Description

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The cognitive capacity for religion likely first emerged in Homo sapiens what we call humans, although some scholars posit the existence of Neanderthal religion and sparse evidence exists for ritual practice much early. The earliest archaeological evidence of religious ideas dates back several hundred thousand years to the Middle and Lower Palaeolithic periods. Scientists generally interpret a number of artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic (50,000-13,000 BCE) as representing religious ideas. Before the Abrahamic religion leading to Judaism, Paganism was the common faith in vast part of the world. In Europe, Paganism dominated until the emergence of Christianity. Since the 1950s, its re-emergence in Britain parallels that in other western countries, where it has been growing rapidly. The social infrastructure of paganism reflects the value the pagan community places on unity in diversity; it consists of a network of inter-related traditions and local groups served by several larger organisations. In Scotland the Pagan Federation acts as an educational and representative body.