1.
Endingen, Switzerland
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Endingen is a municipality in the district of Zurzach in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. In the 18th and 19th century, Endingen was one of few villages in which Swiss Jews were permitted to settle, old buildings in Endingen have two doors – one for Jews and one for Christians. Endigens synagogue and Jewish cemetery are listed as a site of national significance. Unusually for Swiss villages, there is no Christian church, on 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Unterendingen merged into the municipality of Endingen. Individual items from the Neolithic and Bronze Age have been discovered aroung Endingen, in the Early Middle Ages the Alamanni settled in the area. The modern village of Endingen is first mentioned in 798 as Entingas, until 1945 it was known as Oberendingen. During the High Middle Ages the major landholders in village included Regensberg, the Bishop of Constance, the Freiherr of Tegerfelden, starting in the 13th Century the village was under the Habsburgs. After the conquest of the Aargau in 1415 by the Swiss Confederation it was part of the court of the bailiff of Baden. The low court rights lay with Sankt Blasien Abbey in the Black Forest, the land herrschaft rights were held by a number of different owners. In accordance with the resolution of the Tagsatzung in 1678, Jews were allowed to settle in the communities of the Surb valley, after 1776, they were further restricted to living in only Endingen and Lengnau. This immigration slowly but steadily changed the appearance of the community, the village never built a Christian church, only a Jewish synagogue. The local Christians traveled to neighboring villages for church, the Jewish and Christian families are often under one roof. In the middle of the 19th century the village had about 2,000 inhabitants, about half Jews, by comparison, the town of Baden had about 1,500 people at the same time. The Jewish population was well tolerated, self-managed and maintained its own school. In 1879 a Jewish village of Neu-Endingen was built and it remained mostly independent until 1983 when it merged back into the village of Endingen. However, even though they were nearly a majority in Endingen, houses were built with two separate entrances, one for Jews and one for Christians. They were under the high and low courts of the Baden bailiff and had to buy protection and it wasnt until 1876 that Jews were granted full equality in civil rights and allowed to travel. By 1920, most Jews had left the community, since 1661, the Catholics in Endingen have been part of the parish of Unterendingen, while the Reformed members are part of the Tegerfelden parish
2.
Religion
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Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, about 84% of the worlds population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the revolution in the western world. The religiously unaffiliated demographic include those who do not identify with any religion, atheists. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs, about 16% of the worlds population is religiously unaffiliated. The study of religion encompasses a variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possible interpretation traced to Cicero, connects lego read, i. e. re with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders, we hear of the religion of the Golden Fleece, of a knight of the religion of Avys. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religio was understood as a virtue of worship, never as doctrine, practice. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations and it was in the 19th century that the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism first emerged. Max Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, what is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Some languages have words that can be translated as religion, but they may use them in a different way. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as religion, throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. There is no equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities
3.
Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland is a constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the north-east of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the total population. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament, Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of Ireland. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles, its economy has grown significantly since the late 1990s. Unemployment in Northern Ireland peaked at 17. 2% in 1986, dropping to 6. 1% for June–August 2014,58. 2% of those unemployed had been unemployed for over a year. Prominent artists and sports persons from Northern Ireland include Van Morrison, Rory McIlroy, Joey Dunlop, Wayne McCullough, some people from Northern Ireland prefer to identify as Irish while others prefer to identify as British. Cultural links between Northern Ireland, the rest of Ireland, and the rest of the UK are complex, in many sports, the island of Ireland fields a single team, a notable exception being association football. Northern Ireland competes separately at the Commonwealth Games, and people from Northern Ireland may compete for either Great Britain or Ireland at the Olympic Games. The region that is now Northern Ireland was the bedrock of the Irish war of resistance against English programmes of colonialism in the late 16th century, the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland had been declared by the English king Henry VIII in 1542, but Irish resistance made English control fragmentary. Victories by English forces in war and further Protestant victories in the Williamite War in Ireland toward the close of the 17th century solidified Anglican rule in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, the victories of the Siege of Derry and their intention was to materially disadvantage the Catholic community and, to a lesser extent, the Presbyterian community. In the context of open institutional discrimination, the 18th century saw secret, militant societies develop in communities in the region and act on sectarian tensions in violent attacks. Following this, in an attempt to quell sectarianism and force the removal of discriminatory laws, the new state, formed in 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, was governed from a single government and parliament based in London. Between 1717 and 1775 some 250,000 people from Ulster emigrated to the British North American colonies and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million Scotch-Irish Americans now living in the US. By the close of the century, autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom, in 1912, after decades of obstruction from the House of Lords, Home Rule became a near-certainty. A clash between the House of Commons and House of Lords over a controversial budget produced the Parliament Act 1911, which enabled the veto of the Lords to be overturned. The House of Lords veto had been the unionists main guarantee that Home Rule would not be enacted, in 1914, they smuggled thousands of rifles and rounds of ammunition from Imperial Germany for use by the Ulster Volunteers, a paramilitary organisation opposed to the implementation of Home Rule
4.
The Troubles
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The Troubles is the common name for the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is described as a guerrilla war or low-level war. The most recent instalment of violence began in the late 1960s and is deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Belfast Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mainly took place in Northern Ireland, violence spilled over at times parts of the Republic of Ireland, England and mainland Europe. The conflict was political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events. It also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension, although it was not a religious conflict, a key issue was the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Unionists/loyalists, who are mostly Protestants and consider themselves British, want Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, Irish nationalists/republicans, who are predominantly Catholics, want Northern Ireland to be reunited with the 26 counties which make up the Republic of Ireland in an independent united Ireland. This campaign was met with violence by loyalists who viewed the campaign as a stalking horse. This eventually led to the deployment of British troops, initially to protect Catholic civilians, the security forces of the Republic played a smaller role. More than 3,500 people were killed in the conflict, of whom 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, there has been sporadic violence since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, including a campaign by anti-ceasefire republicans. The Troubles refers to the recent three-decade conflict between nationalists and unionists, the term the Troubles was previously used to refer to the Irish revolutionary period, it was adopted to refer to the escalating violence in Northern Ireland after 1969. The violence was characterised by the campaigns of Irish republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups. It thus became the focus for the longest major campaign in the history of the British Army, nationalists regard the state forces as forces of occupation or partisan combatants in the conflict. One part of the Agreement is that Northern Ireland will remain within the United Kingdom unless a majority of the Northern Irish electorate vote otherwise and it also established the Northern Ireland Executive, a devolved power-sharing government, which must consist of both unionist and nationalist parties. In 1609, Scottish and English settlers, known as planters, were given land escheated from the native Irish in the Plantation of Ulster. As the Penal Laws started to be phased out in the part of the 18th century, there was more competition for land. With Roman Catholics allowed to buy land and enter trades from which they had formerly been banned, tensions arose resulting in the Protestant Peep ODay Boys and Catholic Defenders. This created polarisation between the communities and a reduction in reformers among Protestants, many of whom had been growing more receptive to democratic reform
5.
Shia Islam
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Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Shia Islam primarily contrasts with Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor, instead they consider Abu Bakr to be the correct Caliph. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias of Ali, Shias or the Shia as a collective or Shii individually, Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam, in 2009, Shia Muslims constituted 10–13% of the worlds Muslim population. Twelver Shia is the largest branch of Shia Islam, in 2012 it was estimated that perhaps 85 percent of Shias were Twelvers. Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of Muhammad attested in hadith, Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam. The word Shia means follower and is the form of the historic phrase shīʻatu ʻAlī, meaning followers of Ali, faction of Ali. Shia and Shiism are forms used in English, while Shiite or Shiite, as well as Shia, the term for the first time was used at the time of Muhammad. At present, the word refers to the Muslims who believe that the leadership of the community after Muhammad belongs to Ali, nawbakhti states that the term Shia refers to a group of Muslims that at the time of Muhammad and after him regarded Ali as the Imam and Caliph. Al-Shahrastani expresses that the term Shia refers to those who believe that Ali is designated as the Heir, Imam and caliph by Muhammad, for the Shia, this conviction is implicit in the Quran and history of Islam. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing, Shia search for the true meaning of the revelation to get the purpose of the life blood and the human destiny. Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone and they believe God chose Ali to be Muhammads successor, infallible, the first caliph of Islam. The Shias believe that Muhammad designated Ali as his successor by Gods command, Ali was Muhammads first cousin and closest living male relative as well as his son-in-law, having married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali would eventually become the fourth Muslim caliph, after the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there that Shia Muslims believe Muhammad nominated Ali to be his successor. The hadith of the pond of Khumm was narrated on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar at a place called Ghadir Khumm, located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad there stated, Shia Muslims believe this to be Muhammads appointment of Ali as his successor, when Muhammad died in 632 CE, Ali and Muhammads closest relatives made the funeral arrangements. While they were preparing his body, Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali and his family accepted the appointment for the sake of unity in the early Muslim community. Alis rule over the early Muslim community was often contested, as a result, he had to struggle to maintain his power against the groups who betrayed him after giving allegiance to his succession, or those who wished to take his position. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate, the Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan
6.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
7.
Iranian Revolution
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Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that included both secular and religious elements and which intensified in January 1978. Between August and December 1978 strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, the Shah left Iran for exile on 16 January 1979, as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and an opposition-based prime minister. Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to Iran by the government, the royal reign collapsed shortly after on 11 February when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power. It was a relatively non-violent revolution, and helped to redefine the meaning, the Shahs regime became increasingly oppressive, brutal, corrupt, and extravagant. It also suffered from basic functional failures that brought economic bottlenecks, shortages, the Shah was perceived by many as beholden to – if not a puppet of – a non-Muslim Western power whose culture was affecting that of Iran. The Shia clergy had a significant influence on Iranian society, the clergy first showed itself to be a powerful political force in opposition to the monarchy with the 1891 Tobacco Protest. On 20 March 1890, Nasir al-Din Shah granted a concession to Major G. F. Talbot for a monopoly over the production, sale. The boycotts and protests against it were widespread and extensive because of Mirza Hasan Shirazis fatwa, finally Nasir al-Din Shah found himself powerless to stop the popular movement and cancelled the concession. The Tobacco Protest was the first significant Iranians resistance against the Shah and foreign interests, and revealed the power of the people, the growing discontent continued until the Constitutional Revolution. The revolution led to the establishment of a Parliament and approval of the first constitution, although the constitutional revolution was successful in weakening the autocracy of the Qajar regime, it failed to provide a powerful alternative government. Consequently, within the following the establishment of the new parliament. Many of these events can be viewed as a continuation of the struggle between the constitutionalists and the Shahs of Persia, many of whom were backed by foreign powers against the parliament. He established a monarchy, deposing the last of the Qajar shah in 1925 and introduced many social, economic. A number of reforms led to public discontent which provides circumstances for an Iranian revolution. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavis father, Reza Shah, replaced Islamic laws with Western ones, police forcibly removed and tore chadors off women who resisted his ban on the public hijab. In 1935, dozens were killed and hundreds injured in the Goharshad Mosque rebellion, on the other hand, in the early rise of Reza Shah, Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi founded the Qom Seminary and created important changes in seminaries. However, he would avoid entering into political issues, as did other leaders who followed him. Hence, no widespread anti-government attempts were organized by clergy during the Reza Shah Rule, however, the future Ayatollah Khomeini was a student of Sheikh Abdul Karim Ha’eri
8.
Judaism
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Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
9.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
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Zoroastrianism
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Ascribed to the teachings of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, it exalts a deity of wisdom, Ahura Mazda, as its Supreme Being. Zoroastrianism was suppressed from the 7th century onwards following the Muslim conquest of Persia of 633-654, recent estimates place the current number of Zoroastrians at around 2.6 million, with most living in India and in Iran. Besides the Zoroastrian diaspora, the older Mithraic faith Yazdânism is still practised amongst Kurds, the religious philosophy of Zoroaster divided the early Iranian gods of Proto-Indo-Iranian tradition. The most important texts of the religion are those of the Avesta, in Zoroastrianism, the creator Ahura Mazda, through the Spenta Mainyu is an all-good father of Asha, in opposition to Druj and no evil originates from him. He and his works are evident to humanity through the six primary Amesha Spentas, Spenta Mainyu adjoined unto truth oppose the Spirits opposite, Angra Mainyu and its forces born of Akəm Manah. In Zoroastrianism, the purpose in life is to be among those who renew the world. to make the progress towards perfection. Its basic maxims include, Humata, Hukhta, Huvarshta, which mean, Good Thoughts, Good Words, there is only one path and that is the path of Truth. Do the right thing because it is the thing to do. The full name by which Zoroaster addressed the deity is, Ahura, The Lord Creator and he proclaimed that there is only one God, the singularly creative and sustaining force of the Universe. He also stated that human beings are given a right of choice, Zoroasters teachings focused on responsibility, and did not introduce a devil per se. The contesting force to Ahura Mazda was called Angra Mainyu, or angry spirit, post-Zoroastrian scripture introduced the concept of Ahriman, the Devil, which was effectively a personification of Angra Mainyu. The name Zoroaster is a Greek rendering of the name Zarathustra and he is known as Zartosht and Zardosht in Persian and Zaratosht in Gujarati. The Zoroastrian name of the religion is Mazdayasna, which combines Mazda- with the Avestan language word yasna, meaning worship, in English, an adherent of the faith is commonly called a Zoroastrian or a Zarathustrian. An older expression still used today is Behdin, meaning The best Religion | Beh < Middle Persian Weh + Din < Middle Persian dēn < Avestan Daēnā. In Zoroastrian liturgy the term is used as a title for an individual who has formally inducted into the religion in a Navjote ceremony. The term Mazdaism /ˈmæzdə. ɪzəm/ is a typical 19th century construct, taking Mazda- from the name Ahura Mazda, the March 2001 draft edition of the Oxford English Dictionary also records an alternate form, Mazdeism, perhaps derived from the French Mazdéisme, which first appeared in 1871. In older English sources, the terms Gheber and Gueber were used to refer to Zoroastrians, however, Zoroastrian philosophy is identified as having been known to Italian Renaissance Europe through an image of Zoroaster in Raphaels School of Athens by Giorgio Vasari in 1550. The Oxford English Dictionary records use of the term Zoroastrianism in 1874 in Archibald Sayces Principles of Comparative Philology, Zoroastrians believe that there is one universal, transcendent, supreme god, Ahura Mazda, or the Wise Lord
11.
Religious persecution
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Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within society to alienate or repress different subcultures is a recurrent theme in human history, Religious persecution may be triggered by religious bigotry or by the state when it views a particular religious group as a threat to its interests or security. At a societal level, this dehumanisation of a religious group may readily turn into violence or other forms of persecution. Indeed, in countries, religious persecution has resulted in so much violence that it is considered a human rights problem. Religious persecution can be considered the opposite of freedom of religion, Religious persecution may also affect atheists in that they may be denounced as being amoral or be persecuted by the religious on the grounds that they are godless. Persecution in this case may refer to confiscation or destruction of property, incitement to hate, arrest, imprisonment, beatings, torture, denial of civil rights on the basis of religion is most often described as religious discrimination, rather than religious persecution. The difference between religious and ethnic identity might sometimes be obscure, cases of genocide in the 20th century cannot be explained in full by citing religious differences, the Holocaust made no distinction between secular Jews, atheistic Jews, orthodox Jews and Jews that had converted to Christianity. The descriptive use of the religious persecution is rather difficult. Religious persecution has taken place at least since the antiquity, and has happened in different historical, geographical and social contexts, until the 18th century, some groups were nearly universally persecuted for their views about religion, such as atheists, Jews and zoroastrians. One period of persecution which has been studied extensively is early modern England, since the rejection of religious persecution, now common in the Western world. The most ambitious chronicle of that time is W. K. Jordans magnum opus The Development of Religious Toleration in England, jordan wrote as the threat of fascism rose in Europe, and this work is seen as a defense of the fragile values of humanism and tolerance. More recent introductions to this period are Persecution and Toleration in Protestant England, 1558–1689 by John Coffey, tolerance and intolerance in England, 1500-1700 by Alexandra Walsham. To understand why religious persecution has occurred, historians like Coffey pay close attention to what the persecutors said they were doing, no religion is free from internal dissent, although the degree of dissent that is tolerated within a particular religious organization can strongly vary. This degree of diversity tolerated within a church is described as ecclesiastical tolerance. However, when people speak of religious tolerance, they most often mean civil tolerance. Before that, theologians like Joseph Hall had reasoned from the intolerance of the early Christian church in the New Testament to the civil intolerance of the Christian state. Before a vigorous debate about religious persecution took place in England, for centuries in Europe, in England there had been several Acts of Uniformity, in continental Europe the Latin phrase cuius regio, eius religio had been used. Concerning the church, he went on, A church, then, I take to be a society of men
