Zoroastrians confront depletion of their ancient faith
NEW YORK » Among the world’s present-day religions, Zoroastrianism, founded more than 3,000 years ago, is one of the most ancient and historically influential. Yet even though its adherents maintain vibrant communities on four continents, they acknowledge their numbers are dauntingly small — perhaps 125,000 worldwide.
Starting Friday, about 1,200 attendees from 16 countries will be assessing their faith’s prospects during the four-day World Zoroastrian Congress in New York City, the first one held in the United States since 2000.
The agenda reflects a keen awareness of the challenges facing their religion. Prospects for growth are limited, given that Zoroastrians don’t seek to convert outsiders and — in many cases — don’t consider the children of mixed marriages to be members of the faith. Yet there’s also some cause for optimism.
“Have we ever been in a time like this?” wondered Arzan Sam Wadia, a Mumbai-born, New York-based architect who is co-chair of the congress.
“Should we all despair and give up — ‘We can’t do anything, let’s just die peacefully’ — or do we have hope for the future?” he told The Associated Press.
Here’s some basic information about the faith:
History
Founded more than 3,000 years ago, Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions still in existence, predating Christianity and Islam by many centuries. Details of its origin are imprecise, however.
The prophet Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, is revered as the founder of the faith, which became dominant in Persia before Arab Muslims conquered the region in the 7th century.
Wary of persecution, many Zoroastrians left for destinations in western India, notably Mumbai and Gujarat. India’s Zoroastrian population — known as Parsis — is larger than that of any other country, though the numbers there are declining while they increase in North America, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Beliefs
At its core, Zoroastrianism emphasizes a never-ending battle between good and evil — a contest between the religion’s God, Ahura Mazda, and an evil spirit, Ahriman. Believers have the freedom to make good or bad choices; they were exhorted by Zoroaster to think good thoughts, say good words and do good deeds.
Scholars say these tenets and other aspects of Zoroastrianism had significant influence on other religions, notably Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.
“You have these ideas that have fundamentally shaped Western society,” said Jamsheed Choksy, a professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University. “Fighting the good fight, a purpose of existing to do good, to make the world flourish, to work together, to respect and love each other ... all that goes back to Zarathustra.”
Traditional temples house a sacred fire intended to burn perpetually. Another ancient custom: raised, circular structures known as Towers of Silence, where dead bodies were placed to decompose rather than being buried.