ORIGIN OF

WORLD
RELIGIONS
 02
INTRODUCTION
The Emergence of
Religion
The existence of humankind for so long
a time has resulted in the formation of
religion and belief systems. It is certain
that many religions may have been
recorded in the past. Other may have
gradually died down like
Zoroastrianism that once flourished in
South Asia but now only confined in
Iran, India and Central Asia.
 03
DISCUSSION
Religions have
their origin and
are universal in
nature.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Similar to living organism religion are

born in history and gradually develop
into living tradition and affect the lives of
their followers.
This could be in the form of political
affiliation, philosophy, religion, or
spirituality, among many other things.
 WORLD RELIGIONS

Historical Cultural
Foundation Geographical Milieu
Context
 Geography and
culture have an
effect on
establishment and
development of
religions.
 DATE SIGNIFICANCE

2000 BCE Time of Abraham, the patriarch of Israel

1200 BCE Time of Moses, the Hebrew leader Exodus

1100-500 BCE Hindus complied their holy texts, the Vedas

563 – 83 BCE Time of the Buddha, founder of Buddhism

551 – 479 BCE Time of Confucius, founder of Confucianism

200 BCE The Hindu book, Bhagavad Gita, was written

 DATE SIGNIFICANCE
Time of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and founder of
2 to 4BCE – 32 CE
Christianity

32 CE The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

The New Testament was written by the followers

40 – 90 CE
of Jesus Christ
100 CE Beginnings of Shintoism (no known founder)
500 – 580 CE Time of Lao Tze, founder of Daoism
Time of Muhammad, who recorded the Q’ran as
570 – 632 CE
the basis of Islam
 Played a major role in the establishment of the three
monotheistic religions namely: Judaism, Christianity,
and Islam, which account for more than half of the
world’s total population. As such, these organized
religions are collectively known as ABRAHAMIC
RELIGION.
The importance of Abraham in these three religions lies
in the fact that the patriarch appears as an elemental
(primary) figure for monotheistic belief system and a
paragon (exemplar) for extreme devotion.