Persian Beliefs
A religious history of Persia or Iran, from Zoroastrianism to modern Islam.
Pre-Islamic Religions of Persia
Before the Islamic Conquest of 651, the empires of Persia were home to a wide variety of faiths. Most prominent of these was Zoroastrianism, a religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra in the 6th century BCE. Zarathustra promoted the worship of Ahura Mazda, the divine embodiment of wisdom and creative energy. According to his teachings, each human being possesses the free will needed to choose the pursuit of wisdom and goodness. Those who do not instead empower Angra Mainyu, a destructive energy opposing the order of Ahura Mazda. Angra Mainyu is sometimes embodied as the demon Ahriman. The forces of good and evil, then, are locked in an ongoing battle for the soul of each person.
Zoroastrianism emphasizes the importance of good deeds, full participation in life, and the protection of the natural world. Its rites are typically conducted around fire and water, which are both viewed as sacred, life-giving elements. When a person dies, his or her soul is measured by its deeds and continues its spiritual battle for good or evil. Zoroastrians believe that these souls will be one day be resurrected by a savior figure, the Saoshyant. This figure is prophesied to lead the spirits of the righteous and purge the wicked forces of Angra Mainyu once and for all.
Zoroastrianism proved influential in the development of other regional religions, particularly the Abrahamic faiths. The Magi, or Three Wise Men, who visited Jesus Christ as an infant were likely Zoroastrian priests. Christianity found an early foothold in Persia through communities like the Armenians. Tensions escalated, however, when its rival state Rome adopted the faith as an official religion. The various sects of Christianity soon began to drift apart, leading to the Nestorian Schism in 431. The Nestorians, driven out of Constantinople, relocated to the Persian Sasanian Empire. They then spread through much of the Persian Christian community.
Manichaeism, a separate faith, was founded by the Iranian prophet Mani in the 3rd century CE. His religion was based around a familiar struggle between the forces of light and dark. Manichaeism recognized Jesus, the Buddha, and Zoroaster as prophets, though incomplete ones. It proved wildly popular and survived about a thousand years in areas ranging from Rome to China. Both Christian and Buddhist authorities viewed the faith as a dangerous heresy. As a consequence, it was gradually persecuted to extinction, the vast majority of its sacred texts destroyed.
Religious Tolerance in the Persian Empires
Many faiths flourished under Persian rule due to its ancient policy of tolerance. The Achaemenids set a precedent of respect for the customs of its conquered people. Its founder, Cyrus plays a prominent role in the Old Testament of the Bible as a liberator of the Jews. After conquering Babylon, he is credited with freeing its Jewish citizens from bondage, allowing them to return to Jerusalem, and financing the rebuilding of their temple. Zoroastrianism was recognized as the state religion and practiced by the Persian nobility. For the most part, however, religious communities were allowed to govern themselves.
Islam in Persia and Iran
Religious diversity in the Middle East experienced a significant contraction from the 7th century on. Islam, an Abrahamic religion founded among Arab tribes to the west, quickly gathered a proselytizing army. The Sasanian Persians, exhausted from civil war and conflicts the Byzantine Empire, offered little resistance. Their dynasty ended with defeat and the collapse of Persian power in 651. The new Islamic Arab rulers suppressed Zoroastrianism and its fellow faiths. Those who did not convert were forced to pay a special tax known as the jizya but were generally not subjected to violence. In order to reach their new subjects, the Muslims allowed the teaching of Islam in Persian. This action may have preserved the Persian language through Arab domination.
The Persians contributed significantly to the development of Islam and its Golden Age. Their knowledge of administration, medicine, astronomy, literature, and architecture all influenced Islamic culture and its spread to the east. Up until the 16th century, Iran was majority Sunni. This changed with the Safavid dynasty. Surrounded by Sunni enemies like the Ottoman Empire, Safavid founder Ismail I converted to the Twelver sect of Shia Islam. He led a bloody conversion campaign within Iran, resulting in a majority Shia society. This dramatic shift has exacerbated ongoing tensions in the Middle East ever since.
Secularization and the Islamic Revolution in Modern Iran
The 20th century saw sustained attempts to separate the government of Iran from its religious heritage. The Pahlavi dynasty of Rezā Shāh and his son Mohammad Reza Shah discouraged public professions of faith, including religious garb and prayer. These moves, meant to consolidate state control, met deep resistance from Iran’s clergy and conservative public. Religion, among other factors, fueled the Iranian Revolution of 1979. In the aftermath, the exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was declared Supreme Leader of Iran’s new theocratic government.
Modern Iran is a majority Shia Muslim state. Islamic principles are codified as law, including restrictions on apparel and alcohol. Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are allowed to worship and given limited political representation as recognized religious minorities. According to 2011 CIA and Iranian government figures, its current religious makeup is as follows:
Shia: 90-95%
Sunni: 5-10%
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Other: 0.3%
Unspecified 0.4%
References
Amanat, Abbas. Iran: A Modern History. Yale University Press. 2017.
André-Salvini, Béatrice. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. University of California Press. 2005.
Archibald, Zofia H., John Davies, Vincent Gabrielsen, and Graham Oliver, Eds. Hellenistic Economies. Routledge. 2006.
Axworthy, Michael. A History of Iran: Empire of the Mind. Basic Books. 2016.
Foltz, R. Religions of the Silk Road: Premodern Patterns of Globalization. Springer. 2010.
Newman, Andrew. Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B. Tauris. 2012.
Savory, Roger. Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge University Press. 2007.
“The World Factbook: Iran.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 12 July 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ir.html.
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