Generally speaking, religion is a social-cultural system, which includes ethics, texts, worldviews, beliefs, morals, and practices. It also includes sanctified places, organizations, and designated behaviors.
Pre-Christian
During the centuries of the early Christian era, Christianity was established in many areas. In Eastern Europe, it was the end of a long evolutionary process. Christianity was the result of God using people in Israel to fulfill His purpose of redemption. These men and women were chosen to act once for all to reveal God to mankind. During this time, most of the earth’s surface was outside of the Mediterranean world, and most of the surface was outside of China.
Throughout history, God has sought to reveal Himself to men. His gifts include freedom and authenticity. He gave man a limited amount of freedom, but also allowed him to grope for light. During the time of Israel, God used prophets and seers to prepare for Christ’s incarnation. Despite God’s benevolence, many people were not sufficiently responsive to Him.
A minority of the people of Israel were loyal to the covenant with Abraham. They treasured visions of prophets and law-givers. They believed that God was compassionate to all creation and that He would forgive sinners. They also believed that God would heal the poor and oppressed. God is also believed to know each person better than he knows himself. Despite their religious beliefs, most Jews were not sufficiently responsive to God.
Some scholars have suggested that Christianity is based on a pre-Christian religion. They point to the fact that Christianity emerged in the Near East during a time of tremendous strain in the religion of Israel. Christians have looked back to this strain as a preparation for faith. They have also seen the 988 event as a beginning of Christianity in Eastern Europe. However, there are still questions about whether this date is the real beginning.
There are other pre-Christian religions in Eastern Slavic culture. One such religion is the Runvira movement. The abbreviation of the word ‘Rinda’ refers to the god Vies, the supreme deity of Eastern Slavs. The author of the epic, an unknown person, wrote it between 1185 and 1187 A.D. The epic is a fascinating piece of literature that reflects the symbiosis between human passion for life and the external nature of the world. The epic also contains mythological reminiscences from the Eastern Slavs of the time.
There is also the pre-Christian religion of the Anglo-Saxons. This religion is also known as Anglo-Saxon traditional religion. These people were not self-denominated, but incorporated various cultic practices and beliefs into their religion.