Religion

An editorial selection for comparing processes, events, and lives. The interval and counts describe selected records, not the historical boundaries or importance of the subject.

Canonical records: 381
Events: 212
People: 9
Processes and periods: 160

Compare in the atlas Selection criteria and limits

Topics represented

Religion (351) · Buddhist traditions (97) · Hindu traditions (62) · Chinese traditions (61) · Judaism (43) · Islam (42) · Christianity (34) · Empire and state (20) · Daoist traditions (19) · Catholic Christianity (17) · Sunni (16) · Roman Empire (14)

View distribution by region and period

Canonical records by regional label and start date. These are numerical analysis bins, not universal historical periods. A multi-region record appears in multiple rows; do not add rows as a unique-record total.
Region	Before 3000 BCE	3000–1 BCE	1–1499	1500–1799	1800–1899	1900–1999	Since 2000
Africa	2	1	18	1	2	3	0
Americas	0	2	1	3	3	7	0
Asia	2	55	154	12	15	39	25
Europe	1	5	32	17	5	16	2
Oceania	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Global / no specific region	0	0	2	1	4	14	14

Records and sources

Ordered by start date. Long lives and processes may begin before the period you want to study.

311
Galerius’ Edict of Toleration
Galerius ended the official persecution he had promoted and permitted Christians to exist and pray for the state, under conditions. It was a legal change before the arrangements of Constantine and Licinius.
313
Agreement of Milan and freedom of worship
The imperial letter associated with Licinius and Constantine ordered the return of places of worship and granted religious liberty to Christians and others. “Edict of Milan” is a later historiographical label.
313
Milan agreement and religious toleration
The communication attributed to Constantine and Licinius grants Christians and others freedom of worship and provides for restitutions. It does not establish a state church or exhaust Constantine’s and his colleagues’ changing religious policies.
c. 320–c. 550
Plural patronage in the Gupta period
Vaishnava and Shaiva production coexisted with Buddhist and Jain patronage; avoid totalizing “golden age” labels.
325
First Council of Nicaea
Bishops gathered at Nicaea formulated a confession against Arius’ position and issued disciplinary and Easter-date provisions. It was decisive, but did not immediately settle all Christological disputes.
325
Council of Nicaea and imperial patronage
Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to address ecclesial disputes, including the Arian controversy and Easter’s date. It marked a court–church relationship, not the end of doctrinal disagreements.
364–370
Shangqing revelations
Shangqing texts and practices developed in southern China within the broader Daoist field. This particular historical tradition differed from other liturgies and local cults.
366
Mogao Caves begin
UNESCO dates Mogao’s initial construction to 366; the sanctuary develops for centuries at Dunhuang in contact with Central Asian, Indian, and Chinese networks.
372
Buddhism in Goguryeo
A monk sent from Former Qin reaches Goguryeo; it is a court-transmission milestone, not the beginning of all Korean practice.
380
Edict of Thessalonica and imperial Nicene Christianity
The edict Cunctos populos endorsed the Nicene faith of Rome and Alexandria as the imperial norm. It marks a new relationship between state authority and Christianity, not the immediate disappearance of other traditions.
380–391
Christianization and imperial Nicene legislation
From 380, Theodosius I’s legislation favored Nicene orthodoxy and restricted some religious practices. It transformed relations between imperial authority and churches, not an immediate religious uniformity in eastern provinces.
381
First Council of Constantinople
The council reaffirmed and expanded the Nicene formulation, especially concerning the Holy Spirit, and shaped the ranking of episcopal sees. Its reception and text should be distinguished from later attributions.
384
Buddhism in Baekje
Transmission from China to Baekje forms part of networks linking Korean kingdoms and Chinese courts.
399–414
Faxian’s pilgrimage
Faxian’s Indian pilgrimage lasts from 399 to 414; it is a milestone in the circulation of monks, texts, and observations, not a single route of transmission.
c. 400
Lingbao rites
The Lingbao tradition combined Daoist liturgy, cosmology and scriptures during a period of sustained exchange with Buddhism. Interaction between the traditions did not erase their differences.
c. 400–c. 600
Early surviving structural temples
Sanchi, Nachna, Bhitargaon, and Deogarh document early structural temple forms with distinct histories.
c. 400
Jerusalem Talmud
A Palestinian rabbinic compilation generally dated to the fourth and fifth centuries; represented as an approximate range.
401
Kumarajiva arrives in Chang’an
Kumarajiva reached Chang’an in 401 and led a translation team that influenced Chinese Buddhism. His death is dated to 409 or 413; this entry dates his arrival, not a certain duration for all his activity.
c. 401–c. 800
Longmen Grottoes
Longmen documents Chinese Buddhist patronage and art over several dynasties.
c. 401–c. 1300
Nalanda as a monastic-scholastic network
Nalanda joins learning, monasticism, and trans-Asian contacts for centuries; it is not equivalent to a modern university.
431
Council of Ephesus
The council rejected Nestorius and affirmed the use of Theotokos for Mary in the Christological controversy. Churches that did not accept its later reception should be represented precisely.
451
Council of Chalcedon
Chalcedon’s definition affirmed Christ “in two natures”. Its divergent reception contributed to an enduring separation between Chalcedonian and Oriental Orthodox churches; it was not a single geographic break.
c. 460–c. 520
Yungang Grottoes
Yungang makes adoption and transformation of Buddhist repertoires visible in north China.
c. 500
Deogarh Dashavatara Temple
Deogarh is a material landmark of Vaishnava iconography and early architecture.
c. 500
Babylonian Talmud
Its final redaction is normally placed in fifth- and sixth-century Babylonia and became central to rabbinic study and halakhah.
c. 500–c. 1000
Medieval custom, oaths, and ordeals
In many regions of western Europe, customary norms, oaths, mediation, and in some settings ordeals formed part of dispute resolution. Practices varied widely and coexisted with written, ecclesiastical, and Roman legal references.
c. 501–c. 600
Formation of Tiantai
Tiantai organizes doctrinal reading and practice in China; it does not represent all Chinese Mahayanas.
c. 501–c. 1100
Dvaravati networks
Communities and polities in present-day central Thailand participated in Southeast Asian Buddhist networks. Their boundaries and relationships differed from today’s national borders.
528
Silla officially sanctions Buddhism
Silla officially sanctions Buddhism; the three kingdoms already had distinct histories.
c. 530–c. 547
Rule of Saint Benedict and Western monasticism
The Rule associated with Benedict of Nursia ordered communal monastic life through prayer, work, obedience, and stability. Its exact date and initial adoption are debated; its later Western importance is central.