Timeline of Religion

The timeline of religion is a  of important and noteworthy  events in  and  times. This article reaches into pre-historic times, as the bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates. Written history (the of ) is only c.5000 years old. A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from and other indirect sources, and from suppositions. Much pre-historic religion is subject to continued debate.

Middle Paleolithic (300,000-50,000 BCE)
Despite claims by some researchers of, belief in an afterlife, and other rituals, the archaeological evidence does not support the presence of religious practices by modern humans or Neanderthals during this period.


 * 100,000 BCE:Earliest known human burial in.


 * 70,000-35,000 BCE:Neanderthal burials take place in areas of Europe and the Middle East.

50th to 11th millennium BCE

 * 40,000 BCE:The remains of one of the earliest known to be discovered, was.


 * 38,000 BCE:The, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world and one of the oldest known sculptures in general, was made. The sculpture has also been interpreted as anthropomorphic, giving human characteristics to an animal, although it may have represented a deity.


 * 35-000-26,000 BCE:Neanderthal burials are absent from the archaeological record. This roughly coincides with the time period of the ' introduction to and decline of the Neanderthals; individual skulls and/or long bones began appearing, heavily stained with red  and separately buried. This practice may be the origin of sacred relics. The oldest discovered "" appeared in graves. Some were deliberately broken or repeatedly stabbed, possibly representing the murders of the men with whom they were buried, or owing to some other unknown social dynamic.


 * 25,000–21,000 BCE:Clear examples of burials are present in Iberia, Wales, and eastern Europe. These, too, incorporate the heavy use of red ochre. Additionally, various objects were included in the graves (e.g. periwinkle shells,, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth , panoply of ivory , "baton" antlers, flint blades etc.).


 * 13,000–8,000 BCE:Noticeable burial activity resumed. Prior mortuary activity had either taken a less obvious form or contemporaries retained some of their burial knowledge in the absence of such activity. Dozens of men, women, and children were being buried in the same caves which were used for burials 10,000 years beforehand. All these graves are delineated by the cave walls and large limestone blocks. The burials share a number of characteristics (such as use of ochre, and shell and mammoth ivory jewellery) that go back thousands of years. Some burials were double, comprising an adult male with a juvenile male buried by his side. They were now beginning to take on the form of modern . Old burials were commonly re-dug and moved to make way for new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers were sometimes mounted on poles within the cave; this is compared to the modern practice of leaving flowers at a grave.

10th Millennium to 1st century BCE

 * 9130–7370 BCE:This was the apparent period of use of, one of the oldest human-made sites of worship yet discovered; evidence of similar usage has also been found in another nearby site,.


 * 7500–5700 BCE:The settlements of developed as a likely spiritual centre of . Possibly practising worship in communal shrines, its inhabitants left behind numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine and hunting scenes.

The Ancient Era

 * c.3750 BCE:The people emerged from a generally accepted  in the . The Proto-Semitic people would migrate throughout the  into, ,  and the eastern shore of the.


 * 3300–1300 BCE:
 * The (IVC) was a Bronze Age civilization (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage system and multi-storeyed houses.


 * 3200–3100 BCE:, the 250,000 ton (226,796.2 tonne) aligned to the  in Ireland, was built.


 * 3100 BCE:The initial form of was completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about 110 metres (360 ft) across, may have been completed with a.


 * 3000 BCE:ian emerged from the , allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical.


 * The was completed and appeared to function as the first  in the.


 * 2635–2610 BCE:The oldest surviving was commissioned by.


 * 2600 BCE:Stonehenge began to take on its . The wooden posts were replaced with . It began taking on an increasingly complex setup (including an, a , , etc.) and shows consideration of solar.


 * 2560 BCE:This is the approximate time accepted as the completion of the, the oldest of the.


 * 2494–2345 BCE:The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the, was composed in.


 * 2200 BCE:The developed in Crete. Citizens worshipped a variety of goddesses.


 * 2150–2000 BCE:The earliest surviving versions of the —originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī)—were written.


 * 1700–1100 BCE:The oldest of the  (scriptures), the  was composed. This is the first mention of  a fearsome form of  as the supreme god.


 * 1600 BCE:The ancient development of came to an.


 * 1500 BCE:The began in India after the collapse of the.


 * 1351 or 1353 BCE:The reign of, sometimes credited with starting the earliest known recorded religion, in.


 * 1300–1000 BCE:The "standard" Akkadian version of the was edited by.


 * 1250–600 BCE:The s (Vedic texts) were composed, containing the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism, and.


 * 1200 BCE:The began.


 * 1200 BCE:The built the earliest  and temples in.


 * 877–777 BCE:The life of, 23rd  of.


 * 800 BCE:The ends.


 * 8th to 6th centuries BCE:The is compiled, significant for containing the earliest to date mention of . Verse 3.17.6 mentions Krishna Devakiputra (Sanskrit: कृष्णाय देवकीपुत्रा) as a student of the sage Ghora Angirasa.


 * 6th to 5th centuries BCE:The first five books of the Jewish, the (Hebrew: תורה‬), are probably compiled.


 * 6th century BCE:Possible start of ; however some date closer to 1000 BCE . Zoroastrianism flourished under the Persian emperors known as the . The emperors  (ruled 522–486 B.C.E.) and  (ruled 486–465 B.C.E.) made it the official religion of their empire.


 * 600–500 BCE:The earliest Confucian writing,, incorporates ideas of harmony and heaven.


 * 599–527 BCE:The life of, 24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism.


 * c.563/480–c.483/400 BCE,:, founder of Buddhism was born.


 * 551 BCE:, founder of, was born.


 * 399 BCE: was tried for impiety.


 * 369-372 BCE: Birth of and


 * 300 BCE:The was written on bamboo tablets.


 * 300 BCE: Buddhism was introduced to by the.


 * c.250 BCE:The was convened by . Ashoka sends Buddhist missionaries to faraway countries, such as China, mainland Southeast Asia, Malay kingdoms, and Hellenistic kingdoms.


 * 140 BCE:The earliest grammar of Sanskrit literature was composed by.


 * 100 BCE–500 CE:The of, constituting the foundational texts of , were composed.

1st to 5th Centuries

 * c.4 BCE–c.30/33 CE:The life of, the central figure of.


 * 31-36:The death of.


 * 50–62:The first Christian was convened in Jerusalem.


 * 70:The, the and the rise of.


 * 220: was formed by the prophet.


 * 250:Some of the oldest parts of the, a core text of , were written.


 * 250–900:Classic s were constructed.


 * 313:The decreed religious toleration in the Roman empire.


 * 325:The first (the ) was convened to attain a consensus on doctrine through an assembly representing all . It established the original  and fixed the date of . It also confirmed the primacy of the Sees of,  and , and granted the  a position of honour.


 * c.350:The oldest record of the complete biblical texts (the ) survives in a Greek translation called the, dating to the 4th century CE.


 * 380:  the.


 * 381:The second ecumenical council (the ) reaffirmed and revised the, repudiating and.


 * 381–391:Theodosius  within the Roman Empire.


 * 393:A council of early Christian bishops listed and approved a for the first time at the.

5th to 10th centuries

 * 405: completed the, the first Latin translation of the Bible.


 * 410:The, signalling the onset of the.


 * 424:The in  (Persia) formally separated from the  and proclaimed full ecclesiastical independence.


 * 431:The third ecumenical council (the ) was convened as a result of the controversial teachings of of . It repudiated, proclaimed the  as the  (the God-bearer or Mother of God). It also repudiated  and again reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.


 * 449:The declared support for  and attacked his opponents. Originally convened as an ecumenical council, its ecumenical nature was rejected by the s, who denounced the council as.


 * 451:The fourth ecumenical council (the ) rejected the doctrine of, adopting instead the . It reinstated those deposed in 449, deposed  and elevated the bishoprics of  and  to the status of.


 * 451:The rejected the  view put forth by the Council of Chalcedon and was excommunicated.


 * 480–547: wrote his, laying the foundation of Western.


 * 553:The fifth ecumenical council (the ) repudiated the as  and condemned.


 * 570–632:The life of , the Prophet of.


 * 632–661:The heralded the Arab conquest of Persia, Egypt and Iraq, bringing Islam to those regions.


 * 650:The verses of the were compiled in the form of a book in the era of Uthman, the third  of Islam.


 * 661–750:The brought the Arab conquest of North Africa, Spain and Central Asia, marking the greatest extent of the Arab conquests and bringing Islam to those regions.


 * 680–681 :The sixth ecumenical council (the ) rejected and.


 * c.680:The division between and   developed.


 * 692:The (also known as the Council in Trullo), an amendment to the 5th and 6th ecumenical councils, established the.


 * 712:, the oldest text, was written.


 * 716–936:The migration of  communities from Persia to India began, caused by Muslim conquest of their lands and the ensuing persecution.


 * 754:The  supported.


 * 787:The seventh ecumenical council (the ) restored the veneration of icons and denounced.


 * 788–820:The life of Hindu philosopher, who consolidated the doctrine of.


 * c.850:The oldest extant manuscripts of the vocalized, upon which modern editions are based, date to 9th century CE.

11th to 15th centuries

 * c.1052–c.1135:The life of, one of most famous s and poets of.


 * 1054:The between the  and  churches was formalised.


 * 1095–1099:The led to the capture of.


 * 1107–1110: led the against Muslims in Spain, the  and in.


 * 1147–1149:The was waged in response to the fall of the.


 * 1189–1192:In the European leaders attempted to reconquer the  from.


 * 1202–1204: The, originally intended to recapture Jerusalem, instead led to the , capital of the.


 * 1206:The was established.


 * 1209–1229:The was conducted to eliminate Catharism in, Europe.


 * 1217–1221:With the, Christian leaders again attempted (but failed) to recapture Jerusalem.


 * 1222−1282:The life of, the Buddha of the and founder of Nichiren Buddhism.. Based at the  Head Temple Taisekiji (Japan), this branch of Buddhism teaches the importance of chanting the mantra Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō.


 * 1228–1229:The won control of large areas of the Holy Land for Christian rulers, more through diplomacy than through fighting.


 * 1229:The was completed by  in the  monastery of Podlažice near.


 * 1244: was, instigating the.


 * 1270:The was launched by  but largely petered out when Louis died shortly after reaching.


 * 1271–1272: The failed.


 * 1320: laid the groundwork for future with the formalisation of the  of.


 * 1378–1417:The split during the.


 * 1415:The death of who is considered as the first reformer of the . This event is often considered as the beginning of the.


 * 1469–1539:The life of, founder of.


 * 1484: the beginning of the classical an  with his.


 * 1486-1534: popularised the chanting of the and composed the  (eight devotional prayers) in . His followers,, revere him as a spiritual reformer, a Hindu revivalist and an avatar of.

16th Century

 * 1500:In the, Catholicism was spread and encouraged through such institutions as the and the.


 * 1517: posted The  on the door of, launching the.


 * 1526: were introduced to the Americas, with the commencement of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.


 * 1534: separated the English Church from Rome and made himself.


 * 1562:The sparked the first of a series of.

17th Century

 * 1674: formed Swaraj by his coronation.
 * 1699: Ji created the in.

18th Century

 * 1708: Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the last, died after instituting the Sikh holy book, the Ji, as the eternal Guru.


 * 1770: published  said to be the first positive, unambiguous statement of in the West.


 * 1781:, later known as Sahajanand Swami/Swaminarayan, was born in at the house of Dharmadev and Bhaktimata.


 * 1789–1799:In the the Revolutionary Government confiscated  properties, banned  and, with the passage of the, removed control of the Church from the Pope and subordinated it as a department of the Government. The Republic also replaced the traditional  and abolished.


 * c.1790–1840:The, a religious  in the.


 * 1791:, enshrined in the, was added as an amendment to the , forming an early and influential secular government.

19th Century

 * 1801:The French Revolutionary Government and entered into the . While Roman Catholicism regained some powers and became recognized as "the religion of the great majority of the French", it was not afforded the latitude it had enjoyed prior to the Revolution and was not re-established as the official state religion. The Church relinquished all claims to estate seized after 1790, the clergy was state salaried and was obliged to swear allegiance to the State. Religious freedom was restored.


 * 1819–1850:The life of Siyyid 'Alí Muḥammad Shírází (Persian: سيد علی ‌محمد شیرازی), better known as, the founder of.


 * 1817–1892:The life of, founder of the.


 * 1823:The Mormon Prophet claimed to see the  and prophesied of what is now the.


 * 1830s: was started by in the.


 * 1830:The was founded by  on 6 April — initiating the.


 * 1835–1908:The life of, the founder of the messianic Movement in Islam.


 * 1836–1886:The life of, saint and mystic of.


 * 1841: created the sect within the Sikh religion.


 * 1844: was murdered on 27 June, resulting in a.


 * 1857: First great popular uprising against British colonial government in India. Also called.


 * 1875:The was formed in New York City by, ,  and others.


 * 1879: was granted its charter in Boston, Massachusetts.


 * 1881: was formed by, initiating the.


 * 1889:The was established.


 * 1893:'s first speech at The, Chicago, brought the ancient philosophies of and  to the western world.


 * 1899:Aradia (aka The Gospel of the Witches), one of the earliest books describing post European, was published by.

20th Century

 * 1901: The incorporation of the legally representing Spiritualism in the United Kingdom.


 * 1904: was founded by.


 * 1905:In France the was passed, officially establishing  and putting an end to the funding of religious groups by the state.


 * Becoming a place of for neo-druids and other, the  organised the first recorded  ceremony in.


 * 1908:The was established in the  as the "Second Manifestation of God's Power".


 * 1917:The in Russia led to the annexation of all church properties and subsequent religious suppression.


 * 1920:The Church of all Religions with its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, was founded by.


 * 1926: founded.


 * 1929:The, fought between the secular government and religious Christian rebels in Mexico, ended.


 * 1930:The began following the coronation of  as Emperor of.


 * The was founded in Detroit, Michigan.


 * 1932:A neo-Hindu religious movement, the or "Daughters of Brahma", started.  Its origin can be traced to the group "Om Mandali", founded by Lekhraj Kripalani(1884–1969).


 * 1931: emerged from the under the influence of.


 * 1939–1945:Millions of were relocated and murdered by the s during the.


 * 1947:First nation in the name of Islam was created called Pakistan. British India was partitioned into the Islamic nation of and the secular nation of India with a Hindu majority.


 * 1948:The modern state of was established as a homeland for the Jews.


 * 1954:The was founded by.


 * was publicised by.


 * 1956: (Neo-Buddhism) was founded by, initially attracting some 380,000 Dalit converts from Hinduism.


 * 1959:The  and established an exile community in India.


 * 1960s:Various and  movements gained momentum.


 * 1961: was formed from the merger of and.


 * 1962:The, the first American church, was formed by a group including , , and Richard Lance Christie.


 * 1962–1965:The was convened.


 * 1965: established the and introduced translations of the  and Vedic Scriptures in mass production all over the world.


 * 1966:The was founded by  on.


 * 1972–1984:The s started.


 * 1972–2004: (aka Heathenism, Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr, Vor Siðr, and Theodism) began to experience a second wave of revival.


 * 1973: established the and changed his name to  following a purported extraterrestrial encounter in December 1973.


 * 1975:The was founded in.


 * 1979:The resulted in the establishment of an  in.


 * 1981:The n revival continued. "The Book of the Holy Strega" and "The Book of Ways" Volume I & II were published.


 * 1984: in the, the in , led to  in  and adjoining regions, following the assassination of.


 * 1985:The forced an end to the s.


 * 1989:Following the, the overthrow of many -style states allowed a resurgence in open religious practice in many an countries.


 * 1990s: movements (,, , , , , etc.) proliferate throughout Europe.


 * 1993:The convened in, Denmark, agreed to the , requiring religious freedom within all members and prospective members of the.


 * 1998:The  was founded.

21st century

 * 2006: between, with each side targeting the other in terrorist acts, and bombings of mosques and shrines.


 * 2008:, the world's only Hindu Kingdom, was declared a by its Constituent Assembly after declaring the state a Republic on 28 May 2008.


 * 2009: The  was fined €600,000 and several of its leaders were fined and imprisoned for defrauding new recruits of their savings. The state failed to disband the church owing to legal changes occurring over the same time period.


 * 2011: over domestic political issues. The country soon split along sectarian lines between Sunni, Alawite and Shiite Muslims. War crimes and acts of genocide were committed by both parties as religious leaders on each side condemned the other as heretics. The Syrian civil war soon became a battleground for regional sectarian unrest, as fighters joined the fight from as far away as North America and Europe, as well as Iran and the Arab states.


 * 2014:A supposed Islamic was established by the self-proclaimed  in regions of war torn  and, drawing global support from radical  Muslims. This was a modern-day attempt to re-establish Islamic self-rule in accordance with strict adherence to -Islamic religious law. In the wake of the Syrian civil war, Islamic extremists targeted the indigenous Arab Christian communities. In acts of genocide, numerous ancient Christian and  communities were evicted and threatened with death by various Muslim Sunni fighter groups. After  terrorist forces infiltrated and took over large parts of northern Iraq from Syria, many ancient Christian and  enclaves were destroyed.