Fetishism is a primitive belief first discovered by sailors in West Africa, based on the belief that a certain thing-a fetish-can bring good luck to the person who turns to it,

Totemism is a primitive belief based on the belief in the existence of a kinship between a group of people (tribe, phratry, genus) and a totemic animal or plant.

Magic-a set of ideas and rituals, which are based on the belief in the possibility of influencing people, objects and phenomena of the objective world through certain actions.

Animism-belief in the existence of souls and spirits. At this stage, polydemonism (the worship of many spirits) was replaced by polytheism-the worship of many gods

A hierarchy began to develop among the many gods. The higher gods gradually became those associated with the sky and the celestial forces and manifestations, such as the Tien-Sky in China.

genotheism, when a certain community of people (later – the national community) considers its patron only one of the many gods. Thus were born the prerequisites for the emergence of monotheism.

In Iranian Zoroastrianism (parsism) first arose the doctrine of postmortem retribution in the afterlife.

In Mazdeism (VI-IV in BC) – especially revered Ahura-Mazda, realized as the Creator God.

Hinduism-widespread mainly in South Asia-carefully worked out the concept of rebirth of souls in the world (samsara) according to the law of retribution (karma) – the main doctrine, as well as the image of Trimurti (Trinity) – the cosmic spiritual principle, which has three hypostases-Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma. Of these, Shiva is the destruction and re-creation of the world; Vishnu is the guardian of the world order; Brahma is the first cause of the world.

Confucianism (Confucius, 551 – 470 BC), common in China, Korea, Japan, mainly focused on the development of the concept of “ritual”.

Chinese Taoism (IV – III centuries BC) establishes the main category-Tao-the law of being of the Cosmos, the universal law of nature, the beginning that generates the world of forms. At the same time, you can achieve immortality by merging with the Tao by observing certain rituals.

In the national Japanese religion of Shintoism (VI – VII centuries., “Shinto” – the way of the gods) had an important role generic deities and deities, the lords of the natural elements.

In the national Jewish religion of Judaism, a Central doctrine was developed-the belief in one God, who is immortal, eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, unlimited; the human mind is adequate to the image of God, the consequence of which is the belief in the immortality of the soul.

In the national branch of Jewish Judaism-Christianity proclaimed the equality of all people as sinners, the Redeemer of whose sins was sent down to Earth Christ, and he was crucified-one for all.

A kind of national Jewish Christian religion – Orthodoxy is based on a number of unshakable dogmas-the dogma of the Trinity of God, the dogma of God incarnation and the dogma of redemption. God – “is the Eternal spirit, all-Good, all-Knowing, all-Righteous, all-powerful, Omnipresent, Unchangeable, all-Sufficient, all-Blessed.” God created heaven and earth out of nothing, the world visible and invisible. Out of the earth God created the first man Adam, and out of his rib the first woman eve. According to Christian teaching, all people are initially sinful – original sin.

The form of the national Jewish Christian religion is Catholicism. The new dogmas constitute the Sacred Tradition of the Catholics, the dogmas affirmed in which distinguish the Catholics from the Orthodox.

A kind of national Jewish Christian religion – Protestantism (originated in the XIV – XV centuries in England) denies the Sacred Tradition and claims that original sin not only damaged the human nature, but also completely perverted it.

In a national Arabic religion Islam (created by the prophet Mohammed CA. 570 – 632) speaks of the belief in one God Allah, of the brotherhood of believers, on the restriction of usury, for the rich helping the poor, belief in angels and demons. Muslims are instructed to believe in hell and Paradise, in divine destiny, in the immortality of the soul, and in the resurrection from the dead on the day of the Last judgment.