Answers from various contributors:
Oldest Known Religion:
Religion goes back at least as far as human civilizations. Nobody knows what the first religion was. The Egyptians predate the Jews, The Mesopotamians predate them. The Chinese predate them...
Religions with a creation story often claim to be the oldest, since the world began with that creation and with the god or gods of that religion.
Hinduism: Since Sanskrit is the oldest written language, as far as religion being written down, and as far as organized religion is concerned, it would be Hinduism. It is said that when Rama appeared, according to our calendar, was a million or so years ago (not sure of the exact date, but it's a long time!) And Krishna, God himself according to the Vedic scriptures, appeared here 5,000 years ago. Buddha, about 500 B.C., Jesus, about 2,000 years ago. If you go through the different religious book and study this question deeply, you will find out that Hinduism is the oldest religion of the world. There are no dates and facts, but its history is about more than 50000 thousands years ago.
Additional input from our users:
"Archaeologists have discovered what seems to be remains of the world's earliest religious worship site in the remote Ngamiland region of Botswana. Here, our ancestors performed advanced rituals, worshiping the python some 70,000 years ago. The sensational discovery strengthens Africa's position as the cradle of modern man. ... While, up until now, scholars have largely held that man's first rituals were carried out over 40,000 years ago in Europe, it now appears that they were wrong about both the time and place. Associate Professor Sheila Coulson, from the Oslo University, however claims to have proof that modern humans started performing advanced rituals in Africa 70,000 years ago. She discovered mankind's oldest known ritual in Botswana.'
The origins of Hindu tradition have been traced as far as the ancient Vedic civilization (2nd and 1st millenia BCE up to 6th Century BCE) and ancient Indus Valley civilization (c3,000- 1500 BC) although there are archaeological indications that strongly suggest such spiritual Traditions whether Hinduism or not existed long before that - into pre-history
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 (see note 1, below). It was a simple belief in the Creator (Sky-Father) with no imagery of any kind. It gave way relatively quickly to polytheism and idolatry.
Another Answer from our community:
Some say that Islam, in its general sense, is the oldest religion as it started by universe creation.
Some say that Hinduism is the oldest religion (that evoloved from Sanatan Dharma- eternal religion).
Followers of religions with a creation story often say that they came first, since the world began when their god or gods created the world. But animism was probably the first religion. This is a primitive religion, which sprang up independently in many areas of the world, but in most countries has mainly been replaced by more formal religion. In animism, spirits are considered to inhabit familiar objects in the landscape. For example, Australian aboriginal beliefs may have begun up to 60,000 years ago.
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."
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?"
Hinduism is probably the oldest formal religion in the world. However, animism was the first religion and is much older than Hinduism.
Jainism is not the oldest religion of the world. Animism and Hinduism have been cited as the oldest religions of the world.
Christianty
Hinduism
HINDUISM
no
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world.
Hinduism
no, egyptian . All world religion started from Egypt.
Yes
cristian..
Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest, but it is not the smallest and is the 3rd largest, with 14% of the world population. Zoroastrianism is the smallest religion in the world, with just 0.02% of the world population.