The Histomap of Religion

The Story of Man’s Search for Spiritual Unity.

This controversial chart claims to present the ‘origin and relative contemporary significance of the principal cults, faiths and ethical philosophies’ of the world from approximately 180,000 years ago up to the mid-20th century. It was first copywritten by John B. Sparks in 1943; though this edition, published in Chicago by Rand McNally, has been updated to 1955.

The image presents a chronological history of the global religions, with time displayed logarithmically on either side. The width of each bar reflects its alleged relative importance, with a caveat at the bottom explaining “in absence of any numerical criterion, the “relative contemporary significance” is here judged from the “liberal Christian” viewpoint.”

Apart from this bias (note the immediate consequence of Jesus), several themes are immediately evident; including the erosion of belief in ‘Magic and Fetishism’, the absence of atheism, and the inclusion of Communism and ‘State Worship’ as religions. The last date entry emphasizes the relationship between religion and current political events; “Ideological conflict between Communist credo and Western Judeo-Christian civilization underlies international East-West political struggles.”