Zoroastrianism

Kamri Sabathe, Kaitlyn Schaffer, Madison Gilbert

★ Zoroastrianism was founded by the Iranian
prophet and reformer Zoroaster in 6th century
B.C.
★ Influenced other major religions; Christianity,
Judaism and Islam
★ Was reconstructed by common elements from
the sacred books of Iran and India; Avesta and
Vedas
○ display polytheism, same gods

★ Nowruz, new year on March 21

○ ancient Persian holiday
○ actions on this day will affect the
coming year
★ Yada, winter solstice on December 21
○ triumph of good over evil
○ time of daylight lengthens
★ Zarathust No Diso, death of Zoroaster on
December 26
○ Parsis mourn
○ prayers and studies
1. Supreme God and Universal God
a. Ahura Mazda is the supreme God, symbolizes truth, purity, courage and
strength
b. protects good from evil
2. Duality of Existence
a. world is battleground between good and evil forces
b. every human has a role and responsibility in enhancing our existence
3. Divinity of creation
a. God created both invisible and visible worlds
4. Afterlife
a. purity of body is lost once the spirit leaves
b. after leaving the soul, the body remains on earth for 3 days
● approximately
200,000 adherents
worldwide
○ 100,000 located
in India
○ Persian
immigrants -
Parsees/Parsis

● worship = individually at home, or in the open facing a source

of light
○ historically = community gathered together for religious
events
■ in the open (hillsides/hilltops)
■ around a podium where a fire was lit
● over time, worship began to take place in a fire temple
○ platform called “pavi” where a fire is maintained in a fire
urn
Ahura Mazda
● keeps evil from
permanently corrupting the
world
○ angels = Ahuras
(Lords)

Aura Mainyu
● spirit and promoter of evil
○ demons = Dev
(Daevas)

❏ considered BOTH monotheism

& dualism
❏ ethical monotheism
❏ Ahuras and Dev are minor
deities
Branches and divisions of religion
● The religion is separated into two
different branches. These include
Iranians and Parsis.
● Iranians are native people to Iran
and are currently being persecuted
for their religion.
● Parsis are people of India and are
also part of the Zoroastrian
Religion
● The main difference is that one
group originate in India and one in
Iran
How it diffused
● The main way that Zoroastrianism
diffused was during the time period
when the Persian Empire was at its
height.
● People spread throughout Asia
because of the attack on Iran where
many of the Zoroastrian people fled
to India.
● This also helps to show why over
half of the Zoroastrian people live or
practice the religion in India today.
Where it is practiced today?
Today fewer than 200,000 people
worldwide practice Zoroastrianism. The
breakdown is…….

100,000 - India

11,000 - United States

6,000 - Canada
This map shows the different countries in the world with the largest amounts
of Zoroastrians. The largest countries being the US, Canada, India, Iran, and
5,000 - England Australia.

2,700 - Australia
The largest problem facing the remaining surviving communities of Zoroastrians is..
2,200 - Persian Gulf ● Low birth rates
● Marrying out of the community
● Secularization
Sources
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/14/opinion/choksy-iran-zoroastrian/

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33519145

http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/Elam/Zoroastrian_rel.htm

http://heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/zarathushtra/index.htm

http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism

http://iranian.com/main/blog/nabarz/persian-angels-and-demons.html

http://www.worldmapper.org/display.php?selected=579
http://www.religionfacts.com/zoroastrianism

http://www.fravahr.org/local/cache-vignettes/L256xH200/BakuAtshgah_03-d8d3f.j
pg

http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/images/temples/baku/BakuAzerba
ijan1.jpg

http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4bd5ebf9795bf/images/ZoroastrianH-copy-2.jpg

http://www.livius.org/a/1/iran/faravahar.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Naqsh_i_Rustam._Investitur
e_d'Ardashir_1.jpg