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Iran: Religion and Religious Minorities

Iran has presented the world with many archaeological sites, and its cultural heritage is still carefully studied by scientists from all over the world. This country has managed not only to preserve, but also to increase its wealth, being a state with a clear separation on religious and gender lines.

Iran: briefly about the most important

Iran can safely be called a state where it is difficult to be different from others. The majority of the population are Persians, and they have a direct impact on the domestic policy of the country. Despite the fact that in many issues it is difficult to find such an advanced country like Iran, religion plays the most serious role here. From religious prohibitions and rules, all residents of the state, starting from the head of the country and ending with simple artisans, repulse in their usual life.

The state language of Iran is Farsi, the predominant majority of the population speaks it. It is taught in schools and higher educational institutions of Tehran. Women in the country do not need to study, this is due to religious traditions, which clearly define the gender inequality. Also female representatives are forbidden to occupy important state posts and become clergymen. In other issues, women's rights are not too infringed. Many Western analysts even recognize Iran as a modern state, far from medieval Muslim prejudices and doctrines.

Religion of Ancient Iran

The population of Ancient Iran was represented by scattered nomadic tribes, therefore the religions of the first civilizations of Iran are contradictory and have different roots. The strongest tribes of the Iranian highlands were the arias, who managed to spread their beliefs among the other tribes living in this territory.

In the pantheon of the Aryan gods, you can count more than a thousand different spirits and deities. All of them are conditionally divided into two categories:

  • The gods of order;
  • Gods of nature.

Each deity had its own priests and special rites of service. Gradually, these rituals became more complicated, and settled life made its own adjustments to the religion of the ancient Iranians. By the second millennium BC, they highlighted the god of wisdom, which belonged to the brightest deities from the whole pantheon. Scientists believe that his prototype was the worship of fire, which was sacrificed in the form of animals and gifts of nature. During the fire sacrifice, the Aryans took a stupefying drink. He is known as haoma, and was already used separately from religious rituals for several millennia.

By the end of the 7th century BC, in the territory of Ancient Iran, a new religious trend was developing Zoroastrianism, which quickly spread among the population and became the most influential in the country.

Zoroastrianism - the birth of a new religious cult

There are many legends about the birth of Zoroastrianism on the Iranian Plateau , but in fact the founder of the cult was a real historical figure. Historians have been able to find evidence that Zoroaster was an influential priest of the Aryans. All his life he preached good and at the age of forty two years received a revelation, which served as the basis for the emergence of a new religion. The priest began actively carrying the light of faith in the masses, traveling throughout the country, and after a while the preaching of Zoroaster was collected in one sacred book - Avesta. He himself was endowed with unusual abilities and over the course of several centuries turned into a mythical personality, in the existence of which almost all Western scholars doubted.

Fundamentals of Zoroastrianism

For many years, Zoroastrianism was conquered by Iran. Religion surprisingly overlapped the ancient rites of the Aryans, one can say that Zoroaster combined all the famous cults into one. The most important deity in Zoroastrianism is Ormuzd, he personifies all the bright and kind. He has to constantly fight with his dark brother, Anra-Manya, who is ready to destroy humanity if he manages to gain power over him.

According to the basics of Zoroastrianism, each deity rules on the Earth for three thousand years, for another three thousand years they struggle with each other. Each time such a struggle is accompanied by disasters and natural cataclysms. But the change of rulers is inevitable and humanity must be prepared for this.

Avesta: the sacred book of the ancient Iranians

All the rules and principles of Zoroastrianism were originally passed from mouth to mouth, but in the end they found their embodiment in the Avesta. It consists of three parts. In the first, hymns to the deities are collected, in the second prayer of Ormudze, and in the third, all the rites and the main principles of the religious cult are listed.

Zoroastrianism: Rites and Ministry

The most important attribute of service to the cult of Zoroastrianism was fire. He was always supported by the priests of the temple and was the first witness of the rite of initiation of young Aryans. By the age of ten, every boy received a dedication to the deity, it was always held near the fire, which on the eve of the rite it was necessary to "feed" five times a day. Each time, putting fuel, the priest had to read the prayer.

Special ceremonies corresponded to all events in the life of the community, the most complex manipulations were carried out at the burial of the bodies of the deceased Iranians.

The conquest of Iran by the Arabs: the change of religions

In the seventh century, Arab conquerors penetrated Iran. The religion of the Arabs, Islam, began to actively supplant the customary Zoroastrianism. For centuries, it was almost imperceptible, all religious trends were happily getting along in the country. But by the tenth century the situation had changed dramatically, Islam was spread everywhere. Those who disagreed with the new religious regime were persecuted. In many areas of Iran, the Zoroastrians were killed, and they did so with great cruelty. During this period, a large part of the adherents of the old faith moved to India, where Zoroastrianism began to be called parsism and is still a fairly influential religious trend in the country.

Islam: the formation of the state religion of Iran

Historians have no doubt what the state religion of Iran was after the expulsion of the Zoroastrians - Islam for many decades firmly took its place in the minds and souls of the Iranians. Since the tenth century, he only strengthened his position and actively influenced the secular life of the country.

Since the sixteenth century, the Iranian people have become a party to the struggle of the two currents in Islam - the Sunnis and Shiites. Most often, these warring parties faced armed battles, which divided the country into two camps. All this had a detrimental effect on Iran. Religion became the determining factor in foreign policy, which practically excluded the possibility of an intelligible dialogue between Iran and the Western world.

In the early twentieth century, Iranian philosophers attempted to revive the tradition of Zoroastrianism in the country, but already in the eighties of the last century the Islamic revolution put an end to some liberties in the confession and finally established the power of Shiite Muslims.

Which religion in Iran is the most influential today?

It is worth noting that, despite the rigidity of the Iranian rulers, various religious movements periodically appeared on the territory of the country. They did not receive mass distribution, but one of the offshoots of Islam still managed to consolidate in the country. This current is Bahaism, which is often called the religion of oneness. At the moment, this religious minority has the most followers in Iran.

But still the state religion of Iran is one, because more than ninety percent of the total population are Shiite Muslims. They occupy state posts and become the most influential clergymen. Eight percent of the population consider themselves to be Sunni Muslims, and only the remaining two percent of Iranians profess Bahaism, Christianity and Judaism.

Many Western politicians have a mixed opinion about Iran and its state structure. They believe that the religious current with rigid postulates, such as Shiism, severely limits the development of the state. But no one really can predict how the life of ordinary Iranians will be built if religion plays a lesser role in the country's domestic and foreign policies.

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