For the most part, NO. Shiite Islam has supplanted Zoroastrianism as the primary religion of Iran. However, some cultural effects of Zoroastrianism remain in Iran and have become part of the Iranian national culture. The most commonly known of these cultural legacies is the celebration of Nourouz or Persian New Year.

Pre-Zoroastrian Iranian religion as similar to the religion of the Vedic Indians. Similar deities such as Indra, Varuna and Mitra were worshipped.

The land we now call Iran is but a fragment of what used to be Iran but wtihin the present political confines, the pre-Zoroastiran people of Iran worshipped a number of deities as well as the mother goddess. In Elam, Nanai and Inshushinak were important and continued to be worshipped locally into late Parthian times, after which they were suppressed and gave way to Zoroastrianism.

In language, the ancient people of Iran, prior to the Iranian Aryans who arrived from Central Asia, spoke a variety of languages belonging to several main groups including Caucasic, and Dravidian.

Persians are practicing the religion of Islam.

Currently, most Persians (or Iranians) are Muslim.

Iranians are a national group, not a religious group and as a result do not have a holy book as such. Currently, most Iranians are Muslims and would have the Qur'an as their holy book. A minority of Iranians today are Baha'i, Jewish, Christian, and the original Iranian Religion: Zoroastrian. Their holy books are: the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Torah, the Bible, and the Avestas.

Zoroastrians are not fire-worshippers, as some Westerners wrongly believe. They believe that the elements are pure and that fire represents God's light or wisdom. Zoroaster, the finder of Zoroastrianism, placed less emphasis on ritual worship, instead focusing on the central ethics of 'Good Words, Good Thoughts and Good Deeds'. Their worship is not prescriptive; its followers can choose whether they wish to pray and how. good? im doin an essay on zoroastrians XD

The Zoroastrian religion is remarkably similar to Christianity, although almost two thousand years older. It is a monotheistic religion, with one god, Ahura Mazda, a 'devil' called Angra Mainyu, who rules over hell, while the righteous go to heaven. The Saoshyant will be born of a virgin and will conquer evil and rule over the last judgement. There is a Holy Spirit that sometimes seems to be Ahura Mazda and at other times seems to be independent, called Spenta Mainyu. The seven Amesha Spenta have close parallels in the seven archangels of Judaism and Christianity.

Judaism's first contact with Zoroastrianism was during the Babylonian Exile, when the Persians conquered Babylon and freed the Jews. This contact could explain the subsequent Jewish that the dead are defiled, and move to entombment of the bodies and subsequent interment of the bones in ossuaries, or bone boxes. Zoroastrians believed that the dead must not be allowed to defile the soil, and must not be cremated, but modern hygiene considerations are beginning to modify their mortuary practices.

I believe it was highly moralistic because the followers of Zoroastrianism believed that if 'you were a honest and moral indivisual you would enter a heavenly paradise' during the afterlife. They also believed that if 'you did something bad, demons would fling their evil brethen into a hellish realm of pain and suffering.'

Judaism is not based on another religion. In fact, it was unique from all other religions of the time because it introduced monotheism along with a number of other concepts such as individual rights, ethical treatment of animals, etc.

It is called a Fire Temple.

barack obama

Its found in the Middle East, mostly in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A smaller population exists in India. It was founded in Persia and after invasion from Muslims, some fled East into Pakistan, India, etc

According to our tradition, any influence was only in minor matters, since the followers of Zoroaster believed in two gods, not One (Talmud, Sanhedrin 39a). Also, there were times when the Zoroastrians persecuted the Jews.

Zoroastrianism is possibly the oldest continuing monotheistic religion. Like all religions, it underwent change over time, but an essential feature is the worship of one supreme god, Ahura Mazda. In ancient practice, Zoroastrians placed great store on honesty and commitment. As we find in the Bible, when the Jews told King Darius of a promise once made by his predecessor Cyrus, Darius unquestioningly fulfilled that promise. It would be hard to find evidence of any ruler, past or present, placing such store on keeping an assumed commitment. There are many striking similarities and many differences in beliefs and practice between Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Some of the ancient beliefs of Zoroastrianism that are found in post-Exilic Judaism include angels and Satan. However, the Jews seem to have baulked at Satan being an autonomous adversary to God, as he is in Zoroastrianism, instead seeing him as a loyal servant of God, whose role is to tempt and test the faithful. The modern Christian concept of Satan more closely reflects the Zoroastrian 'Hostile Spirit' Angra Mainyu. The four sacred elements of earth, wind fire and water are found in Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian temples kept an eternal flame, and would protect it from invaders. Traditionally, Zoroastrians could neither burn nor bury the dead, because the soil and fire are both sacred; instead, they exposed the bodies of the dead, so that vultures could dispose of them without defiling the elements. The Jews went through a phase when the dead were exposed, but this was only to allow the flesh to rot, after which the bones were stored in an ossuary - once again to avoid defiling the elements. Judaism looks forward to the arrival of the Messiah, but Zoroastrianism teaches that the coming saviour, the Saoshyant, will be born of a virgin and lead humanity in the last battle against evil. The duality of heaven and hell are also found in Zoroastrianism.

Christian answer: They probably believe bad things happen for the same reason most other religion does. And this reason is because of what is usually called sin. There is a sort of master of all evil and his name is Satan or the Devil. He is responsible, in all three of the largest religious beliefs on earth (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), for bringing sin into the world because he caused the first humans to disobey God and commit the first sin. And because of this act, sin is inherit in every human being and is often called man's sin nature.

Zoroaster was the prophet of Zoroastrianism, much like Mohammed is with Islam, which makes sense, as both of them are believed by Arabs & Persians, especially in Iran and Iraq, as Zoroastrianism is still quite strong there. By Ray McIntyre What is Zoroastrianism? Simply put, Zoroastrianism is the name given to the religion and beliefs based on the teachings which are attributed to the Persian religious leader Zararthushtra ( in Greek Zoroaster, in later Persian Zartosht). Mazdayasna (worship of Ahura Mazda) is the name of the religion that recognizes the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, the creator who Zarathushtra discovered by studying nature and who was proclaimed by Zoroaster to be the one uncreated Creator of all (God). "Mazdaism" is a transliteration of Mazdayasna, which means " Worshipper of Mazda." Most followers of Ahura Mazda call themselves Zoroastrians or Behdini (followers of the Good Religion.) Who was Zoroaster? Zoroaster is generally accepted as an historical figure, but dating just when Zoroaster lived is fraught with difficulty. The most widely accepted calculations place him near to 1200 BCE thus making him a candidate for the 'founder of the earliest religion based on revealed scripture' while there are other estimates that date his life anywhere between the 18th and the 6th centuries BCE. The Gathas and the chapter known as Yasna Haptanghaiti are all written in Old Avestan and the language used in these passages is much older than the language used in other parts of the Zoroastrian writings which are called the Avesta and which are written in what is called Young Avestan. Old Avestan and Vedic Sanskrit are both descendants of the Proto-Indo-Iranian language and the Gathic Old Avestan is still quite close in structure to the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda in language usage. However the Sanskrit of the Rig-Veda is somewhat more conservative in outlook and structure than the Avestan of the Gathas and so, based on the changes in the languages, scholars date the Gathas to around 1000 BCE, give or take a couple of centuries. ** But note also that the issue lies with how old is the Rig Veda, which no one seems to know with anything approximating certainty. There are also those who think the Gathas are older than the Rig Veda, Dastur Dhalla, and some other linguists see the Gaathic language as more complex and archaic. Most of what we know about Zoroaster comes to us from a variety of sources, the Avesta, the Gathas, Greek historical works, archaeological evidence and oral history. Zoroaster was born on the cusp as societies shifted from being mainly nomadic to a more settled agrarian lifestyle. He lived in an area of the Middle East then known as Chorasmia ( An area roughly occupying present day Northern Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan) He was married, he had three daughters and three sons and it was at 30 that he received enlightenment. He preached for many years before his wife and children converted with the first convert being a cousin. These statements are all based on legends that have been woven in traditions. They probably contain some truths and facts, but there is no way of ascertaining them and thus cannot be taken as historical. The later Avestan writings make Zoroaster a kind of 'superman', wrestling with demons and being tempted by Ahriman. The Gathas, however, show him an ordinary mortal, perplexed by his call, utterly certain of Ahura Mazda and bewildered by his lack of success. Eventually he converted King Vistaspa who reigned in eastern Iran and with the king's conversion, Zoroastrianism became a force in the region and there, as well in India among the Parsees, it still survives. Who is Ahura Mazda? For Zoroastrians, God (called Ahura Mazda) , is the beginning and the end,the creator of everything visible and invisible. Although it is recognized that the concept of "God", like many others, is slightly different in Zarathushtrian thought. Zarathushtra might best be considered, if we are to use modern terms to describe his doctrines, a Panentheist, that is he perceives a Supreme Being Thus this Creator is immanent in Creation but also transcends it . In fact as has been said one can see Mazda Ahura as containing creation in a way. Moreover, the very concept of Lordship and Sovereignty are different, Ahura which is often translated as lord was the name of a set of old arya Gods which were totally abstract lacking any form, they can best considered as energy since they have no body, yet they are personal. In addition Mazda does not into impose Her/His will but rather teachs, persuades etc. Thus Mazda's relationship with mortals is one of a partner, an ally, a friend and even a soul mate ) This being who is source of all that exists. The name Ahura Mazda contains both masculine and feminine elements. (Ahura, the Lord, is masculine while Mazda, Most or Super Wise or Knowledgeable, and Most or Super Giving or Generous One, is feminine.) Ahura Mazda, according to Zoroastrian belief, is the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth. In the Gathas, which are the oldest texts in Zoroastrianism and which are considered to have been written by Zoroaster himself, the teacher gives devotion to no other divinity besides Ahura Mazda. What are the Gathas? The Gathas are scripture written in an ancient Indo-Iranian verse form. Gatha means 'Song.' There are 17 Gathic hymns, they exist both on their own and as part of the much larger Avesta. They are the earliest of the Zoroastrian writings. What about Dualism? Perhaps the most well-known of later Zoroastrian doctrines is the doctrine of Dualism or Ditheism. This posits that Ahura Mazda has two 'emanations' called Spenta Mainyu (Good Mind) and Angra Mainyu (Bad or Evil Mind.) These became in later Zoroastrian belief Ormazd and Ahriman. This doctrine, however, is purely a product of later thought. In Zoroaster's revelation,there is only Ahura Mazda who will ultimately triumph over the 'lie'(Yasna 48.1.) But not here and not now. For now human beings must choose which of the two 'forces' they will serve, Truth or the Lie, this choosing is a life-long affair but righteousness begins by making the first choice for Ahura Mazda and for the Truth. Quote:"…Listen to the best things with your ears, reflect upon them with an unbiased mind. Then let each man and women for him or her self choose between the two ways of thinking. Awaken to my doctrine, before this great event of choice comes upon you…" [Avesta: The Gathas: Song 3:2 (FreeTranslation)] What about Converts?There are two main groups who can be considered 'cultural' Zoroastrians, they are the Zoroastrian community in Iran and the Parsee community in India. The Parsees (refugees in India from the invasion of Iran by the Muslims) do not allow conversion at all. The Iranian community does but quietly and carefully for conversion from Islam is considered a crime in Iran. But as well as these groups there are groups of 'Gathas-only' Zoroastrian converts by choice springing up throughout the world with the major centres for such groups being the US and South America. So it is indeed possible to convert to Zoroastrianism. See also the article at: http://tinyurl.com/svs5k What does Zoroastrianism teach? This part of the article I have struggled with, the teachings of Zoroastrianism are deep and wide but I think the following quote from: http://www.zoroastrianism.cc/universal_religion.html is perhaps the best definition I have read. Quote:"… Zarathushtra's is a message about a spirituality that progresses towards self-realization, fulfillment and completeness, as a good creation of a totally good God. It is a message of freedom - freedom to choose, freedom from fear, freedom from guilt, freedom from sin, freedom from stultifying rituals, superstitious practices, fake spirituality and ceremonials. The God of Zarathustra, is not a God of "Thou shalt" and "Thou shall not". God in Zoroastrianism does not care what you wear, what and when you eat or where and when you worship. God instead cares how righteous, progressive and good you are. 1. God is not about fear guilt and Condemnation. 2. God is Wisdom Love and Logic. 3. God does not have favorites and does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, sex, race or class. 4. God treats humans with dignity and respect. 5. God is not a slave master, or despot, among his serfs. 6. God is man's Soul Mate and Partner. 7. God is not Jealous, Wrathful or Vengeful.8. Man is not sinful, fallen or depraved. 9. God has no opponent and heaven and hell are states of mind and being.10. Man was created to progress to God-likeness and eliminate wrong from the Cosmos in partnership with God. The Zoroastrian Religion pictures humanity as the growing and evolving creation of a God that respects it, and wants it to collaborate in the task of preserving, nourishing, fostering and refreshing this Living World and all it offers. A Zoroastrian is supposed to progress towards God (Ahura Mazda) by their own choices. Choosing to do good, and to avoid choosing to do wrong or evil. Zoroastrianism is thus the first truly ethical religion of human-kind and teaches that mortals achieve their goal of god-likeness and spiritual completeness by fighting evil through good thoughts, words and deeds. …"

Ahura Mazda is the deity and his prophet Zoroaster

About 100,000 in Iran, and india. mostly.