ipl-logo

Zoroastrianism: The World's Oldest Monotheistic Religion

746 Words3 Pages

By Angela.H

First location/time of Zoroastrianism
The religion started in Iran and India. One of the world’s oldest monotheistic religion is zoroastrianism The Zoroastrians
They were the descendants of the Parsis, also known as the Parsees, which means immigrants from Iran. Zoroastrians have dualistic and monotheistic features.
Founding of the Zoroastrian religion
About 3500 years ago, the Prophet Zoroaster founded the Zoroastrian religion in ancient Iran.
The religion was influenced by Islam and Christianity.

The Holy Book
The Avesta is the religious book of Zoroastrians that contains a collection of sacred texts. The history of the Avesta is found in many Pahlavi texts.

Beliefs of Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrians believe in one highest …show more content…

People must stay away from evil and practice with good intentions.
Belief in the divinity of creation- They believe that God created the world using HImself ( his actual body). So, that means the world is very sacred and holy. We have the responsibility to keep it in order.
Belief in the spiritual nature of the world and human beings-the spirit world came before the material world of fire, water, air, earth, plants, animals and humans. The first humans were Mashye (man) and Mashyane (woman).
Belief in polytheism (worship more than one god). Six Immortal Beings or Amesha Spentas who represent Ahura Mazda’s goodness.
Belief in the basic goodness of people-people are born good, not sinful. People have a choice to stay righteous or follow evil. It depends on the God. God does not promise to take away the sins of …show more content…

Dead bodies are not allowed to be buried in the earth, they are allowed to be eaten by the other animals. They don’t believe in cremation. They think dead bodies should not be buried or thrown into the water. Instead they should be eaten by birds or just disintegrate.
Belief in the tradition of prophets-prophets come to earth at different times to keep the religion going and help the people. In the future Shoshyant (son of Zoroaster）will come to earth for Jugdment Day and destroy all the evil.
Belief in afterlife-in death the spirit leaves the body, but the soul stays for three days and three night. Then it goes to be into the spirit world following Daena, the guardian spirit. It is met with the thoughts and actions from its life. Then it goes to the Chinwad Bridge, where an angel decides if the soul should go to heaven or hell.
Belief in sin and expiation of sin- People get sin by not following the god, by not practicing the three commandments declared by Zoroaster, namely good thoughts, good words and good deeds.
Belief in the judgment day-it happens every 3000 years, god will destroy the evil people, on that day he will give the dead people another chance to say if they go to heaven or

Show More
Related
1839 Words | 8 Pages

Greece and the Middle East When: 323 – 31 BCE Why: Zoroastrianism What: One of the oldest monotheistic religions Where: Persia, modern day Iran When: 6th century

Read More
1751 Words | 8 Pages

The development of Zoroastrianism in the Persian empire during the Achaemenid Dynasty helped develop social loyalties which positively influence it’s leader’s decisions and people’s moral actions. The religions creator called Zoroaster began “preaching a new ideology, based around a single god called Ahura Mazda. This was one of the world's first monotheistic religions”(The Persian Empire: Religion & Social Structure). The Persian empire’s multicultural tolerance at this time allowed new religions such as Zoroastrianism to develop. This religion’s unique beliefs circulating around one god created community in the Persian empire.

Read More
1245 Words | 5 Pages

One of their main beliefs, predestination, had a great affect on their social outlook. Due to the already known beliefs, it was thought that they could only be saved if God chooses to save them. They emphasized hard work and religious piety in their society. People would advocate hard work, productive use of time, and self denial in indulgent things ( Document F). This emulated salvation and set an example to the rest of the society.

Read More
229 Words | 1 Pages

Their religion was based on monotheism and they believed on only one god. The prophet Zoroaster taught people that the world was constantly being separated

Read More
1109 Words | 5 Pages

Principle beliefs Aztec is a polytheistic religion that believed that four universes named ‘suns’ that existed before their universe. Each of the worlds were destroyed and all humans had been wiped out every time. Aztecs believed they were people of the sun and that just like the sun they needed to be fed. Therefore the only way of ensuring the sun would rise and have enough energy to bear crops is through offerings (mainly human sacrifice).

Read More
1014 Words | 5 Pages

Faith strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. In in a simplified way faith is what you believe in.according to God action speaks louder than words. In the text “TECHNIQUE: FAITH AND GOOD WORK” it states “Suppose a brother or sister without clothing and daily food. if one of you says to them “Go in peace; keep warm and fed,” but does doe nothing about their physical need, what good is it?” in the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Read More
618 Words | 3 Pages

Encyclopedia of World Religions: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 1. Oxford: ABC-Clio, 2002. N. pag.

Read More
1559 Words | 7 Pages

Though having sundry ethnicity, in general, they have faith in interconnectedness of living and non-living things. They walk an extra mile for “Balance and Harmony” in the life. Also, to the highest extent, these people feel that people can possess supreme spiritual powers. So, in view of this, Aminism was the common doctrine among them, which back up the idea of religion founded upon the divine knowledge that the cosmos and all natural objects have feelings or spirits. For example, thunder storms, rain and geographic structures, such as caves or rivers, and mountains own souls or moods as well.

Read More
1101 Words | 5 Pages

According to the culture and religion of the people, the existence of everything can be classified as either good or bad. There are the holy people who are supernatural, and the people that reside on the earth’s surface are two different entities. The holy people through circumstances made their entry into the world and thereby came the first man and woman and they are the first ancestors of all men on earth. Thy provided the earth with all that is needed for survival and then moved to exist in a different realm of the earth that is said to be above the earth. It is, however, to be noted that they are interested in the happenings of the world and the people that inhabit the earth’s surface.

Read More
369 Words | 2 Pages

Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living religions, is a pre-Islamic and ancient monotheistic religion. Along with monotheistic features, Zoroastrianism also contains dualistic features and it shares many central concepts with the major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is centered on the words of the prophet Zoroaster and focuses worship upon Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, and also acknowledges two competing principles representing good and evil: Spenta Mainyu (“Bounteous Spirit”) and Angra Mainyu (“Destructive Spirit”) (What, n.d.). People are free to choose between the good or evil, but then they are responsible for their choices and deeds.

Read More
156 Words | 1 Pages

In the ancient world, the Mesopotamian religion was polytheist. The Mesopotamians thought they were created as servants of their gods and goddesses. They built big temples known as Ziggurats to worship them and keep them content. If someone in Mesopotamia was suffering from an illness or received a punishment, Mesopotamians thought they had committed some offense against their gods. Compared to the Mesopotamian religion, the Egyptian was polytheist, but also pantheist because some of their gods represented natural phenomena as rain, sun and rivers.

Read More
1563 Words | 7 Pages

This is why monotheism is the worship and belief one "true" god. The origin of where monotheism started is not clear. Some say that it started when Moses brought it to the ancient Hebrews. Some say it evolved from polytheism. Others say there is a documented case of monotheism in Egypt during the rule of Akhenaten.

Read More
798 Words | 4 Pages

The Achaemenids, Parthians, and Sasanians helped to carve out the Middle East and form its distinctive culture. Zoroaster’s teachings affected all of the later religions, giving a meaning to good and evil, providing a morality in an age consumed by constant fighting and turmoil. It provided a basis for Judaism to expand upon, which in turn lead to the founding of Christianity and later Islam, all three of which are a very important part in the lives of many across the world. Altogether, Zoroastrianism has had a profound effect on the lives of all of humanity, and should be remembered as one of the stepping stones towards

Read More
828 Words | 4 Pages

Zoroastrians’ belief and view of God came from the revelations of Zoroastrian and Judaist view developed from God’s communication to Moses. Similarly, Christians’ view of God is shaped and defined by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. In respect to a coming Savior, Judaists waited for the Messiah, Christians wait for Jesus, and Zoroastrians expected the Saoshyant. Even further, all the religions view the world to be in a constant battle between good and evil, and between God and the devil. From the Zoroastrians’ point of view, the Universe is literally a battlefield between Ahura Mazda, the one good God, and Ahriman, the separate spirit of Evil.

Read More
1375 Words | 6 Pages

In general, Christians believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ, Satan, and the idea of life after death in Heaven or Hell. According to the World Scriptures text, Christianity was a missionary religion that quickly spread throughout the Roman Empire. Around 500 B.C.E the Zoroastrian Persian Empire spread from the Arabian sea to Mediterranean sea, which overlapped with Christianity at the time (Van Voorst 265). Christianity was heavily surrounding the Mediterranean and with the importance of trade routes at the time there was bound to be influencing ideas between the two. One may argue that Christianity was the mission religion that influenced Zoroastrianism.

Read More

More about Zoroastrianism: The World's Oldest Monotheistic Religion

Related Topics

Open Document