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[[File:KellsFol032vChristEnthroned.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px250px|Figure 1. While empires often did not start universal religions, they often did become the vehicle in which they spread. For example, Christianity greatly expanded as part of the official reiligion religion of Rome.]]
Universal religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and others mostly rose between 500 BCE and 600 CE. Over this 1000 year period, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of East Asia transformed from polytheistic worshiping to believing in a single god or universal philosophy. We often think of Christianity and Islam perhaps as the dominant universal religions today. Still, universal philosophies had begun before these religions, and through the vehicle of empires, universal religions spread.
The immediate effect of many of the universal religions is they led to the downfall of many of the old religions that once spanned Eurasia. Gradually, either through persecution, financial incentive, coercion, or just normal belief, most polytheistic religions ceased to exist, outside of some lingering stories and traditions that often became incorporated into the new universal religions. For example, many saints' days were often days in celebration of ancient gods.<ref>For more on polytheistic faiths and the types of worlds they created, see: Johnston, S. I. (Ed.). (, 2004). <i>Religions of the ancient world: a guide.</i> Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.</ref>
===Impact of Universal Religions===
[[File:12001510673 e6ab7c17d3 b.jpg|thumbnail|left|350px250px|Figure 2. Justinian's closure of ancient temples, such as the temple of Philae in Egypt, led to the ultimate death of the ancient polytheistic religions and related knowledge. ]]
The impact was more than the disappearance of the old religions. Many traditions that were associated with worship began to diminish or cease altogether. For instance, observations of the planets and stars became less relevant as the positioning of the stars and planets were not important in the worship of universal faiths. Old languages such as ancient Egyptian and Akkadian finally disappeared, which led to the possible loss of knowledge these ancient languages possessed. Other changes were more related to what universal religions achieved, which is a lessening of ethnic and cultural differences prevalent before and greater cohesion between multiple social groups.
===Summary===
Universal religions fundamentally changed many societies, regardless of the specific religions or philosophies adopted. Universal ideas have helped shift previous philosophies and religions that worshiped many gods to one unitary authority. Empires, in particular, became associated initially with universal philosophies. However, ideas spread have meant that much knowledge of the ancient world was lost as old languages and beliefs were abandoned. The long-term political impact has been more unified states in the Middle East and Europe, as universal religions and philosophies have helped form states based on universal belief systems.
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