Historical Development

The world’s major religions—all of which are many centuries old—have long and intricate histories. Thus, the historical development of religious traditions incorporates a vast sweep of social, artistic, and other cultural phenomena.

The wide array of artistic, architectural, and other aspects of material culture generated within religious traditions is obvious to anyone who has studied art history. The ornate Hindu temple sculptures, the majestic statues of Jain tirthankaras, the mathematically ordered architectural features of Islamic arabesque decor—all attest to the role of religion in the nurturing of material culture. Other forms of artistic creation, most prominently music and theater, also are significant features of religions. And, as Smart helpfully clarifies when discussing the material dimension of religion, some traditions designate natural entities (mountains, rivers, wooded groves) as sacred.

Social institutions and phenomena, such as economic activities, politics, social class structures, and hierarchies, interact with the historical development of religious traditions. As we have observed, Marx and Durkheim went as far as to reduce religion to being entirely the effect of economic and societal forces, respectively. Even for theorists who opt not to go nearly as far as they did, the relevance of such phenomena is obvious.

Devils Tower, located in northeastern Wyoming, is regarded as a sacred place by many Native Americans.