Religions, much like living things, have grown and changed throughout history. They’ve blended, developed, disappeared, and been succeeded by new ideas. Even faiths with seemingly unchangeable sacred texts have altered over time. They’ve adapted to different societies, political climates, and new ways of thinking.
This ability to adapt has sometimes created friction between different belief systems. But it also shows a unique quality. Scholar Joseph Campbell once compared religion’s adaptability to a stained-glass window. It lets you see “the light” in the color and shape that makes sense to you.
Here’s a look at ten religious beliefs that have transformed with history, showing some of these varied colors.
10. Practicing Polygamy
Many people link “Mormonism” with polygamy. However, this practice is largely a thing of the past for the main Mormon Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints now officially prohibits it.
This is a big change from the 1840s when the church did allow polygamy. At that time, it was a practice accepted in the Bible and various cultures. About 50 years later, Joseph F. Smith, then the Church’s president, banned polygamy. He warned that members or church officials involved would be excommunicated. Today, some fundamentalist Mormon groups still see polygamy as valid. But for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it remains strictly against their official rules.
9. Slavery is God’s Will
The stance of world religions on slavery has shifted many times. It’s a complex story. There isn’t one single view on slavery for any major religion across all times and groups.
Sometimes, slavery was seen as a God-given right for chosen people, with rules for it in holy books. Other times, it was considered the greatest evil. A common theme in some religions, like Islam and Judaism, was having different rules for treating slaves based on their faith. For instance, the early Quran had one set of guidelines for Muslim slaves and another for non-Muslim slaves. The Hebrew Bible similarly distinguished between Jewish and non-Jewish slaves.
8. Christians Go to Heaven or Hell
It might surprise you, but the ideas of heaven and hell as we know them are relatively new. The vivid pictures of fiery pits and heavenly clouds are even more recent. Neither the Bible nor the Quran, for example, say a lot about specific details of heaven or hell.
These texts mainly emphasize that the human soul is eternal but don’t give much information about what happens to it after death. They often mention salvation for those who live a life devoted to God, but not much about heaven and hell as distinct places. It was only in the centuries after the Bible was widely spread that ideas about the afterlife began to change.
Theologian Bart Ehrman noted that as people believed in an immortal soul, they reasoned that good souls would go to be with God. This led to the question of what happens to those not on God’s side. If the good are rewarded, the others must be punished. This thinking helped develop the idea of hell as a place of punishment, contrasting with heaven as a place of reward. As people and religious leaders have thought more about the afterlife, our concepts of what lies beyond have also evolved.
7. How Many Gods Are There?
Ma_ny major world religions today believe in only one god, a concept called monotheism. However, almost all of them started out with polytheistic beliefs, meaning they acknowledged multiple gods.
Take Judaism, for instance. Today, it focuses solely on Yahweh, the same single god worshipped in Christianity and Islam. But in early Judaism, many followers worshipped Yahweh as “the one god above all others.” This implies they believed other gods existed. For example, in ancient Canaan, before Judaism became prominent, polytheism was common. People worshipped various gods known as Baals. Even when Judaism emerged, Yahweh was initially just one among several deities. Over time, as cultures clashed and interacted, Yahweh became seen as superior to other gods. Eventually, all the Baals were grouped into one figure, Baal, who then became the main adversary of the one true God, Yahweh.
6. …and How Many Can I Worship at Once?
Even when religions claiming to worship only one god appeared, they didn’t always clash fiercely with polytheistic traditions. History shows many instances where new and old religions were worshipped side-by-side.
A well-known example is how Christianity and Celtic paganism coexisted in Ireland for hundreds of years. While not always perfectly peaceful, there were times and places where worshipping both was common and accepted. Christianity also had similar periods of sharing worship, in tolerant areas and times, with Norse paganism, Roman polytheism, and others. This shows a flexibility in how people practiced their faith.
5. The Universe’s Structure
It’s widely known that before the Renaissance and scientists like Nicolaus Copernicus, many people believed the Earth was the center of the universe. This idea is called geocentrism. However, this belief had a competitor – heliocentrism, the correct idea that the Earth orbits the Sun – even two thousand years earlier.
Scholars in Anc_ient Greece had different views on how the universe was structured. Some, like the famous Aristotle, were convinced that Earth was at the center. Others, such as Aristarchus of Samos, correctly believed their observations showed the Earth revolved around the Sun. It was Ptolemy, a Roman-Egyptian scholar in the later years of the Roman Empire’s influence, whose geocentric model became dominant. His view held sway for the next 1,500 years, until Copernicus brought heliocentrism back to the forefront.
4. The Image of Jesus…
The common modern image of Jesus Christ as a white man is prevalent despite historical evidence suggesting otherwise. This idea of a white Christ is fairly recent and developed due to political and social influences. Several impactful artistic depictions of Jesus as white helped spread this image until it became standard.
Theologians and h_istorians continue to debate this topic. However, some scientists have offered an evidence-based perspective. Archaeologists using skeletal remains and anthropologists using DNA evidence conclude that Jesus was almost certainly not white. He was also likely not black. The reality is probably somewhere in between. Most scientists suggest Christ’s skin color was likely “olive,” similar to people from the Mediterranean region today.
3. …and Everything Else About Him
It’s not just Jesus’s appearance that has seen changes in perception over the years. The historical figure of Jesus was a very successful prophet in his lifetime. However, he had to compete with older, more established religions.
To help non-Christians convert, his followers sometimes blended beliefs. This means that many of the extraordinary stories about Jesus’s life were adapted from other figures. For example, some aspects were drawn from the Roman god Mithras. These, in turn, may have roots in the Zoroastrian figure Mehr, and possibly even the Egyptian god Horus. Stories about Mithras (and similar figures) include being born on December 25 to a god and a virgin mother. He traveled as a prophet, healed the sick, walked on water, and was called a savior and shepherd. He was said to have 12 apostles and died, only to be resurrected after three days. These parallels are quite striking.
2. God-Kings
In Japan, the word for emperor still literally means “heavenly emperor.” This is because, as recently as World War II, the Japanese emperor was believed to be a demigod. He was thought to be a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.
Only after Japan s_urrendered at the end of the war was their leadership compelled to officially give up their divine status. This practice of ruler divinity wasn’t unique to Japan. Many monarchs throughout history have been declared, or declared themselves, god-kings. Examples include the Egyptian pharaohs, Roman emperors (some of them), and Iranian shahs. Some people still hold these beliefs today. For instance, some argue that the Japanese emperor never truly renounced his divinity.
1. Whatever Is Convenient
Ultimately, countless details, from major beliefs to minor customs, have changed over time in every world religion. The key takeaway is that these changes don’t necessarily weaken or discredit religions. Beliefs have evolved as cultures have grown and developed. Generally, these have been positive changes.
For example, despite what some ancient sacred texts might still contain, slavery is no longer widely accepted. It’s no longer common to stone people for offenses. Women who are menstruating don’t have to isolate themselves in huts outside villages. People can now wear clothes made of both linen and wool at the same time. Farmers can plant different crops in the same field. These shifts demonstrate the true resilience of religions, not through rigid adherence to old ways, but through empathy and adaptability.
The journey of religious beliefs through history shows a remarkable capacity for change. From views on leadership and the afterlife to social practices and even the image of divine figures, faiths have adapted and evolved. These transformations aren’t signs of weakness, but rather of endurance and the ability to resonate with humanity across different eras. Religion, in many ways, continues to be a living tradition, shaped by new understandings and the ongoing quest for meaning.
What other ways have you seen religious beliefs change over time? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave your comment below!_
