Introduction 4

Part 1: The Birth of Religion

Ⅰ The Beginning of Civilization and the Birth of Religion (5000 BC–1500 BC) 17
1 Paleolithic Age, the Emergence of Shamanism 21
2 Kurgan Culture and Totemism in the Meadow 44
3 The Spread of Grassland Nomadic Culture 59
4 Sumerian Civilization and Polytheism 78

Ⅱ The Birth of Judaism (2000–1300 BC) 103
1 Polytheistic Society in Abraham's Time 106
2 How Judaism Was Born 117

Ⅲ The Birth of Brahmanism (1500–1000 BC) 137
1 The Great Indo-European Migration 141
2 How Brahmanism Was Born 145

Part 2: The Age of the Axes

Ⅰ The Encounter between Zoroastrianism and Judaism (700–500 BC) 169
1 The Rise and Fall of the Hebrew Kingdom 171
2 The Encounter of Zoroastrianism and Judaism 196
3 The Rise of Ancient Persian Religion 208
4 How Zoroastrianism Was Born 216

II How Judaism Came to Become Established (600 BC - 400 BC) 241
The Babylonian Exile and the Reestablishment of Judaism 243

Ⅲ The Birth of Buddhism (600 BC–200 BC) 265
1 Buddhism was born in opposition to Brahmanism 269
2 Buddhism's Influence on Christianity 291
3 Greco-Buddhism Influenced by Greek Philosophy 301

Part 3: The Age of Monotheism

Ⅰ The Birth and Growth of Christianity (100 BC - AD 500) 323
1 How Christianity Was Born 326
2 How Christianity Became a Religion 336
3 Judaism, scattered throughout the Diaspora 356
4 Christianity becomes the state religion of the Roman Empire, 375

Ⅱ The Birth and Growth of Hinduism (400–800 AD) 401
1 Brahmanism Overcomes Buddhism, Born as Hinduism 404
2 Hinduism Succeeds in Popularization 418

Ⅲ The Birth and Growth of Islam (500–1500) 443
1 How Islam Was Born 447
2 The Essence of Islam, the Ummah Community 463
3 How Islam Grew 488

Part 4: A History of Repetition and Conflict

Ⅰ Conflict and antagonism among Semitic religions 511
1 A Shameful History Filled with Persecution and Massacre 514
The Trinity Controversy: 538 Years of Struggle
3 Why Did the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches Split? 554
4 Why Did the Christian Reformation Happen? 566
5 The Worst Crime in Humanity: The Holocaust 593

Ⅱ What's the difference? 603
1 What are the similarities and differences between the three Semitic religions? 605
2 What are the differences between Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists? 624
3 Sects of Islam 632
4 World Religions Today 637

In Conclusion 642 | References 645 | References 648 | Photo Sources 649 | Index 650

A History of World Religions Through Civilization

Until now, introductory books on world religions by religious scholars have been published continuously.
However, because the topic of world religions is quite broad and the general range of experience and understanding of readers is narrow, most of them only briefly introduce the history and belief systems of each religion.
This book also provides an overview of each religion, but with a slightly different approach.
This is because we take a step back from religious studies and examine world religions in the context of the flow of human civilization history.

For us, religion easily comes to mind as buildings such as churches, temples, and cathedrals and their members.
And the doctrines of the afterlife, such as heaven and hell, and religious norms such as good deeds and dietary purity, appear as if they were dropped from the sky and observed.
However, the birth and development of religion was not achieved solely by God's command.

Religion took shape and was refined through the origins of humanity, the fundamental fear of nature, the birth of ancient myths, the migration of nomadic peoples due to climate change, the establishment of ideologies to support the state system or social institutions, and the need for a state religion for the efficient management of the empire.
Religions also have had a transcendent influence across time and region, creating metaphysical and institutional frameworks.
This book is a story that follows the religious footsteps of humanity.

Nomads vs. Sedentary Peoples: Creating the Great Current of World Religion

When looking at world religions in the history of human civilization, the most striking trend is the conflict between nomadic and sedentary peoples.
As the Ice Age ended and vast grasslands formed, Mongoloid nomads appeared near Lake Baikal, and Caucasian nomads appeared in the Caucasus region flooded by the Black Sea.
The nomads of the Caucasus steppe were Indo-European and were commonly known as Aryans.
They spread all over the world.
This is the so-called Kurgan hypothesis.
In terms of religion, the Gobekli Tepe ruins are their footprints.
This site, the origin of totemism, is surprising in that it proves that religious communities were established before agricultural life.

The nomadic peoples of the grasslands pushed into the areas where the settled peoples lived, became the ruling class, and established a new social order.
According to archaeologist Maria Gimbutas, in the early days of humankind, a peaceful, female-centered civilization was formed on the European continent.
It was a goddess-worshiping society.
However, around 3500 BC, the Caucasus steppe culture, a warlike equestrian culture, expanded westward, leading to the spread of Indo-European languages ​​into Europe.
They promoted patriarchy and patrilineal systems.
It was a society that worshipped male gods.
Even some of the Aryans crossed the rugged Hindu Kush mountain range into northern India around the 15th century BC.
They conquered the natives and established a new system of government.
It's a caste system.
And to support this system, they created a religion that was a slight modification of the ancient Persian polytheism they believed in.
It's Brahmanism.
Brahmanism continued to develop its ideas and led to Buddhism and Hinduism.


Religions that accompanied the rise and fall of empires

Another interesting point in this book is the relationship between empires and world religions.
As communities arose and nations and empires were established, numerous gods reigned supreme, but not all of them survived.
The highest god of the Hittites, established by the Indo-European people, was Mithra.
He was the god of prosperity who bestowed descendants and livestock, and the god of light who embraced all things.
Mithraism flourished in ancient Persia and into the Greek and Roman eras, and had a significant influence on early Christianity.
Christmas and Sunday are prime examples.
However, Mithraism declined as Christianity gained recognition in the Roman Empire.

Zoroastrianism is a religion that held the key to the establishment of world religions.
Mithraism was also influenced by Zoroastrianism.
Concepts such as monotheism and the dichotomy of good and evil were passed down from Judaism to Christianity.
It was also spread to China, where it was called Nestorianism, and was spread to Buddhism through ideas such as Maitreya Buddha and Pure Land.
However, Zoroastrianism was not successful from the beginning.
Rejected by his own people, Zoroaster turns to other peoples.
So he goes to preach to King Vistaspa of Bactria, but experiences twists and turns and is imprisoned for two years.
However, the king decided that monotheism was more advantageous for running the country than polytheism, so he accepted Zoroastrianism, and it spread rapidly thereafter.
In 224, it became the state religion of the Sassanid Dynasty of Persia and boasted of great religious influence, but was eventually defeated by the rise of Islam.
The Jews regarded Cyrus II of Persia, who had liberated them from Babylonian exile, as their savior and incorporated the doctrines of Zoroastrianism, which he had fervently followed, into Judaism.


The Vistaspa King reminds me of Emperor Constantine.
Before the Battle of Milvian, which was to become the sole emperor of the Roman Empire, he received a vision of victory in a dream and in 313 he issued the Edict of Milan, which officially recognized Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
Afterwards, he took an active role in mediating the doctrinal dispute over the divinity of Jesus Christ, fearing that it would lead to the division of the empire, and confirmed the doctrine of the Trinity.


If Christianity had Constantine, Buddhism had King Ashoka.
King Ashoka, who had always felt inferior to his lower-class matrilineal lineage, was greatly inspired by the Buddha's teachings.
And he declared Buddhism as the state religion and the ruling ideology that supported the construction of a unified India.
The Buddhist sect and its teachings, which had been nothing more than a sect in northeastern India, experienced a turning point in their development into a world religion.
Islam, from its beginnings, was a theocratic system led by Muhammad.
This is because, following the conquest of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages, it has continued to show the fastest growth in the world.


A book like an atlas of world civilizations with religion as a keyword.

In this way, the ways to read this book can be as diverse as its rich content.
It feels like I'm reading a history of world civilization rather than an introduction to religion.
At the same time, it clearly explains the doctrinal characteristics and differences of world religions, which could easily be considered rigid and abstract.


You can also find out 'trivial' knowledge such as how the Silla equestrian statue relates to the Kurgan hypothesis, who built the Egyptian temples and the Colosseum, where the Buddha statue with the Westerner's mustache came from, and how many religions can be found at the Angkor Wat temple.
In particular, the over 200 maps, famous paintings, and photographs provide a viewing pleasure comparable to that of an illustrated guide.