How and where did they start
Archaeological evidence from 60,000 years ago hints at the presence of belief in the supernatural in the practices of Neanderthal people in Asia. They buried their dead with jewellery, stone tools and flowers, believing that these would help them in the next world.
Indian beliefs
Ancient Hindu temple, India
Hinduism was developing from the beliefs of the people in what are now India and Pakistan as long as 9,000 years ago. Now mainly found there and in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, it differs from many religions in not having a single sacred text or doctrine.
Hinduism developed from the Veda tradition, a Sanskrit collection of hymns, rituals and philosophy believed to have been handed down through the oral tradition from the seers among the earliest Aryans in India. Much of this is encapsulated in the Upanishad, Sanskrit texts written between 800BC and 200BC.
Jainism developed in India at least 2,500 years ago as a reaction to orthodox Brahmanism and today there are about one million Jains. Its central beliefs are that human beings can attain immortality by living a rigorous ascetic life and by not harming any living creature. It remains mainly confined to India.
Guru Nanak (1469-1539), founded the Sikh religion in the Punjab and passed the new message on to the gurus who succeeded him. After the Sikhs came under pressure from the Mughals and the Afghans, they established an independent state, which lasted until 1849. Since then, Sikhs have migrated all over the world.
