Timeline of religion

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Prehistory

Middle Paleolithic (200,000–50,000 BCE)

No strong archaeological evidence of religious practices by humans or Neanderthals.

100,000 BCE
Earliest known human burial in the Middle East.
78,000–74000 BC
Earliest known Homo Sapiens burial of a child in Panga ya Saidi, East Africa.
70,000–35,000 BC
Neanderthal burials take place in areas of Europe and the Middle East.

50th to 11th millennium BCE

40,000 BC
The remains of one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans to be discovered cremated, was buried near Lake Mungo.
38,000 BCE
The oldest known animal-shaped sculpture in the world (The Aurignacian Löwenmensch figurine; one of the oldest known sculptures). Maybe anthropomorphic or representing a deity.
35,000–26,001 BCE
No more record of Neanderthal burials. "Venus figurines", some deliberately broken or stabbed. Representing murders, or some unknown social belief?.[citation needed]
25,000–21,000 BCE
Burials in Iberia, Wales, and eastern Europe incorporate heavy use of red ochre. Also periwinkle shells, weighted clothing, dolls, possible drumsticks, mammoth ivory beads, fox teeth pendants, panoply of ivory artifacts, "baton" antlers, flint blades, etc.
13,000–8,000 BCE
Burial activity resumed. Dozens of men, women, and children were buried in the same caves used 10,000 years beforehand, seperated by 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. Old burials were commonly re-dug and moved to make way for new ones, with the older bones often being gathered and cached together. Large stones may have acted as grave markers. Pairs of ochred antlers were sometimes mounted on poles within the cave; like leaving flowers perhaps.

10th to 6th Millennium BCE

9130–7370 BCE
Apparent period of Göbekli Tepe, one of the oldest human-made sites of worship; similar usage also found in nearby Nevalı Çori.
7500–5700 BCE
The settlements of Catalhoyuk Anatolia possibly practiced worship in communal shrines. Numerous clay figurines and impressions of phallic, feminine, and hunting scenes have been found.[citation needed]

Ancient Era

c.3750 BCE
The Proto-Semitic people emerged from a generally accepted urheimat in the Arabian Peninsula and Levant. The Proto-Semitic people would migrate throughout the Near East into Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ethiopia and the eastern shore of the Mediterranean.
3300–1300 BCE
The Indus Valley Civilization (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
Newgrange, the 250,000 ton (226,796.2 tonne) passage tomb aligned to the winter solstice in Ireland, was built.
3102–1000 BCE
Kurukshetra War. Religious tradition holds that the war marks the transition to Kali Yuga and thus dates it to 3102 BCE. Historians think closer to 1000 BCE is more likely. The existing text of the Mahabharata mostly belongs to the period between c. 500 BCE and 400 CE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurukshetra_war#Scholarly_dating
3100 BCE
The initial form of Stonehenge was completed. The circular bank and ditch enclosure, about 110 metres (360 ft) across, may have been completed with a timber circle.
3000 BCE
Sumerian Cuneiform emerged from the proto-literate Uruk period, allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical religious records.
The second phase of Stonehenge was completed and appeared to function as the first enclosed cremation cemetery in the British Isles.
2635–2610 BCE
The oldest surviving Egyptian Pyramid was commissioned by Pharaoh Djoser.
2600 BCE
Stonehenge began to take on its final form. The wooden posts were replaced with bluestone. It began taking on an increasingly complex setup (including an altar, a portal, station stones, etc.) and shows consideration of solar alignments.
2560 BCE
approximate completion time of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest pyramid of the Giza Plateau.
2494–2345 BCE
The first of the oldest surviving religious texts, the Pyramid Texts, was composed in Ancient Egypt.
2200 BCE
The Minoan Civilization developed in Crete. Citizens worshipped a variety of goddesses.
2150–2000 BCE
The earliest surviving versions of the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh—originally titled He who Saw the Deep or Surpassing All Other Kings.
1700–1100 BCE
Rig Veda composed. This is the first mention of Rudra, now associated with Shiva.
1600 BCE
The ancient development of Stonehenge came to an end.
1500 BCE
The Vedic Age began in India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
1351 or 1353 BCE
The reign of Akhenaten, sometimes credited with starting the earliest known recorded monotheistic religion, in Ancient Egypt.[citation needed]
1300–1000 BCE
The "standard" Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh was edited by Sin-liqe-unninni.
1250–600 BCE
Upanishads composed, containing the earliest emergence of some of the central religious concepts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
1200 BCE
The Greek Dark Age began.
1200 BCE
The Olmecs built the earliest pyramids and temples in Central America.
877–777 BCE
The life of Parshvanatha, 23rd Tirthankara of Jainism.
800 BCE
The Greek Dark Age ends.
8th to 6th centuries BCE
The Chandogya Upanishad Verse 3.17.6 mentions Krishna Devakiputra (Sanskrit: कृष्णाय देवकीपुत्रा) as a student of the sage Ghora Angirasa. The Krisna that is said to be an avatar of Vishnu is not known to have this teacher.
6th to 5th centuries BCE
The first five books of the Jewish Tanakh, the Torah (Hebrew: תורה‬), are probably compiled.
6th century BCE
Possible start of Zoroastrianism; however some date Zarathustra closer to 1000 BCE. Zoroastrianism flourished under the Persian emperors known as the Achaemenids. The emperors Darius (ruled 522–486 B.C.E.) and Xerxes (ruled 486–465 B.C.E.) made it the official religion of their empire.
600–500 BCE
The earliest Confucian writing, Shu Ching, incorporates ideas of harmony and heaven.
599–527 BCE
The life of Mahavira, 24th and last Tirthankara of Jainism.
c.563/480–c.483/400 BCE,
Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism was born.
551 BCE
Confucius, founder of Confucianism, was born.
399 BCE
Socrates was tried for impiety.
369–372 BCE
Birth of Mencius and Zhuang Zhou
300 BCE
The oldest known version of the Tao Te Ching was written on bamboo tablets.
300 BCE
Theravada Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Venerable Mahinda.[citation needed]
c.250 BCE
The Third Buddhist council was convened by Ashoka. 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 Pāṇini. Linguistically, the Bhagavad Gita is in classical Sanskrit of the early variety. This suggests that the text was composed after the Pāṇini era. This would date the text as transmitted by the oral tradition to the later centuries of the 1st-millennium BCE, and the first written version probably to the 2nd or 3rd century CE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita#Date
100 BCE–500 CE
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, one of the oldest texts in Yoga, were composed.

Common Era

1st to 5th centuries

c.4 BCE–c.30/33 CE
The life of Jesus of Nazareth, the central figure of Christianity.
c.27-31 CE
The death of John the Baptist.
50–62
The first Christian Council was convened in Jerusalem.
70
The Siege of Jerusalem, the Destruction of the Temple, and the rise of Rabbinic Judaism.
220
Manichaean Gnosticism was formed by the prophet Mani.
250
Some of the oldest parts of the Ginza Rba, of Mandaean Gnosticism, were written.
250–900
Classic Mayan step pyramids were constructed.
313
The Edict of Milan decreed religious toleration in the Roman empire.
325
The first ecumenical council (the Council of Nicaea) was convened. It established the original Nicene Creed and fixed the date of Easter. It also confirmed the primacy of the Sees of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, and granted the See of Jerusalem a position of honour.
c.350
The oldest record of the complete biblical texts (the Codex Sinaiticus) survives in a Greek translation called the Septuagint, dating to the 4th century CE.
380
Theodosius I declared Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
381
The second ecumenical council (the First Council of Constantinople) reaffirmed and revised the Nicene Creed, repudiating Arianism and Pneumatomachi.
381–391
Theodosius proscribed paganism within the Roman Empire.
393
A council of early Christian bishops listed and approved a biblical canon for the first time at the Synod of Hippo.

Middle Ages (5th–15th centuries)

See also: History of religions § Middle Age

5th to 10th centuries

405
St. Jerome completed the Vulgate, the first Latin translation of the Bible.
410
The Western Roman Empire began to decline, signalling the onset of the Dark Ages.
424
The Church of the East in Sassanian Empire (Persia) formally separated from the See of Antioch.
431
The third ecumenical council (the First Council of Ephesus) repudiated Nestorianism, proclaimed the Virgin Mary as the Theotokos (the God-bearer or Mother of God). It also repudiated Pelagianism and again reaffirmed the Nicene Creed.
449
The Second Council of Ephesus declared support for Eutyches and attacked his opponents.
451
The fourth ecumenical council (the Council of Chalcedon) rejected the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism, adopting instead the Chalcedonian Creed.
451
The Oriental Orthodox Church rejected the christological view put forth by the Council of Chalcedon and was excommunicated.
480–547
Benedict of Nursia wrote his Rule, laying the foundation of Western Christian monasticism.
553
The fifth ecumenical council (the Second Council of Constantinople) repudiated the Three Chapters as Nestorian and condemned Origen of Alexandria.
570–632
The life of Prophet Muhammad of Islam
632
Work began on the compilation of the Quran into the form of a book (soon to be known as Mashaf-ul-Hafsa), in the era of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam.
632–661
The Rashidun Caliphate heralded the Arab conquest of Persia, Egypt and Iraq, bringing Islam to those regions.
650
All written versions of the Qur'an were destroyed except the Mashaf-ul-Hafsa in the era of Uthman, the third Caliph of Islam.
661–750
The Umayyad Caliphate 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 Third Council of Constantinople) rejected Monothelitism and Monoenergism.
c.680
The division between Sunni Muslims and Shiites developed.[citation needed]
692
The Quinisext Council (also known as the Council in Trullo), an amendment to the 5th and 6th ecumenical councils, established the Pentarchy.
712
Kojiki, the oldest Shinto text, was written.
716–936
The migration of Zoroastrian (Parsi) communities from Persia to India began, caused by Muslim conquest of their lands and the ensuing persecution.[citation needed]
754
The latrocinium Council of Hieria supported iconoclasm.
787
The seventh ecumenical council (the Second Council of Nicaea) restored the veneration of icons and denounced iconoclasm.
788–820
The life of Hindu philosopher Adi Shankara, who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedānta.
c.850
The oldest extant manuscripts of the vocalized Masoretic text, upon which modern editions are based, date to 9th century CE.[citation needed]

11th to 15th centuries

1017-1137
Life of founder of vishishtadvaita vedanta, philosopher and social reformer Ramanujacharya
c.1052–c.1135
The life of Milarepa, one of most famous yogis and poets of Tibetan Buddhism.
1054
The Great Schism between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches was formalised.
1095–1272
The First Crusade, Norwegian Crusade, Second Crusade, Third Crusade, Fourth Crusade, Albigensian Crusade, Fifth Crusade, Sixth Crusade, Seventh Crusade, Eighth Crusade, and Ninth Crusade.
1206
The Delhi Sultanate was established.
1222–1282
The life of Nichiren Daishonin, the Buddha of the Latter Day of the Law and founder of Nichiren Buddhism.. Based at the Nichiren Shoshu Head Temple Taisekiji (Japan), this branch of Buddhism teaches the importance of chanting the mantra Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō.
1229
The Codex Gigas was completed by Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrudim.
1238-1317
Life of philosopher Madhvachacharya, founder of dvaita vedanta
1320
Pope John XXII laid the groundwork for future witch-hunts with the formalisation of the persecution of witchcraft.
1378–1417
The Roman Catholic Church split during the Western Schism.
1415
The death of Jan Hus who is considered as the first reformer of the Western Christianity. This event is often considered as the beginning of the Reformation.
1469–1539
The life of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
1484
Pope Innocent VIII marked the beginning of the classical European witch-hunts with his papal bull Summis desiderantes.
1486–1534
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna and composed the Siksastakam (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit. His followers, Gaudiya Vaishnavas, revere him as a spiritual reformer, a Hindu revivalist and an avatar of Krishna.

Early modern and Modern eras

See also: History of religions § Modern period

16th century

1500
In the Spanish Empire, Catholicism was spread and encouraged through such institutions as the missions and the Inquisition.
1517
Martin Luther posted The Ninety-Five Theses on the door of All Saints' Church, Wittenberg, launching the Protestant Reformation.
1526
African religious systems were introduced to the Americas, with the commencement of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
1534
Henry VIII separated the English Church from Rome and made himself Supreme Head of the Church of England.
1562
The Massacre of Vassy sparked the first of a series of French Wars of Religion.

17th century

1699
Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa in Sikhism.

18th century

1708
Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the last Sikh guru, died after instituting the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib Ji, as the eternal Guru.
1770
Baron d'Holbach published The System of Nature said to be the first positive, unambiguous statement of atheism in the West.
1781
Ghanshyam, later known as Sahajanand Swami/Swaminarayan, was born in Chhapaiya at the house of Dharmadev and Bhaktimata.
1789–1799
In the Dechristianisation of France the Revolutionary Government confiscated Church properties, banned monastic vows and, with the passage of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, removed control of the Church from the Pope and subordinated it as a department of the Government. The Republic also replaced the traditional Gregorian Calendar and abolished Christian holidays.
c.1790–1840
The Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival in the United States.
1791–1917
The Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire allowed residency by Jews, and beyond which Jewish residency was mostly forbidden.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_of_Settlement
1791
Freedom of religion, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, was added as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, forming an early and influential secular government.

19th century

1801
The French Revolutionary Government and Pope Pius VII entered into the Concordat of 1801. 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 Báb, the founder of Bábism.
1817–1892
The life of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith.
1823
The Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith claimed to see the Angel Moroni and prophesied of what is now the Book of Mormon.
1830s
Adventism was started by William Miller in the United States.
1830
The Church of Christ was founded by Joseph Smith on 6 April – initiating the Latter Day Saint restorationist movement.
1835–1908
The life of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.
1836–1886
The life of Ramakrishna, saint and mystic of Bengal.
1844
Joseph Smith was murdered, reportedly by John C. Elliott, on 27 June, resulting in a succession crisis in the Latter Day Saint movement.
1857
First great popular uprising against British colonial government in India. Also called Sepoy Mutiny.
1875
The Theosophical Society was formed in New York City by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others.
1879
Christian Science was granted its charter in Boston, Massachusetts.
1881
Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society was formed by Charles Taze Russell, initiating the Bible Student movement.
1889
The Ahmadiyya Community was established.
1893
Swami Vivekananda's first speech at The Parliament of World Religions, Chicago, brought the ancient philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world.
1899
Aradia (aka The Gospel of the Witches), one of the earliest books describing post witchhunt European religious Witchcraft, was published by Charles Godfrey Leland.

20th century

1901
The incorporation of the Spiritualists' National Union legally representing Spiritualism in the United Kingdom.
1904
Thelema was founded by Aleister Crowley.
1905
In France the law on the Separation of the Churches and the State was passed, officially establishing state secularism and putting an end to the funding of religious groups by the state.
Becoming a place of pilgrimage for neo-druids and other pagans, the Ancient Order of Druids organised the first recorded reconstructionist ceremony in Stonehenge.[when?]
1907
Formation of BAPS (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha). A major sect in the Swaminarayan Sampradaya By Shastriji Maharaj
1908
The Khalifatul Masih was established in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as the "Second Manifestation of God's Power".
1913
The Moorish Science Temple of America is founded in Newark, New Jersey.
1917
The October Revolution in Russia led to the annexation of all church properties and subsequent religious suppression.[citation needed]
1920
The Self Realization Fellowship Church of all Religions with its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, was founded by Paramahansa Yogananda.
1922-1991
Soviet Union killed an estimated 12 to 20 million Christians.
1926
Cao Dai founded.
1929
The Cristero War, fought between the secular government and religious Christian rebels in Mexico, ended.
1930
The Rastafari movement began following the coronation of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia.
After previously failing to claim the leadership of the Moorish Science Temple of America, Wallace Fard Muhammad creates the Nation of Islam in Detroit, Michigan.
1932
A neo-Hindu religious movement, the Brahma Kumaris or "Daughters of Brahma", started. Its origin can be traced to the group "Om Mandali", founded by Lekhraj Kripalani (1884–1969).
1931
Jehovah's Witnesses emerged from the Bible Student movement under the influence of Joseph Franklin Rutherford.
1939–1945
6 Million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
1947
Pakistan, the first nation-state in the name of Islam was created. British India was partitioned into the Muslim-majority nation of Pakistan and the secular nation of India with a Hindu majority.
1948
The modern state of Israel was established as a homeland for the Jews.
1954
The Church of Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard.
Wicca was publicised by Gerald Gardner.
1956
Navayana Buddhism (Neo-Buddhism) was founded by B. R. Ambedkar, initially attracting some 380,000 Dalit converts from Hinduism.
1959
The 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet amidst unrest and established an exile community in India.
1960s
Various Neopagan and New Age movements gained momentum.[citation needed]
1961
Unitarian Universalism was formed from the merger of Unitarianism and Universalism.
1962
The Church of All Worlds, the first American neo-pagan church, was formed by a group including Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, and Richard Lance Christie.
1962–1965
The Second Vatican Council was convened.
1965
Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and introduced translations of the Bhagavad-Gita and Vedic Scriptures in mass production all over the world.
1966
The Church of Satan was founded by Anton LaVey on Walpurgisnacht.
1972–1984
The Stonehenge free festivals started.
1972–2004
Germanic Neopaganism (aka Heathenism, Heathenry, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr, Vor Siðr, and Theodism) began to experience a second wave of revival.
1973
Claude Vorilhon established the Raëlian Movement and changed his name to Raël following a purported extraterrestrial encounter in December 1973.
1975
The Temple of Set was founded in Santa Barbara, California.
1979
The Iranian Revolution resulted in the establishment of an Islamic Republic in Iran.
1981
The Stregherian revival continued. "The Book of the Holy Strega" and "The Book of Ways" Volume I & II were published.
1984
Operation Blue Star in the holiest site of the Sikhs, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, led to Anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and adjoining regions, following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
1985
The Battle of the Beanfield forced an end to the Stonehenge free festivals.
1989
Following the revolutions of 1989, the overthrow of many Soviet-style states allowed a resurgence in open religious practice in many Eastern European countries.
1990s
Reconstructionist Pagan movements (Celtic, Hellenic, Roman, Slavic, Baltic, Finnish, etc.) proliferate throughout Europe.
1993
The European Council convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, agreed to the Copenhagen Criteria, requiring religious freedom within all members and prospective members of the European Union.
1995
First Traditional Hindu Mandir outside of India created in London by Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2016) Guru of BAPS.
1998
The Strega Arician Tradition was founded.

21st century

See also: History of religion
2006
Sectarian rivalries exploded in Iraq between Sunni Muslims and Shias, with each side targeting the other in terrorist acts, and bombings of mosques and shrines.
2008
Nepal, the world's only Hindu Kingdom, was declared a secular state by its Constituent Assembly after declaring the state a Republic on 28 May 2008.
2009
The Church of Scientology in France 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
Civil war broke out in Syria over domestic political issues. The country soon split along sectarian lines between Sunni Muslims, Alawite and Shiites. 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.
2013
The Satanic Temple was founded by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry (pseudonyms).
2014
A supposed Islamic Caliphate was established by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in regions of war torn Syria and Iraq, drawing global support from radical Sunni Muslims. This was a modern-day attempt to re-establish Islamic self-rule in accordance with strict adherence to Shariah-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 Yazidi communities were evicted and threatened with death by various Muslim Sunni fighter groups. After ISIS terrorist forces infiltrated and took over large parts of northern Iraq from Syria, many ancient Christian and Yazidi enclaves were destroyed.
The basis of this timeline was sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion copyright https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/