The Religious Belief System Of Mithraism

Although religions today take on many shapes and forms, and may seem so dramatically different from each other, in order to study and understand these religions, their similarities must be identified. This paper will first present a definition of religion that will connect to all religions at the simplest base. Then this paper will examine the common practices and experiences that are present in both the primary religions of the world, as well as the indigenous religions. Finally, this paper will discuss the issues that are critical to the academic study of religions.

To start off, the researcher would like to give an overview of both eastern and western religions. Eastern religions originated in areas such as China, Japan, and India. The aim of these eastern religions was to live harmoniously and be able to have a healthy balance with the real world and the spiritual world. Supporters tied to eastern religions could be either polytheistic or atheistic. Also, individuals in the eastern culture tend to convey their religious practice any time or any day. For example,

In Chapter ten the history of Hinduism is discussed in America and India. Instead of illustrating the religious doctrines of Hinduism. The author lists statistics about the livelihoods of Asian Indians. For example, there are eighteen different official languages in India. As the author emphasizes that doctrines have nothing to do with Hinduism, but the actions that individuals commit. The orthodoxy is a set of responsibilities that Hindus must carry out. If they wish to be reincarnated into a higher caste. In addition, the origin of Hinduism is mentioned within the chapter. That Hinduism is the only major religion that does not have a founder and has no beginning as there is not a specific known date of when it originated. Moreover, Hinduism is the oldest major religion and is the only polytheistic faith among the five popular creeds.

Those who are raised within one religious tradition may find it difficult to understand the traditions of another religion. It is not until one is educated in the basics of the other major world religions, that it is possible to see the many similarities between them. Just as there are many similarities between the countries culturally, the major religions share more things than they are different. In viewing Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism with an open mind, it is easy to see the differences, similarities and ideals that make these religions as widespread as they are.

A lot of different belief systems were practiced by individual families and city-states in ancient Southwest Asia. Ideas about rituals, deities, and mythology were shared and accepted by people who practiced other belief systems, and over time these religious ideas started to be compiled into a major religion, which is now called “Vedism”.

Islam, Christianity and Judaism are known as the three great monotheistic faiths. Their followers make up 55.5% of the world’s population. (Hackett, 2017) Christianity having the largest following followed by Islam and then lastly Judaism. Though their congregations may differ in faith, they still have more similarities than differences. Such as, their shared heritage to similar traditions, rituals and their view and nature of God through scriptures. They do however have differences that have helped to bridge a gap that has separated them amongst one another. The main objective of this paper is to show how Islam, Christianity and Judaism have a shared heritage and show similarities in their traditions, rituals and the different view of God through their individual scriptures.

Zoroastrianism is a religion from ancient Iran and in present day only has about “124,000 to 190,000 remaining practitioners, but for more than 1,000 years it may have been the official religion of the vast Iranian Empire.” (Fisher, pg. 242) The origins of Zoroastrianism is similar to Hinduism, possibly influenced by Buddhism, with beliefs that correlate similarities with Jewish, Christianity, and Muslim religions. Unfortunately its true origins are unclear since the sacred scriptures were lost as well as destroyed. Zoroastrianism combines both cosmogonic dualism and eschatological monotheism. In its earlier times people worshipped multiple gods such as those of the elements, different aspects from nature, and abstract principles with justice and obedience.

In the lecture, I found Mithraism to resemble so much of Christian teachings with how Mithra’s name means covenant and the fact that his birth date was December 25. As a once narrow-minded Christian, I would

As a member of the roman cult of Mithras I am completely surrounded by exclusively men who come together to conduct intricate eating rituals (The Roman Cult of Mithras). My cult originated from Persia during the Neolithic period in the second through fourth century during the time of Christ. Sadly, by the 21st century only wall paintings and sculptures from my religion will be present since we transferred our religion orally. My religion was derived from the Persians in their book called the Zend-Avesta. In the Zend-Avesta, the book teaches us the battle between good and evil as well as telling us about the day of judgement which is very similar to Christianity (Sayre). The Mithras myth of origination is rather interesting. Mithras was born

To understand the structure of Mithraism’s and its belief of the afterlife, we need to know the principles that govern this cult.

Mithraism is one of the most notable mystery cults to date, and its complexity has made it an intriguing area of research for historians and scholars alike. Although, details regarding its initiation rituals weren’t disclosed to those outside of the cult, artifacts such as preserved areas of worship, wall paintings, and ritualistic objects have helped to piece together the practices of Mithraism. As more information about Mithraism is discovered, its similarity to modern religions, especially Christianity, becomes clear. As arguably the most popular mystery cult of its time, Mithraism’s origins, rituals, and beliefs not only provided a base for Christianity, but also influenced Christian practice.

The first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word "Islam" itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God". The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a

Dissimilar to Christianity, Hinduism is portrayed as a family of beliefs. “Hinduism unites the worship of many gods with a belief in a single divine reality” (Molloy, 75). Hinduism can be compared to that of the Ganga Ma, a significant river in the Indian culture. Comparing it with the river saying that it flows and gains momentum. The Hindus have four very important life goals; kama or pleasure, artha or economic security, dharma or social and religious duty, and moksha or complete freedom. While Hinduism consist of more than one god, individuals tend to focus on a particular god. Three gods are particularly central in the life of Hinduism. The three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, represent creation, preservation, and destruction. (Molloy, 75).

Throughout history religion has been used as means to justify actions and to control people. The two earliest examples are Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. The time frames that will be discussed will be the reign of Cyrus, 521 to 486 BCE, and India from 1500 to 500 BCE, before the Persians had a direct effect on India. The Persian religion is thought to be Zoroastrianism or a derivative of it, called Achaemenian. (For this paper the Persian’s religion will be referred to as Zoroastrianism.) However, Cyrus did not strive to spread his religion he introduced his self into other religions as a divine figure. Hinduism is a religion whose origins are unknown but are speculated to have been initiated by the Aryan people. The development of the

The first thing that one should know and clearly understand about Islam is what the word "Islam" itself means. The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of Christianity which was named after Jesus Christ, Buddhism after Gotama Buddha, Confucianism after Confucius, and Marxism after Karl Marx. Nor was it named after a tribe like Judaism after the tribe of Judah and Hinduism after the Hindus. Islam is the true religion of "Allah" and as such, its name represents the central principle of Allah's "God's" religion; the total submission to the will of Allah "God". The Arabic word "Islam" means the submission or surrender of one's will to the only true god worthy of worship "Allah" and anyone who does so is termed a