What is the second oldest religion in the world?

Answer 1

Zoroastrianism : Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion of Persia. It was founded about 3500 years ago by the prophet Zarathushtra. Arising out of the polytheistic traditions of ancient India and Iran, he was one of the first monotheists in human history

: Zarathustra was believed to have lived during 600 B.C. in Persia, which is the region covered by modern-day Iran and Iraq. Current estimates have revised this date to anywhere between 1500 B.C. and 1000 B.C. This would make Zoaroastrianism the second oldest world religion, next only to Hiduism

Answer 2

A:

1. Arguably the oldest Christian faith is the Coptic Church of Egypt, which was the first to break away from the parent denomination.
2. The next extant Christian faiths to break away were the Nestorian and Jacobite Churches. At one stage, the Nestorian Church spread from Africa all the way to China, but it is now only a small denomination in the Middle East. The Nestorian and Jacobite Churches are probably the equal second oldest surviving Christian faiths.
3. The parent Christian Church split in 1054, forming the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Other very early Christian religions that have not survived, largely due to persecution, are the Gnostic faiths and Arianism. Some believe that the Gnostic branch of Christianity included around half of all Christians at its height.

Another Answer:

One must understand that Jesus established His Father's ONE true Church on the 1st Pentecost in June 31 AD. The Apostles were the now Earthly heads of it in Jerusalem for about 12 years. Then all but James as Head of the Church of God @ Jerusalem and its congregation, left to expand upon the teachings of Jesus Christ in Asia Minor, Babylon, North Africa, Europe and beyond.

However, during the raising of the Church Jesus established which was called 'the Way' and eventually Christian in circa 44 B.C., others almost immediately attempted to infiltrate and/or separate followers from the teachings of the Apostles of Christ. False teachers and followers began to sprout up in all the above areas noted.

Eventually, the ruling Empire of that time placed its mark upon these teachings and separated themselves from them so as not to appear to be 'Judaizing.' Thus began the myriad of 'christian' churches, each distinctively differentiating themselves from the original Apostolic teachings - Roman, Coptic, Gnostic, Orthodox and the list goes on.

If one had to name a 'second' oldest Christian religion, IMO that would be the first Gentile bishop over the Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem, Marcus, in 135 A.D. who began the deviation away from Apostolic teachings to more 'secular' and acceptable ones of the Empire.

Answer 3

Islam has the second most number of followers, after Christianity.

Answer 4

Islam is the second largest religion in the world.

Answer 5

either islam or christianity, but islam is the fastest growing.

Answer 6

cristian..