ANSWERS: 93
  • Hinduism. Christianity as a specific religion began only with the teachings of Jesus Christ during the 1st century BC. Christianity was originally considered as a Jewish sect, as opposed to a religion in its own right. The adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire was the major turning point in Christianity becoming a major world religion. No-one is certain exactly when Hinduism began but based on archeological finds most historians put it at 5000 years plus. http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/extra/bl-intro-origin.htm
  • Put simply, the worship of the God of the Bible. Even before Israel became a nation, worship of Jehovah was practiced by their forefathers Noah, Abraham, and Moses and was actually a continuation of the oldest religion in existence, the true worship of the Creator as initially practiced in Eden. In part, the genealogy of Jesus is traced back through Noah to God in the Bible book of Luke, Chapter 3. 36 [son] of Shem, [son] of Noah, [son] of La´mech, 37 [son] of Me·thu´se·lah, [son] of E´noch, [son] of Ja´red, [son] of Ma·ha´la·le·el, [son] of Ca·i´nan, 38 [son] of E´nosh, [son] of Seth, [son] of Adam, [son] of God. That would take us back 6,000 years. This documentation is much more specific than any rocks that an archeologist might pick up and take a guess about.
  • Up until very recently, like just this year (2006), Hinduism was held to be the world's oldest religion, at least the oldest that is still in practice today. Hindu religious texts, the Vedas, are the oldest known written works on Earth and are seen by some scholars and theologians to be the basis for all contemporary religions. The estimates on just how old range anywhere from 5000 to 20,000 years old. In mid-2006 archaeologists unearthed a 70,000 year old carved statue of a snake in Botswana. Snakes as religious symbols have been discovered all over southern Africa and may represent a single unifying concept of the earliest form of organized religious practices. It is also interesting to note that snakes and serpents played central roles in religions everywhere around the world, from Central Asia to North and South America and this may further reinforce the current findings that point to humanity's beginnings in Africa and its subsequent migration across the globe.
  • Actually, if you look at the history of it, it was the religion that was known as Zoroastrian which was in 1200 B.C. They had a belief in a higher power known as Ahura Mazda (God) and the Iranian prophet known as Zoroaster taught about living life by doing good deeds and thoughts as well. Most of the Concepts of Judaism and Christianity took these into their religion. Over all, you can not disclaim Judaism and Chrisitanity for their perceptions of God, because we all pretty much believe in a higher greater good, which is the lord. Judaism came alond due to the fact that God had chosen the Jews as his people, and led them out of presection under the Egyptians. Later came along Christianity after the Pariasiess were becoming corrupt and at the time, the Jews believed if you were a Gentile you would not be accepted into the kingdom of Heaven. In other words, you had to be born a Jew to be accepted. Jesus Christ who is the son of God who died for the sins of the people came along and showed them that, regardless of color that God was accepting of all.
  • From my research through various books and websites, it states that Hinduism came around about 800 B.C, the same time Judaism was formed. So Zoroastrain would actually be the oldest religion around. As I stated in my last comment, it was formed in 1200 B.C In other words, the years before Christ went from highest to lowest cronologically (i.e 1200 B.C- 1 A.D). I am sure a lot of people know that.
  • I'd say probably Baal-worship. Determining that completly as fact would take a lot of study in the holy Scriptures and also study in other religions and cultures as well. However, I think it's probably Baal-worship. I hope this helps. Thank you and God bless you!
  • That depends on what you believe.
  • Probably some very old tribal belefis, used by the cavemen and the like.
  • Stochastic Murphyism....they probably didn't call it that because Murphy's Law and the Second Law of Thermodynamics hadn't been discovered yet, but I'm sure the ancients believed in it. . . .
  • The oldest religion was/is a dream. This dream (or vision) was interpreted by man/mankind to be a message from God of things to come. Religion is man's interpretation of Deity, and the "proper" worship thereof. Religion is the formation of thoughts and dreams relative to the accepted culture of that land, the people's fashion and tongue, the moral laws and principles of that respective ethnic (and race) group. The oldest religion can also be considered the first segregation.
  • If you want an anthropological answer it's animism more than likely. In my opinion, it's the worship of the God of the Bible.
  • That is a question that will never have the exact answer, although there are alot of opinions and beliefs..some say pagan..dravidian..hindu..satanis..kemetic..the possibilities endless..an acurate answer does not exist
  • If we put aside organized religion, the oldest form of worship is Paganism, from which Wicca and other forms of Earth reverence were born. Mother Earth was worshipped as a Goddess as far back as Paleolithic times (30,000 years ago). Modern paganism is based on the Celtic religion, which had its origin about 1000 BCE in what is now modern Slovakia. Ironically, the religion that is now known as Celtic did not arrive in Britain until 200 BCE, but instead expanded across Europe first.
  • Will you accept if I say its christianity?
  • I think its Christianity.
  • It's generally considered to be a toss-up between Zoroastrianism or Hinduism, but I think it could also be a form of Ancient Egyptian religion (sorry, I don't actually know the name...), though they tend to only exist in evolved forms today... (Various forms of neo-paganism) Now, despite seemingly popular belief... Christianity is NOT the oldest religion (by several thousand years...) If you put everything else aside, you are left with the simple fact that Christianity is an evolved form of Judaism and is therefore YOUNGER than Judaism, which still exists to this day.
  • Judaism
  • That would depend on who you're talking to I guess. For those who believe in God, the worship of Him began with the creation of man, but I don't think it was called religion. I think Christianity, as a religion, came after Paganism. This is just a guess on my part, but as a *religion* I would say the oldest is Paganism.
  • 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. and oddly enough, the two religions that dominate the world today are relative newcomers to the spiritual scenes. 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. hope it will help :)
  • religions are all forms of another religion going all the way back to the begining of man (however that happend evouloution etc.) If you havent noticed were are the most intelligent and dangerous preditor in the world, our solor system most likely. We are only still here because we are born survivors as we evolved we adapted to our enviroment but no matter what we did we couldnt do it alone we only survived because we worked together helped each other to get through it all until today. We still act the same way in a crisis we all work together with our bare hands if we have to and help. the only difference nowadays is that nothings free due to curancy we have a balance thats missing weight. What im getting to is that religion is the text that people wrote so that we could understand why were still here and what is was that got us trough it. as it shows in every religion. PEACE IS THE WAY! All culture must be accepted but not taken to literally.(dont start a war over a false god that may not exsist. cheers for listning
  • by studies in the late 19 century it is confirmed that hinduism is the oldest.people agree with the facts and so do vedic scientists.but as far as knowledge of modern day scientists they can trace the existence of A RELIGION thru proofs which exist as far as 10 thousand years or more.BUT YOU WANT BELIEVE ME IF I SAY VEDIC SCRIPTURES WERE WRITTEN MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO WHICH CANNOT EVEN BE PROVED BY" SO CALLED SCIENTISTS" of modern era;BECAUSE OF LIMITATIONS OF CARBON DATING METHOD.HINDUISM EVOLVED IN INDIA WHEN MAN WAS IN HIS CRO MAGNON STAGE(just evolved from apes)
  • Hidusim is the oldest know religion on earth. We are confused which is old only because its a illusion created by God to keep humanity confused in this world of unethical practices which is know as the Kaliyuga , where in it stated that Evil ways of living are practiced by people then good.
  • Vedism
  • Of the worlds main religions Hinduism gets the award at 3,500 years .
  • As others have said Hinduism. Zoroastrianism is pretty old as well. No way is it Christianity or even Judaism. The Egyptian mythology and ancient religions of Mesopotamia are of course old and there would be older, undocumented religions but I assume the question refers to "living" religions.
  • The actual fact of the matter is, religion is older than the world, but if you only want what is as old as the world: Adamic Christianity. (Christianity as revealed to Adam.) http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/5 Translated June to October 1830.
  • Dravidiisim 6000 BC Pre dated Hinduisim
  • Just wanted to add my little bit in this. I am being very specific about dates since i have read the details from various sources and have done thorough research before reaching to some conclusion. (though my conclusion doesn't matter to others). The root cause of Hinduism or you can say The Foundation of Hinduism was laid on the 4 Vedas (4 text versions of the religions) called as Vedas. They are 1) The Rig Veda, The Sam Veda, The Yajura Veda and The Atharva Veda. I have written the names of these VEDAS as "The Rig Veda being the oldest and The Atharva Veda being the youngest". The Atharva Veda (the original book) is said to be written around 7000 BC, however, when the book was dated back it was found to be 5000 - 7500 BC old. The Yajura Veda was said to be 15000 BC old, however when the book was dated back it was found to be 12000 - 13000 BC old. We are not able to find the original versions of The Sam Veda and The Rig Veda. but in the latter books (The Yajura Veda and The Atharva Veda) they have references for these books to be written around 15000 BC and 20000 BC respectively). however, I strongly believe that religion has nothing to do with the god himself. it just one of the ways THE GOD almighty have chosen his children to worship him. Be it Hinduism (said to be the oldest belief) or be it ISLAM (said to be the youngest belief) one thing is common, The GOD almighty himself. and if some one thinks my god is original one than his, i think they need to double check their religious context.
  • According to the bible it is the religion of Cain who brought an offerring of his own ideas and so started religion. Abel however brought to God what was acceptable in faith. Faith in the One true God is not religion but the ideas of man is!
  • I think you cannot believe that any CURRENT religion is the same faith it was thousands of years ago. Because religion, like people and places, changes, splits into pieces, reforms in new shapes, wears away. My modern example: How long have there been the '7 deadly sins', and now all of a sudden there's a bunch more. The "Pagan" religions (non-Christian) were forced to hide or changed their practices, therefore the current state of such religions - be them Eastern, Egyptian, or African - are not really the same as they were before Christians basically conquered the world. I am SO not gonna get into an argument about this tho, so if u comment be aware of that.
  • Hinduism is the oldest. As old as humanity itself. Best part is that this religion doesnt claim to be oldest religion thru its books, unlike some others. the books mention of lords and personalities which date back to millions of years from now. Most disturbing thing is that the muslims claim to be oldest, despite the fact that holy islam started in 610AD! they quote holy QURAN to claim being oldest. by same logic, if I start a new religion and write in my religious book that this religion is oldest and this book is written by God, the followers after 1000 years or so, will start claiming my religion to b oldest, quoting this book written by me. it is not imp who came first. but it is imp who lives how on earth. all religions are different coloured lights coming out of a multi coloured glass. but behind this glass, source of light is one colourless light, of God. we call our mothers by different names in different language. but does the sens change? Om shanti om.
  • Hinduism is not the oldest of all the religions. It is Islam which is the first and the oldest of all religions. People have a misconception that Islam is 1400 years old and that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the founder of this religion. Islam existed since time immemorial, ever since man first set foot on this earth. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was not the founder of Islam. He was the last and final Messenger of Almighty God. A religion cannot be claimed to be most pure and authentic, only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying that the water he has kept in an open glass, in his house, outside the refrigerator, for three months is purer than the water which has just been collected in a clean glass, immediately after it has been purified. On the other hand a religion cannot be claimed to be the purest or authentic, only on the criterion that the religion is new or the latest. A bottle of distilled water which is sealed, packed and kept in the refrigerator for three months is much purer than a bottle of water freshly collected from the sea. For any religion to be pure and authentic, its scriptures should not contain any interpolation, addition, deletion or revision. Moreover the religion’s source of inspiration and direction should be Almighty God. The Qur’an is the only religious scripture on the face of the earth which has been maintained in its original form. All the other religious scriptures, of all the other religions have interpolations, additions, deletions or revisions. The Qur’an has been in the memory of a multitude of people, intact in its original form ever since its revelation, and now there are hundreds of thousands of people who have preserved it in their memory. Moreover, if you compare the copies made by Caliph Uthman (r.a) from the original Qur’an which is yet present in the museum in Tashkent and in Koptaki museum in Turkey, they are the same as the ones we possess today.Allah (swt) promises in the Qur’an, in Surah Al Hijr, chapter 15 verse 9 “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a Toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. He would be considered to be a fool to say that his 19th century car which required a rod to be turned in circles to start it, is better than a key-start 1998 Toyota car, just because it is older. For a religion to be considered the best, it should have the solution to all the problems of mankind. It should be the religion of truth, and should be applicable to all ages. Islam is the only religion which has the solution to all the problems of mankind. e.g. the problem of alcoholism, surplus women, rape and molestation, robbery, racism, casteism, etc. Islam is the religion of truth, and its laws and solutions are applicable to all the ages. The Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth, which has maintained its purity and authenticity proving itself to be the word of God in all the ages. i.e. previously, when it was the age of miracles, literature and poetry and in present times when it is the age of science and technology. Moreover, Islam is not a man-made religion, but a religion revealed and inspired by Almighty God. It is the only religion acceptable in His Sight.
  • A religion cannot be claimed to be the best religion only on the criterion that it is the oldest. It is similar to a person saying, that my 19th century car is better than a Toyota car manufactured in 1998, because it is older. He would be considered to be a fool to say that his 19th century car which required a rod to be turned in circles to start it, is better than a key-start 1998 Toyota car, just because it is older. For a religion to be considered the best, it should have the solution to all the problems of mankind. It should be the religion of truth, and should be applicable to all ages. Islam is the only religion which has the solution to all the problems of mankind. e.g. the problem of alcoholism, surplus women, rape and molestation, robbery, racism, casteism, etc. Islam is the religion of truth, and its laws and solutions are applicable to all the ages. The Qur’an is the only religious book on the face of the earth, which has maintained its purity and authenticity proving itself to be the word of God in all the ages. i.e. previously, when it was the age of miracles, literature and poetry and in present times when it is the age of science and technology. Moreover, Islam is not a man-made religion, but a religion revealed and inspired by Almighty God. It is the only religion acceptable in His Sight.
  • The religion of the God of the Bible, Jehovah goes back 6,000 years, before printing, before hieroglyphics, before papyrus were used. The worship of Jehovah the Creator, is well documented. Among the major books of religion, the Bible is one of the very oldest. Its first parts were written some 3,500 years ago. This book was completed in 98 C.E. Though some 40 men were its writers over a period of 1,600 years, the Bible is a harmonious body of writings. That is so because its real Author is God. Judaism has it’s roots in the Bible. So does Christianity.
  • Aren't "religion" and "proof" oxymoronic terms?
  • I HAVE READ IN RECORD BOOK OF GUINNESS THAT HINDUISAM IS THE OLDEST RELIGION ON THIS EARTH
  • There is no religion as Hinduism.In india so many religions like Saivam(Lord Shiva),Vainavam(Lord Vishnu),GanadhiBathyam(Lord Ganabathy)etc., were followed in the earlier days.People generally combined and called these as Hinduism.Actually Lord Shiva is the first Prophet of ALLMighty.In this way Buddha,Jesus,Mohmd all people came.So ALL MIghty is one.It doesnt hava name,shape are anything..
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_religion the origins of religion Doesn't seem to specify an actual religion i.e. Christianity etc
  • The Vedic Religion is the Oldest religion with recorded history & proof if its existance. Hinduism the the natural successor to Vedic practices (a modern name for it). Thus, Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. The Vedas (4 books with a detailed description of society, culture, religion and science) date back to more than 2000 BC. The Vedic religion may perhaps be much older. This would make Hinduism the oldest recorded religion in human history. The practices of Hinduism have evolved over the years and the modern day Hinduism is the result of thousands of years of cultural exchanges and positive conceptual evolution.
  • I don't understand what we mean by the oldest religion. Because anybody can say that their religion is the oldest especially if they say that their God created everything. The Christian say that their God created man nearly 6000 years ago, so we know that their God did not create the first non-Christian religion. We cannot base the oldest religion off of written documentation because Hinduism itself has stories that date back older than the earliest written documentation. I believe that the oldest religion would be a word of mouth religion. This is not to say that the first religion is the One true religion, but that the first is the one religion with the oldest artifacts. Voltaire said, "Let us accept that God exists. But what if he didn't? Well, we would have to invent him..." This is important to my theory because the oldest artifact dates back 70,000-years-ago: a python found in Africa. All our known human fossils and artifacts point at Africa as having the oldest human-like civilizations. The oldest human fossil dates back to 160,000 years ago. This definitely rules out Christianity, the Jews, and the Muslims. So Africa that is "the non-titled African-based Religion" is the oldest religion in the world: Not the most powerful, not the one and true, not the everlasting, not the only religion. It is simply the oldest. Were there any humans that existed before the dinosaurs were destroyed, if so, were they smarter than the animals, or did the animals worship a God before man? What documentation proves that?
  • Dick Teresi author and coauthor of several books about science and technology, including The God Particle. He is cofounder of Omni magazine and has written for Discover, The New York Times Magazine, and The Atlantic Monthly. He says "Indian cosmologists, the first to estimate the age of the earth at more than 4 billion years. They came closest to modern ideas of atomism, quantum physics, and other current theories. India developed very early, enduring atomist theories of matter. Possibly Greek atomistic thought was influenced by India, via the Persian civilization." Hinduism, according to Carl Sagan, in his book, Cosmos wrote: "... is the only religion in which the time scales correspond... to those of modern scientific cosmology. Its cycles run from our ordinary day and night to a day and night of the Brahma, 8.64 billion years long, longer than the age of the Earth or the Sun and about half the time since the Big Bang" The 8.64 billion years that mark a full day-and-night cycle in Brahma’s life is about half the modern estimate for the age of the universe. The ancient Hindus believed that each Brahma day and each Brahma night lasted a kalpa, 4.32 billion years, with 72,000 kalpas equaling a Brahma century, 311,040 billion years in all. That the Hindus could conceive of the universe in terms of billions. The similarities between Indian and modern cosmology do not seem accidental. Perhaps ideas of creation from nothing, or alternating cycles of creation and destruction are hardwired in the human psyche. Certainly Shiva’s percussive drumbeat suggests the sudden energetic impulse that could have propelled the big bang. And if, as some theorists have proposed, the big bang is merely the prelude to the big crunch and the universe is caught in an infinite cycle of expansion and contraction, then ancient Indian cosmology is clearly cutting edge compared to the one-directional vision of the big bang. The infinite number of Hindu universes is currently called the many world hypothesis, which is no less undocumentable nor unthinkable. Hinduism’s understanding of time is as grandiose as time itself. While most cultures base their cosmologies on familiar units such as few hundreds or thousands of years, the Hindu concept of time embraces billions and trillions of years. The Puranas describe time units from the infinitesimal truti, lasting 1/1,000,0000 of a second to a mahamantavara of 311 trillion years. Hindu sages describe time as cyclic, an endless procession of creation, preservation and dissolution. The Hindu Calendar (also known as the Panchanga ) currently in practice reckons time in terms of very large cycles called Kalpa (4.32 billion years) consisting of 14 Manvantaras(Manvantara or age of Manu,~ 308 million years). A Manvantara is made up of Mahayugas (Mahayuga= great yuga consists of 4 yugas: Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali). Kali yuga is equivalent to 432,000 years and 1 Mahayuga= 4.32 million years. This system appears to have been in use since the days of the Epics and Puranas, and attested in the Siddhantas. First we have Kalpa, a day in Brahma’s ‘life’ or 4320 million earthly years, and a night of equal length. During the day he creates and during the night he absorbs to begin the cycle each Brahma day . Each kalpa is divided into 14 Manvantaras or 308.448 million years we are supposed to be in the seventh Manvantara of Vaivasvata Manu. Each Manvantara contains 71 Mahayugas , plus 1Krtayuga ,and each Mahayuga is divided into 4 yugas — Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali of 4800, 3600, 2400 and 1200 divine years of the Gods, each of which = 360 human years. We are at present in the Kali yuga which began in 3102 BCE the traditional year of the Mahabharata war . Thus, we have a day in Brahma’s life of 1 Kalpa 1 Brahma Day (day and night) = 2 Kalpa 1 Kalpa = 4,320,000,000 earthly years (Y) =14 Manus + 1Kritayuga = 1000 MY =14*71.4+.4 Kaliyuga = 432,000 Y = 1KY = 1200 divine years (DY) = 1 Yuga 1 DY = 360 Y Dwapara = 864,000 Y = 2KY = 2400 DY TretaYuga = 1,296,000 Y = 3KY = 3600 DY Kritayuga = 1,728,000 Y =4 KY = 4800 DY = 0.4 MY =.4/71.4 = 5.6022408964e-3 Mahayuga (MY) = 4,320,000 earthly years = 10 KY = 12000 DY 1Manvantra (M) = 71 MY = 306.72 million years 1 Manu = 1M + 1 KritaYuga = 308.448 million years = 856,800 DY 1 Kalpa = 14 Manus + 1KritaYuga = 14*71.4 +.4 = 1000 MY = 12,000,000 DY = 4.32 billionY
  • As I know that Christianity as a religion was an offshoot of Judaism. In the History of the Jews, the Jewish scholar and theologian Flavius Josephus (37 - 100 A.D.), wrote that the Greek philosopher Aristotle had said: “…These Jews are derived from the Indian philosophers; they are named by the Indians Calani.” (Book I:22.) Clearchus of Soli wrote, “The Jews descend from the philosophers of India. The philosophers are called in India Calanians and in Syria Jews. The name of their capital is very difficult to pronounce. It is called ‘Jerusalem.’” Megasthenes, who was sent to India by Seleucus Nicator, about three hundred years before Christ, and whose accounts from new inquiries are every day acquiring additional credit, says that the Jews ‘were an Indian tribe or sect called Kalani…’” (Anacalypsis, by Godfrey Higgins, Vol. I; p. 400. Can any christian clarify why ancient christians have confirmed that jews who are the real ancestors of christian religion have come from india who were following vedic (hindu) religion?
  • Animal worship is the oldest religion or spiritual worship to a higher power. Most Christians cannot accept this fact. If God the Christian God to want a Bible written don't you think he would have handed it to Adam and said this is my law--the truth. The Bible is written from tales from word of mouth. And we all know how stories change from one person to the next. You ask a Christian what about all the billions of people who never heard of the Christian God what is to happen to their souls and they can never answer the question. Ask them how do they know the dead sea scrolls were translated properly. Ask them how the Bible was canonized. They can never answer. If Jesus died for our sins-why is there still so much hatred, pain, and suffering. Today if someone comes and say God spoke to him/her we lock them up in a looney bin. The Bible is a book that teaches some good morals but it is not "truth" the true word of God. It was written by man so as such flawed. Because according to Christians the only perfect being was Jesus.
  • The oldest in which there is soild proof is debated. Worship of a "God" alone traces back 7,000 years in some cultures and back that far the God or the religion wasnt named. But God Almightly created Adam in Eden and at that point the Jewish religion began.
  • Perryman's answer is that of a religious person and any scholar who might have seen his answer would laugh. The fact is, no one really knows for sure which religion is the oldest, per se. Some say the Chinese animist religions are the oldest, some say the Egyptian pagan religions are the oldest, some say the Sumerian religions, some say the Hindus, etc. It's an ongoing debate with no concrete answers. The god of Abraham IS relatively old when compared to some other deities, but try reading some history of the geographic area known as Mesopotamia, and you'll see that peoples of very different backgrounds have been worshipping different gods far longer than the God of the Bible. Some good names to start with would be Marduk or Osiris. Some people do believe that the world is 6'000 years old and would tell you that the God of the Bible is the oldest, and you might as well be told that we are descended from Gods of Greek mythology, or that the Flintstones were actually a great insight into the true history of the world, so try not to pay attention to religious fundamentalists whose answers to everything are "Cuz it's in the Bible!", and do the research yourself and form your own opinion.
  • Holy Crap, HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF THE SUMERIANS???!!!
  • The God of Abraham! No not because it says so in the bible & I did do my research, the garden of Eden is traced back among every religion, the tower of Babel was from Cains people who where trying to get back to God but didn't know how, SO began there, Many Gods. This tower was built to reach the GOD'S. Point is the same God that destroyed this tower is the God of Abraham. This is also the one religion with the most scientific proof of the history documented in the Bible too! This God was talked about even by the Greek,Egyptians,& the other, this garden of Eden is found in most all of them one way or the other.
  • I find it amusing that people answer Christianity when technically it wasn't until Jesus was an adult and began preaching that the religion came into existance. Until then it was Judaism so the answer "Christianity" isn't accurate, even if you believe the oldest religion was the worship of the God who created the earth in 7 days and made Adam and Eve. You can still be Christian and not believe it's the oldest religion in the world. Old doesn't make it right.
  • everyones going to say their own religion... yea
  • Atheism/Agnosticism. Proof? Well, I don't believe every culture worshiped a god or gods/godesses. Some cultures weren't spiritual at all. Meaning, they didn't bother, and/or cared in the least. Or weren't that creative enough, I mean, we did evolve from cavemen, right? Somewhere along that line culture appeared in history.
  • Animism
  • there is a theory that neanderthals had religion, evidenced by the way they buried their dead and certain burial objects. so, if they had religion, i would argue that theirs is the oldest, but there was nothing recorded about it.
  • i don't think thats what the fact of the matter is. The point is it's well documented through the bible, history, archeologist etc...what the first religion or belief system was established. Anything before the bible wasn't really realistic just there worship of animal or gods whatever they may have been(or like the hindus peace and love which isn't too bad). I'd have to say yes their were religions older then the christian/judaim religion, but they dont compare to the specific and well documented visions, miracles and beliefs of those of the christian faith. Anything before jesus wasn't anyone fault because they didnt know any better. God sent jesus for those who didn't know him or doubted him. It was his proof that he did exsist and from that day on there was only one well known religion. People who didnt agree such as Mr. Luther broke off and so on. Where ever you feel most comfortable or close to God is alright with me. In the end we all worship one God just in different ways. I myself happen to be a very blessed Catholic woman with no regrets. So who cares who was first it doesnt matter doesnt make it any truer if you dont believe it! Just trust god if you dont believe him Respect him!!
  • The Antiquities of the Jews (Complete Works of Josephus) establishes the history from Adam forward, indicating the spread of Adam's decendants and becoming the foundation for other peoples and cultures. It is more likely than not that the similarities in these religions are due to their origins with the decendants of Adam.
  • The way I see it we all know that Jesus exist. The question is was he resurected?? well if the diciples denied him...while he was living,and ran from the scene as he was crucified then obviously after all the so called miracles he performed, it was not convincing enough.However after his death they suddenly believed more than ever, so much so.... they under went torture and persicution for him...after he was dead!So obviously they saw him resurected ....like it says in the bible, therefore they could not deny him anymore.I am not sure what would of been a change of heart if not the fact they saw the dead walking...or resurected???????????they didnt know they were writing the new testement. it didnt even exist at that time, however they were all men of different stature in the community and there is no way they could of concocted this 2000 year old story when you look at the facts. They had NOTHING to gain NOTHING!!!!!!!! So if we believe that Jesus lived, Jesus who is proven to walk the earth,and then look at the facts of how the new testemant was written then it is only obvious. OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST EXIST IN ALL OF US AND DIED ON THE CROSS FOR OUR SINS!In the last paragraph of the bible it says " do not add to the phrophecy in this book or I will add to you the plagues described in this book, and also do not take away from these words or I will take away your share in the kingdom.So as we look at all religion...Catholisism,muslim,babtist luthern. it is all added to the bible....they all believed in GOD,Jesus, Moses ,so obviosly the same story,but before revalations all these whack job phrophets(meaning mohommad and the lds guy) wrote their own version of the Bible. quoting God Jesus and Moses ....so wouldnt you say they Added? Jesus said He was the last prophet!!! the last ... not mohommad(for sure)or mother mary, or that guy who started the mormon cult religion.They all go back to the bible but they dont want you to read it???????why is that. Pick one up and read it for yourselves.GOD exists the BIBLE IS THE ONE TO READ!...that is obvious, this is all a master plan of a genius archetect that not one of us can even comprehend. But the story and proof of Jesus is the KEY to it all OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!!! the rode to destruction is wide and many will follow...however the road to heaven is narrow and few will find!!!! Its not rocket science folks!If you think you can just go through this life and not be held responsible or accountable to anyone but yourself you are truly mistaken...look around isnt it just a little bit to perfect ...or should I say to good to be true?The church of christ is the only true church the Bible teaches to follow... It is described in the Bible specifically how to build a chuch....and it is the CHURCH OF CHRIST! do your own homework youll see....just remember...DO NOT ADD OR TAKE AWAY!!!!!read it folks last page its there! God Bless you all!
  • I believe the pagan deities are the oldest form of "religion" Baal and EL... seriously... EL Shaddai means "el's Mountain" El was a pre judasim God. as for the oldest profession... it was not prostitution... no..... it was handing out.. "come to our sacrifice pamplets to the non believers"!
  • Hi Guys, our race and religion is one and it is humaity. its true that our ancestors followed idol worhsip in different forms and we have to aggree on that if you have little common sense. Hence who ever followed idol worhsip, those are original groups now you call it religion. If you agree or not , Hindus are the only one who still ptractice idol worship. Now the answer is well known, if you got what I said. Live in peace with human values and that is my religion.
  • I believe that the one true God gave every nation the same type of story. That there is a great power, (God, ect) that we somehow fell from grace and were seperated from that God. That we were at one time all connected but since man can never get along we split even from each other (different religions ect). I think Babel too. Even so, each religion has a simialar story of how we all should be. Love each other. Dont hurt anyone, ect. really simple things really but seems like its those are the things that are hardest to do.
  • Anyone who listens to the "Holier than thou" evangelist type answers on theses postings is an gullable idiot and has no reverence for knowledge or history and simply enjoys bathing in IGNORANCE. As a Christian myself I at least have the good sense to acknowledge that many religions have existed before Christianity (which is a hodge podge of other beliefs and practices that came before it including the civilization of ancient UR, yes look up the city of Ur). The oldest documented religion is probably Hindu and Dravidianism. Personally I think IGNORANCE is the oldest religion of all according to practice.
  • Hinduism is de oldest religion. BEcause it started millionz of yrs ago, and it's not hinduism, it's called Sanatan Dharma. Sanatan Dharma was renamed by de british. Sanatan Dharma means eternal religion. Eternal definition: "Living forever!"
  • Hinduism is the oldest religion. The ancient texts and the archeaological discoveries are the proof. However, there is a small correction. Aryans did not migrate from elsewhere to north India.. According to the puranas(ancient texts), life originated from the Himalayas. Aryan means a noble person...Aryan is not a tribe! However, this word has been widely misinterpreted all throughout the world. Once you start reading the texts, you can understand the history and origin of mankind better....
  • The answer to this is unknown. The oldest manmade structure on the planet is on small Island near Malta and happens to be a temple but the religion is not known. Relgious artifacts have been found here and elsewhere that often contain "venus figurines". Many archeologists feel some form of animism is likely oldest. Hinduism is probably the oldest of religions that is still practiced today but even it is not as old as it seems. It is derived from older religions but none of those religions exist in a proper form today. We can document the approximate age of Dravidianism and other Vedic beliefs and that is often applied to the age of Hinduism but that in my mind is like applying the age of ancient Judaism to Islam because of roots of all Abrahamic faiths.
  • Hinduism is the oldest religion. Of course not because I say so. It is a well established and well known fact. It answers every question one might have about life, about God, our existence etc.
  • The answer is none of them are the oldest. First we would need to determine what is religion? The simplest answer would be a group of people being religous. And to simply define "being religous" is having or showing belief in and reverence for "insert your belief here". Thus we could say a group of people which believe that Jesus was the son of god and died for our sins etc. are currently defined as being members of the Christian Religion. However the Christian faith which has been documented to have begun around 33AD has changed from it's original form and today has around 39,000 different denominations. That means that for almost 2000 years it has changed an average of 20 times a year. And why does it change? Because a group of people change their belief from the accepted belief and thus a new religion is born. With that said the oldest scientifically proven human remains from the species Homo Sapiens has been dated to 160,000 years old. If just the Christian religion has changed 39,000 time in 2000 years imagine how many times religion in general has changed in 160,000 years. There would be no documented proof of which religion was oldest and which was first. However we can assume that it is at least 160,000 years old because we can prove that man has been around at least that long. None of the currently practiced Religions are the oldest because we have no documented proof dating back 160,000 years. We can through documented proof determine the age of when religions changed into there current forms. However we can never know where and when the first group of people were "being religious" and what their religion was based on because it has changed millions of times. It is a belief system not a fact system which is why religion is ever evolving. New facts disprove old beliefs, and new unanswered questions create new beliefs. What you know is true today is fact and requires no belief, but what you learn tommorow can change everything.
  • "Zoroastrianism is the oldest of the revealed world-religions, and it has probably had more influence on mankind, directly and indirectly, than any other single faith." http://www.religioustolerance.org/zoroastr.htm
  • The eldest of all religions is that of Gonjasmokanism.. My great great great great grandfather founded it in 1633.. I still practice it today
  • Mysticism
  • Among religions that are still practised today, Hinduism is the oldest, and Zoroastrianism is the oldest monotheistic religion. It's hard to say which is the oldest defunct religion - not all left recognisable signs. Probably, sun worship was one of the earliest.
  • Christianity "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handywork."
  • whole world knows Hinduism is the oldest and richest all other religions are branches of the hinduism why simply fighting in the name of religious, live peace fully without hurting any one and i dont think is there any heavens or please allow everyone to live peacefully
  • think this would be a very hard thing to pinpoint..since idol worship has been here since before the Flood...and will always be here...but the one true thing that has endured MAN and Time is Jehovah!!!
  • 300,000 First evidence of intentional burial of the dead. Sites such as at Atapuerca in Spain, bones of over 32 individuals are found in pit within a cave[1]. 130,000 Earliest undisputed evidence for intentional burial. Neanderthals are burying their dead at sites such as Krapina in Croatia[1]. 100,000 The oldest ritual burial of modern humans is thought to be from a Qafzeh in Israel. There is a double burial of what is thought to be a mother and child. The bones have been stained with red ochre. By 100,000 years ago anatomically modern humans migrated to the Middle East from Africa. However the fossil record of these humans ends after 100kya, leading scholars to believe that population either died out or returned to Africa.[2][3] 100,000 to 50,000 Increased use of red ochre at several Middle Stone Age sites. Red Ochre is thought to have played an important role in ritual. 70,000 Traces of worship of the python discovered in the Ngamiland region of Botswana, which bears rough resemblance to the "Snake Workship" ritual, practised by the ancient Indus Valley Civilization.[4] 50,000 Humans have evolved the traits associated with modern human behavior. Much of the evidence is from Late Stone Age sites in Africa. Modern human behavior includes abilities such as modern language, abstract thought, symbolism and religion[3]. 42,000 Ritual burial of Man at Lake Mungo in Australia. The body is sprinkled with copious amounts of red ochre. this is seen as evidence that the Australians had brought along with them religious rituals from Africa. 40,000 Upper Paleolithic begins in Europe. There is an abundance of fossil evidence including elaborate burials of the dead, venus figurines and cave art. Venus figurines are thought to represent fertility goddesses. The cave paintings at chauvet and Lascaux are believed to represent religious thought. 30,000 Earliest known burial of a shaman.[5] 11,000 The Neolithic Revolution begins. Humans adopt a different lifestyle following the invention of agriculture. The foundations of organized religion are laid following the formation of the first chiefdoms, states and nations.
  • try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
  • How good are these religions, that are centuries old if they do no good to people who believe them & instead make them fight? Will forcibly converting people to a religion help, if converted people don't believe in teachings of that religion? Even if somebody find the oldest religion of the world (with proof), will it change the belief of the entire population of the world? SK
  • As best can be determined, animism was the first religion. Animism is the belief that God is in all things and that all natural things and forces should be worshiped. This belief began too long ago for much more "proof" than prehistoric cave drawings, and small, carved figures.
  • Satanism, but it wasn't known as Satanism until the rise of christianity. Do your own research.
  • the relegion of Adam
  • i thought it was Buddhism.
  • Sun worship. Just a hunch based on human psychology.
  • Obviously HINDUISM.. evidence speaks.Hinduism has such evidences that speaks itself to be the oldest..the vedas like "Ric veda,Arya veda and two more vedas which are thousands and thousands old when no other written script existed proves to be the oldest..The sanskrit language which is the oldest language spoken by DEV and DEVIS (gods) of hindu religion proves again to be the oldest..many religion books also agrees to be hinduism is the oldest..so undoubtedly hinduism is the oldest..
  • http://www.angelfire.com/empire/serpentis666/HOME.html
  • Christianity
  • Humanitarianism is the oldest religion, which God wanted to Create, But his desired was failed. The Christianity, The Hinduism, The Muslims, The Buddhism, The Jainism, The Sikhism so on........are all Made by Human beings not by God.
  • If you mean extant religions there are two directions that you should examine: the SEEDS of Judaism go back to the beginning of civilization. If you mean in a religion that is the same now as it was then, then Hinduism would be the best candidate. It has changed, but only very little since the Aryans invaded the Deccan Plateau. If you extinct (but still recorded) it would have to be the Cults of Nammu, Inanna, Ki, Enki, An, etc. (4000 BC) Before that, no one can tell because there were no records.
  • Humanitarianism is the oldest religion, which God wanted to Create.But his desired was failed. The Christianity, The Hinduism, The Muslim, The Buddhism, The Jainism, The Sikhism and so on are all made by Human not by God, So The Humanitarianism is the Oldest and Gods religion. In my point of view Humanitarianism means (Kind, sympathetic, gentle, understanding, sensitive, supportive, friendly, pleasant, loving, helpful, care, cultured, educated, broadminded, patient etc. So be human make others human with your love. (Anbesatyam - Love alone is Truth) www.anbesatyam.page.tl
  • I feel the answer to this question lies within us, all we have to do is search ourselves first? All religions takes us to a conclusion that actually "God is one" for all(religions) but we never try to find him. Do we know who we really are? And what we are looking for in this world? We all are human beings have a standard shape of body have same thing running in our vanes (called blood). Why different religions? Why oldest religion? & Proof?
  • Probably one of the more far eastern ones. Like Hinduism for example. If you believe, as i do, that life started in Africa it would be a more tribal religion. Probably polytheistic since Christianity came long after the creation of a polytheistic worship. Go to a library if you really want to look up this information. I trust hard proof evidence on everything. The internet is so very corruptible and you don't quite know WHAT to believe here if it doesn't have a good source to follow.
  • Though evrybody think that hinduism is the oldest religion....but it was not actually called hinduism at that time.....it was the sanathan dharma.....which is the oldest......it means eternal dharma..vedic dharma can aptly be defined as sanatana dharma. In English, Dharma is defined by the word 'religion'. But the term religion is incapable to describe the vast meaning of Dharma. In fact, the spirit of Dharma is so vast that it includes things related not only to our present incarnation but to the past and the future incarnations as well.
  • Southern Baptist
  • In the really old times of old, They used to worship YoMann Abner of Mulholland. Who prophetically rose from arm pit of LA and conquered all of his domain. And on the second day he sampled the local herbs, whereupon he did proceed to fall off the mountain, only to be remembered and long revered as the most righteous dude who could ride the gnarly waves. I think I heard that in a gospel song somewhere.
  • Dravidiisim is a part of hinduism... hinduism is a source of all religions, if u believe are not but its true.. hinduism begins 2,00,000 years before from now with proofs.. there is 3 yugams [ages of mankind][dwapara, treta,kaliyug(present)]. hinduism consist 4vedas 1)adharvana vedam 2)sama vedam 3)rhugvedam 4)yagurvanavedam idont know exact about vedas but each one consist great knoweledge like flying saucers, moderan aeroplanes and technology,anotherone consists medical sciences [how to do surgeries], management science and everything about knowledge.. but vedas were written in sanskrit [oldest language in the world & language of gods],, its know few people only..
  • I would say the tribal religions in Africa. Since man expanded from africa the oldest would be from africa.

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