How religions changed, and how we know
Six histories told in order, a chapter at a time: Hinduism from the farmers of Mehrgarh, Judaism from the hill villages of Iron Age Canaan, Buddhism from the Ganga plain, Christianity from Galilee, Islam from late antique Arabia and Sikhism from Guru Nānak's Punjab. Every claim names the verse, inscription, excavation or study behind it, and says how settled the evidence is.
82 chapters and 3492 cited sources so far, about 32 hours of reading.
How religions evolved, and where they moved
All six on one family-tree chart, and on a world map you can play through time. Every date and place comes from the chapters and links back to the one that cites it. Both are free to print and share.
Choose a tradition
- 7000 BCE – present How Hinduism evolved 13 chapters · 3 hours
- c. 600 BCE – present How Buddhism evolved 14 chapters · 4 hours
- c. 30 CE – present How Christianity evolved 15 chapters · 6 hours
- c. 300 CE – present How Islam evolved 14 chapters · 6 hours
- c. 1250 BCE – present How Judaism evolved 14 chapters · 7 hours
- 1469 – present How Sikhism evolved 12 chapters · 6 hours
Or start with a question
- What is the oldest religion in the world?
- How old is Hinduism, and is it the oldest religion in the world?
- How has the role of women changed in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Sikhism?
- Who founded Buddhism, and where did it begin?
- What religions believe in reincarnation?
- When and where was Christianity founded?
How Hinduism Evolved
7000 BCE – present · 13 chapters
How Hinduism evolved, told in 13 cited chapters: from Neolithic India, the Indus and the Rigveda to the Upanishads, bhakti, colonial rule and modern India.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 Before the Vedas 7000 – 3300 BCE
- 02 The Indus Civilization 3300 – 1300 BCE
- 03 The Oral Rigveda 1500 – 1200 BCE
- 04 Late Vedic 1200 – 900 BCE
- 05 The Upanishadic Turn 900 – 500 BCE
- 06 The Shramana Challenge 600 – 200 BCE
- 07 Epic and Classical Synthesis 200 BCE – 300 CE
- 08 Puranic Hinduism 300 – 650 CE
- 09 Bhakti and the Regional Turn 650 – 1200 CE
- 10 Encounter with Islam 1200 – 1750 CE
- 11 The Invention of "Hinduism" 1750 – 1947 CE
- 12 Modern and Contemporary 1947 – 2026 CE
How Buddhism Evolved
c. 600 BCE – present · 14 chapters
How Buddhism evolved, told in 14 cited chapters: from the Buddha and Ashoka to the first images, Mahāyāna, China, Tibet, Theravāda, Zen and mindfulness.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 The World the Buddha Entered 600 – 400 BCE
- 02 The Buddha 480 – 380 BCE
- 03 The Early Saṅgha, the Councils and the First Split 400 – 250 BCE
- 04 Ashoka and the Making of a Pan-Indian Religion 268 – 50 BCE
- 05 Writing It Down 100 BCE – 300 CE
- 06 The Mahāyāna Turn 50 BCE – 500 CE
- 07 Into China 50 – 850 CE
- 08 Tantra and the Last Age of Indian Buddhism 600 – 1300 CE
- 09 Tibet: The Second Home 640 – 1950 CE
- 10 Theravāda and Southeast Asia 400 – 1800 CE
- 11 Japan and the Kamakura Reformations 538 – 1872 CE
- 12 Colonial Encounter and Buddhist Modernism 1800 – 1956 CE
- 13 Global and Contemporary Buddhism 1950 – 2026 CE
How Christianity Evolved
c. 30 CE – present · 15 chapters
How Christianity evolved, in 15 cited chapters: from the historical Jesus and Paul to the canon, Nicaea, Byzantium and the Orthodox world, the Reformations and the global church.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 The World of Jesus 63 BCE – 30 CE
- 02 The Historical Jesus 6 BCE – 33 CE
- 03 Paul and the Gentile Mission 30 – 64 CE
- 04 After the Temple 70 – 150 CE
- 05 Many Christianities 130 – 312 CE
- 06 Constantine, the Creeds and the Councils 312 – 451 CE
- 07 Beyond Rome 300 – 1400 CE
- 08 The Medieval West 500 – 1300 CE
- 09 Byzantium and the Orthodox World 500 – 1800 CE
- 10 Reformations 1517 – 1648 CE
- 11 Mission and Empire 1492 – 1900 CE
- 12 Revival, Reason and Criticism 1650 – 1900 CE
- 13 The Twentieth Century 1900 – 1990 CE
- 14 Christianity Today 1990 – 2026 CE
How Islam Evolved
c. 300 CE – present · 14 chapters
How Islam evolved, in 14 cited chapters: from late antique Arabia, Muhammad and the Qur'an to the caliphates, the law schools, Sufism, empire and reform.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 Late Antique Arabia 300 – 610 CE
- 02 Muhammad 570 – 632 CE
- 03 The Qur'an 610 – 700 CE
- 04 The Conquests and the First Caliphs 632 – 661 CE
- 05 The Umayyads 661 – 750 CE
- 06 The Abbasids: Law, Hadith and Theology 750 – 1000 CE
- 07 The Mystics: Sufism 700 – 1300 CE
- 08 Turks, Crusaders and Mongols 1000 – 1400 CE
- 09 The Great Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals 1400 – 1800 CE
- 10 Reform, Revival and Empire 1700 – 1920 CE
- 11 The Twentieth Century 1920 – 1979 CE
- 12 Revolution and Revival 1979 – 2001 CE
- 13 Islam Today 2001 – 2026 CE
How Judaism Evolved
c. 1250 BCE – present · 14 chapters
How Judaism evolved, told in 14 cited chapters: from Yahweh among the gods and the exile to the Torah, the rabbis, Kabbalah, Hasidism, Zionism and today.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 Out of Canaan 1250 – 1000 BCE
- 02 Yahweh Among the Gods 1000 – 750 BCE
- 03 The Prophets and the Yahweh-Alone Movement 760 – 586 BCE
- 04 Exile and the Birth of Monotheism 597 – 539 BCE
- 05 Persian Yehud and the Making of the Torah 539 – 332 BCE
- 06 Hellenism, the Maccabees and the Second Temple Sects 332 BCE – 70 CE
- 07 Without a Temple: The Rabbis 70 – 640 CE
- 08 Under Islam 632 – 1250 CE
- 09 Ashkenaz, Sepharad and the Kabbalah 1000 – 1650 CE
- 10 False Messiahs, Hasidism and Their Opponents 1648 – 1800 CE
- 11 Emancipation and the Modern Movements 1750 – 1900 CE
- 12 Zionism, the Holocaust and the State of Israel 1881 – 1974 CE
- 13 Judaism Today 1967 – 2026 CE
How Sikhism Evolved
1469 – present · 12 chapters
How Sikhism evolved, in 12 cited chapters: from Guru Nānak and the ten Gurus to the Khālsā, the Sikh kingdom, the Singh Sabhā, Partition, 1984 and today.
- 00 How We Know Method
- 01 Punjab Before Guru Nānak 1400 – 1500 CE
- 02 Guru Nānak 1469 – 1539 CE
- 03 The Gurus Build a Community 1539 – 1606 CE
- 04 Miri and Piri: The Sword Beside the Rosary 1606 – 1675 CE
- 05 Guru Gobind Singh and the Khālsā 1675 – 1708 CE
- 06 Banda, Persecution and the Misls 1708 – 1799 CE
- 07 Ranjit Singh's Kingdom 1799 – 1849 CE
- 08 Under the Raj: The Singh Sabhā and the Boundaries 1849 – 1920 CE
- 09 Gurdwara Reform, Partition and Punjabi Suba 1920 – 1966 CE
- 10 1984 1966 – 1995 CE
- 11 Sikhs Today 1995 – 2026 CE
More questions
- When did the big religious ideas first appear in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism? Across the series · Majority view
- When was Islam founded? Islam · Majority view
- Where did the idea of heaven and hell come from? Across the series · Majority view
- When was Judaism founded, and who founded it? Judaism · Contested
- Which religions believe in one God? Across the series · Majority view
- What happened in 1699 in Sikh history? Sikhism · Majority view
- Why do so many religions use prayer beads? Across the series · Majority view
- When was the Bhagavad Gita written? Hinduism · Majority view
- Did the Buddha eat meat? Buddhism · Majority view
- Did Constantine make Christianity the state religion? Christianity · Majority view
- Are Ahmadis Muslims? Islam · Politically contested
- Are Samaritans Jews? Judaism · Majority view
- What happened in Operation Blue Star? Sikhism · Politically contested
- When was the Mahabharata written? Hinduism · Majority view
- How did Buddhism reach China? Buddhism · Majority view
- Did Martin Luther nail the 95 Theses to the church door? Christianity · Contested
- How did Islam spread? Was it by the sword? Islam · Politically contested
- Did God have a wife? Judaism · Contested
In preparation
The same method, applied to other traditions. Each series is published only when all of its chapters meet the same standard of evidence.
How this site works
Academic mainstream is the default narrative. Where scholars disagree, or where modern politics drives the argument as much as the data, the strongest form of each position is stated rather than caricatured. Primary sources are quoted in the original script, transliterated and translated, followed by what the passage does and does not prove.
- Consensus Broad agreement across the field
- Majority view Mainstream, with a real minority view
- Contested Open, with competing schools
- Speculative Worth stating, but thin evidence
- Politically contested Driven by modern politics as much as data
- 1939 primary sources indexed so far: verses, inscriptions, excavations and laws.