In this article the author discusses the beliefs of religions born during the "Axial Age," a period of ancient history running from 900 to 200 BCE. In many of these religions, which include Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Confucianism, among others, belief or knowledge of a deity and/or the supernatural was not only not necessary it was, in some faiths, actively discouraged. Modern day religion assumes that central to faith is belief in an externalized, personal deity. INSET: What I Believe.
