Comparative mythology, related to comparative religion, is a field of study which is technically part of anthropology but more usually regarded as part of the subject of ancient history. The field attempts to discover how various myths and religions evolved over time, and aims to reveal relationships between distant religions, and describe their origin. One very well-known recent author in this field was Joseph Campbell. Many of its discoveries elicit great curiosity, such as Poseidon having pre-dated the concept of the Olympians, and originally having been a land-based god. Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes interpretive differences of common themes and ideas among the worlds religions. ... Anthropology (from the Greek word άνθρωπος, human) consists of the study of humankind (see genus Homo). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... For the computer game, see Myth (computer game). ... Joseph Campbell (New York City, March 26, 1904 - Honolulu, October 30, 1987) was an American professor, writer, and orator best known for his work in the fields of (comparative) mythology and comparative religion. ... Andrea Doria as Neptune by Agnolo Bronzino: a potent allegory of Genoas hegemony in the Tyrrhenian Sea In Greek Mythology, Poseidon (Ποσειδῶν) was the god of the sea, known to the Romans as Neptune, and to the Etruscans as Nethuns. ... Olympians can refer to any of the following: The Twelve Olympians of Ancient Greek mythology. ...

Theories in the field have a tendency to denigrate historicity of events claimed to have occurred by religions and suggest that since the idea of what is considered by the faiths as true has evolved gradually, there is no particular reason to trust the recent ideas over the older ones. Developments in this field are often regarded as highly controversial when they involve modern faiths, such as Christianity and Hinduism, because they are seen as undermining claims of historical truth of these tenets of faith. Historicity refers to the historical authenticity of a person, event, or place. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma ) is a worldwide tradition that encompasses several religions and ideologies. ...

With earlier religions there is much less controversy and consequently much more constructive research occurs. One of the most successful developments has been the partial theoretical reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European religion, which was informed by work in the field of Proto-Indo-European language. Study of early religion of this kind is heavily connected to comparative linguistics, because the apparently distinct behaviour of gods and other figures makes it difficult to draw identifications without finding linguistic connections. Ancient anthropomorphic Ukrainian stone stela (Kernosovka stela), possibly depicting a late Proto-Indo-European god, most likely Dyeus, the thunderer. ... See Pie (disambiguation) for other uses of PIE. The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ... Historical linguistics (also diachronic linguistics or comparative linguistics) is primarily the study of the ways in which languages change over time, by means of examining languages which are recognizably related through similarities such as vocabulary, word formation, and syntax, as well as the surviving records of ancient languages. ...

Despite its significance, the field of study, like ancient history as a whole, has few academics compared to other areas of research. In consequence, developments are slow and drawn-out and frequently suffer uncontested ridicule at the hands of religious conservatives and scholars in other fields whose theories may otherwise be damaged. This situation is not aided by the limited number of other academics in the field to review and constructively criticise such research as it develops. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

One of the first modern titles in the field was The Two Babylons, which unfortunately is more a polemic against Roman Catholicism than academic text, and many of its theories have since been overturned by subsequent research and review. Another early modern title was The White Goddess, in which attempts were made to draw together many goddesses from various classical cultures, claiming they developed from a single shared figure. Original cover of The Two Babylons, which alleges that many of the Roman Catholic churches doctrines and ceremonies came from ancient Babylonian culture. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The author and poet Robert Graves study of the nature of poetic myth-making, The White Goddess, first published in 1948, and revised, amended and enlarged in 1966, represents a tangential approach to the study of mythology from a decidedly idiosyncratic perspective. ... A goddess is a female deity in contrast with a male deity known as a god. A great many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both of the conventional genders and in some cases even hermaphroditic (or gender neutral) deities. ...

Much of the early work has since been firmly disregarded, partly due to the discoveries of comparative linguistics, indicating much more plausible relationships (such as that of the Norns). Another reason for disregarding them has been the construction of better and more gradual evolution of gods and characters mentioned. However, although it is tempting to completely disregard many of these theories, it is important to note that it is only most of the works that have been thrown away, whereas small parts of the texts have been supported by later, and more academic, research. The Norns The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) of Norse mythology are three old crones by the names of Urd (those who were), Verdandi (those who are) and Skuld (those who will). ...

Fields of study

• Comparing Eastern and Western religious traditions
• Fundamentalism
• Creation myth
• Christianity and Buddhism
• Judeo-Christian
• Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity
• Christo-Islamic
• Development of religion

Religious studies divides the world into Western and Eastern religions. ... In comparative religion, fundamentalism refers to anti-modernist movements in various religions. ... The term origin belief refers to stories and explanations which describe the beginnings of humanity, earth, life, and the universe (cosmogony). ... Judeo-Christian (also spelled Judaeo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held in common by Christianity and Judaism, and typically considered a fundamental basis for Western legal codes and moral values. ... Comparing and contrasting Judaism and Christianity suggests that Judaism and Christianity are not necessarily part of the same Judeo-Christian tradition. ... Christo-Islamic is a term of comparative religion to connect fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam. ... There are a number of models regarding the ways in which religions come into being and develop. ...

See also

• Religion
• Religious pluralism

Religious pluralism is the belief that one can overcome religious differences between different religions, and denominational conflicts within the same religion. ...

External links

• Rutgers University
• Academicinfo.net