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The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BCE). [1] The prehistory of religion involves the study of religious beliefs that existed prior to the advent of written records.
Timeline. c. 4000 BCE. Earliest Egyptian Myths Recorded. c. 3500 BCE. First written evidence of religion in the world recorded on Sumerian tablets. c. 3000 BCE. Hathor, known as Mistress of Dendera, cult center flourishes in the city of Dendera. c. 2500 BCE. Osiris as Dying and Reviving God and God of the Dead appears in Pyramid Texts.
- Joshua J. Mark
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Religious studies. Religious studies, also known as the study of religion, is the scientific study of religion. There is no consensus on what qualifies as religion and its definition is highly contested. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing empirical, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.
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- History of the study of religion
Because the major cultural traditions of Europe, the Middle East, India, and China have been independent over long periods, no single history of the study of religion exists. The primary impulse that prompts many to study religion, however, happens to be the Western one. On the whole, in the ancient world and in the Middle Ages the various approach...
Because the major cultural traditions of Europe, the Middle East, India, and China have been independent over long periods, no single history of the study of religion exists. The primary impulse that prompts many to study religion, however, happens to be the Western one. On the whole, in the ancient world and in the Middle Ages the various approach...
study of religion, attempt to understand the various aspects of religion, especially through the use of other intellectual disciplines. The study of religion emerged as a formal discipline during the 19th century, when the methods and approaches of history, philology, literary criticism, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, and other ...
The bulk of the human religious experience pre-dates written history, which is roughly 5,000 years old. [1] A lack of written records results in most of the knowledge of pre-historic religion being derived from archaeological records and other indirect sources, and from suppositions. Much pre-historic religion is subject to continued debate.
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Religious Studies. "Religious studies" is now the descriptive term of greatest currency for the academic study of religion. In 1867, F. Max Müller first used the term Religionswissenschaft, the science of religion, to describe his comparative philological studies, which he hoped might uncover the essence of religion scientifically.
