Nothing governs as much devotion as religion and its invocation
of emotion can be both awe-inspiring and terrible. Across the world, through untold millennia, human beings have looked to the
skies and within themselves to find answers to questions such as “where did we came from?”, “what
we are meant to do?”,
and “why things are
the way they are?”. The resulting religions have taken on
many diverse ideas and structures. Studying these religions can
provide a tremendous insight
into not only history but the nature of humanity itself.
This article
provides a brief introduction to the Zoroastrianism religion, which beginnings
date back to at least early Judaism, if not long before, and yet still lives on
today. Its followers are small in number,
yet it remains present and continues to stir an ancient fervor in the hearts of
its people.
A Brief History
Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion
which began in Persia. Most scholars
place the founding prophet, Zarathustra (or, Zoroaster in Greek), to about the
sixth century B.C.E, but some believe he may have lived at an earlier date,
possibly 1400-1000 B.C.E. Zoroastrian scriptures are call the Avesta
and were in their canonical fixed state by 325 C.E., but there are other
Zoroastrian literary works which speak of scriptures lost during the conquest of Alexander
the Great. Ahura Mazda, the God of
Zoroastrianism, was worshipped by the Achaemenid kings of the Persian Empire,
including the illustrious and powerful Cyrus the Great. Ahura Mazda was represented by the winged sun
disc. After the Greek conquest by Alexander the Great,
Zoroastrianism revived itself in the Parthians and then under the Sassanids. The Sassanid period (651-224 B.C.E) of Iran
introduced Zoroastrianism as the offical religion of the Persian people. Zoroastrianism was the state religion from the
3rd century C.E. until the Muslim invaders of the 7th
century C.E came.
By 2013, there were less than 20,000 still in Iran and, as a minority, they struggle with oppression; however,
they do receive better treatment
now than in the past 14 centuries and are allowed to participate in social
taboos that Muslims are not allowed to, such as dancing and drinking
alcohol. Zoroastrians were involved with the Constitutional
movement in the early 20th century, were represented in the first Parliament,
and acknowledged as part of Iran's heritage, yet still mostly they are marginalized and
oppressed. In ancient times,
Zoroastrians held high positions in the court.
However, today Zoroastrians face opposition in the workforce and are
often blocked by a "glass ceiling".
In recent times, Zoroastrians are not forced into Islam, but many
convert because of the possible social advantages and the loss of state support for the
Zoroastrian priesthood, and that mixed marriages require children to be raises as Muslims. Zoroastrianism
is possibly facing extinction.
Although still experiencing "localized
persecution of non-Muslims by members of the Muslim majority", the rural
Zoroastrians in Iran experienced an increase in prosperity in the 20th
century. (Foltz, 2011)
Their rising
social status influenced the practice of their religion, including focusing
less on ritual. "Many Iranian
Zoroastrians no longer even wear the sedreh-koshti, the sacred cord and
undershirt which since ancient times have defined Zoroastrian identity and been
a precondition for participation in religious rituals." (Foltz, 2011) However, this change did not occur in Zoroastrian communities in
South Asia. Interestingly, there is a growing Zoroastrian
population in the United States. There
is also a large percentage of Zoroastrians in India.
Primary Beliefs
Zoroaster (Zarathustra) grew up in a religion which had many
gods, called daevas.
Some of these gods seem to correspond to the gods (the devas) of the Vedic Indians and there are
even possible linguistic and thematic connections between the part of the Zoroastrian scriptures called the Gathas and the Vedic Rig Vedas scriptures. Zoroaster departed from his native polytheism and created a new religion
which worships one God, Ahura Mazda (also called Ormazd), and religious practice is defined
by “good thoughts, words,
and deeds". Zoroastrians believe
there are two opposing forces in the world: the good spirit spenta mainyu (life, order, perfection, health,
happiness, etc.) and the evil spirit angra mainya (chaos, imperfection, disease, sorrow, destruction,
etc.) This dualism is a foundational aspect
of Zoroastrianism and a major focus of the religion is the battle between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman (a
being that could be considered the Zoroastrian version of the Devil or Satan). A person's good and bad deeds will determine whether they will go to the
Kingdom of Light (parallel to
Heaven) or a House of the Lie (parallel to Hell). However, they believe eventually spenta mainyu will overcome all evil and even those
in the House of the Lie will be redeemed.
This end of time era is call the Frashokereti (the
"refreshment") and "all of creation is resurrected into
perfected immortality".
(Fisher, 2008, p. 234)
Examples of Rituals
As with most
religions, the practice of the Zoroastrian religion is complex with many
aspects and rituals. Water and fire are both used to
represent ritual purification, something of great importance to Zoroastrians. Fire is an especially important aspect in the
religion and represents God. Priests
tend to perpetual fires that burn in fire temples. These sacred fires are “fed” sacrifices of haoma
(a sacred liquor), bread, and milk at least five times a day.
Nature is very respected and children
are raised to not pollute it. In order
not to pollute the earth, dead bodies are placed in the open air inside of a dakhma (“tower of death”) for vultures to eat. Death anniversaries are observed and the
eternal principle and guide (the fravashi) of the deceased is invoked.
One of the key rituals in
Zoroastrianism is the tying of the sacred cord which is made of 72 threads
presenting the 72 chapters of the text of Yasna (the principle act of worship).
This is a rite of passage ceremony, after which a pre-teen boy will be considered a man
and will wear the cord for the rest of his life, except for bathing and
sleeping. The cord is repeatedly untied
and tied again during prayers. There is also a daily ritual of tying
a sacred cord (kusti) around the mid-section for both male and females,
done fives times per day.
Denominations
There are relatively few divisions among Zoroastrians, but
there is one reform movement.
Traditionally, the "Avestan language used in formal worship and in
the traditional main prayers of the faithful is largely unknown to some priests
and to most laypersons. Thus,
Zoroastrians typically have had little knowledge of what their scriptures
actually ‘teach’”. (Van Voorst, 2011, p. 196) However, at the end of the nineteenth century, influenced by Western
religion and European scholarship, some sought to change this tradition. They began to focus on moral teachings rather
than rituals and believe only the Gathas (part of the Avesta scriptures) is authentic.
Religiosity
The religiosity of Zoroastrianism is a little difficult
to assess because participation is more subjective since the main form of worship is "good
thoughts, words, and deeds".
Obviously, this criteria for worship is hard to measure. Additionally, early Zoroastrian worship did
not include going to a temple so there could be a question as to how much
attending a temple service should be considered in measuring religiosity. Perhaps a different way to measure
religiosity for Zoroastrianism could be to take into account individuals
feelings about their life as it relates to Zoroastrian goals. For example, some of their goals are
serenity, healthy and holistic living, honesty, and independence. These are things in which people can report
as to whether they feel they are achieving these goals. This obviously has some academic weakness to
it in that the measures are subjective, but they are important aspects not to
be overlooked. A religion's success (or
lack of success) at accomplishing its goals is both fascinating and
illuminating.
Today, conversion
is allowed by the Zoroastrian faith, but Muslim law, which rules in Iran,
prohibits proselytizing. The Parsi
communities in and from India, tend to be less open to converts. Although the reason is not completely known
for sure, some believe it may stem from the original prohibition of Zoroastrians proselytizing the native Indian population. There has been in recent times a new surge of
people in the United States converting to Zoroastrianism, possibly up to 3
million, but in Iran these "re-verts" typically are either not
discussed or are claimed to not be "real Zoroastrians". Despite this, conversion, emigration, and intermarriage are
increasing Zoroastrian numbers in the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Possible Connections
It is interesting to note that Zoroastrianism may have had an influence on Judaism. Before the Persian period, no biblical literature gave names to angels or demons; it was only after Zoroastrian influence that these were incorporated into Judaism. The Greek conquest of the Persian empire and Judea also had an influence on Judaism. But after 100 CE, in an effort to get rid of these outside influences, most of the texts affected by the Persians and Greeks were not allowed in the Tanakh (the canonized Hebrew Bible). However, these influences still managed to remain at least in part and concepts of an "end of time cosmic battle between good and evil" and hierarchies of angels and demons linger in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (Harris, 2011, p. 227) Concepts of immortal souls, good and bad being rewarded and punished in the afterlife, and the physical resurrection of the dead were all new to Judaism after its exposure to Zoroastrianism. The term "kingdom of God" is mentioned in the Gathas which is also a major theme of Jewish scriptures. The Jewish belief that after death the soul hovers above the body for three days also has a counterpart in Zoroastrianism.
REFERENCES
Barrick, W. D. (2012) "The kingdom of God in the Old Testament". The Master's Seminary
Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques. (2020) “Zoroastrianism.” The Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zoroastrianism
Eduljee, K.E. (n.d.) Zoroastrian worship. Zoroastrian Heritage. Retrieved from
http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/worship/index.htm
Eduljee, K.E. (n.d.) Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrian Heritage. Retrieved from
http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/
Fisher, M. P. Living Religions, Seventh Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Foltz, R. (2011). "Zoroastrians in Iran: What Future in the Homeland?" The Middle East Journal,
Harris, S. L. (2011). Understanding the Bible, 8th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
History. (n.d.) diversiton.com. Retrieved from
Johnstone, R.L. (2007). Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion, 8th Edition. Upper
Safa, M., & Ahmadi, H. (2011). "A Sociological Approach to the Concept of God Amongst Iranian
Van Voorst, R. E. (2011). Anthology of World Scriptures. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
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