Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired.

History of religious texts[link]

The oldest known religious texts are Pyramid texts of Ancient Egypt that date to 2400-2300 BCE. The earliest form of the Phoenician alphabet found to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram of Byblos. ( The Sumerian Temple Hymns ^[1]). The Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumeria is also one of the earliest literary works dating to 2150-2000 BCE, that includes various mythological figures. The Rigveda of Hinduism is proposed to have been composed between 1700–1100 BCE^[2] making it possibly the world's oldest religious text still in use. The oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form, and although widely differing dates for Gathic Avestan (the language of the oldest texts) have been proposed, scholarly consensus floats at around 1000 BCE.^{[citation needed]}

The majority of scholars agree that the Torah's composition took place over centuries.^[3] From the late 19th century there was a general consensus around the documentary hypothesis, which suggests that the five books were created c.450 BCE by combining four originally independent sources, known as the Jahwist, or J (about 900 BCE), the Elohist, or E (about 800 BCE), the Deuteronomist, or D, (about 600 BCE), and the Priestly source, or P (about 500 BC).^[4]

The first scripture printed for wide distribution to the masses was The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture, and is the earliest recorded example of a dated printed text, bearing the Chinese calendar date for 11 May 868 CE.^[5]

Views[link]

Attitudes to sacred texts differ. Some religions make written texts widely and freely available, while others hold that sacred secrets must remain hidden from all but the loyal and the initiate. Most religions promulgate policies defining the limits of the sacred texts and controlling or forbidding changes and additions. Some religions view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often contending that the texts are inspired by God and as such not open to alteration. Translations of texts may receive official blessing, but an original sacred language often has de facto, absolute or exclusive paramountcy. Some religions make texts available free or in subsidized form; others require payment and the strict observance of copyright.

References to scriptures profit from standardisation: the Guru Granth Sahib (of Sikhism) always appears with standardised page numbering while many other religions (including the Abrahamic religions and their offshoots) favour chapter and verse pointers.

Other terms[link]

Terms like "Holy Writ", "Holy Scripture" or "Sacred Scripture" are often used by adherents to describe the canonical works of their religion to denote the text's importance, its status as divine revelation, or, as in the case of many Christian groups, its complete inerrancy. Christianity is not alone in using this terminology to revere its sacred book; Islam holds the Qur'an in similar esteem, as does Hinduism the Vedas and Bhagavad Gita and Buddhism the sutras.

Hierographology[link]

Hierographology (Ancient Greek: ἱερός, hieros, "sacred" or "holy", + γραφή, graphe, "writing", + λόγος, logos, "word" or "reason") (archaically also 'hierology') is the study of sacred texts.

Increasingly, sacred texts of many cultures are studied within academic contexts, primarily to increase understanding of other cultures, whether ancient or contemporary. Sometimes this involves the extension of the principles of higher criticism to the texts of many faiths. It may also involve a comparative study of religious texts. The hierographology of the Qur'an can be particularly controversial, especially when questioning the accuracy of Islamic traditions about the text.^{[citation needed]}

List of sacred texts of various religions[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

[edit] Asatru

• Havamal
• Eddas

[edit] Atenism

• Great Hymn to the Aten

[edit] Ayyavazhi

• The Akilathirattu Ammanai
• The Arul Nool

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

Books by Bahá'u'lláh

• The Four Valleys (1857 version)
• The Seven Valleys (1860 version)
• The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (in Arabic 1857)
• The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh (in Persian 1857)
• Gems of Divine Mysteries (ca 1859)
• The Book of Certitude (partly in Persian and partly in Arabic 1861)
• Summons of the Lord of Hosts (ca 1868)
• Tabernacle of Unity (ca 1870)
• The Kitáb-i-Aqdas /The Most Holy Book (Completed 1873)
• Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (written until 1892)
• Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (ca 1890)
• Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh (compilation chosen by Shoghi Effendi of Bahá'u'lláh's writings, 1853 to 1892)

[edit] Bön

• Bon Kangyur and Tengyur

[edit] Buddhism

Ancient style of scripture used for the Pāli Canon

Theravada Buddhism

• The Tipitaka or Pāli Canon
  • Vinaya Pitaka
  • Sutta Pitaka
    • Digha Nikaya, the "long" discourses.
    • Majjhima Nikaya, the "middle-length" discourses.
    • Samyutta Nikaya, the "connected" discourses.
    • Anguttara Nikaya, the "numerical" discourses.
    • Khuddaka Nikaya, the "minor collection".
  • Abhidhamma Pitaka

East Asian Mahayana

The Chinese Diamond Sutra, the oldest known dated printed book in the world, printed in the 9th year of Xiantong Era of the Tang Dynasty, or 868 CE. British Library.

• The Chinese Buddhist Tripiṭaka, including
  • Diamond Sutra and the Heart Sutra
  • Shurangama Sutra and its Shurangama Mantra
  • Pure Land Buddhism
    • Infinite Life Sutra
    • Amitabha Sutra
    • Contemplation Sutra
    • other Pure Land Sutras
  • Tiantai, Tendai, and Nichiren
    • Lotus Sutra
  • Shingon
    • Mahavairocana Sutra
    • Vajrasekhara Sutra

Tibetan Buddhism

• Tibetan Kangyur and Tengyur

[edit] Cheondoism

• The Donghak Scripture
• The Songs of Yongdam
• The Sermons of Master Haeweol
• The Sermons of Revered Teacher Euiam^[6]

[edit] Christianity

Christian Bible, 1407 handwritten copy

Traditional Christendom

• The Bible (the Old Testament and New Testament)

• For Protestantism, this is the 66-book canon - the Jewish Tanakh of 24 books divided differently (into 39 books) and the universal 27-book New Testament.
• For Catholicism, this includes seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament for a total of 73 books, called the Canon of Trent (in versions of the Latin Vulgate, 3 Esdras and 4 Esdras are included in an appendix, but considered non-canonical).
• For the Eastern Orthodox Church, this includes the anagignoskomena, which consist of the Catholic deuterocanon, plus 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 3 Esdras (and 4 Maccabees in an appendix of Greek-language versions).^[7]
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (and its offspring, the Eritrean Orthodox Church) adds various additional books depending on the specific enumeration of the canon (see Ethiopian Biblical canon), but always includes the Book of Jubilees, 1 Enoch, 4 Baruch, and 1, 2, and 3 Meqabyan (no relation to the Books of Maccabees).
• Some Syriac churches accept the Letter of Baruch as scripture.

Christian Scientists

• The Bible
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. This textbook, along with the Bible, serves as the permanent "impersonal pastor" of the church.

Gnosticism

• Nag Hammadi library and other Gnostic texts (not from the Bible)
• Some books of the Old Testament and New Testament

— Cerdonianism and Marcionism

Only the following were accepted:

• Gospel of Marcion (similar to the Gospel of Luke)
• selected Pauline epistles

Cover page of The Book of Mormon from an original 1830 edition, by Joseph Smith, Jr.
(Image from the U.S. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division.)

Jehovah's Witnesses

• The Bible (The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is their preferred translation.)

Latter Day Saint movement

• The Bible

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) uses the LDS edition of the King James Bible for English-speaking members; other versions are used in non-English speaking countries.
• The Community of Christ (RLDS) uses the Joseph Smith Translation, which it calls the Inspired Version, as well as updated modern translations.

• The Book of Mormon
• The Pearl of Great Price
• The Doctrine and Covenants

• There are significant differences in content and section numbering between the Doctrine and Covenants used by the Community of Christ (RLDS) and the LDS Church.

• Other, smaller branches of Latter Day Saints include other scriptures, such as the Book of the Law of the Lord used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) or The Word of the Lord used by Fettingite branches.

Rastafari movement

See below.

Seventh-day Adventists

• The Bible
• The writings of Ellen White are held to an elevated status, though not equal with the Bible, as she is consider to have been an inspired prophetess.

Swedenborgianism

See below.

[edit] Confucianism

• The Five Classics
• The Four Books
• The Thirteen Classics

[edit] Discordianism

• The Principia Discordia

[edit] Druze

• Rasa'il al-hikmah (Epistles of Wisdom)

[edit] Ancient Egyptian religion

Pyramid texts from Teti I's pyramid.

Old Kingdom

• Pyramid Texts

First Intermediate Period & Middle Kingdom

• Coffin Texts

Second Intermediate Period

• The Book of the Dead
• Book of Caverns
• Book of Gates
• Amduat
• Book of the Heavenly Cow
• Litany of Re

[edit] Etruscan religion

The Cippus of Perugia, 3rd or 2nd century BCE

• Cippus Perusinus
• Liber Linteus
• Pyrgi Tablets
• Tabula Cortonensis

[edit] Ancient Greece

• Homeric Hymns
• Theogony
• Golden Verses of Pythagoras

[edit] Hermeticism

• Hermetica, Kybalion, Emerald Tablet and associated writings

[edit] Hinduism

Śruti

• Vedas
  • Rig Veda
  • Sama Veda
  • Yajur Veda
  • Atharva Veda
• Brahmanas
• Aranyakas
• Upanishads

The Bhagavad Gita is Lord Krishna's counsel to Arjuna on the battlefield of the Kurukshetra.

Smriti

• Itihāsas
  • Mahābhārata (including the Bhagavad Gita)
    • Bhagavad Gita
  • Ramayana
• Puranas (List)
  • Bhagavata Purana
• Tantras
• Sutras (List)
• Stotras
• Ashtavakra Gita
• Gherand Samhita
• Gita Govinda
• Hatha Yoga Pradipika
• Yoga Vasistha

In Purva Mimamsa

• Purva Mimamsa Sutras

In Vedanta (Uttar Mimamsa)

• Brahma Sutras of Vyasa

In Yoga

• Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

In Samkhya

• Samkhya Sutras of Kapila

In Nyaya

• Nyāya Sūtras of Gautama

In Vaisheshika

• Vaisheshika Sutras of Kanada

In Vaishnavism

• Vaikhanasa Samhitas
• Pancaratra Samhitas

In Saktism

• Sakta Tantras

In Kashmir Saivism

• 64 Bhairavagamas
• 28 Shaiva Agamas
• Shiva Sutras of Vasugupta
• Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

In Pashupata Shaivism

• Pashupata Sutras of Lakulish
• Panchartha-bhashya of Kaundinya (a commentary on the Pashupata Sutras)
• Ganakarika
• Ratnatika of Bhasarvajna

In Shaiva Siddhanta

• 28 Saiva Agamas
• Tirumurai (canon of 12 works)
• Meykandar Shastras (canon of 14 works)

In Gaudiya Vaishnavism

• Brahma Samhita
• Jayadeva's Gita Govinda

Krishna-karnamrita

• Chaitanya Bhagavata
• Chaitanya Charitamrita
• Prema-bhakti-candrika
• Hari-bhakti-vilasa

In Kabir Panth

• poems of Kabir

In Dadu Panth

• poems of Dadu

[edit] Islam

11th Century North African Qur’an in the British Museum

• Qur'an (also referred to as Kuran, Koran, Qur’ān, Coran or al-Qur’ān)
• Hadith (oral traditions of the words and deeds of Muhammad)
• Sunnah (the things that Muhammad did, as in his actions)

[edit] Jainism

Svetambara

• 11 Angas
  • Secondary
    • 12 Upangas, 4 Mula-sutras, 6 Cheda-sutras, 2 Culika-sutras, 10 Prakirnakas

Digambara

• Karmaprabhrita, also called Satkhandagama
• Kashayaprabhrita

Nonsectarian/Nonspecific

• Jina Vijaya
• Tattvartha Sutra
• GandhaHasti Mahabhashya (authoritative and oldest commentary on the Tattvartha Sutra)

[edit] Judaism

A Sefer Torah opened for liturgical use in a synagogue service

Rabbinical Judaism

See also: Rabbinic literature

• The Tanakh i.e. Hebrew Bible
  • Torah (teachings)
  • Nevi'im (prophets)
  • Ketuvim (writings)
• The Talmud
  • Mishnah
  • Gemara

Karaite Judaism

• The Tanakh, i.e. the Hebrew Bible

Beta Israel

• The Tanakh with several jewish apocrypha

[edit] LaVeyan Satanism

• The Satanic Bible (primary text)
• The Satanic Rituals (contains additional rituals)

[edit] Lingayatism

• Siddhanta Shikhamani
• Vachana sahitya
• Mantra Gopya
• Shoonya Sampadane
• 28 Agamas
• Karana Hasuge
• Basava Purana

[edit] Mandaeanism

• The Ginza Rba
• Book of the Zodiac
• Qolusta, Canonical Prayerbook
• Book of John the Baptizer
• Diwan Abatur, Purgatories
• 1012 Questions
• Coronation of Shislam Rba
• Baptism of Hibil Ziwa
• Haran Gawaita

[edit] Manichaeism

• The Evangelion (Greek, Coptic: Ευαγγελιον, meaning roughly "good news"). Also known as the Gospel of Mani and The Living Gospel
• the Treasure of Life
• the Pragmateia (Coptic: πραγματεία)
• the Book of Mysteries
• the Book of Giants
• the Epistles
• the Psalms and Prayers. A Coptic Manichaean Psalter, discovered in Egypt in the early 1900s, was edited and published by Charles Allberry from Manichaean manuscripts in the Chester Beatty collection and in the Berlin Academy, 1938-9.
• The Shabuhragan
• The Arzhang
• The Kephalaia (Κεφαλαια), "Discourses", found in Coptic translation.

[edit] Meher Baba

• God Speaks

[edit] New Age religions

Various New Age religions may regard any of the following texts as inspired:

• A Course in Miracles
• Conversations with God
• Oahspe
• The Urantia Book
• Isis Unveiled

[edit] Orphism

• Orphic Poems

[edit] Pastafarianism

• The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

[edit] Rastafari movement

• The Bible (Ethiopian Orthodox canon)
• the Holy Piby
• the Kebra Negast
• The speeches and writings of Haile Selassie I (including his autobiography My Life and Ethiopia's Progress)
• Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy

[edit] Ravidassia

Amritbani Satguru Ravidass Ji Ki-Holy Book of Ravidassia Religion

• The Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji

[edit] Samaritanism

See also: Samaritan religious texts

• The Samaritan Torah

[edit] Scientology

• Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
• List of Scientology texts

[edit] Serer religion

• The Serer Raampa pictography (or Raampa pictography based on the Serer-Safene script)^[8]

[edit] Shinto

• The Kojiki
• The Rikkokushi, which includes the Nihon Shoki and the Shoku Nihongi
• The Fudoki
• The Jinnō Shōtōki
• The Kujiki

[edit] Sikhism

Illuminated Guru Granth folio with Mul Mantar(basic religion mantra) with signature of Guru Gobind Singh.

Main article: Sikh scriptures

• The Guru Granth Sahib
• The Dasven Padshah Da Granth

[edit] Spiritism

• The Spirits Book
• The Book on Mediums
• The Gospel According to Spiritism
• Heaven and Hell
• The Genesis According to Spiritism

[edit] Sumerian

• The Barton Cylinder

[edit] Swedenborgianism

The New Church

• The Bible (several books omitted)
• The works of Emanuel Swedenborg (not considered equal to the Bible)

The General Church

• The Bible (several books omitted)
• The works of Emanuel Swedenborg (considered equal to the Bible)

[edit] Taoism

• Tao Te Ching
• Zhuangzi (book)
• Daozang

[edit] Tenrikyo

• The Ofudesaki
• The Mikagura-uta
• The Osashizu

[edit] Thelema

• Holy Books of Thelema especially The Book of the Law

[edit] Unification Church

• Divine Principle

[edit] Urantianism

• Urantia Book

[edit] Wicca

• Book of Shadows
• Charge of the Goddess
• Threefold Law

[edit] Yazidi

• Yazidi Black Book
• Yazidi Book of Revelation
• The true core texts of the Yazidi religion that exist today are the hymns, known as qawls.

[edit] Yorùbá

• Odù Ifá

[edit] Zoroastrianism

Yasna 28.1 (Bodleian MS J2)

• Primary religious texts, that is, the Avesta collection:
  • The Yasna, the primary liturgical collection, includes the Gathas.
  • The Visperad, a collection of supplements to the Yasna.
  • The Yashts, hymns in honor of the divinities.
  • The Vendidad, describes the various forms of evil spirits and ways to confound them.
  • shorter texts and prayers, the Yashts the five Nyaishes ("worship, praise"), the Sirozeh and the Afringans (blessings).
• There are some 60 secondary religious texts, none of which are considered scripture. The most important of these are:
  • The Denkard (middle Persian, 'Acts of Religion'),
  • The Bundahishn, (middle Persian, 'Primordial Creation')
  • The Menog-i Khrad, (middle Persian, 'Spirit of Wisdom')
  • The Arda Viraf Namak (middle Persian, 'The Book of Arda Viraf')
  • The Sad-dar (modern Persian, 'Hundred Doors', or 'Hundred Chapters')
  • The Rivayats, 15th-18th century correspondence on religious issues
• For general use by the laity:
  • The Zend (lit. commentaries), various commentaries on and translations of the Avesta.
  • The Khordeh Avesta, a collection of everyday prayers from the Avesta.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ancient texts library
• Internet Sacred Text Archive