Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest continuous religions. It was founded in ancient Iran by the prophet Zarathustra, known in the West as Zoroaster, who taught that there is one supreme God, Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, engaged in a cosmic struggle against the forces of evil embodied by Angra Mainyu.

The sacred texts are the Avesta, of which the Gathas—hymns attributed to Zarathustra himself—are the oldest and most authoritative portion. Human beings are called to side with truth and order, asha, against the lie. Ethical life, ritual purity, and the care of the sacred fire are central. Death is followed by judgment; the soul crosses a bridge that widens or narrows according to the person’s deeds. A final renovation of the world will bring the complete defeat of evil and the resurrection of the dead.

Once the state religion of successive Iranian empires, Zoroastrianism declined after the Islamic conquest. Communities survived in Iran and, more numerously, in India, where they are known as Parsis. Today the numbers are small, yet the influence of its dualistic cosmology and eschatology on later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought is widely recognized.

The faith continues to affirm that every choice participates in a larger battle between light and darkness, and that the outcome is not in doubt.