Zoroastrianism is one of the most ancient religions of the world. At one time it was the dominant religion of Iran and adjoining regions. Its popularity declined when the Islamic invaders occupied Iran and introduced Islam. A handful few who fled from Iran, after the fall of the Sassanid Empire, to escape persecution in the hands of the new rules took shelter in India. They are known today in India as Parsis, a small community that has been persistently striving ever since to keep the tenets of the religion alive, despite hardships and lack of following.
Apart from them, a few people in Iran continue to practice Zoroastrianism. They enjoy a minority status in Iran, an Islamic nation, with a limited degree of freedom to practice their religion. The total number of people practicing Zoroastrianism in the world today would be around 250000 of whom 80% live in India and the rest in various parts of the world including the USA. Although Zoroastrianism lost its status as a popular world religion, its study and knowledge are very useful for our understanding of the development of religious thought in the ancient world and how its important beliefs and practices have parallels in other religions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The following are some of the important beliefs of Zoroastrianism.
In general, citizens have the greatest degree of political participation in Israel out of the countries listed, although it should be noted there is still a great amount of repression there.
