What was the first Religion?

[Anonymous]

Adam and Eve technically did not have a religion. But seriously what is oldest religion?

[Anonymous]

I once read that Zoroastrianism is among the oldest religions. Interested in learning more from others who are more knowledgeable on this topic.

[Anonymous]

Depends on how you define religion.

[Anonymous]

Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

?why do you say it's "pagan," You're not using that pejoratively I hope?

[Anonymous]

The ancient Egyptian religions are probably the oldest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on how you define religion.

+1. Magic, shamanism preceded and evolved into religion. IMHO, "religion" requires a deity to be worshipped. Early ones were definitely polytheistic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve technically did not have a religion. But seriously what is oldest religion?

This is a rough overview and more knowledgeable people are welcome to add more:

The Oldest continuous living human cultures (and therefore also religions) in the world are found among Australian Aborigines - especially in Arnhemland, Northern Territory, which is Aboriginal owned land. Even Australians need visas to visit. The Aboriginal clans formally in urban areas especially in south east Australia experienced heavy loss of life, culture, land and language due to introduction of diseases to which they had no resistance and later to colonial oppression. There were 500 or so distinct aboriginal languages prior to European settlement and that number has been decimated. Tragically, modern demographic patterns in non aboriginal owned areas are very similar to American native Indian - very high adult mortality rates, high maternal death rates, high rates of alcoholism, high rates of diabetes and heart disease due to poverty and despair living on the fringes of the dominant society.

Australia has slowly been working toward reconciliation and repentance for the many horrors committed against Aborigines. We have so much to learn from them and their environmental management.

Despite the diversity of languages and customs, Aborigines generally have extremely creative religious traditional beliefs and customs and even more complex kinship rules even if on the surface it looks like not much is happening. Everything is about relationship and telling stories - relationship to each other and to the land.

The religious creation beliefs are referred to as the Dream Time when ancestral beings walked, danced, and sung reality into being.

There is great emphasis on custodianship of nature and not of ownership. Kin groups are responsible for different lands and fully initiated men will often walk for long distances singing ancestral songs that are needed to keep the land well.

There is evidence that Aborigines invented agricultural many thousands of years ago but chose to remain Hunter gatherers as that life style affords them far great leisure time to enjoy life, tel stories and take care of the land.

Like native American Indians and other indigenous groups, they rarely take more food out of the environment than they needed for survival and gave thanks to the life they were eating. There were complex rules for who could eat what part of animals was they caught according to their role within the community. Some of the famous X-ray cave art is thought to be depicting some of those social rules for who could eat what part of animals .

I have been hunting with aborigines in Arnhemland and they can hear and kill kangaroos before I saw or noticed a thing. They see six seasons where European settlers see two in the tropics - wet and dry season. They notice many subtle changes in nature. Many Aborigines believe that climate change and degradation of the environment is a result of humans not fulfilling their spiritual responsibilities to safe guard and honor the land.

[Anonymous]

Urg did a flip off a cliff at the same time thunder struck, everyone thought he was so cool and he became a God to the people. Urg worship continued for almost 50 years after his death but fizzled out when people getting sun burns blamed a jealous Sun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

?why do you say it's "pagan," You're not using that pejoratively I hope?

You seem unnecessarily triggered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

?why do you say it's "pagan," You're not using that pejoratively I hope?

np. "Pagan" isn't a pejorative. Why would you think that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Adam and Eve technically did not have a religion. But seriously what is oldest religion?

Adam and Eve is allegory.

[Anonymous]

hindu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

?why do you say it's "pagan," You're not using that pejoratively I hope?

I think PP is just incorrectly using the word to mean non-Christian, which is not the actual definition. Mistaken, but not pejorative.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pagan religions. Reverence for earth, sun, moon.

Hinduism or what the name of it was before it was labeled as Hinduism, Sanatana Dharma, is likely the oldest continuously practiced pagan religion.

?why do you say it's "pagan," You're not using that pejoratively I hope?

You seem unnecessarily triggered.

Perhaps, but can you didn't answer the question