When did religions start?

Answer 1

According to The Bible: A dictionary defines religion as "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs." It further defines it as "something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience." The Genesis account of the Garden of Eden is one of the most widely known accounts in the Bible. In this account, we find that Jehovah placed Adam and his wife, Eve in the garden, and provided them with a set of standards. These were simple commands. One well-known law was that there was a restriction against eating from one particular tree.-(Genesis 2:17) Another simple command was to populate and subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28) Whether Adam and Eve performed any specific rituals, the Bible does not say, but they most certainly had to believe in God, and obey him. This, by definition, would constitute a religion. A few years later, we read in Genesis 4:2-4, Adam's sons, Cain and Abel, both made sacrifices to God. Cain's was an offering of crops from his garden, and Abel's was an animal sacrifice. This also would constitute an act of religion. So right from man's early start, religion has been in existence.

Answer 2

Religion started before recorded history began. It was not until written records began (in Sumeria, Egypt, and China) that the various beliefs and customs were transcribed into a clearer form. However, statues and other icons exist that show some of the forms that religion took.

Religions and Questions

In my opinion, religion was a manifestation of hope, and used to answer questions that seemed to be impossible to answer. Whether the question is "what is lightning?" asked by cavemen, or "what happens when we die?" (still debated today), the hope of a higher power to save one from uncertainty, to provide the answers, is also the beginning of religion.

The Bible and Man

Viewing it from the Bible account, religion would have started as soon as God created an intelligent being. That 'being' would know his Maker, and would give his Creator 'thanks' and would 'obey' his Maker. This is what 'religion' from the Bible's angle is all about.

According to the Bible, angels were created long before mankind was created. They would have worshiped their Maker by thanking him and giving him obedience. Therefore religion really started up in heaven, in the spirit realm. As long as intelligent creatures were obedient, religions didn't need to be 'named'.

On Earth, religion would have started right after Adam was given life as a living being. He was given instructions to follow. Unfortunately over the years, people started 'disobeying' their Creators instructions. And religions started to 'name themselves'. Sometimes they named their religion after a 'person' (ie Lutherans) Others just like to be called after Jesus, they call themselves 'Christians'.

One religion has actually named itself by placing God's most holy personal name upon themselves. This is quite unique. God's name is Jehovah, and they call themselves 'Jehovah's Witnesses'. I guess the angels are all witnesses of Jehovah too.

There are also some who worship Satan, the enemy of Jehovah. That religion would have started right after Satan disobeyed Jehovah, and others started to obey Satan instead. Probably right after the Garden of Eden.

Answer 3

The entire ancient world possessed the original traditions of the Creation, the existence of the human soul and the afterlife, etc.

One thing that researchers agree upon is that mankind has always believed in a Higher Power. Archaeology has shown that no ancient society ever existed that did not believe in the supernatural.(See: Can you show me that God exists?)

Based upon a massive worldwide study of the most ancient inscriptions and the earliest levels of civilization, Dr. Wilhelm Schmidt (in his twelve-volume Der Ursprung Der Gottesidee) concluded that the original belief was monotheistic; a belief in One God (see footnote 1, below). It was a simple belief in the Creator (Dyeus Pater; Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way relatively quickly to polytheism and idolatry, but its traces could still be seen by the careful researcher, just as (for example) Proto-Indo European has left indelible marks within the later languages. Other traditions also are traceable worldwide, such as the religious significance of the number seven, and the immortality of the soul.

The process by which the awareness of One God gave way to a belief in many gods, has been described by Scandinavian researchers (see footnote 2) as splitting ("Gottespaltung"): the people gradually viewed God's attributes of truth, righteousness, fertility etc., as separate from Him, and afterwards personified and worshiped the attributes themselves, until God was largely forgotten.

According to Jewish tradition also, (Rashi commentary, Genesis 4:26), monotheism is more ancient than polytheism. Maimonides (see footnote 3, below) describes the process by which polytheism began: "A couple of centuries after the Creation, mankind made a great mistake. They said that since God had created the stars and spheres and placed them on high, accordingly it is fitting for people to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor. They perceived this to be the will of God, that people should magnify and honor the stars. They began to praise and glorify them with words, and prostrate themselves before them, because by doing so, they would (according to their false conception) be indirectly honoring God too."

This descent into polytheism contributed to the weakening of any sense of religious belief and was also used as justification for excessive and licentious behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate their putative actions. See: Cruelties of the polytheists.

It was the original belief which Abraham reinstated through his teaching of ethical monotheism.

Footnotes:

1) Albright, "From the Stone Age," p.170; and J.A. Wilson, "The Culture of ancient Egypt," p.129. Also Baron, "A Social and Religious History," vol. I, p.44 and 311. Also James Meek, "Hebrew Origins," p.188, quoting Langdon, Lagrange and John Ross. Also Martin Nilsson, Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaften, 2nd ed., p.61, 141, 220 and 394.

2) G. W. Anderson, in "The Old Testament and Modern Study," p.287. Also Friedrich Baethgen, in Beitraege zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte, p.288. Also Pallotino, "The Etruscans," p. 158 and 167.

3) See the full quote from Maimonides, in: "How did polytheism start?"