# Which was the first monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism or Judaism or...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045 "2012-01-10T13:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/1 "2012-01-10T13:47:33Z")
[According to Wikianswers](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_first_monotheistic_religion), well, Wikianswers seems to contradict itself. > [@](#): > > **Answer** > Zoroastrianism was the first monotheistic religion, believed to have been founded in southern Russia around 1700-2000 BCE. > > Akhenaten, pharaoh of Egypt from about 1353 to 1336 BCE, also introduced a monotheistic religion, but it did not last beyond his death. > > Monotheistic Judaism was introduced by King Josiah of Judah during the seventh century BCE. > > **Answer** > The first monotheistic religion was Judaism. šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/2 "2012-01-10T13:56:43Z")
Just because it didnā€™t last long I donā€™t see how that invalidates Atenism. At least we have firm evidence for that and it predates monotheistic Judaism by half a millennium. Do we have any real evidence that Zoroastrianism dates to 1700-2000 BCE? ---
**Author:** ![Walther\_Ego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Walther\_Ego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walther_Ego)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/3 "2012-01-10T14:03:53Z")
And furthermore, its deities are no doubt very old, but when did it become monotheism, i.e. dumped the other gods and goddesses? ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/4 "2012-01-10T14:44:45Z")
Apparently according to Wiki there is no written evidence for Zoroastrianism earlier then 5th century BCE. OP, you need to define, what sort of monotheism? > **[Monotheism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism)** > > Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God. > Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one God without denying that ot... Iā€™d argue the earliest form of Monism is spelled out in the Rig Vedaā€™s from around 1100 BC which makes early Vedic the first monotheistic religion. For Deism, yeah Iā€™d say Judaism gets it at 700 BCE. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/5 "2012-01-10T14:53:43Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Apparently according to Wiki there is no written evidence for Zoroastrianism earlier then 5th century BCE. > > OP, you need to define, what sort of monotheism? > [Monotheism - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism) The first paragraph hints towards it: Monotheism (from Greek Ī¼ĻŒĪ½ĪæĻ‚, monos, ā€œsingleā€, and ĪøĪµĻŒĻ‚, theos, ā€œgodā€) is the belief in the existence of one and only one god.[1] Monotheism is characteristic of numerous religions, including the Bahaā€™i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism,[2] Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. So for monotheism, I would use that definition and say that the main point of the religion would be in a single deity ignoring the Satan/Angra Mainyu as lesser deities. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/6 "2012-01-10T14:59:17Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > So for monotheism, I would use that definition and say that the main point of the religion would be in a single deity ignoring the Satan/Angra Mainyu as lesser deities. Well if you accept Vedic / Hinduism as a Monotheistic religion (and I would argue that it is) then thats your answer. The latest date for composition of the Rig Veda is 1000BC with other estimates putting it as early as 1700 BC. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/7 "2012-01-10T15:28:43Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > [According to Wikianswers](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_first_monotheistic_religion), well, Wikianswers seems to contradict itselfā€¦: No! It canā€™t be! ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/8 "2012-01-10T16:06:18Z")
The plain anwer is that we donā€™t know. There is evidence that _some_ early cultures were monotheistic, but they tended to form pantheons over time as they came into contact with more people. The ancient Chinese, for instance, seem to have been monotheistic and retain some elements of this even today. ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/9 "2012-01-10T16:09:13Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > [According to Wikianswers](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_first_monotheistic_religion), well, Wikianswers seems to contradict itself. > šŸ˜• I think it would be: Akhenaten, pharaoh of Egypt from about 1353 to 1336 BCE, also introduced a monotheistic religion, but it did not last beyond his death. Since Zoroastrianism wasnā€™t monotheistic (ahura mazda and ahiriman are the principle deities) and ancient judaism was henotheistic. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/10 "2012-01-10T16:22:47Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Well if you accept Vedic / Hinduism as a Monotheistic religion (and I would argue that it is) then thats your answer. The latest date for composition of the Rig Veda is 1000BC with other estimates putting it as early as 1700 BC. But this is similar to date estimates for the Zoroastrian Old Avestan gathas. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > The Old Avestan language of the Gathas (which are attributed to the prophet himself) is still very close to the Sanskrit of the Rigveda. Therefore, it seemed implausible that the Gathas and Rigveda could be more than a few centuries apart, suggesting a date for the oldest surviving portions of the Avesta of roughly the 2nd millennium BCE. > > This[sic] 11th/10th century BC date is now widely accepted among Iranists, who in recent decades found that the social customs described in the Gathas roughly coincide with what is known of other pre-historical peoples of that period. Early Hinduism and early Zoroasterianism presumably shared a common source. What deductions have been gleaned? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/11 "2012-01-10T16:43:53Z")
Judaism was apparently first Henotheistic, as opposed to strictly Monotheistic. But generally, weā€™d say that henotheism is a form of monotheism. The early Jews seemingly worshiped only one deity, but seemed to accept that other nations had other deities. Atemism seems to have been henotheistic also , or just monolatry There are other varieties of Monotheism, including Monism, Deism, etc. Depending on your definition of Monotheism, and your acceptance of certain dates, all three (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, & Atenism) all have a claim. No doubt Judaism is the oldest surviving Monotheiistic faith. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/12 "2012-01-10T16:43:55Z")
Itā€™s quite hard to define Hinduism as a monotheistic religion on the basis of the Rig Veda, because nobody really knows what it originally said. The basic ideas have been passed down by oral tradition, but thereā€™s a pretty good chance it changed substantially between 1500 BC and the first written manuscripts (which probably appeared in the 6th century AD). > [@Meatros](#): > > Since Zoroastrianism wasnā€™t monotheistic (ahura mazda and ahiriman are the principle deities) and ancient judaism was henotheistic. In the Gatas, Zoroaster (probably) identified Angra Mainyu as something approximating evil, rather than an evil being, so Zoroastrian was arguably originally monotheistic and later not. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/13 "2012-01-10T16:54:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > ] No doubt Judaism is the oldest surviving Monotheiistic faith. Considering there are modern Zoroastrian communities still surviving in Iran and Mumbai (Parsis), I think there is considerable doubt about that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-was-the-first-monotheistic-religion-zoroastrianism-or-judaism-or/609045/14 "2012-01-10T17:32:31Z")
Based on current demographic trends, the Parsee community is likely to die out (even in India and Iran) in the next century.