1000 BC
500 BC
500
1000
1500
2000
Babylonian Exile Begins Hellenistic Religious Exchange After Alexander Maccabean Revolt Life and Ministry of Jesus Pauline Missions Expand Christianity Christian Persecutions Under Rome Arian Controversy Gupta Era Supports Hindu Religious Culture Death of Muhammad Rashidun Caliphate Expands Sunni-Shia Division Deepens After Karbala Bhakti Movements Spread Holocaust Destroys Much of European Jewry Religious Partition Violence in South Asia Creation of the State of Israel Civil Rights Movement Draws on Religious Leadership Islamic Revolution in Iran 9/11 and the Global Religious-Political Aftermath
Christianity Spreads Across the Roman Empire Christianisation of Europe Advances Buddhism Declines in Much of India Fourth Crusade Sacks Constantinople Albigensian Crusade Spanish Inquisition Begins Catholic Missions Expand in the Age of Exploration Expulsion of Jews from Spain Protestant Reformation Begins English Reformation Accelerates Council of Trent and Catholic Reform Thirty Years' War
Roman Persecution of Early Christians Nalanda Develops as a Great Buddhist Centre Wars of Religion in France
Second Temple Destroyed by Rome Early Christian Gnostic and Other Heterodox Movements Puranic Hinduism Expands Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Split Formalises Great Schism Between East and West First Crusade Second Crusade Cathar Movement Expands
Buddhism Spreads Across East and Southeast Asia
Buddhism Interacts with Confucian and Daoist Thought Monasticism Expands Across Christendom
Persecution of Christians Under Diocletian Islamic Expansion Across the Middle East and North Africa Golden Age of Jewish Thought in Medieval Iberia
Third Crusade
Life of the Buddha Traditionally Dated First Buddhist Council Tradition Ashoka Adopts and Supports Buddhism Buddhist Missions to Sri Lanka Traditionally Linked to Ashoka Mahayana Buddhism Emerges Zen Tradition Develops in East Asia Tibetan Buddhism Takes Distinct Form Global Buddhist Revival and Reform
Early Buddhist Sangha Forms Buddhism Reaches China
Confucius Lives and Teaches Daoist Religious Movements Develop Shinto Traditions Consolidate in Japan Neo-Confucianism Develops Japanese Buddhist Schools Expand Meiji Separation of Shinto and Buddhism
Laozi Traditionally Linked to Daoism State Confucianism Strengthens Under Han Legacy
Pentecost and Earliest Christian Community Gospels Written Conversion of Constantine Edict of Milan Council of Nicaea Christianity Becomes Imperial Religion Council of Chalcedon Council of Trent Opens
Vedic Hymns Composed Upanishadic Thought Develops Bhagavad Gita Takes Canonical Place Vaishnava and Shaiva Traditions Deepen Advaita Vedanta of Shankara Reform Movements Under Colonial Modernity Hindu National and Global Identity Movements Expand
Early Formation of Major Hindu Concepts Epic Traditions of the Mahabharata and Ramayana Expand
Birth of Muhammad First Revelations to Muhammad Hijra to Medina Conquest of Mecca Quranic Text Standardised in Early Tradition Abbasid Caliphate Begins Classical Schools of Islamic Law Consolidate Ottoman Caliphate Claims Wider Leadership Wahhabi Reform Movement Emerges End of the Ottoman Caliphate
Sufi Traditions Expand
First Temple in Jerusalem Traditionally Linked to Solomon Second Temple Completed Septuagint Translation Tradition Begins Rabbinic Judaism Consolidates Mishnah Compiled Babylonian Talmud Completed Maimonides Writes Major Works
Sikhism Founded by Guru Nanak Khalsa Founded Hasidic Judaism Emerges Baha'i Faith Emerges Seventh-day Adventist Church Organises Jehovah's Witness Movement Begins Pentecostal Revival at Azusa Street Nation of Islam Founded Vatican II Opens Liberation Theology Gains Influence New Age Spirituality Expands Global Rise of Political Islam
Zoroastrian Tradition Emerges Greek Olympian Religion Takes Classical Form Hebrew Prophetic Tradition Deepens Monotheism Eleusinian Mysteries Flourish Imperial Roman Religion Expands
World Council of Churches Formed Vatican II Reforms Implemented Global Evangelical Growth Accelerates Interfaith Dialogue Movements Expand Rise of the Religious "Nones" in Many Western Countries Global Religious Pluralism Intensifies Religion and Digital Communities Expand Pope Francis Elected
Achaemenid Persian Religious Tolerance Policies Jesuit Global Missionary Network Develops Protestant Missions Expand Globally Global Pentecostal and Evangelical Growth
Jan Hus and Hussite Reform Luther's Ninety-Five Theses Anabaptist and Radical Reformation Movements Calvinist Reformation Expands Old Believers Schism in Russia First Vatican Council
