What was the dominating religion in the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

The Catholic church was the one and only religion in the middle ages.

A Some What Wider View.

The Middle Ages started in 476 AD and ended in 1500 AD.

If you look at the entire world, the peoples had many religious beliefs.

The major Religious influences and their (approximate) dates of inception:

Shinto - is a nature spirit based belief system that went without a formal name until the advent of Buddhism in Japan, when Shinto was used to describe that which was not Buddhism.

Shamanism - traced to prehistory throughout parts of Asia, Europe, Africa Australia, and the Americas.

Paganism - traced to prehistory throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Americas.

Judaism - 2085 BC

Hinduism - 1500 BC

Buddhism - 560 BC

Taoism - 550 BC

Jainism - 599 BC

Christianity - 30 AD

Roman Catholicism - 590 AD

Islam - 610 AD

Protestantism - 1515 AD

The Continents and their major religious influences:

Asia

Japan - Shinto, Buddhism, Taoism, 1549 Christianity arrives in Japan,

China - Buddhism, 1262 Marco Polo makes China aware of Christianity.

India - Buddhism, Taoism,

700s - Muslims invade India

1498 - Vasco da Gama reaches India

1500 - Christianity introduced;

the Middle east is predominantly Islamic - some areas can trace their Judaic history back to pre-Christian time.

Africa

Paganism, Shamanism,

610 AD Arabs trade in Africa (Islam)

1470s Portuguese (Christianity)

Europe

Judaism, Shamanism, Paganism,

711 Muslims conquer Spain;

750 Book of Kells (Pagan) Ireland;

880-911 the height of the Viking (Pagan) raids in Europe;

966 Byzantine conversion of Russia to Christianity;

1054 Great Schism between Roman & Eastern Orthodox Churches;

1095 - 1099 first crusade,

1187 Jerusalem falls to Saladin;

1204 Crusaders sack Constantinople;

1378 - 1417 the Western Schism of the papacy;

1429-1431 Joan of Arc;

1478 - 1834 Spanish Inquisition

Australia, Polynesia and the south Pacific Islands also had shamanistic and animistic belief systems of their own and would continue to practice their beliefs well after the Middle Ages. Captain Cook didn't arrive in Australia until 1770

North America

In North America, there were various shamanistic and paganistic belief structures in place.

1001 (approx.) the Vikings who still had pagan beliefs had arrived in the north (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the upper United States).

1492 Christianity begins to make its presence felt in Central America with the arrival of the Spanish.

1496 French & English arrive in North America

South America

- there were various shamanistic and paganistic belief structures in place.

1492 Columbus - Caribbean Islands;

1498 Columbus- Venezuela;

1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral - claims Brazil for Portugal;

1502 Columbus - Honduras, - Costa Rica;

1516 Juan Diaz - Argentina

1517 Franciso Hernandez de Cordoba - Mexico; Panama;

1524 Pedro de Alvarado - El Salvador

1535 Conquistadors - Venezuela;

1535 Spanish conquest of Colombia;

Antarctica

In the interest of being complete, there were no human inhabitants of Antarctica during the Middle Ages, (we decline to make any speculation on the spiritual paths of the local fauna)…

Summary

In looking at the world at large during the Middle Ages, and using the criteria of numbers of followers of any specific religion it would appear Hinduism, Buddhism and various Pagan and Shamanistic beliefs far out weight the Christian followers.