A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion paperback january 15, 2002 by swami bhaskarananda author visit amazons swami bhaskarananda page. Good book to begin with, but i suspect that the religion of hinduism has more. Her majesty queen elizabeth ii uk was born on 21 apr 1926 and became the worlds oldest monarch on 23 jan 2015, aged 88 years 277 days. Apr 17, 2020 the oldest forms of worship in the world are ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism, which are thought to date back to at least around 300,000 bce.
Although often viewed as a polytheistic faith, hinduism is actually henotheistic. They consider this the word of god and the basis of the eternal religion, sanatana dharma. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion book book details. Hinduism originated in india, jainism and buddhism in nepal, judaism in israel and taoism in china.
It is based on the teachings of jesus christ who lived on the holy land 2000 years ago. May 01, 2020 a religion based on the life preaching jesus christ, christianity remains the largest faith to be followed in the world as the latest data shows its number of followers going up close to 2. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that. Today, with about 900 million followers, hinduism is. The holy books of world religions sacred texts in world. The christian bible and jewish scriptures also reveal that not only did god create the world and everything within it, but god did so because he wanted to. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd. What some scholars believe could be the worlds oldest known jewish prayer book is now part of a private collection founded by an evangelical businessman. The egyptian culture with its many gods was already well established by the time described in the latter part of genesis and the book of exodus. A chinese version of a key text in the mahayana buddhist tradition, this diamond sutrafound among. What is the oldest known religion in the world answers. This revised and updated edition provides sympathetic.
In some religions islam, the scripture of supreme authority is well. Written history the age of formal writing is only c. This is a list of religious populations by number of adherents and countries. The book is comprised of six pages of beaten 24carat gold covered with etruscan script, one of the few writing systems scholars have yet to decipher source. This sacred text is divided into two main sections, the old testament and the new testament which are then further divided into various books. A guide harvard university press reference library. However, it is the oldest of the monotheistic religions. While judaism has many important and sacred texts, its most. It was first written at bc through 500 bc and the words were given by god to its writers. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. A comprehensive overview of the world s oldest religion book book details. The epic is a rich literary text that explores themes of.
One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. It is believed by followers of this religion that the universe goes through many phases of preservation, creation, and dissolution. Its a little hilarious to see the answers here about this question almost every person is trying to prove their scriptures are the best just like any other religious question. One of the most important books out of this collection of texts is the book of two. Religious texts are texts related to a religious tradition. This is the oldest book in the world the epic of gilgamesh. Here are some of the oldest surviving books in the world. The hindu religion follows the divinity of the four vedas which is considered the oldest scripture in the world. The oldest religions that are still widely practiced are hinduism, judaism, buddhism, taoism, and jainism. List of world religions and founders, religious books, place. The religion was officially founded by moses, although jewish history can be traced back to abraham, who is considered to be the ancestor of the jewish people. If you want to be able to organize some good ways of framing an inquiry into this religion i would say this book is the best place to start. Is the bible the oldest religious book in the world.
The precision with which one can date the creation of this book is purely down to the fact that it gives us its publication datethe only such case on this list it is, according to the british library, where it now resides, the earliest example of a dated, printed book in the world. View this book buddhism, the ebook 4th edition view this book hinduism, the ebook 2nd edition view this book introducing world religions. Religion has been around for as long as man has existed. Christians worship in churches and their spiritual leaders are called priests. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion. Egyptian religion is also considered to be one of the oldest religions. Hinduism known to adherents as sanatan dharma, eternal order, thought to have been founded as early as 5500 bce but certainly by c. The name they called upon was yahweh latinized as jehovah.
August nitschke sees some fairy tales as literary survivals dating back to ice age and stone age narrators. I was inclined to believe that the rig veda was the oldest. Animism is another religion that dates back for more than 50,000 years. The identification of the very rare prayer book, dated to the ninth century, was announced sept. Mar 26, 2020 the oldest pagan religion for which we have evidence of an organized following is egyptian. Religion or dharma has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from. Since hinduism predates the abrahamic religions, it could be said to be one of the oldest, the first ever or not, i cant be sure. The oldest religion in the world is the worship of the one true god, as stated in genesis 4. The worlds religions by huston smith, paperback barnes. There are many religions that were way before christianity that came along about 2000 years ago. The proof of many of these religions are seen in religious texts discovered by. Top ten religions in the world list of top ten countries. A comprehensive overview of the world s oldest religion. What is the oldest known book of religion, that has proof of it being.
World religions looks at the beliefs and practices of many different religions, from the ancient egyptians through to zoroastrianismthe oldest living religionand the great faiths practiced today. Sumerian literature, akkadian literature, ancient egyptian literature, hittite texts, tamil literature early bronze age. The bulk of the human religious experience predates written history. Good book to begin with, but i suspect that the religion of hinduism has more lessons, more layers than meets our jaded western eyes. Right now, the book known as the oldest in the world is a severalpagelong volume held by the bulgarias national museum of history. The earliest literary author known by name is enheduanna, a sumerian priestess and public figure dating to. Christians worship the holy book of bible that is believed to be the source of all answer for lifes miseries. World religions ebooks published by jbe online books. Of all the ancient writings, most scholars agree that the old testament of the bible is the oldest of religious books. Zoroastrian texts depict one of the worlds oldest monotheistic religions practiced in iran around 600bc650ce. Aradia aka the gospel of the witches, one of the earliest books describing post witchhunt european religious witchcraft, was.
I believe among others, that christianity is the oldest religion known to man. Swami bhaskarananda has written a compact, yet amazingly comprehensive treatment of the essentials of the hindu view of life, emphasizing the very things one wishes most to know about when first approaching this complicated, and manysided subject. A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of prehistoric religion being derived. Bakken, located in klampenborg, north of copenhagen in denmark, opened in 1583 and is the worlds oldest operating amusement park. Still stored in the abba garima monastery in ethiopia, where they were most likely written, the gospels are two geezlanguage illuminated books, the second of which could date as far back as the 4th century. The oldest known religion in the whole world that is known to man is hinduism. The ebook 2nd edition view this book chinese religions.
The proof of many of these religions are seen in religious texts discovered by experts and specialists. Field listing religions the world factbook central. The fact that they began to call on this name indicates a change in societyfor the first time, people were. Now i am eager to think that the beautiful text the epic of gilgamesh 3rd millennium b. Written in 2100 bce it predates homers iliad by 1500 years. The earliest written literature dates from about 2600 bce classical sumerian. Hinduism the oldest religion still practised islam most practiced religion in the world judaism basis for christianity christianity modified form of judaism buddhism most practiced. Prior to the end of world war ii, shinto was the state religion of japan, and bolstered the cult of the japanese emperor.
The first is notable for being the oldest book in the world with a front cover still attached to it. Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from prehistoric to modern times. No one knows what the first religion was in the world. Mar 23, 2018 this principle of order is also paramount in the world s oldest religion still being practiced today. The worlds religions, by beloved author and pioneering professor huston smith tales of wonder, is the definitive classic for introducing the essential elements and teachings of the worlds predominant faiths, including hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, judaism, christianity, islam, as well as regional native traditions. Sometimes called the official religion of ancient persia, zoroastrianism is one of the worlds oldest surviving religions, with teachings older than. Mar 04, 2019 the epic of gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature in the world. In the new testament, this religion from the creation of the world became known as christianity acts 11. Sikhism founded by the guru nanak born 1469, sikhism believes in a nonanthropomorphic, supreme, eternal, creator god. Aug 15, 2019 judaism, the oldest monotheistic religion.
Bible is the holy book which consists of old and new testaments. Hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, islam, judaism, and christianity. While it certainly has evolved over the years, the belief in gods and deities is an ancient tradition and dates back thousands of years. The epic of gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature in the world. Religion in the ancient world ancient history encyclopedia. Judaism formally started roughly around 690 bc but events leading to its establishment started much earlier. It claims to have more than 150 attractions, including a wooden rollercoaster built in 1932. Worldwide percentage of adherents by religion, 2015 christianity 31.
Most research points to hinduism as the oldest form of religion. This book was intended to be a brief survey without an indepth analysis. The oldest book in the bible is, unsurprisingly, found in the old testament. Each of the major faithschristianity, judaism, hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikhism, and islamis examined in detail through its. Judaism is the oldest of the three monotheistic abrahamic faiths, with the other two religions being christianity and islam. Christianity is the worlds biggest religion, with about 2. Most christians would likely predict that genesis was the oldest book in the bible given that it details the creation. Jul 20, 2007 the oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. The oldest religious book in the world hasnt yet been discovered by archaeologists. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Before the spread of writing, oral literature did not always survive well, though some texts and fragments have persisted.
If you go through the different religious book and study this question deeply, you will find out that hinduism is the oldest religion of the world. The encyclopedia of world religions, revised edition, 2007, by dwj books llc. Which holy book is the oldest, the bible, the gita, or the. A comprehensive overview of the worlds oldest religion bhaskarananda, swami published by viveka press 20020115 2002. The oldest forms of worship in the world are ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism, which are thought to date back to at least around 300,000 bce. In search of one of the worlds oldest religions the getty iris. The old testament is all about jesus and the promise of the savior.
264 737 960 664 779 1406 1115 1094 1312 1407 624 1080 930 1600 62 1106 1096 1514 159 1005 141 1376 217 1257 38 593 266 768 1063 230 1277 1288 2 167 1268 1341 10 439