 Paganism
(Heathen): the belief systems of the world which believes in many gods,
mythology and nature. They are the religions of ancient Rome, Greece,
Mesopotamia and Egypt. Many of the traditions of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam have as their foundation the heathen traditions of the
societies in which they originated.
 "The religions of
the ancient
Near East were mostly polytheistic,
with some examples of monolatry (for
example, Yahwism and Atenism).
Some scholars believe that the similarities between these religions
indicate that the religions are related, a belief known as patternism.
Many religions of the ancient near East and their offshoots can be
traced to Proto-Semitic
religion. Other religions in the ancient Near East include the ancient
Egyptian religion, the Luwian and Hittite religions
of Asia
Minor and the Sumerian
religion of ancient Mesopotamia.
Offshoots of Proto-Semitic religion include Canaanite
religion and Arabian
religion. Judaism is
a development of Canaanite religion, both Indo-European and Semitic
religions influenced the ancient
Greek religion, and Zoroastrianism was
a product of ancient Indo-Iranian
religion primarily the ancient
Iranian religion. In turn these religious traditions strongly
influenced the later monotheistic religions of Christianity, Mandaeism, Gnosticism, Islam,
and Manicheanism,
which inherited their monotheism from Judaism and Zoroastrianism."
Source
Wikipedia |
