Julie Ann Patulot

Hinduism
A term for a wide variety of related religious traditions native to India.
Historically, it encompasses the development of Religion in India since the Iron Age
traditions, which in turn hark back to prehistoric religions such as that of the Bronze Age
Indus Valley Civilization followed by the Vedic religion.

Hindu philosophy had six branches, evolving from about the 2nd century BCE to
the 6th century CE, viz. Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, and Vedanta.
Monotheistic religions like Shaivism and Vaishnavism developed during this same
period through the Bhakti movement.

Classical Pauranic Hinduism is established in the Middle Ages, as was Adi

Shankara's Advaita Vedanta which reconciled the Vaishna and Shaiva sects, and gave
rise to Smartism, while initiating the decline of the non-Vedantic schools of philosophy.

Hinduism under the Islamic Rulers saw the increasing prominence of the Bhakti
movement, which remains influential today. The colonial period saw the emergence of
various Hindu reform movements partly inspired by western culture, such as spiritism
(Theosophy). The Partition of India in 1947 was along religious lines, with the Republic
of India emerging with a Hindu majority.

During the 20th century, due to the Indian diaspora, Hindu minorities have
formed in all continents, with the largest communities in absolute numbers in the United
States and the United Kingdom. In the Republic of India, Hindu nationalism has
emerged as a strong political force since the 1980s, the Hindutva Bharatiya Janata
Party forming the Government of India from 1999 to 2004, and its first state government
in southern India in 2006.

Buddhism
The History of Buddhism spans the 5th century BCE to the present, starting with
the birth of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama in Ancient India in what is now Lumbini, Nepal.
This makes it one of the oldest religions practiced today. Starting in the north eastern
region of the Indian Subcontinent, the religion evolved as it spread through Central Asia,
East Asia, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another it affected most of the Asian
continent. The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of
numerous movements and schisms among them the Theravāda, Mahāyāna and
Vajrayāna traditions, with contrasting periods of expansion and retreat.

Jainism (pronounced /ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/)

An ancient religion of India that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all
living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move
the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its
own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina (Conqueror
or Victor).

Jainism is also referred to as Shraman (self-reliant) Dharma or the religion of

Nirgantha (who does not have attachments and aversions) by ancient texts. Jainism is
commonly referred to as Jain Dharma in Hindi and Samanam in Tamil.

Jainism, which its followers consider to have always existed, is believed by

historians to have arisen between the ninth and the sixth centuries BCE. Some have
speculated that the religion may have its roots in much earlier times, reflecting native
spirituality from before the Indo-Aryan migration into India. In the modern world, it is a
small but influential religious minority with as many as 4.2 million followers in India,[] and
successful growing immigrant communities in North America, Western Europe, the Far
East, Australia and elsewhere.

Jains successfully sustained this ancient religion to this era and have significantly
influenced and contributed to ethical, political and economic spheres in India. Jains
have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India;
Jain libraries are the oldest in the country. Tamil Jains and Kannada Jains who are
native to their regions, residing in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka respectively early since
1st century BCE, are distinguishable in some of their routines and practices from North
Indian Jains, but the core philosophies and belief systems are the same for both
cultures.

Sikhism
The history of Sikhism is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the
socio-political situation in medieval India. Sikh distinction was further enhanced by the
establishment of the Khalsa, by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Sikhism was createdby
Guru Nanak Dev, a religious leader and a social reformer during the fifteenth century in
the Punjab region. The religious practice was formalized by Guru Gobind Singh on
March 30, 1699. The latter baptised five persons from different social backgrounds to
form Khalsa. The first five, Pure Ones, then baptized Gobind Singh into the Khalsa fold.
This gives the Sikhism, as an organized grouping, a religious history of around 400
years.

Generally Sikhism has had amicable relations with other religions. However,
during the Mughal rule of India (1556–1707), emerging religion had strained relation
with the ruling Mughals. Prominent Sikh Gurus were martyred by Mughals for opposing
some Mughal emperors' persecution of minority religious communities. Subsequently,
Sikhism militarized to oppose Mughal hegemony. The emergence of the Sikh
Confederacy under the misls and Sikh Empire under reign of the Maharajah Ranjit
Singh was characterized by religious tolerance and pluralism with Christians, Muslims
and Hindus in positions of power. The establishment of the Sikh Empire is commonly
considered the zenith of Sikhism at political level, during this time the Sikh Empire came
to include Kashmir, Ladakh, and Peshawar. Hari Singh Nalwa, the Commander-in-chief
of the Sikh army along the North West Frontier, took the boundary of the Sikh Empire to
the very mouth of the Khyber Pass. The Empire's secular administration integrated
innovative military, economic and governmental reforms.

The months leading up to the partition of India in 1947, saw heavy conflict in the
Punjab between Sikh and Muslims, which saw the effective religious migration of
Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus from West Punjab which mirrored a similar religious migration
of Punjabi Muslims in East Punjab.

WHAT IS THE OLDEST RELIGION?

Do you all know the world's oldest religions are: Hinduism 1500BCE; Judaism
1800 BC; Paganism (e.g.Witchcraft)a.k.a. Celtic 1000BC; Buddhism 624BC; Jainism -
born same time as Buddhism.