# Why do all major religions have Asian roots?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-major-religions-have-asian-roots/456404>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 14, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-major-religions-have-asian-roots/456404 "2008-07-14T05:20:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-major-religions-have-asian-roots/456404/21 "2008-07-14T17:45:27Z")

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[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic]  
And yes, Constantine adopted it it as his state religion probably because his mother was a convert.  
[/QUOTE]

He didn’t, he decriminalized it and restored confiscated property. And I thought that, at the time he did so, Christianity was pretty widespread. Rodney Stark’s “The Rise of Christianity” estimates there were about 6 million Christians in 300. (He also argues that Christianity wasn’t largely a religion of the poor and slaves, but instead, of Hellenized Jews and of the urban elite.)

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-major-religions-have-asian-roots/456404/22 "2008-07-15T13:56:04Z")

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I’ve heard that the big, monotheistic religions originated in the desert because the desert is a weird, intense place that lends itself both to hardship and to deep thought. On the other hand, religions like Buddhism come from lush areas and are generally less dogmatic as a result.

Sounds like an oversimplification to me, in a way. But it also sounds like it might be on track, too.

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**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-major-religions-have-asian-roots/456404/23 "2008-07-15T14:37:44Z")

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[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog]  
I’ve heard that the big, monotheistic religions originated in the desert because the desert is a weird, intense place that lends itself both to hardship and to deep thought. On the other hand, religions like Buddhism come from lush areas and are generally less dogmatic as a result.

Sounds like an oversimplification to me, in a way. But it also sounds like it might be on track, too.  
[/QUOTE]

One theory is that the desert setting, with it’s wide open spaces and giant skies, led to transcendant theologies of a grand, external God because the eyes are drawn up and out. India, the source of Hinduism and Buddhism, is a tropical, jungle setting which caused people to turn more inward and introspective, resulting in highly refined meditative techniques and insights and a more internal kind of religion.

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