Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism was founded by Zarathustra (Zoroaster in Greek) in Persia between 1500-1200BCE. There are several thousand Zoroastrians still in the old country, Iran but most Zoroastrians are now concentrated in India. There are also significant numbers of adherents in Canada and the USA, but London has the largest Zoroastrian community of any city outside the old country about 5,000. The total number of adherents worldwide is between 150,000 – 200,000.
The resources contained in the list of subjects below are a basic introduction to the facts and beliefs of Zoroastrianism. They are a portal or window into the world Zoroastrianism and by following the websites and bibliographies, an enquirer may discover more and more about this faith.
The six units are based on the QCA non-statutory framework for Religious Education and the Areas of Enquiry. They provide not only a comprehensive guide to the factual and belief structures of Zoroastrianism, but also address the issues that Zoroastrianism encounters as it engages with the 21st century.
This section was written by Professor John Hinnells.
John Hinnells is now retired after being a professor of the Comparative Study of Religions at Manchester and SOAS, He has written or edited 30 books and numerous articles. His main ones are Persian Mythology (Newnes 1985), Zoroastrians in Britain (OUP 1996), Zoroastrian and Parsi Studies (Ashgate 2000), The Zoroastrian Diaspora (OUP 2005).