Oldest religions

[Madhuri]

I see you are all disregarding the religion of "The Dreamtime" continuous for around 40,000 years, and still practiced today. It discusses creation, gives plausible explanations for existence and diversity, it embodies social and moral codes which have succeed for tens of millennia and has equivalents to all the bangs and whistles of any of the current fads mentioned above. Does this mean indigenous religions dont count? Or are you lot implying Australian Aboriginal culture does not exist, one that makes Moses look like a baby and Mohammad an embryo. IMHO a rather arrogant xenocentric myoptic point of view. I would further suggest the Bushmen of the Kalihari would have a similar culture mythology (AKA religion) also in excess of 30,000 years.

Cheers

We know that the Aboriginal people have been in Aus for at least 40,000 years but how do we know when the Dreamtime came about? Do we just assume that it has existed for as long as the Aboriginals or is there evidence?

 

[Tiapan]

We know that the Aboriginal people have been in Aus for at least 40,000 years but how do we know when the Dreamtime came about? Do we just assume that it has existed for as long as the Aboriginals or is there evidence?

http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/aboriginal-history-timeline.html

It would depend on what you consider evidence eg ceremonial burials, ochre covered bodies, Rock art, or the dreaming stories themselves which often reflect geologically accurate descriptions of ice age features such as the land bridge to Tasmania. They did not have churchs or pyramids, bibles or Qurans, but I doubt one could deny the significance of the evidence indicating an advanced paleolithic culture with its own mythology (AKA religion), and little evidence to suggest it is not that same mythology that has carried through to today, having said that it is also an evolving mythology for example check out the Toyota dreaming, perhaps this flexibility is why it has lasted so long, compared with THE BOOK and THE WORD constrained contemporary religions.

http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/index.html

Cheers

 

[Madhuri]

It would depend on what you consider evidence eg ceremonial burials, ochre covered bodies, Rock art, or the dreaming stories themselves which often reflect geologically accurate descriptions of ice age features such as the land bridge to Tasmania. They did not have churchs or pyramids, bibles or Qurans, but I doubt one could deny the significance of the evidence indicating an advanced neolithic culture with its own mythology (AKA religion), and little evidence to suggest it is not that same mythology that has carried through to today.

Cheers

Ok, cool. I didn't know if there was physical evidence to suggest the religion had been around for that long. I like that it has.

 

[painted wolf]

Animist religious practice is the oldest "documented" religion. There is evidence that what was likely animist thought even predates humanity.

Animism is often disregarded as a religion however... mostly due to a casual disregard for the "primitive" and the lack of written scripture.

wa:do

 

[Cypress]

What about Shamanism?
Is that the same as Animism?

 

[painted wolf]

Shamanism is a particular type of Animism practiced in North Eastern Siberia.

wa:do

 

[gnostic]

The Egyptian religion have hieroglyphic texts on the walls of the pyramids, hence known as the Pyramid Texts. The subjects are religious, funereal and mythological.

The oldest of these pyramids (and with these texts) is the pyramid of Unas, dated to 24th century BCE, and located in Saqqara. Unas was the last king of the 5th dynasty (Old Kingdom). 4 other pyramids that have the Pyramid Texts are from 6th dynasty. The Great Pyramids of Giza (4th dynasty) may be older these pyramids of Saqqara, but they don't have texts.

Older than Pyramids of Giza, are the 3rd dynasty pyramids, built in Saqqara. All these pyramids were built in connection to the sun god Re. The centre of Re's worship was located in Iunu, which the Greek called Heliopolis, and the bible called On and has been the centre of worship since the 3rd dynasty.

In any case, the Pyramid Texts are than all the texts that Rakhel listed in her post, the Origin of Major Religions. However, there are many evidences that religion in Egypt existed before Iunu, where many different gods existed in the predynastic period.

The purpose of the pyramid was not merely a tomb for a ruler. It was the symbol of Re, and the afterlife. According to the Pyramid Texts, a king will ascend a ladder (a literal ascension) to reach the bark (boat) of Re. The Egyptians viewed the boat as the sun, which traverse the sky. Reaching this solar boat (bark) or the sun is like reaching heaven. The pyramid is the symbol of that ladder.

This afterlife is different to the Osiris one. Whereas in the pyramid age, only a king be resurrected and reached the solar boat of Re, but in the later age, the Underworld is a dark place, where Osiris rule as king and everyone can be ascended. He will be judged by the jackal-headed god Anubis on the scale, who will record the weigh of person's soul (ba) by the iblis-headed god Thoth. The person's soul is called a ba, and is drawn as either a miniaturized human or the shape of heart. If the soul weigh heavier than the Feather of Truth (or Feather of Maat) then the ba (soul) or heart is eaten by the Devourer, called Ammit. If the scale is "balanced" or the Feather of Truth weighs heavier than the ba, then the spirit akh of the person will go to Field of Reeds, which is Egyptian version of the Greek Elysian Field or Christian heaven.

 

[Sunstone]

Animism is often disregarded as a religion however... mostly due to a casual disregard for the "primitive" and the lack of written scripture.

wa:do

Yeah, but if you want to understand what all other religions rose out of, you cannot seriously disregard animism.

 

[painted wolf]

Yeah, but if you want to understand what all other religions rose out of, you cannot seriously disregard animism.

Absolutely... but the long running bias was to disregard anything "primitive" as being tangential to the "civilized".
Thus the classic definition of "civilized" was written to exclude "primitive" peoples. (this also allowed for "bringing the gifts of cilivization" like "true religion" to said unfortunates)

wa:do