This page groups religions by the era in which they first emerged, from ancient antiquity to movements founded within the last two centuries. Wikipedia dates the BaháΚΌí Faith's founding to "19th-century Iran," while describing Judaism as "the oldest Abrahamic religion." Browsing by origin era lets a visitor see which traditions are recent arrivals and which reach back into the ancient world.
Facts
Status
Status TodayRevived: practised today as modern religion drawing on ancient sources, not as continuous survival - a distinction the field keeps, and so does the atlas. 2 Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard distinction in the study of contemporary Paganism: an ancient religion and its modern reconstruction are kept apart, and a claim of unbroken continuity is treated as a claim to be tested rather than as a fact. 2 Overview
What Defines This GroupingAncient many-deity religions that ceased as continuous public practice and have been deliberately reconstructed in the modern era from surviving sources. Reconstruction is a scholarly project as much as a religious one, and where the record is silent practitioners have had to decide. 2 Contested Use
Contested or Appropriated Modern UseSeveral of these revivals are entangled with ethnic nationalism, and some have been contested from within over racial exclusivity. The movements are not uniform on this, and the dispute is documented. 3 History
Era of Modern RevivalTwentieth century: the movements grouped here are modern reconstructions. Claims of unbroken descent from the ancient religion are made by some of them and are not supported by the historical record. 2 Learn More
Revived historical polytheisms
This group gathers historical polytheisms that have been consciously revived in the modern era, contemporary movements that seek to reconstruct or reimagine an ancient many-god religion. These are new religious movements in their organisation even where they draw sincerely on old sources.
The browser will find modern reconstructions such as Heathenry, Hellenic and other reconstructionist paths. The atlas is careful to mark the distinction between the ancient religion and its modern revival, noting where continuity is claimed and where the tradition is a modern reconstruction.
Origin Era
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives
Michael F. Strmiska (ed.), ABC-CLIO, 2005
3. Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses
Kathryn Rountree (ed.), Berghahn Books, 2015
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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