When did religion begin?
What happens when we die?
Religion timelines
The first evidence of religion is found in burial rituals of the deceased. The ancient Egyptian religion worshipped over 2000 different gods of the underworld, the most widely known being Isis, Osiris, Horus, Amun, Ra, Hathor, Thoth, Anubis and Ptah. Depictions of gods and the afterlife on the walls of Egyptian tombs may have been older than 3000 BCE, when it was believed this ancient religion was established. Mummification was a common burial ritual, as it was believed to preserve the dead so that they could be reborn in the afterlife. The religion declined after the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC as Christianity took over. Today Islam is regarded the state religion of Egypt.
A group of people in the Indian Indus Valley lived according to a strict hierarchical social structure called Brahmanism around 1700 BCE, with priests, scholars and teachers at the top. Over time this evolved into Hinduism with belief in multiple gods, karma and reincarnation. Some believe Hinduism started thousands of years earlier and was verbally passed down over many generations, which eventually was transcribed into many Hindu scriptures. To learn more, see our pages on Hinduism and Buddhism.
What happens when we die?
In ancient Greek religion and mythology there were twelve gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes and Hestia. Although they were believed to be immortal, they behaved and looked like humans. Greek mythology originated from centuries of oral tradition from Crete around 1200 BCE, but it faded with the rise of Christianity. There are no single scriptures like the Bible or Torah, but there are some worship writings to the Greek gods that still exist today.
Judaism originated when God made a covenant with Abraham, believed to be Monday, October 7, 3761 BCE, promising to make his descendants a sacred people and grant them a homeland. Abraham circumcised himself, symbolising the covenant between God and all his descendants. This is the basis for male circumcision in the Jewish faith. According to the Torah, God chose Abraham to be the father of Isaac, the founder of the Jewish people. The foundation of Jewish culture rests on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the prophet Moses. Moses was a Jewish man raised as an Egyptian prince and was appointed God's prophet. After enduring generations of bondage in Egypt, the Jewish people were led by Moses out of enslavement on a journey to Canaan (Exodus). During this time, Moses presented the Israelites with the Ten Commandments that he received from God on Mount Sinai. This is the foundation for the Jewish religion. Although not verified, Moses is credited with writing the Torah, comprising the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Judaism shares this Abrahamic heritage, with Christianity and Islam tracing their history back to the ancient Israelites and the worship of the "God of Abraham". During the life of Jesus, a new group was formed known as the followers of Christ, who would become known as Christians and follow the Bible's teachings. Christians and Jews continue to believe in the same God the Father, but Judaism does not accept Jesus as the Messiah, only following the Torah, and is still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. Islam split from Christianity when a prophet called Mohammed claimed to have been visited by the Archangel Gabriel in 610 AD and revealed messages that would become the Quran, the book of Islam, and lead Muslims (people who follow Islam) to worship Allah, their one true, supreme and universal God. As with Judaism, Muslims believe Jesus was only a prophet and not the Messiah, as believed by Christians. Many Christians don't believe an angel appeared to Mohammed, and those that do believe it was not the Archangel Gabriel but a fallen angel sent to deceive Christians and lead them away from following God and His word in the Bible.