home Conspiracies What is the oldest religion in the world. The most ancient religions - primitive and oldest in the world

What is the oldest religion in the world. The most ancient religions - primitive and oldest in the world

An unsolvable question? Basically. There are several recognized most ancient religions.
One of these is the religion of the Sumerians. They had a very complex pantheon of gods. Man had to subordinate his life to the service of these gods. Intermediaries between people and the seven main gods were the gods, who were called the Anunnaki.
The most ancient drawings of people in the caves reflect clearly religious subjects.
I think that as soon as man "has arisen" the mind, so there is a corresponding and appropriate religion. A reasonable person and faith in gods or God are inseparable concepts.
Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest known religions.
There is no exact dating of this religious doctrine, which originated in the territory now occupied by Iran. Experts agree that the foundations of Zoroastrianism arose in the sixth millennium BC. That is, the age of Zoroastrianism exceeds 7 thousand years.
The first written monuments of this religion appeared in the now dead language. "Avesta" - a collection of Zoroastrian texts - is the oldest monument of ancient Iranian literature, compiled in a special language, called "Avestan" in Iranian studies.
The main place in Zoroastrianism is occupied by the deity Ahura Mazda - the beginningless creator of all things, the father of all the laws of the universe and the leader of the side of Good in the fight against Evil, which occurs in the world without his permission. His only prophet among the people was Zarathustra, who, according to the teachings, conveyed to people the truth about God's revelation and opened their eyes to bad customs: bloody raids on neighboring tribes, looting, teachings of priests that encourage violence.
The German writer-philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche made a name for himself with "Thus Spoke Zarathustra".
The book presents the life and fate, teachings and thoughts of a wandering philosopher who took the name Zarathustra in honor of the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra).
One of the main defining ideas of the novel is the idea that a person is an intermediate step in the transformation of a monkey into a superman (German: bermensch): "Man is a rope stretched between an animal and a superman. A rope over the abyss."
The book reveals Nietzsche's ideas about the place a person occupies in his environment, how a person understands his life, how he travels, how he knows himself and the world. The work pays great attention to the communication of man with nature, with himself, and with the people around him. The idea is carried out about the need for each person to go his own way.
This, by the way.
On all continents and in all places of the Earth, their religious teachings were created. And everyone has both differences and common. One gets the impression that all these teachings originated from one. And the specificity of each is determined by specific circumstances and the people who wrote these teachings. "Everything came from one..."
I think that this is a reflection of the unity of being and cognition ("Unity of being and cognition. Part 1"). Or, as Hermes Trismegistus said: "What is below is similar to what is above. And what is above is similar to what is below ..."
The Buddha was not a Buddhist.
Lao Tzu was not a Taoist.
Confucius was not a Confucian.
Moses was not a Jew.
Christ was not a Christian.
Muhammad was not a Muslim. Marx was not a Marxist...
All this was then invented by cunning followers.
Not always, however, wise enough.

Reviews

Dear Alexander, with all due respect to the religion of Zoroastrianism and to the wandering philosopher, who took the name Zarathustra in honor of the ancient Persian prophet Zoroaster (Zarathushtra), there is one more ancient religion, this is Russian paganism with the pantheon of the Gods - Rod, Svetovit, Perun, Svarog ... In general, the Slavic 0 Aryan chronology has 7519 years from the creation of the world. And some sites Slavic paganism in general, they count 32.515 years ... We will not discuss the truth of such an understanding of the chronology now, but even such terms say a lot ... For example, counting years - time is important not only for agriculture, but also for performing religious rites to the Gods, if as you suggested that with the advent of reason, a person has the need for faith - the need to turn to the Gods.
And one more argument for the secondary nature of Zoroastrianism... The very name of Zoroaster in the Russian sensual understanding of sound is a reflection of the name Svetovit, Light is Zoro - Zaoa - Dawn, and the rest of the word Vit is the understanding of the luminary Astra - Tustra, He shines like Astra - Star, He is The light of the luminary - Tustra ...
And you are right, dear Alexander, all modern religions once came out of one thing - from Russian paganism ... Just one example, in Christianity there is an understanding about God the Holy Spirit, that no one can see the face of God, so the face of God is luminous - radiant. But in the physical world there is an analogue of the luminosity of the Face of God, which a person can see and cannot see, so a visible object is radiant, this is the disk of our Sun, as an analogue pagan god Yarila.
With respect to you, isho he knows, Only the wind.

Religion is a certain worldview, seeking to know the higher mind, which is the root cause of everything that exists. Any belief reveals to a person the meaning of life, his destiny in the world, helping to find a goal, and not an impersonal animal existence. There have always been and will be many different worldviews. Thanks to the eternal human search for the root cause, the religions of the world were formed, the list of which is classified according to two main criteria:

How many religions are there in the world?

Islam and Buddhism are recognized as the main world religions, each of which is divided into numerous large and small branches and sects. It is difficult to say how many religions, beliefs and beliefs are in the world, due to the regular creation of new groups, but according to some information, religious movements on present stage there are thousands.

World religions are called so because they have gone far beyond the borders of the nation, the country, have spread to a huge number of nationalities. Non-worldly confessions within a smaller number of people. The basis of the monotheistic view is the belief in one God, while the pagan view suggests the presence of several deities.

largest world religion, which arose 2,000 years ago in Palestine. It has about 2.3 billion believers. In the 11th century there was a division into Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and in the 16th century Protestantism also separated from Catholicism. These are three large branches, there are more than a thousand other small ones.

The main essence of Christianity and its distinctive features from other religions are as follows:

Orthodox Christianity has adhered to the tradition of faith since apostolic times. Its foundations were formulated by the Ecumenical Councils and dogmatically enshrined in the Creed. The teaching is based on the Holy Scriptures (mainly New Testament) and Sacred Tradition. Divine services are performed in four circles, depending on the main holiday - Easter:

Daily.
Seven.
Movable annual.
Fixed annual.

In Orthodoxy, there are seven main Sacraments:

Baptism.
Chrismation.
Eucharist (Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ).
Confession.
Unction.
Wedding.
Priesthood.

In the Orthodox understanding, God is one in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The ruler of the world is interpreted not as an angry avenger for the misdeeds of people, but as a Loving Heavenly Father who takes care of his creation and bestows the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments.

Man is recognized as the image and likeness of God, with free will, but fallen into the abyss of sin. Those who wish to restore their former holiness, to get rid of passions, the Lord helps on this path.

Catholic teaching is a major trend in Christianity, spread mainly in Europe, Latin America and the United States. This creed has much in common with Orthodoxy in understanding God and the relationship between the Lord and man, but there are fundamental and important differences:

the infallibility of the head of the church of the Pope;
Sacred Tradition is formed from 21 Ecumenical Council(the first 7 are recognized in Orthodoxy);
the distinction between the clergy and the laity: people in dignity are endowed with Divine Grace, they are assigned the role of shepherds, and the laity are herds;
the doctrine of indulgence as a treasury of good deeds done by Christ and the Saints, and the Pope, as the vicar of the Savior on earth, distributes the forgiveness of sins to whom he wants and who needs it;
adding your understanding to the dogma of the Holy Spirit emanating from the Father and the Son;
introducing dogmas about immaculate conception Virgin Mary and Her bodily ascension;
the doctrine of purgatory as the middle state human soul cleansed from sins as a result of severe trials.

And there are also differences in the understanding and performance of some Sacraments:

Arose as a result of the Reformation in Germany and spread throughout Western Europe as a protest and desire to transform the Christian Church, delivering from medieval ideas.

Protestants agree with Christian ideas about God as the Creator of the world, about human sinfulness, about the eternity of the soul and salvation. They share the understanding of hell and heaven, while rejecting the Catholic purgatory.

Distinctive features of Protestantism from Catholicism and Orthodoxy:

minimizing church sacraments - until Baptism and Communion;
there is no division into clergy and laity, every well-prepared person in matters of Holy Scripture can be a priest for himself and for others;
worship is held in the native language, is based on joint prayer, reading psalms, sermons;
there is no veneration of saints, icons, relics;
monasticism and the hierarchical structure of the church are not recognized;
salvation is understood only by faith, and good deeds will not help to be justified before God;
recognition of the exclusive authority of the Bible, and each believer interprets the words of Scripture at his own discretion, the criterion is the point of view of the founder of the church organization.

The main directions of Protestantism: Quakers, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons.

The youngest world monotheistic religion. The number of believers is about 1.5 billion people. The founder is the prophet Mohammed. Holy book - Koran. For Muslims, the main thing is to live according to the prescribed rules:

pray five times a day;
observe the fast of Ramadan;
give alms 2.5% per year of income;
make a pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

Some researchers add the sixth duty of Muslims - jihad, manifested in the struggle for faith, zeal, diligence. There are five types of jihad:

inner self-perfection on the way to God;
armed struggle against unbelievers;
struggle with your passions;
separation of good and evil;
taking action against criminals.

Currently, extremist groups use the jihad of the sword as an ideology to justify their bloody activities.

World pagan religion that denies the existence of a deity. Founded in India by Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha). Briefly reduced to the doctrine of four noble truths:

All human life- suffering.
Desire is the cause of suffering.
To conquer suffering, one must get rid of desire with the help of a specific state - nirvana.
To free yourself from desire, you need to follow eight basic rules.

According to the teachings of the Buddha, to acquire a calm state and intuition, to clear the mind will help:

a correct understanding of the world as a lot of suffering and sorrow;
gaining a firm intention to curtail your wishes and aspirations;
control of speech, which should be friendly;
performing virtuous deeds;
trying not to harm living beings;
the expulsion of evil thoughts and the mood for good ones;
the realization that human flesh is evil;
perseverance and patience in achieving the goal.

The main branches of Buddhism are Hinayana and Mahayana. Along with it, there are other religions in India, spread to varying degrees: Hinduism, Vedism, Brahminism, Jainism, Shaivism.

What is the oldest religion in the world?

For ancient world polytheism (polytheism) was characteristic. For example, the Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman religions, druidism, asatru, Zoroastrianism.

Judaism is considered one of the ancient monotheistic beliefs - the national religion of the Jews, based on the 10 commandments given to Moses. The main book is the Old Testament.

Judaism has several branches:

Litvaks;
Hasidism;
Zionism;
orthodox modernism.

Also available different kinds Judaism: Conservative, Reformist, Reconstructionist, Humanistic and Renovationist.

Today it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question "What is the oldest religion in the world?", as archaeologists regularly find new data to confirm the emergence of different worldviews. We can say that beliefs in the supernatural have been inherent in mankind at all times.

The huge variety of worldviews and philosophical beliefs since the emergence of mankind does not make it possible to list all the religions of the world, the list of which is regularly updated with both new currents and branches from existing world and other beliefs.

The simplest forms of religious beliefs date back more than 40 thousand years, and it was in those distant times that a modern type of man appeared, who was significantly different from his predecessors, in other words, from the alleged predecessors, primarily in his physical structure, psychological and physiological characteristics.

But the most important difference of that person was that he was reasonable and capable of abstract thinking.

Primitive religions - totemism, magic, fetishism, animism, shamanism

The existence of an ancient and primitive religion has been known for a long time, as well as a variety of religious trends and beliefs of that distant period of human history. This is evidenced at least by the practice of burial of primitive people.

Archaeologists of the world have found evidence that people were buried in those distant times, in specially prepared places. We even note that at the same time, the rituals and procedures for preparing the deceased for the afterlife were previously carried out.

The bodies of these people were covered with a certain layer, usually with ocher, and next to them were laid weapons, household items, mostly household items, precious jewelry, and so on.

Obviously, already in those distant times, a religious idea began to gradually take shape that the deceased continues to live after his death, that there is another world in parallel with the real and living world, where the dead live.

At an early stage of the emergence of mankind, belief in some kind of force, possibly religion, of people who once lived in primitive times is perfectly reflected by them in their work - in the works of cave and rock paintings.

They were found many in Europe, in the same France and Italy. Most of these rock creations are images of people and animals, hunting scenes, and so on.

An analysis of rock and cave paintings gave scientists the opportunity to conclude that primitive man firmly believed in a special connection between himself and animals, as well as in the ability to control the behavior of animals using some magic spells.

Finally, it is worth noting the fact that scientists have established that people who lived in the primitive age had wide use veneration of a variety of objects and things that, in their opinion, should bring them good luck and protect them from danger.

Ancient Regilgies of the World - Worshiping Nature

Religious beliefs and cults of primitive people developed gradually. The primary form of religion was the worship of nature.

The concept of "nature" was unknown to primitive peoples, the object of their worship was an impersonal natural force, denoted by the concept of "mana".

Primitive Religions of the World - Totemism

Totemism should be considered an early form of religious beliefs.

Totemism is the belief in a fantastic, supernatural relationship between a tribe or clan and a totem (plant, animal, object).

Totemism is the belief in the existence of a family relationship between a group of people (tribe, clan) and a certain type of animal or plant. Totemism was the first form of awareness of the unity of the human collective and its connection with the outside world.

The life of the tribal collective was closely connected with certain types of animals that its members hunted.

Subsequently, within the framework of totemism, a whole system of prohibitions arose, which were called taboos. They were an important regulatory mechanism social relations. Thus, the age-sex taboo excluded sexual relations between close relatives.

Food taboos strictly regulated the nature of the food that was to be given to the leader, warriors, women, old people and children. A number of other taboos were intended to guarantee the inviolability of the home or hearth, to regulate the rules of burial, to fix positions in the group, the rights and obligations of members of the primitive collective.

One of the most ancient religions - Magic

Magic is an early form of religion.

Magic is the belief that a person has supernatural power, which is manifested in magical rites.

Magic is a belief that arose among primitive people in the ability to influence any natural phenomena through certain symbolic actions (conspiracies, spells, etc.).

Having appeared in distant antiquity, magic was preserved and successfully continued to develop for several thousand years. If initially magical ideas and rituals seemed to have a general direction, but in the future, their transformation gradually occurred.

Modern historians and experts on this issue qualify ancient magic by methods, direction and goals of influence.

Types of magic in ancient religion

Types of magic by methods of influence:

Contact magic (direct interaction of the wearer magical power with the object or subject on which the magical action is directed)

Initial magic (a magical act aimed at a distant object that is out of reach for the subject of magical activity);

Partial magic (indirect influence through cut hair, legs, food remnants, which in one way or another get to the owner of magical power);

Imitation magic (impact on some semblance of a certain subject).

Kinds ancient magic according to their social orientation, methods and goals of influence, they are divided into:

Malicious magic (causing damage - causing damage to a person);

Military magic (a system of rituals designed to assist in ensuring victory over the enemy);

Love magic (aimed at increasing or decreasing sexual desire: lapel, love spell);

Healing magic (was designed to heal a person or a pet);

Fishing (industrial) magic (designed to ensure good luck in hunting or fishing);

Meteorological (weather) magic (helps change weather conditions);

Magic is sometimes called primitive science or primordial science, because it contained in itself - initial knowledge about the world around and natural phenomena.

Among primitive people, an important role was played by the veneration of a variety of objects and things that were supposed to bring them good luck and protect them from trouble. This form of religious belief is called "fetishism".

The oldest religions of the world - Fetishism

Fetishism is the belief that a particular object has supernatural powers.

Any object that struck the imagination of a person could become a fetish: a stone of an unusual shape, a piece of wood, an animal skull, a metal or clay product. Properties that were not inherent in it were attributed to this object (the ability to heal, protect from danger, help in hunting, etc.).

Most often, the object that became a fetish was chosen by trial and error. If, after this choice, a person managed to achieve success in practical activities, he believed that a fetish helped him in this, and kept it for himself.

If a person suffered any failure, then the fetish was thrown out, destroyed or replaced by another. This treatment of fetishes suggests that primitive people did not always respect the subject they chose with due respect.

The oldest primitive religions - Animism

Speaking of the early forms of religion, one cannot fail to mention animism.

Animism is the belief in the existence of souls and spirits.

Being at the initial stage of human development, primitive people at that time sought to protect themselves from all kinds of misfortunes, some diseases, the influence of natural phenomena. In those days, they endowed nature and the things and objects around them with something magical, on which a lot depended, for example, their existence.

They worshiped supernatural forces, personifying them as nothing more than the spirits of these things and subjects.

It was believed that all natural phenomena, objects and people have a soul. Souls could be evil and benevolent. Sacrifice was practiced in favor of these spirits. Belief in spirits, as well as in the existence of the soul, is preserved in modern world in all world religions.

Animistic beliefs are a very significant part of almost all religions of the world. Belief in spirits or evil spirit, As in immortal soul- all these are modifications of the animistic representation of the primitive life of mankind.

The same can be said about other early forms of religious belief. Some of them were assimilated by the religions that replaced them, others were pushed into the sphere of everyday superstitions and prejudices.

Ancient World Religions - Shamanism

Shamanism is the belief that an individual (shaman) has supernatural powers.

Shamanism, as an ancient religion, appeared at a later stage in the development of mankind, when people already appeared who at that time had a special social status. Shamans were called upon to sacredly keep the information they received, which was of particular importance for the clan or tribe where they lived.

The shaman knew how to perform an ancient ritual called kamlanie (a ritual with dances, songs, during which the shaman communicated with spirits). During the ritual, the shaman allegedly received instructions from the spirits about how to solve a problem or treat the sick.

Elements of shamanism are present in modern religions. So, for example, priests are credited with a special power that allows them to turn to God.

In the early stages of human development, the primitive forms of religious beliefs did not take place in their pure form. In the most bizarre forms, they intertwined with each other.

It is for this reason that to raise the question of which of the forms of the most ancient religion of primitive man arose first, before some other, and which later, for sure, we will never know, it is simply, simply not possible, not realistically to establish.

The considered forms of religious beliefs can be found among all peoples at the primitive stage of development. As it gets more complicated public life, the forms of cult are becoming more diverse and require closer study.

Religion is an integral part of the life of almost every person. The need to worship higher powers expressed in the spiritual awareness of the world and faith in the supernatural. An interesting question arises about which one, how it arose and developed.

Having studied all the available information about the Paleolithic period, scientists came to the conclusion that people of this era developed spiritual relationships, as indicated by the customs of ritual burials of that time, and most likely, our ancestors believed that the world was inhabited by deities, and they considered different places to be alive. . In addition, the customs of burial give us an idea of the belief in the afterlife.

But still, what was the most ancient religion? The answers to the question depend on the position taken by various authors who study Some argue that religion was artificially created by man, and not the result of evolutionary development. So, according to this point of view, a woman and a man knew only one God, who created them, they worshiped him, bringing various sacrifices. The monotheism and sacrifice described in the Bible were the first characteristics of religion in its original form. The oldest literary monuments of China, Greece, Egypt and the traditions of many peoples can serve as evidence of this.

But there is another point of view, based on the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin. According to her, a long period of time was required for the formation and development of religious beliefs. At first, these beliefs were based on people worshiping spirits, as there was a fear of their power. Then Israel reduces the diversity of the gods of the various nations to one tribal god, which paves the way for the improvement of religion as such.

Considering which religion is the most ancient, it should be noted that in modern times on Earth there are a large number of religious directions, the so-called spiritual knowledge, which are divided into several systems. So, the Aryan - Vedantism (occult science) is referred to the primary teaching. Further, it was transformed into Brahmanism, and then into Buddhism. The Aryan traditions were adopted by the Russian prehistoric religion, so paganism appeared - the worship of the elements. These beliefs were not completely defeated, and after several millennia a religion developed on their basis.

And Babylon became the basis for the birth of knowledge, which is partially transmitted to us in the Bible (therefore, the opinion that Christianity is the most ancient religion is erroneous). Based on them, a system that had a great influence on spiritual development throughout Europe. In addition, these teachings formed the basis of the religion of ancient Judea, on which Christianity will continue to rely. The knowledge of the ancient Egyptian civilization, Jews and Christians is partially preserved in Islam.

The black race practiced ceremonial magic, preserving the rituals and customs of African sorcerers. The yellow race gave rise to the teachings of Lao Tzu (Daonism), as well as shamanism, Zen Buddhism and Shintu.

Thus, it is impossible to say with accuracy which is the most ancient religion on Earth, since from early times all knowledge, rituals, rituals and customs spread during the mixing of peoples and the migration of tribes. So, the idea of sacrifice first belonged to the civilization of the black race, later it was adopted by the peoples of all continents and existed for more than one millennium on Earth.

Thus, the answer to the question of which is the most ancient religion on the planet is ambiguous, and depends on the worldviews and views of historians.

Even in ancient times, the ancient Greek thinker Xenophanes and other philosophers of antiquity noted that people imagine their gods to be similar to themselves. So the Ethiopians represented their gods as black and snub-nosed, the Thracians as blue-eyed and red-haired. For peoples with white skin, the god is white, and the devil is black, for dark-skinned peoples, on the contrary, the gods are black, and evil spirits- pale-faced. In the view of the ancients, the gods not only look like people, but also behave like human beings. The gods of Ancient Greece hunted, grazed cattle, weaved, forged metal, quarreled, feasted, had wives, children, cheated on wives with earthly women (myths about Hercules).

Not avoided this, that is, the division of influence in certain areas of activity and saints of modern world religions. This or that holy saint helps in certain cases and life situations. A clear illustration of the fact that believers created gods in their own image and likeness is the Siberian icon, in which God is depicted resting after the "creation of the world." The icon depicts a hut in which God lies under a warm blanket, and boots stand nearby. God is depicted on the icon in accordance with the conditions of human life in a given area, and this icon was not recognized as seditious (otherwise it would have been destroyed, not consecrated).

In primitive tribal community the gods acted as nameless, faceless spirits, often without a name, "specialization". The decomposition of the primitive communal system, society into classes, was also reflected in religious ideas. From the many spirits, more powerful ones stand out, which are personified, receive a name, a “biography” and a “specialty”. At different peoples ideas about the main gods appeared. In ancient Greece - Zeus (his wife is the goddess Hera, the patroness of marriage; brother Poseidon is the god of the sea; brother Hades is the god of the underworld; daughter Athena is the goddess of wisdom and military affairs, son Ares is the god of war, and the illegitimate son Hercules does not have the status of a god had, therefore, did not possess divine power, although he possessed immortality, like all gods), in addition to the gods from the family of Zeus, there were other gods: Apollo, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Demeter. They obeyed Zeus and members of his "family" and could not actively resist their actions, they carried out their orders (Hephaestus, on the orders of Zeus, chained Prometheus to a rock). The head of the Greek pantheon of gods, Zeus, is a representative of the third generation of gods who overthrew the second - the titans. The first generation of gods - Uranus and Gaia, the first ruled the Sky, Gaia - dominated the Earth. The Titans are the personification of the forces of nature, which, led by Kronos, overthrew their father Uranus, Zeus overthrew, in turn, Kronos and seized power, in this way the relationship of violence, domination and submission was justified in human society. In ancient Egypt chief god- Ra, in ancient Rome, the main god is Jupiter, in ancient Babylon - the god Marduk, in ancient Russia - Perun, Odin - among the ancient Scandinavians, Amaterasu - in ancient Japan, where a hierarchy of gods also gradually developed. The division of society was reflected in religion, and therefore the relationship between the gods changed.

Belief in the king of heaven (God) appeared as a fantastic reflection of the power of the earthly king (leader, ruler, pharaoh - the viceroy of God on Earth), and the heavenly hierarchy is nothing more than a reflection of the earthly, social hierarchy. All this shows that people with their imagination created gods and the heavenly world in the image and likeness of their real, earthly existence.

Depending on the change in the conditions of the material life of society, there was a change in religious beliefs, the number of gods was reduced, monotheism was introduced. The "rise" and "fall" of the deity, one way or another, is connected with the life of the people who worshiped him. The prosperity of the city was associated, first of all, with the patron god. The lost war led to the "fall" of the authority of the local deity and the exaltation of the god of the victorious side. As a result of aggressive wars, large empires are created, and the patron deities of the winners gradually acquire the status of the main god of all conquered peoples. Thus, one of the results of the conquest of one people by another is the exaltation of the religion (or god) of the victorious people (enslaving the indigenous population). The ancient Roman conquests contributed to the spread of Christianity, the Arab conquests contributed to the spread of Islam. Subsequently, the conquest of new lands and the subjugation of peoples was often covered by the good goals of missionary work. The spread of Orthodoxy in Siberia, the Far East, and the Far North displaced religious beliefs peoples inhabiting these territories, and the lands were included in the Russian Empire. The colonial conquests of Spain, Portugal, France, England were also covered by the noble goals of enlightenment and conversion to Christianity of the peoples of Asia, Africa and America.

The ancient religions include the religions of the Mediterranean: ancient egypt, Ancient Greece and ancient rome(ancient gods), Mesopotamia, Iran - Zoroastrianism, Judaism. The religions of India and the Far East (China, Japan) are classified as national religions, since their followers usually belong to the same nationality.

National religions

National religions are formed as the nation is formed. They are based on ancient magical beliefs, which gradually gave way to ethical standards and requirements, they include: Hinduism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism. A common feature of most national religions, for example, the religions of the Far East, is that these religions are polytheistic, they do not have a single creator god, in this respect one of the three world religions, Buddhism, adjoins them. The other two world religions are monotheistic (monotheism - belief in a single and powerful god) and have their origin in the only monotheistic world religion of the Ancient World - the religion of the ancient Jews, which later developed into the religious system of Judaism.

world religions

World religions - a term used in relation to Buddhism, Christianity, Islam. They are characterized by supranationality, cosmopolitanism, the idea of equality of all people, propaganda activity. As they developed in specific historical conditions, various areas of world religions acquired an ethnic coloring.

There are three main directions in Christianity: - Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism(divided into Lutheranism - the church of the North German principalities, which has spread today in Europe and the USA; Calvinism - the Swiss Reformed Church; and Anglicanism - the Protestant Church of England); in addition to these main currents, there are sects (Old Believers, Molokans, etc.). The division of Christianity into separate directions is associated with its spread across numerous provinces of the Roman Empire and the further emergence of the first four autocephalous (independent) churches: Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem. Subsequently, the division of the Antiochian Church continued, and the Western (Roman Catholic Church) and eastern, subsequently the final division in 1054 led to the formation of Catholicism and Orthodoxy.

Islam(translated from Arabic - obedience, surrender to God) is a world religion, which is based on faith in Allah and obedience to him. In Islam, as a result of internal contradictions in the second half of the 7th century, three directions arose: Kharijites, Sunnis and Shiites , the last two are the main directions in Islam to this day. The division of Islam into Sunnism and Shiism occurred as a result of the political struggle for the throne of the Arab Caliphate.

Buddhism- a world religion, the doctrine of which was created by the Buddha, arose in India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The founder is Buddha Shakyamuni (the son of the prince of the Shakya tribe - Siddhartha Gautama). In Buddhism, the following trends gradually developed: Lamaism and Zen Buddhism . Lamaism is a special trend in Buddhism, which is based on the belief in the special role of the "lama" - a monk, a priest (the main figure in the Tibetan version of Buddhism) when a believer reaches nirvana, salvation. This direction promotes and requires the observance of canonical Buddhist values. Until now, it remains the main religion in Tibet, Mongolia and is divided into a number of sects (schools). In Russia, by the 17th century, it spread among the Buryats, Tuvans, and Kalmyks.

Zen Buddhism is a Chinese form of early Buddhism. It spread in China from the 1st century BC, and then in the 8th centuries it split into northern and southern branches, the latter formed the basis of Chinese (Chan) and Japanese (Zen) Buddhism, the northern one completely disappeared. In Zen Buddhism, enlightenment, nirvana can be achieved by a person through satori, meditation, or even abnormal (unworthy) behavior; no priest is required. This direction actually rejects the canonical Buddhist values. Currently, Zen Buddhism is widespread in Korea, Vietnam, Japan and among the peoples of other countries.