Did ancient Egypt, Persia, and India also have a one-God idea?
Research question: What evidence exists for a shared 'one God' idea across traditions outside the Abrahamic family (Zoroastrianism, Egyptian Atenism, Hindu Brahman)?
The records show that Ahura Mazda is presented as the supreme figure in Zoroastrianism, praised above all other spiritual beings 1, and is described as eternal, uncreated, and the creator of everything 2. However, the sources also say Zoroastrianism has its own particular form of monotheism rather than being simply monotheistic or polytheistic 4, and the Dēnkard School's bifoundationalism holds two sources of reality while worshipping only one, which does not match the one-source monotheist idea 78. For Hinduism, the records show that Advaita Vedanta holds the individual soul (Atman) to be the same as the highest metaphysical reality, a nondualist idea that comes closest to a single-ultimate-reality concept 5, but no fact links this directly to Brahman as a god. No verified fact [1-9] addresses Egyptian Atenism, so that tradition remains unaddressed. The newest fact dates from 2023 9, about three years before October 2026.
Sources
"The Gathas are dedicated wholly to him, for they praise him above all other spiritual beings."Ahura Mazda (2012)
"He is eternal and uncreated, the creator of everything and the maintainer of cosmic harmony."Ahura Mazda (2012)
"Ahura Mazda (“the Wise Lord”) is first attested in the Gathas of Zarathushtra, the oldest Iranian texts in existence."Ahura Mazda (2012)
"it is argued that Zoroastrianism has its own particular form of monotheism."Monotheism the Zoroastrian Way (2013)
"Its central idea is that Atman (soul) is same as the highest metaphysical reality"Advaita Vedanta (2017)
"The argument which is taken up in this writing is the correlation between agriculturally marginal landscape and the development of monotheism."Mobile People, Mobile God: Mobile Societies, Monotheism, and the Effects of Ecological Landscapes on the Development of Ancient Religions (2016)
"Bifoundationalism is instructively different from monotheism."Zoroastrian Philosophy in the Islamic World (2023)
"Bifoundationalism is slightly different: there are two sources of reality, but only one ought to be worshipped; these two sources are encapsulated as Light and Dark, and only the Light is considered ‘god’ (Pahl. yazd < Av. yazata-, lit. ‘worthy of worship’)."Zoroastrian Philosophy in the Islamic World (2023)
"This contrast is important, since the Dēnkard School polemicized against contemporary monotheists (i.e., Muslims, Christians, and Jews), arguing that their beliefs neglected the contrary source."Zoroastrian Philosophy in the Islamic World (2023)