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Admin moved page How Did Universal Religions Change the World? to How Did Universal Religions Change the World
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[[File:KellsFol032vChristEnthroned.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px250px|Figure 1. While empires often did not start universal religions, they often did become the vehicle in which they spread. For example, Christianity greatly expanded as part of the official reiligion religion of Rome.]]
Universal religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and others mostly rose between 500 BCE and 600 CE. Over this 1000 year period, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of East Asia transformed from polytheistic worshiping to believing in a single god or universal philosophy. We often think of Christianity and Islam perhaps as the dominant universal religions today. Still, universal philosophies had begun before these religions, and through the vehicle of empires, universal religions spread.
Perhaps the biggest impact empires facilitated is they allowed people from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds to more freely intermix (Figure 1). Ideas now began to be shared among many people, where even polytheistic faiths began to share similar concepts. After the 6th and 5th century BCE, universal ideals became more evident, and this could have been a key period in the formulation of universal philosophies. What is telling is universal philosophies first developed in limited regions around the Near East, where Iranian Zoroastrianism may have played an important, influential role, but this is not entirely clear. What is clear is those universal philosophies were geographically limited in spread until after the 3rd century BCE.
After Alexander had reached India, even Buddhism became influenced by the rising tide of universal philosophies. Zoroastrianism became an important universal faith that shared some common ideas as other universal religions, including Christianity. With the rise of Christianity in Rome, particularly in the early 4th century CE, the Persian Sasanian Empire, Rome's great rival, began to be associated with Zoroastrianism, and Christianity became Rome's supported religion. To create loyalty and obedience, empires began to increasingly support one religion rather than allow many gods and religions. Persecutions soon became common in the major universal states of Rome and the Sasanian Persians. This continued in subsequent periods when the Byzantine Empire succeeded, although the Iranian Sasanians were far more tolerant than Rome and Byzantium had been. Universal philosophies also became a type of political football. The rhetoric of invasions became justified by the often one god for the new universal faiths.<ref>For more on how universal philosophies and religions spread, see: Schott, J. M. (2008). <i>Christianity, empire, and the making of religion in late antiquity.</i> Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.</ref>
The immediate effect of many of the universal religions is they led to the downfall of many of the old religions that once spanned Eurasia. Gradually, either through persecution, financial incentive, coercion, or just normal belief, most polytheistic religions ceased to exist, outside of some lingering stories and traditions that often became incorporated into the new universal religions. For example, many saints' days were often days in celebration of ancient gods.<ref>For more on polytheistic faiths and the types of worlds they created, see: Johnston, S. I. (Ed.). (, 2004). <i>Religions of the ancient world: a guide.</i> Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.</ref>
===Impact of Universal Religions===
[[File:12001510673 e6ab7c17d3 b.jpg|thumbnail|left|350px250px|Figure 2. Justinian's closure of ancient temples, such as the temple of Philae in Egypt, led to the ultimate death of the ancient polytheistic religions and related knowledge. ]]
The impact was more than the disappearance of the old religions. Many traditions that were associated with worship began to diminish or cease altogether. For instance, observations of the planets and stars became less relevant as the positioning of the stars and planets were not important in the worship of universal faiths. Old languages such as ancient Egyptian and Akkadian finally disappeared, which led to the possible loss of knowledge these ancient languages possessed. Other changes were more related to what universal religions achieved, which is a lessening of ethnic and cultural differences prevalent before and greater cohesion between multiple social groups.
===Summary===
Universal religions fundamentally changed many societies, regardless of the specific religions or philosophies adopted. Universal ideas have helped shift previous philosophies and religions that worshiped many gods to one unitary authority. Empires, in particular, became associated initially with universal philosophies. However, ideas spread have meant that much knowledge of the ancient world was lost as old languages and beliefs were abandoned. The long-term political impact has been more unified states in the Middle East and Europe, as universal religions and philosophies have helped form states based on universal belief systems.
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Updated December 3, 2020
