Oldest religions in the world?

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 BC. The oldest religions still widely practiced are Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Jainism. Hinduism originated in India, Jainism and Buddhism in Nepal, Judaism in Israel and Taoism in China. Shintoism, a Japanese spiritual practice still practiced today, has more ancient origins, but it is not really a religion. Other very ancient forms of worship include pantheism, Zoroastrianism and Confucianism.

Early forms of worship

Pre-organized forms of religion generally centered around rituals, ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism. Ritual burials are speculated to have occurred as late as 300,000 years ago and have almost certainly been practiced since at least 100,000 BC Ancestor worship also played an important role in pre-arranged worship and has been found throughout the world. Shamanism, the practice of a selected person entering an altered state of consciousness to communicate with spirits or animals, was also widely practiced and is thought to be evidenced by cave paintings dating back to 320,000 BC. This was closely related to animism, the belief that all things have a soul or a spirit.

As cities began to develop, god and goddess worship became more common. Around 35,000 BC, many figurines in the shape of women began to be created, which are thought to have been used in a form of goddess worship. Shinto practices began to develop in Japan around 14,000 BC, although they were not codified until the 8th century AD. In 8 BC, the first known man-made temple, called Göbekli Tepe, was built. It was apparently used in shamanic or animistic worship.

organized religions
Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief in many gods and goddesses, and was practiced by a number of societies, including the Sumerians, Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans, Ancient Chinese, and Celts. While all of these societies are worshiped differently, polytheistic religions tend to have similar types of deities, such as creator deities, water deities, mother goddesses, and love deities. For example, Isis was a mother deity in ancient Egypt, while Ninsun played a similar role in Sumerian culture, as did Gaia in Greek culture. Similarly, the role of the deity of water was played by Mazu in China, Poseidon in Greece, Neptune in Rome and Lir in the Celtic tradition.

Hinduism

Hinduism is the oldest organized religion, third largest and the main religion of India. It has no known founder, as it was organized by a variety of traditional beliefs from different cultures and mythologies. The roots of Hinduism are thought to go back approximately 5,000 years. Hinduism has two major theistic movements: the worship of Vishnu called Vaishnavism and the worship of Shiva or Shaivism. It advocates a commitment to dharma, an ideal lifestyle. Hindus, or believers in Hinduism, believe in karma, or the force of one’s actions, and in reincarnation, or the passing of a soul from one body to another.

Judaism

The religion of the Jews, Judaism is considered to be the matrix of Christianity and Islam. With a history of more than 4,000 years, Judaism is based on monotheism, the belief in one God. The Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament in Christianity, is the basic source of Jewish faith, especially its first five books collectively called the Torah or Pentateuch. Judaism follows a system of laws, called Halachah, which regulates personal values, family relationships, social responsibility, and civil and criminal justice.
Buddhism

Buddhism is the religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or the awakened one, in the 6th century BC It was one of the most successful religious movements that spread throughout India and other Asian countries. Buddhism can be divided into two main branches: the more conservative Theravada, or “Way of the Elders”, and the diverse and liberal Mahayana, or “Great Vehicle”. Buddhist teaching centers on the Four Noble Truths: suffering or duhkha, desire as the cause of suffering, suffering can end, and the existence of a way to end suffering.

Jainismo

Jainism is believed to have been founded by Mahavira in the 6th century BCE, although Jains consider him to be only the last of the Tirthakaras, or 6 founders of the religion. The philosophy of Jainism centers on the belief that every living thing has a soul, and thus promotes non-injury to all forms of life. Jainism is divided into two sects: the Svetambara and the Digambara. The Svetambaras wear white clothes, while the Digambaras go naked. Jain monks, however, commonly wear cloths over their mouths to prevent them from breathing unconsciously and accidentally injuring a living being.
Taoism
Taoism is thought to have been founded around the 3rd or 4th century BC, which date is the main text of Taoism, the Daodejing. The author of the Daodejing, Laozi, may have lived in the same period as Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. Those who practice Taoism try to live in accordance with the “way” or dao, which is the completely indescribable source and flow of everything. The main concepts in Taoism are wu wei, which is the process of doing things effortlessly or unintentionally, and the “three treasures”, which are compassion, restraint and humility. This religion is connected to many physical practices, such as qigong and tai chi, as well as the concept of yin yang, which is the belief that opposites are actually completely interconnected.

Other religions
Other very ancient religions include Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, mystery cults and paganism. Zoroastrianism is thought to have been founded around the 6th century BC and is known to be one of the first religions to use the concept of the struggle between good and evil. Confucianism, which is more of a philosophy than a religion, was founded by Confucius in the 5th century BC It assumes that there is an ideal structure and hierarchy of the world and that people have a moral obligation to fulfill their roles in that hierarchy.
Mystery cults took place mainly in ancient Greece and Rome and involved the secret, usually ritual worship of specific deities and deities. Notable mystery cults included the Eleusinian mysteries, centered on the goddesses Demeter and Persephone; the cult of Isis, which centered on the Egyptian goddess Isis, and later other similar goddesses; and the cult of Cybele, who was a mother goddess.

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