The Religions Book

294

M

ost of the world’s major

religions evolved out of

the ancient civilizations,

with their foundations in the folk

traditions that preceded them.

The Abrahamic religions (Islam,

Judaism, and Christianity), for

example, trace themselves back to

the stories of Noah and the Flood,

long before any Middle Eastern

civilizations, and, similarly, the

various branches of Hinduism

are based on beliefs that predate

Indian civilization.

As philosophical and scientific

thinking became increasingly

sophisticated over the millennia,

these faiths faced a choice: to

adapt with the times and embrace

change, or denounce anything

new as heretical. Breakaway sects

emerged, and—driven by events

such as the Industrial Revolution

in Europe, and the exploration and

colonization of new lands—gave

rise to a number of new religious

movements fueled by reluctance to

compromise in the face of change.

New faiths

It is often difficult to determine

whether a breakaway group is

a branch of an older religion, or a

completely new faith. Mormons

and Jehovah’s Witnesses, for

example, both believe in the

divinity of Jesus, but many of their

other beliefs separate them from

mainstream Christianity. Similarly,

Tenrikyo and other new Japanese

religious movements bear many

similarities to both Buddhism

and Shinto, and both the Hare

Krishna and Transcendental

Meditation movements are

obviously derived from Hinduism.

Their status as new religions

depends greatly on how much

they are accepted or rejected

by the parent religions.

In some cases, syncretic

religions—amalgams of two

very different faiths—have evolved,

especially among displaced or

oppressed people. For example,

while Africans taken to the

Caribbean as slaves were forced to

adopt their masters’ Christianity,

they used it as a framework for

practicing the religions of their

homelands, resulting in creole

faiths, such as Santeria (also

known as Regla de Ocha or

Lukumí), Candomblé, Orisha-

Shango, and Vodun (or Voodoo),

depending on the tribe they had

come from. In the 20th century, a

Jamaican religion, the Rastafari

movement, grew out of the Black

INTRODUCTION

1499

18 TH–19TH CENTURY

1863

1880 S

1830

19 TH CENTURY

1885

Mirza Husayn ‘Ali

Nuri proclaims

himself a messenger

of God, adopts the

title Baha’u’llah, and

founds the Baha’i

Faith in Persia.

Creole religions evolve

within communities of

African slaves in the

Caribbean.

Claiming guidance

from God and the angel

Moroni, Joseph Smith,

Jr. translates the Book of

Mormon and founds the

Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints, US.

After a revelation

from the Supreme

Being, Ngô Van

Chiêu founds the

Cao Ðài religion

in Vietnam.

A number of new

religions emerge

in Japan, including

Tenrikyo, Oomoto,

and Kurozumikyo.

Guru Nanak founds
Sikhism in the Punjab
region of India during
a time of tension
between Hindus
and the Muslim
Mughal Empire.

Western trade in

the Pacific region

leads to the rise of

the so-called cargo

cults in Melanesia

and New Guinea.

The Watch Tower Tract

Society, part of the Bible

Student Movement in the

US, lays the foundations

for what becomes known as

the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

1926