Collection of Major and Minor Religions and Philosophies of Early East Civilizations

Animism

8300 BCE

Animism does not have a provenance, founder, or known date of origin. Animism is associated Paleolithic era by scholars. Animism is the belief that spiritual beings exist that are concerned with human interests. In Thailand, before Buddhism and Hinduisms emergence, people were widely animistic. Animists held particular beliefs but were non-specific in them.

First religion begins to form (Hinduism)

1500 BCE

Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, it is also the third-largest religion only trailing Christianity and Islam. Hinduism is not a single religion but a compilation of several traditions including philosophies. Most forms of Hinduism are henotheistic, which means they worship a single deity, known as “Brahman,” but continue recognize other gods and goddesses. Followers believe there are multiple paths to reaching their god.

Emergence of Sikhism

1450 BCE

Sikhism is one of the youngest of all of the major world religions, and the world's fifth-largest organized religion. Sikhism is based on the spiritual teachings of Guru Nanak, also known as the First Guru. Sikhism rejects claims that any single religious tradition has a complete grasp on absolute truth.The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism are found in their sacred scripture, the "Guru Granth Sahib", they include faith and meditation under the following of one god.

Rise of Shinto

800 BCE

Shinto is the traditional religion of Japan that focuses on ritual practices that are expected to be conducted with diligence to establish and maintain a connection between modern-day Japan and its ancient storied past. Shintoism is a polytheistic culture,meaning there are many gods in Shintoism. A phrase that is used is in Taoism is "Yaoyorozu no Kami", which means 8 million in Japanese. There are no particular holy texts in Shintoism because the religion stemmed from folk belief.

Creation of Charvaka

750 BCE

Cārvāka and Ajita Kesakambalin were the founders of Indian Materialism as a philosophical system, there is debate that Bṛhaspati was its original creator.The earliest texts of the Charvaka were written around the 6th century BCE, but they have been lost leaving an unclear understanding of what exactly was in them.The Charvaka school challenged the traditional religious order in India encouraging the development of new religious alternatives.

Jainism is introduced

700 BCE

Mahavira is the man who gave Jainism its present-day form, the texts that contain the teachings of Mahavira are the "Agamas". Jains are strict vegetarians and believe in conservation of the worlds resources. Jainism have no priests, its professional religious people are monks and nuns instead. Most Jains live in India and their supreme belief is in non-violence. A small number of Jains in India voluntarily fast to the death, a practice known as santhara, the practice is widely controversial.

Conception of Confucianism

551 BCE

Confucianism is a religion based on philosophy and ethics developed by the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucianism teaches five key virtues that dictate how a person should live and behave. The most sacred text in Confucianism is the known as the Lun-yu. Confucianism is mainly practiced in Vietnam, Korea, Japan and China with 6.3 million people now following Confucianism around the world.

Buddhism is born

500 BCE

Siddhārtha Gautama is the historical founder of Buddhism (the Buddhist), Buddhism originated in India but spread worldwide. Buddhists believe their path to Enlightenment is through the practice of morality, meditation and wisdom. In Buddhism, there is no single holy book. Buddhism has grown to be the fourth largest religion in the world, over 7% of the world population are considered to be Buddhist.

Origination of Mohism

479 BCE

Mohism is an ancient Chinese philosophy of logic, constructed by the scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi. Mohists believe that people are naturally motivated to do what they believe is right, and with proper moral education will generally tend to conform to the correct ethical norms. There are 10 doctrines divided into five pairs in Mohism that Mohists strictly adhere to. Mohism challenged the Confucian ideology until about the 3rd century BCE.

Emergence of Taoism

142 BCE

Taoism is a Chinese philosophical, religious, and spiritual belief system that teaches one to flow with life based on the writings of Lao-tzu. Taoists do not worship or believe in any kind of supreme god. There are about 20 million Taoists worldwide mostly living in China. After directly opposing Buddhism, Taoism became the religion of the Shang Dynasty that had lasted through 618-906 AD. Taoisms religious symbol is a Yin and Yang.

Mandaeism Emergence

200

Mandaeism is a gnostic religion with roots in the first three centuries AD. Mandaeism shares similarities with Christianity, Judaism, and Islam and recognizes some of the same people that are written about in their sacred texts like Noah, Abel, and John the Baptist. Mandaens do not have a sacred group of texts. Instead, they have a large array of literature that span many topics, including afterlife. Mandaeism places significance on the importance to live ethical and morally good.