Morty Vicar
Banned
Another good possibility is taoism syncretised with manicheism (which I only recently discovered thanks to AH) they share some elements of the yin/ yang, light/ dark themes.
Greatest religions that never were
- Thread starter Antiochus
- Start date
Another good possibility is taoism syncretised with manicheism (which I only recently discovered thanks to AH) they share some elements of the yin/ yang, light/ dark themes.
Now, if Buddhism didn't exist, the regions evangelised to a local form of Hinduism may keep being so - like Thailand/Burma and the rest of Indochina, Ceylan, the malay isles if Islam never exist or come too...
OR maybe a reformed, 'light' form of Jainism could be exported too. It was related and similar, albeit the current forms are quite... demanding to believers.
I don't know enough about East Asian history and religion to answer this, so was hoping somewhere else might be able to answer this.
Perhaps the rise of Buddhism acted as a barrier to Taoism's spread westwards out of East Asia?
Personally, I've always found Taoism a much more 'practical' religion (or life philosophy, as many prefer to view East Asian religions) than Buddhism, which should make it at least theoretically appealing to many.
One note, however - according to scholars, Taoism influenced Budhdism in China, creating the Ch'An school if I am right. Zen.
Well, for my part, I have to wonder what the great monuments of greater Etruria would bring, given their apparent obsession with death. I'm sure the religion would have to be streamlined to be truly appealing to outsiders, but I'm just imaging tombs on par with the Pyramids or Halicarnassus's. The legacy could have inspired at least as many Abbot and Costello pieces as the Egyptians.
They where greecified quite, and remember, they influenced the latins-romans lot, so actually a part of the romans's believes came from them. So... it survived, syncretised.
I realize that, but the differences are what's interesting! Some of the culture may have been shared between all three, but the values were as different from Rome as Rome was from Greece. The Gods themselves are not the most interesting parts (though they were different enough to be interesting), it's the change of focus and effort.
A religion is not just gods (or gods at all - godless religions can exist..) but a whole package, with the later too.
Godless religions do still exist. The spiritual belief system of the Australian Aborigines really didnt have deities as conventional western culture define them. It also survived the arrival of europeans in some areas.
Could we all get behind the idea of a giant snake shaping the land?
Could we all get behind the idea of a giant snake shaping the land?
The United Protestant Church
In the reign of King Edward VI, Abp. Thomas Cranmer invited Philip Melanchthon (Lutheran), John Calvin (Genevan Reformed), and Henry Bullinger (Zwinglian) to England for a Protestant Ecumenical Council to united the various protestant sects. An early unity of the Protestant movement could make them more monolithic and less a group of folks running around and attacking each other as much as the Roman Church. Give Edward VI a few more years of life and health and we could have this.
In the reign of King Edward VI, Abp. Thomas Cranmer invited Philip Melanchthon (Lutheran), John Calvin (Genevan Reformed), and Henry Bullinger (Zwinglian) to England for a Protestant Ecumenical Council to united the various protestant sects. An early unity of the Protestant movement could make them more monolithic and less a group of folks running around and attacking each other as much as the Roman Church. Give Edward VI a few more years of life and health and we could have this.
Albeit it may sounds like a more staunchly anti-'papists' radicalism may come from this possibly... A bad england to not drop the faith...
Morty Vicar
Banned
I wonder if it may in fact have made England (and by extension the UK and Commonwealth) less tolerant, if a single Protestant authority, akin to the Vatican, in the form of a severely reformed Anglican Church arose (which lets face it is essentially just a Popeless Catholicism). The hierarchy that allowed for mulitple branches of the reformed faith would not then have given the relative freedoms and concessions to other religions as it arguably did.
Neo-Platonism could have easily taken Christianity's place given the right POD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonism
Here's an idea of how(If Jesus was never born).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoplatonism
Here's an idea of how(If Jesus was never born).
To bump this interesting thread...
Is there a chance in a non-Christian timeline, that the Isis religion, already wide spread, could perhaps grown further? Perhaps even filling much of OTL's Catholicism as both state and folk cult. Not deriving her power from her males, Isis might not be as like OTL Mary as some claim.
Since Isis cult seems to have been interested in this-worldly matters such as magic, which I think wasn't as opposed to technology in those days, this might help later attitudes to any sciences.
Is there a chance in a non-Christian timeline, that the Isis religion, already wide spread, could perhaps grown further? Perhaps even filling much of OTL's Catholicism as both state and folk cult. Not deriving her power from her males, Isis might not be as like OTL Mary as some claim.
Since Isis cult seems to have been interested in this-worldly matters such as magic, which I think wasn't as opposed to technology in those days, this might help later attitudes to any sciences.
I've made this post elsewhere I think, but what people don't seem to realise about the Isis cult is that it was still restrictive. Gender neutral, but still restrictive as to the social status of people who joined it. It's also still a more traditional cult, where there is a set of 'mysteries' that only those who join the cult can find out. This is quite different to Christianity which doesn't really care about social status.
I'm not saying the Isis Cult couldn't have developed further, just that in order to become a 'world religion' it would need to change quite heavily from the form we're familiar with.
I'm not saying the Isis Cult couldn't have developed further, just that in order to become a 'world religion' it would need to change quite heavily from the form we're familiar with.
Thanks. I certainly didn't know that. Could you point me towards a good book or web site about it?
For a few Hundred years there was the Religion of Antinous,which was a rather peaceful religion,if it had won out we'd be worshiping Antinous
Gay rights certainly would be much further along, considering the Cult of Antinous was the result of Hadrian loving him so much as to deify him after death.
Subtile theology. If it is independant of humans, maybe, by example.. do not need prayers,, etc...