Z

ZOROASTRIANISM As its adherents proudly point out,

Zoroastrianism is one of the most

ancient religions of humankind. It is a

continuous religious tradition that stret-

ches back to, at least, the late first or

even the second millennium BCE. More-

over, Zoroastrians and some modern

scholars alike emphasize the doctrinal

and ritual ‘‘influences’’ Zoroastrianism

is held to have exerted on neighboring

religious traditions such as Judaism,

Christianity, Manichaeism and Islam.

While such declarations may appear

well founded in historical terms, they

are at the same time more than purely

historical statements. In fact, they cor-

roborate the claim for Zoroastrianism

to be part of the global system of reli-

gions for, usually, Zoroastrianism is not

reckoned among the ‘‘G7’’ of the so-

called ‘‘world religions’’ (but occasion-

ally it is). In a way, the assertion of his-

torical significance and impact makes up

for the rather thin demographic basis

for the claim to belong to the ‘‘G7’’