) and
Xerxes (ruled 486–465 BC) made it the official religion of their empire.[30]
600 BC – 500 BC: The earliest Confucian writing, Shu Ching, incorporates ideas of harmony and heaven.
599 BC – 527 BC: The life of
Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism.[31]
c. 250 BC: The
Third Buddhist council was convened by
Ashoka. Ashoka sends Buddhist missionaries to faraway countries, such as China, mainland Southeast Asia, Malay kingdoms, and Hellenistic kingdoms.
c. 200 BC: Worship of Yahweh's consort
Asherah ends in Israel.
140 BC: The earliest grammar of Sanskrit literature was composed by
Pāṇini.[citation needed]
c. 350: The oldest record of the complete biblical texts (the
Codex Sinaiticus) survives in a Greek translation called the
Septuagint, dating to the 4th century CE.
381 – 391: Theodosius outlaws
paganism within the Roman Empire. Laws enacted requiring death penalty for acts of Divination.
393: A council of early Christian bishops listed and approved a
biblical canon for the first time at the
Synod of Hippo.
400:Saint Augustine exhorts his congregation to smash all pagan artifacts, saying "for that all superstition of pagans and heathens should be annihilated is what God wants, God commands, God proclaims!"
449: The
Second Council of Ephesus declared support for
Eutyches and attacked his opponents. Originally convened as an ecumenical council, its ecumenical nature was rejected by the
Chalcedonians, who denounced the council as
latrocinium.
570 – 632: The life of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad.
632: Work began on the compilation of the
Quran into the form of a book (soon to be known as Mashaf-ul-Hafsa), in the era of
Abu Bakr, the first
Caliph of Islam.
632 – 661: The
Rashidun Caliphate heralded the Arab conquest of Persia, Egypt and Iraq, bringing Islam to those regions.
650: All written versions of the
Quran were destroyed except the Mashaf-ul-Hafsa (first complete compiled copy) in the era of Uthman, the third
Caliph of Islam.
661 – 750: The
Umayyad Caliphate brought the Arab conquest of North Africa, Spain and Central Asia, marking the greatest extent of the Arab conquests and bringing Islam to those regions.
716 – 936: The migration of
Zoroastrian (
Parsi) communities from Persia to India began, caused by Muslim conquest of their lands and the ensuing persecution.[citation needed]
1222 – 1282: The life of
Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the
Latter Day of the Law and founder of Nichiren Buddhism. Based at the
Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taisekiji (Japan), this branch of Buddhism teaches the importance of chanting the mantra Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō.
1228 – 1229: The
Sixth Crusade won control of large areas of the Holy Land for Christian rulers, more through diplomacy than through fighting.
1300 – 1521: During the
Aztecs' existence in the
post-classic period from 1300 to 1521, they practised a
religion which encompassed a complex range of practices and beliefs, being generally
polytheistic.
Human sacrifice was practiced on a grand scale throughout the
Aztec Empire, which was performed in honor of their
gods.[37]
1801: the French Revolutionary Government and
Pope Pius VII entered into the
Concordat of 1801. While Roman Catholicism regained some powers and became recognized as "the religion of the great majority of the French", it was not afforded the latitude it had enjoyed prior to the Revolution and was not re-established as the official state religion. The Church relinquished all claims to estate seized after 1790, the clergy was state salaried and was obliged to swear allegiance to the State. Religious freedom was restored.
1819 – 1850: The life of Siyyid 'Alí Muḥammad Shírází (
Persian: سيد علی محمد شیرازی), better known as
the Báb, the founder of
Bábism.
1930: After previously failing to claim the leadership of the Moorish Science Temple of America,
Wallace Fard Muhammad creates the
Nation of Islam in Detroit, Michigan.
1932: A neo-Hindu religious movement, the
Brahma Kumaris or "Daughters of Brahma", started. Its origin can be traced to the group "Om Mandali", founded by Lekhraj Kripalani (1884–1969).
1939 – 1945: Millions of
Jews were relocated and murdered by the
Nazis during the
Holocaust.
1947:Pakistan, the first
nation-state in the name of
Islam was created.
British India was partitioned into the secular nation of
India with a Hindu majority and the Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan (the eastern half of whom would later become
Bangladesh).
1948: The modern state of
Israel was established as a homeland for the Jews.
2008:Nepal, the world's only Hindu Kingdom, was declared a
secular state by its Constituent Assembly after declaring the state a Republic on 28 May 2008.[76]
2009: The
Church of Scientologyin France was fined €600,000 and several of its leaders were fined and imprisoned for defrauding new recruits of their savings.[77][78][79] The state failed to disband the church owing to legal changes occurring over the same time period.[79][80]
2011:Civil war broke out in Syria over domestic political issues. The country soon split along sectarian lines between Sunni Muslims, Alawite and Shiites.[81] War crimes and acts of genocide were committed by both parties as religious leaders on each side condemned the other as heretics.[82] The Syrian civil war soon became a battleground for regional sectarian unrest, as fighters joined the fight from as far away as North America and Europe, as well as Iran and the Arab states.[83]
2014: A supposed Islamic
Caliphate was established by the self-proclaimed
Islamic State in regions of war torn
Syria and
Iraq, drawing global support from radical
Sunni Muslims.[84][85] This was a modern-day attempt to re-establish Islamic self-rule in accordance with strict adherence to
Shariah-Islamic religious law.[86] In the wake of the Syrian civil war, Islamic extremists targeted the indigenous Arab Christian communities. In acts of genocide, numerous ancient Christian and
Yazidi communities were evicted and threatened with death by various Muslim Sunni fighter groups.[87] After
ISIS terrorist forces infiltrated and took over large parts of northern Iraq from Syria, many ancient Christian and
Yazidi enclaves were destroyed.[87][88]
^Bowler JM, Jones R, Allen H, Thorne AG (1970). "Pleistocene human remains from Australia: a living site and human cremation from Lake Mungo, Western New South Wales". World Archaeol. 2 (1): 39–60.
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^Bowler, J.M. 1971. Pleistocene salinities and climatic change: Evidence from lakes and lunettes in southeastern Australia. In: Mulvaney, D.J. and Golson, J. (eds), Aboriginal Man and Environment in Australia. Canberra: Australian National University Press, pp. 47–65.
^Olleya JM, Roberts RG, Yoshida H, Bowler JM (2006). "Single-grain optical dating of grave-infill associated with human burials at Lake Mungo, Australia". Quaternary Science Reviews. 25 (19–20): 2469–2474.
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^Rollefson, Gary O (January 2002). "Ritual and Social Structure at Neolithic 'Ain Ghazal". In Kujit, Ian (ed.). Life in Neolithic Farming Communities: Social Organization, Identity, and Differentiation. New York, New York: Springer. p. 185.
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^"Beginning in the pottery-phase of the Neolithic, clay tokens are widely attested as a system of counting and identifying specific amounts of specified livestock or commodities. The tokens, enclosed in clay envelopes after being impressed on their rounded surface, were gradually replaced by impressions on flat or plano-convex tablets, and these in turn by more or less conventionalized pictures of the tokens incised on the clay with a reed stylus. The transition to writing was complete W. Hallo; W. Simpson (1971). The Ancient Near East. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. p. 25.
^A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid, John Romer, pp. 294–295.
^Shaw, Ian, ed. (2002). The Oxford history of ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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^Allen, James P.; Der Manuelian, Peter, eds. (2005). The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts. Writings from the ancient world. Atlanta: Soc. of Biblical Literature.
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^Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
^Anthony, David W. (2007). The Horse The Wheel And Language. How Bronze-Age Riders From the Eurasian Steppes Shaped The Modern World. Princeton University Press.
^Thapar, Romila; Witzel, Michael; Menon, Jaya; Friese, Kai; Khan, Razib (2019). Which of us are Aryans? rethinking the concept of our origins. New Delhi: Aleph.
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^Rawlinson, Hugh George. (1950) A Concise History of the Indian People, Oxford University Press. p. 46.
^Muller, F. Max. (2001) The Dhammapada And Sutta-nipata, Routledge (UK). p. xlvii.
ISBN0-7007-1548-7.
^India: A History. Revised and Updated, by John Keay: "The date [of Buddha's meeting with Bimbisara] (given the Buddhist 'short chronology') must have been around 400 BCE."
^Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2010). Turning the Tables on Jesus: The Mandaean View. In Horsley, Richard (March 2010).
Christian Origins. Fortress Press.
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^Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953). The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
^Ingham, John M. "Human Sacrifice at Tenochtitlan"
^Clifton, Chas (1998). "The Significance of Aradia". in Mario Pazzaglini. Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, A New Translation. Blaine, Washington: Phoenix Publishing, Inc.. p. 73.
ISBN0-919345-34-4.
^Leo P. Chall, Sociological Abstracts, vol 26 issues 1–3, "Sociology of Religion", 1978, p. 193 col 2: "Rutherford, through the Watch Tower Society, succeeded in changing all aspects of the sect from 1919 to 1932 and created —a charismatic offshoot of the Bible student community."
^Gardner, Gerald B (1999) [1954]. Witchcraft Today. Lake Toxaway, NC: Mercury Publishing. OCLC 44936549
^"About Oberon Zell". 24 November 2007. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007.{{
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link)
^Faculty of Catholic University of America, ed (1967). "Vatican Council II". New Catholic Encyclopedia. XIV (1 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 563. OCLC 34184550.
^Alberigo, Giuseppe; Sherry, Matthew (2006). A Brief History of Vatican II. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. pp. 69.
ISBN1-57075-638-4.
^Hahnenberg, Edward (2007). A Concise Guide to the Documents of Vatican II. City: Saint Anthony Messenger Press. pp. 44.
ISBN0-86716-552-9.
^Alberigo, Giuseppe; Sherry, Matthew (2006). A Brief History of Vatican II. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. pp. 1.
ISBN1-57075-638-4.
^The Church of Satan: A History of the World's Most Notorious Religion by Blanche Barton (Hell's Kitchen Productions, 1990,
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abMcKay, George (1996) Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance since the Sixties, ch.1 'The free festivals and fairs of Albion', ch. 2 two 'O life unlike to ours! Go for it! New Age travellers'. London: Verso.
ISBN1-85984-028-0
^Icelandic, "Hugmyndin að Ásatrúarfélaginu byggðist á trú á dulin öfl í landinu, í tengslum við mannfólkið sem skynjaði ekki þessa hluti til fulls nema einstöku menn. Það tengdist síðan þjóðlegum metnaði og löngun til að Íslendingar ættu sína trú, og ræktu hana ekki síður en innflutt trúarbrögð." Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson (1992:140).
^"Fyrirspurnartími". Morgunblaðið, 27 November 1973.
^Ólafur Jóhannesson. Stjórnskipun Íslands. Hlaðbúð, 1960. Page 429.
^Icelandic, "fór fram með tilþrifum og atorku", "Reiddust goðin?" Vísir, 7 August 1973.
^ÞS. "Blótuðu Þór í úrhellisrigningu." Vísir, 7 August 1973.
^McNallen, Stephen A. (2004). "Three Decades of the Ásatrú Revival in America". Tyr: Myth-Culture-Tradition Volume II. Ultra Publishing. pp. 203–219.
ISBN0-9720292-1-4.
^Kaplan, Jeffrey. 1996. "The Reconstruction of the Asatru and Odinist Traditions." In Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft, edited by James R. Lewis, State University of New York Press.
^E. Szafarz, "The Legal Framework for Political Cooperation in Europe" in The Changing Political Structure of Europe: Aspects of International Law, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
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Deo, Shantaram Bhalchandra (1956), History of Jaina monachism from inscriptions and literature,
Pune: Deccan College Post-graduate and Research Institute