Sὶℜὶሁᔑ Rℓgℓɳℓrαtℓd: If Judaism is the oldest Religion why does it not have major followers?
Judaism ranks third on a World Religion 2008 chart. Why is such a old Religion ranking third and not first. Isn’t it the movement God himself indoctrinated on a people known as the Jews.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Sh4r3 7h3 m4gic
Holocaust, thousands of years of persecution (which involved killing), many Jews converted to Christianity, etc.
Judaism is not the oldest religion. Hinduism is older.Answer by Krista
It does…Answer by Lion of Judah Ascended-ish
well, technically, since Christians are Jews, Judaism is the #1 world religion. 🙂Answer by maxsmithbaseball
craziness
too many rules.Answer by Elizabeth C
world war, but other religions as Catholicism, christianism, islam and others are branches of judaismAnswer by Gorgeoustx Go Spurs Go!!
All religions are man made.
It would make sense, to me, that God would send more than one prophet, however.
Answer by zon moyBecause the nature of the religion isn’t such that they prey on people to convert them to their religion.Answer by What?
following God the way that He wants us to is not a popular thing…Answer by Joe S
Who told you that Judaism is the oldest religion? Because it’s not, even though it would be beneficial for people to have you think so.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_Religion
Enjoy!
Answer by His Divine ShadowActually, from my understanding, Hinduism is WAY older than Judaism.Answer by בס”ד
Oldest doesn’t mean largest. I don’t see what the connection is. we have survived for thousands of years despite tons of persecution. i thinks that is more important than being the biggest religion…Answer by Muslim92
No one converts to Judaism. No one is allowed to convert to Judaism. They inherit their religion from their fathers.
They consider themselves to be the “saved ones”
[2:135] They said, “You have to be Jewish or Christian, to be guided.” Say, “We follow the religion of Abraham – monotheism – he never was an idol worshiper.”
[2:136] Say, “We believe in GOD, and in what was sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Patriarchs; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus, and all the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters.”
[2:137] If they believe as you do, then they are guided. But if they turn away, then they are in opposition. GOD will spare you their opposition; He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.
Answer by Fireballmost ppl dont want legalism and would prefer the grace of CHristianity!!! and also the salvation….Answer by DRT NSTY
Judaism is not the oldest religion, it is the oldest monotheistic religion.
The reason Judaism is such a small religion is the fact it does not actively seek out converts, although it does welcome them.
All three major branches of Judaism (orthodoxy, reform, and conservative) accept converts, but they do not reach out and seek them.Answer by Saint Lilith
It’s not the oldest religion, Hinduism and many pagan religions are older. It’s just the oldest Abrahamic religion.Answer by Charles & Willa
It’s not the oldest. They don’t proselytse,and besides, men have to get their penises mutilated.Answer by Lawyer X
Ranking third on what measure? It’s certainly not in the number of practitioners. I don’t know how one “ranks” religions. Belief systems are not a popularity contest.Answer by Paul E
I think its because jews didnt go around saying that if you dont worship like us you will die and burn forever in the pits of hell for all eternity.
many people dont wanna bet on that being wrong, since its for all eternity and such, thats a heck of a long time.
Plus many religions are older then judaism, there are soo many religions from ancient world, some wouldnt exist anymore. more recently were egyption and greek and Myan religions.
Answer by RW1) Judaism isn’t the oldest. we don’t claim to be.
2) having 6 million+ people killed off 60-some years ago tends to reduce a group’s numbers.
3) in Judaism we do not prostheletize. we do not try to convert people. this also reduces numbers. or rather does not help them be large.
4) is mcdonalds the best food in the world, because it serves so many people? population does not mean truth.
I don’t know why people haev to actively lie. yes people do convert and are allowed to convert. we just don’t seek it.
Answer by Kosher Ninja JewessYour wording makes no sense, for a start. Also, you’d have to tell us WHAT criteria is being used to DEFINE ‘world religion’.
And to ELIZABETH and a few others: Xianity is NOT a form of Judaism. Your ignorance in stating this is really astonishing. Judaism was a complete and fulfilling faith for thousands of years BEFORE Xianity began developing. You don’t get to decide WHO and WHAT is or is not part of Judaism. Judaism does that. And Xianity is a SEPARATE FAITH. Be proud of that, and get an education while you’re at it.
Answer by FilidaThe fact followers of Judaism still survive after so many centuries of persecution is a pretty astounding tribute to the religion. It seems to indicate that those who follow it are devout and willing to endure a lot for their faith. What Judaism and Jewish people have given to the world cannot be measured in mere numbers.
Being the biggest doesn’t always mean the best.
Answer by BROOKLYN DTK LAMF!So what? Why do you care? What possible difference can it make to you how many Jews there are?
Oh, and Judaism certainly does welcome converts; we just don’t go out and pester people to convert to Judaism. Judaism is inherited from our mothers and not our fathers. We do not consider ourselves the “saved ones” because we do not believe in original sin; hence, no need for salvation. Geez! Can’t people at least have a rudimentary knowledge of what they are saying before they say it?
Answer by GillianIt’s nothing less than a miracle that Jews have survived Christian onslaughts to this day. How many genocides have Christians survived?
.Answer by I am a bag of sandwiches
To the guy who said Christians are Jews-no off course they’re not the same.
Christians fundamental belief is that Jesus is the son of God who came to this world to save us from our sins. Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God, only that he is a prophet and they’re still waiting for their Messiah.
this makes the religions completely differentAnswer by blink180hifi
I agree. there are thousands of religions and philosophies that are older.
and the holocaust would probably be the most likely cause of it. Hitler killed many jews, hebrews, israelites whatever you want to call them. very sad.
Answer by SchmoPlease ignore Muslim92 answer. He is incorrect. Anyone can convert to Judaism. Many people do, every year.
No, being a Jew is not passed down to the children from the father. It is passed down to the children by the MOTHER. Judaism is a matrilinear religion.
Islam, on the other hand, is a patrilinear religion which is passed down by the father. This may be why Muslim92 is confused on the matter.
As for the question, Judaism doesn’t seek converts, although anyone who sincerely feels that Judaism is their home, is welcome to convert.
Most people do not want to follow all the laws and regulations that Judaism has.
They don’t have to, as Judaism teaches that people from all cultures and religions have their place in the World To Come by following the Universal Noahide Laws, which God gave already to everyone around the world. They are found already in every religion and culture, these are the paths that God gave them.
Answer by mooJudaism is actually ranked as sixth in the chart (.022% of the population): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worldwide_percentage_of_Adherents_by_Religion.png
The important factor here is that people should be comfortable in their beliefs, so long as they don’t harm/hurt anyone etc…
Judaism does not care about gaining numbers (this is why we don’t proselytize).
As far as the persecutions are concerned: They did not start with the Holocaust.
Just to give you an idea:
My father’s family fled Syria in order to come here to the United States, when Dhimmi there changed. My great grandfather was hung in Auschwitz on my mother’s side of the family.
Pogroms, violent attacks, the 1066 Granada massacre, The Shepherds’ Crusades of 1251 and 1320, The Crusades, and The Holocaust are merely examples.
Persecution, definitely plays a part of it.
The fact that Judaism is not a proselytzing religion, also plays into it. People are inherently born good: Since we ultimately all face the same fate, what is the point of trying to convert others?
I want to make a correction to a statement I saw as well:
One can absolutely convert to Judaism, but it is not always an easy process. The reason for this is simple: A person should be very serious when deciding to convert to any belief, and they should have a thorough knowledge of the concepts behind the belief they are interested in. Knowing and understanding the positives and negatives, helps to give a person much more clarity.
—
The connection with Hashem is a personal one: Should the numbers matter if you are happy? I don’t think so ;).
judaism is not the oldest religion. many religions preceded it by thousands of years. hinduism is the oldest religion on earth. the vedas contain astronomical information that occurred before the jewish calendar even starts. archaeological evidence indicates that hinduism has its roots in the very earliest human settlements, making it more than 8,000 years old.Answer by Your Friendly Jewish Accountant
Because we don’t go annoying and preaching to people.
And whoever said Jews don’t convert is an idiot, I’m a convert myself and it’s recognized by every Jew I know.
We don’t mutilate penises, btw, it’s cleanliness we’re after. Three reports came out yesterday saying being uncircumcized penises have way more chance of getting AIDS and HPV. Keep your foreskin, we’re not interested.
Answer by §нα∂σωtry 5,000 years of people trying to kill usAnswer by ozboz48
Judaism doesn’t evangelize, has never gained adherents through the use of the sword.
All the best.
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