Zoroastrianism
http://www.humanreligions.info/zoroastrianism.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2018
#afghanistan #atheism #christianity #dualism #Iran #islam #judaism #monotheism #polytheism #zoroastrianism
| Zoroastrianism | |||
| Links: Pages on Zoroastrianism, Other Religions | |||
 | |||
| God(s) | |||
| Adherent | Zoroastrian | ||
| Adherents | Zoroastrians | ||
| Texts | Avesta | ||
| Afterlife | |||
| Founding | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Heritage | Prehistoric | ||
| Area of Origin | Persia (now Iran) | ||
| When | Before 5th century BCE | ||
| Founder | By Zoroaster | ||
| Numbers in the UK (Census results) | |||
| 2001 | 3 738 | 2011 | 4 105 |
| Zoroastrians Worldwide (Pew & WM) | |||
| World: 0.00278%. Iran (0.0924%), Tajikistan (0.036%), Seychelles (0.03%), Kyrgyzstan (0.015%), Kazakhstan (0.015%), Afghanistan (0.014%), Sri Lanka (0.012%), Canada (0.01%), Australia (0.00807%), Hong Kong (0.00786%) 1 | |||
Zoroastrianism is one of the most ancient religions about which anything is known, and is over 3,000 years old2. It still has followers today3,4. It arose in ancient pre-Islamic Iran "in the eastern and south-central regions of the Iranian world, between the great mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush and Seistan, an area that today is divided between Iran and Afghanistan" and it still survives there, although it faces constant and sometimes violent persecution. It was supposedly founded by Zarathustra (Zoroaster)2.
It is in many ways monotheistic, in that there is a single creator god (Ahura Mazda)5, and this makes it a significant precursor to many of the religions that later rose in a similar vein, including the monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But Zoroastrianism is often called dualistic6 because most concerns are to do with Ahura Mazda's twin children "Spentu Mainyu ('beneficient spirit') and Angra Mainyu ('hostile spirit')"2. The hostile spirit is better known by its Middle Persian equivalent: Ahriman. Their different temperaments arise "from the choice they made between 'truth,' asha, and the 'lie,' druj, between good thoughts, good words, and good deeds and evil thoughts, evil words and evil deeds"2. The battle between these two define the theology of Zoroastrianism and this dualistic idea of 'spiritual warfare' remain with monotheistic religions to this day, especially Christianity and Islam6, although the perceived balanced between God and Satan is different.
1. Calendar (2023)
#hong_kong #incest #india #judaism #marriage #mithraism #religious_calendars #zoroastrianism
| Date | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 19th Thursday (this year) | Jashn-E Mehergan / Mihr Jashan | Dedicated to Meher, or Mithra, symbols of the sun, and of justice. |
| Jan 30th Monday (fixed) | Jashn-E Sadeh | in Iran. Mid-winter bonfire festival to celebrate the days lengthening. |
| Feb 18th Saturday (this year) | Jashn-E Mehergan / Mihr Jashan | Dedicated to Meher, or Mithra, symbols of the sun, and of justice. |
| Feb 21st Tuesday (this year) | Ava Mah Parab / Aban Jashan | Celebration of Ava, guardian of fertility and water. |
| Mar 10th Friday | Fravardigan | Occurs ten days before No Ruz. Festival and prayer day for guardian spirits of ancestors. |
| Mar 20th Monday (this year) | Jamshedi Noruz | On New Years' day, on the spring equinox. Celebrates victory of life and light over darkness. Clothes, gifts, prayers and dancing. |
| Mar 22nd Wednesday (this year) | Adar Mah Parab | To give thanks for warmth and light of the year, and the house fire is given a rest. |
| Mar 23rd Thursday (this year) | Ava Mah Parab / Aban Jashan | Celebration of Ava, guardian of fertility and water. |
| Mar 26th Sunday (this year) | Khordad Sal (Zarathustra's Birthday) | The birthday of Prophet Zarathustra. |
| Apr 21st Friday (this year) | Adar Mah Parab | To give thanks for warmth and light of the year, and the house fire is given a rest. |
| Apr 23rd Sunday (this year) | Zaratosht No Diso | Date can vary due to balancing between the solar Hijri calendar of Iran and the Fasli calendar. The death of prophet Zoroaster. |
| May 23rd Tuesday (this year) | Zaratosht No Diso | Date can vary due to balancing between the solar Hijri calendar of Iran and the Fasli calendar. The death of prophet Zoroaster. |
| Jun 28th Wednesday (5 days) (this year) | Maidyoshahem (of Hordad) | The third day (Jishan-e-Tiragan) is the most important. The seasonal festival of Hordad, the Holy Immortal, who created water and represents health and completeness. Possibly originally a midsummer festival, but inaccurate calendars has meant the date has strayed. |
| Jul 7th Friday | Fravardigan | Occurs ten days before No Ruz. Festival and prayer day for guardian spirits of ancestors. |
| Jul 17th Monday (this year) | No Ruz / Navroze | New Years' day on the Shenshai Calendar. |
| Jul 23rd Sunday (this year) | Khordad Sal (Zarathustra's Birthday) | The birthday of Prophet Zarathustra. |
| Aug 6th Sunday | Fravardigan | Occurs ten days before No Ruz. Festival and prayer day for guardian spirits of ancestors. |
| Aug 16th Wednesday (this year) | No Ruz | |
| Aug 22nd Tuesday (this year) | Khordad Sal (Zarathustra's Birthday) | The birthday of Prophet Zarathustra. |
| Sep 22nd Friday (this year) | Jashn-E Mehergan / Mihr Jashan | Dedicated to Meher, or Mithra, symbols of the sun, and of justice. |
| Oct 25th Wednesday (5 days) (this year) | Maidyoshahem (of Hordad) | The third day (Jishan-e-Tiragan) is the most important. The seasonal festival of Hordad, the Holy Immortal, who created water and represents health and completeness. Possibly originally a midsummer festival, but inaccurate calendars has meant the date has strayed. |
| Oct 25th Wednesday (this year) | Ava Mah Parab / Aban Jashan | Celebration of Ava, guardian of fertility and water. |
| Nov 23rd Thursday (this year) | Adar Mah Parab | To give thanks for warmth and light of the year, and the house fire is given a rest. |
| Nov 24th Friday (5 days) (this year) | Maidyoshahem (of Hordad) | The third day (Jishan-e-Tiragan) is the most important. The seasonal festival of Hordad, the Holy Immortal, who created water and represents health and completeness. Possibly originally a midsummer festival, but inaccurate calendars has meant the date has strayed. |
| Dec 25th Monday (this year) | Zaratosht No Diso | Date can vary due to balancing between the solar Hijri calendar of Iran and the Fasli calendar. The death of prophet Zoroaster. |
“Zoroastrian scholarship has always had to contend with considerable difficulties because sources of knowledge about the religion, in particular those pertaining to its earliest period, are few and conflicting. The Avesta, a collection of texts gathered in writing during the fourth and sixth century CE, has survived only in part, and it presents a heterogeneous picture.”
"The Encyclopedia of Religion" by Eliade Mircea (1987)7
Problematic Doctrine: Incest and Decline: Zoroastrianism, like Judaism, has strict rules against marrying outsiders (called exogamy)8. Followers of Zoroaster in India are called Parsis, and some of that community moved to Hong Kong, but at even their height there were never more than 100 of them8. Such a small community, only marrying each other and the occasional Parsi from Mumbai in India, struggled to expand9. Incest is part of official Zoroastrian doctrine, wherein it is called Xvaetvadatha - marriage between cousins in particular was called 'marriages made in heaven'. Zoroastrian culture is also very wary of accepting conversions8, and this combined with incest and a shrinking base of adherents has placed Zoroastrianism in a poor position globally, and the religion is "significantly declining"8.
Mithraism: The Roman mystery religion Mithraism developed out of Zoroastrian ideas. See: Mithraism and Early Christianity.