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The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). [1] The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records. One can also study comparative religious chronology through a ...
The Latin term religiō, the origin of the modern lexeme religion (via Old French / Middle Latin [2] ), is of ultimately obscure etymology. It is recorded beginning in the 1st century BC, i.e. in Classical Latin at the end of the Roman Republic, notably by Cicero, in the sense of "scrupulous or strict observance of the traditional cultus ". In classic antiquity, it meant conscientiousness ...
The evolutionary origin of religion and religious behavior is a field of study related to evolutionary psychology, the origin of language and mythology, and cross-cultural comparison of the anthropology of religion. Some subjects of interest include Neolithic religion, evidence for spirituality or cultic behavior in the Upper Paleolithic, and similarities in great ape behavior .
A number of disciplines study the phenomenon of religion: theology, comparative religion, history of religion, evolutionary origin of religions, anthropology of religion, psychology of religion (including neuroscience of religion and evolutionary psychology of religion ), law and religion, and sociology of religion .
Religion has been a factor of the human experience throughout history, from pre-historicto moderntimes. The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history. Written history (the ageof formal writing) is only roughly 5,000 years old.[1] A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from archaeological recordsand other indirect ...
Sociological, psychological, and anthropological theories about religion generally attempt to explain the origin and function of religion. [1] These theories define what they present as universal characteristics of religious belief and practice .
The history of Christianity follows the Christian religion as it developed from its earliest beliefs and practices in the first-century, spread geographically in the Roman Empire and beyond, and became a global religion in the twenty-first century .
Islam ( / ˈɪzlɑːm, ˈɪzlæm / IZ-la (h)m; [7] Arabic: ٱلْإِسْلَام, romanized :al-Islām, IPA: [alʔɪsˈlaːm], lit.'submission [to the will of God]') is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the ...