Current Events > What religion would be dominant if Christianity and Islam never existed?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Imagine a world where Jesus and Prophet Muhammed are unknown and never popped up. There is still Judiasm but it's alone. Emperor Constantine never converts to Christianity cause he doesn't know of it. The middle east never gets conquered by Islam

I wonder what religion would be on top in that timeline

Possibly Judaism or Buddhism.

HungryLuma64 posted...

Possibly Judaism or Buddhism.

Don't forget pagan faiths though. If Emperor Constantine doesn't convert, the Romans remain worshipping their gods

Buddhism if I had to guess. I also wonder what Christianity would look like today if someone pulled a historical drive-by on Saul of Tarsus.

Paganism would have stayed more prominent. Possibly Eastern religions or Hinduism could have spread more towards the west.

Some non developed religion. Need one that proselytizing is a key tenet of the faith.

Probably something else would have emerged. In the absence of Islam unifying the Arabs, Persia likely remains Zoroastrian(which would likely spread if/when the Sassanids defeat the Eastern Roman Empire) and Buddhism and Hinduism remain the dominant religions in what are now Malaysia and Indonesia (enterprising Arabic merchants brought Islam far and wide, far wider than the sword ever did or could). It's quite possible Judaism would be a major religion in Arabia and Ethiopia (at least). Sikhism possibly never becomes a thing and Manicheanism probably doesn't happen either (it was briefly a major religion).

Then you have all the weird, poorly-documented religions and mystery cults floating around in the Roman Empire, like Orphism, Mithraism, and Isisism. Mithraism probably still loses out as in OTL, since it specifically banned women from participating (historically, the fact that women were theoretically equal members of the Christian community, at least in the beginning, likely made it much more popular).

Of existing faiths, maybe Zoroastrianism, but probably something entirely new.

Hinduism.

Zikten posted...

Don't forget pagan faiths though. If Emperor Constantine doesn't convert, the Romans remain worshipping their gods

Oh yeah, that's right. Also, I suppose Judaism was a more race specific religion compared to Christianity, so it might not get as popular. Don't use me as a source though, I don't know that much.

I actually feel like there wouldn't be one.

Gaming

Judaism obviously.

Hinduism will be the dominant religion if Abrahamic faiths didn't exist.