Religion continued

Monotheism

As states became bigger, religion became more refined leading to monolatry (worshiping only one god but allowing for the existence of other gods) and monotheism (there is only one god).

Monotheism is much better suited for social control and it first appeared in the Persian Empire (see below). The king is the god’s favorite. Belief in after-life also helps to establish control. It was big in the Persian religion. (Paradise is a Persian word.) Christianity evolved from Judaism with the infusion of Persian ideas (Essenes). A Redeemer (messiah) is present in Zoroastrianism, to be borne by a virgin mother. The Roman emperors of the fourth century seized upon Christianity as a tool for social control and ushered the Dark Ages. State imposed orthodoxy killed all independent thinking. On the other hand the Chinese empire never had monotheism! (And neither did India.) Instead there was an ethical and philosophical system: Confucianism. (Kong Fuzi, 551–479 BC. – Buddha 563-483 – Socrates 470-399, Plato 428-348) Confucianism eventually took aspects of religion, but only one of many.

Judaism

Judaism is considered the world's oldest monotheistic religion but that is debatable. Some scholars, particularly James Kugel, think that Judaism did not become monotheistic until the time of the half-century long Babylonian exile and the subsequent restoration of the Temple by the Persian king Cyrus [Wr09, Ku07, p. 560, PC98, pp. 152-156]. Until then the God of Israel was one of many gods, although more powerful than the others, as the hymn Mi Kamocha demonstrates. The critical passage of the Persian influence can be found in Isaiah:45. "Thus said the LORD to CYRUS, His anointed one - ....". Also the concept of life after death in Judaism appears for the first time in the same period. It is worth noting that the word Paradise is of Persian origin.

Zoroastrianism

One characteristic of the Persian Empire (both before and after Alexander) is that it had an organized state religion. That was Zoroastrianism, named after its founder Zoroaster. (This is the Hellenized version of his name. A more faithful rendering of his Persian name is Zarathusthra.) Scholars do not agree about the time that Zoroaster lived but it was well before the 6th century BCE, the time of Cyrus the Great. The basic tenet of the religion that there is a supreme creator god, Ahura Mazda, that is in constant battle with Ahriman, that embodies all evil. The king was considered the favorite of Ahura Mazda, so obedience to the king was associated with religion. Such a religion reinforces state control of the subjects and this practice has been followed widely through the Middle Ages and even in our times.

Zoroastrianism is arguably the first monotheistic religion in history and that had the political effect of solidifying the position of the king. In the religion of ancient Egypt Pharaoh was a god and so was the emperor in pagan Rome. But being a god was no big deal in a religion where there were hundreds of other gods, some of them more important than the ruler god. In the Persian system the ruler gave up the pretension of being a god, but because he was the favorite of the only god, it strengthened his position. Bernard Lewis [BL95, p. 29] points out that there was a state-imposed orthodoxy and the functions of the priesthood included the detection and suppression of heresy.

Another novel feature of Zoroastrianism was its collection of holy texts or scripture (Avesta). The pagan religions did not have such texts. It is an interesting coincidence that the Jewish bible was codified only after the return from the Babylonian exile, i.e. after the Jews had contact with Zoroastrianism.

The priests of Zoroastrianism were the Magi who under the Sassanids evolved into a well organized priesthood that was part of the apparatus of the government. At the top of the hierarchy were the dasturs who had a function similar to that of bishops. Such an organization was absent from all the pagan religions but it existed in the Jewish sect of the Essenes. The Essenes existed several centuries before the Sassanids came to power but Zoroastrianism as a religion predates the Essenes. It is possible that the Essenes were influenced by the Zoroastrians, not only in adopting the organization of the priests but also in adopting their world view of a battle between good and evil. Both the organization and the views were passed on to Christianity (Satan is Ahriman, see PC98, p. 154). The story of the Nativity with the three Magi bringing gifts to the new-born Jesus offers another instance of Persian influence. Finally the story of the virgin birth of a savior, Saoshyant, is also present in Zoroastrianism. According to Zoroastrian tradition a Saoshyant acting as an agent of Ahura Mazda will resurrect the dead and start the era of righteousness and immortality. (See the Wikipedia article of Saoshyant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saoshyant .)

Today Zoroastrianism survives mainly in India where its adherents are known as Parsi, i.e. Persians. There is a significant Parsi diaspora in the West but there are very few Zoroastrian communities in Iran, the place of its origin [MB77].( As it often happens with religious minorities, Zoroastrians are well represented in the arts, the sciences, and the professions.) Even though it is no longer a major religion, it has influenced the major religions of our times, both in theology (monotheism) and in organization. Both the theology and the organization were developed for the strengthening of the state and they seem to continue to be used to that effect in modern times.

While Zoroastrianism has few adherenets today, it has influenced the so called Abarhamic religions. The concept that a person is a formal adherent of a religion is a striking feature of the latter that was inherited from Zoroastrianism. It does not exist in other religions.

Some Sources on Zoroastrianism

Bibliography

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