Talk:Religions (Easternized World)

Turks once more
I was redesigning the religion map and the religions of the world, and once again, the religion of the Turkic peoples is causing me great troubles. They obviously would have a great Chinese Mahayana Buddhist imprint due to being ruled over by the Chinese for so long. However, other than the Jewish Khazars, I don't know what non-Chinese religion they would possess, if any. Islam is out of the question for the Central Asians, as the Chinese Zheng Dynasty, when it ruled over them, wiped Islam out in its borders, right as it was taking hold in Central Asia. Manichaeism, which I have here, I have re-evaluated and came to the conclusion that the Uyghur Khanate would have already collapsed by the time the Chinese made their conquest, and with the Tang Western Provinces in the way, they wouldn't have been able to influence much of Central Asia. The Manichaeists may survive, but they are unlikely to be the major religion. Would there be a significant Tengriist remnant? Would the Khazars be able to influence their neighbors into adopting Judaism? Or would Mahayana's victory over the Turkic Peoples of Central Asia be absolute?

On the subject of Turkic religions, the religion of Vulga Bulgaria is in question. By the time of the great Zheng conquest, the Bulgars were primarily Muslim, with Tengriist survival. The Zheng never conquered the Bulgars themselves, so I suppose that it could be argued they would remain Muslim. However, I am fairly skeptical that Islam could survive there. For ages, the Bulgars were frontier of a powerful and expanding Muslim world. In a matter of decades, that world is all but annihilated. As far as the Bulgars of the late eleventh century know, they are the only Muslim nation left. Would they retain their faith despite its core areas being wiped out, despite being totally and utterly cut off from the new center of the Muslim world in northern Africa by the largest, most powerful, and most anti-Islam nation on the face of the earth? Would the Bulgar Khan not, in fear of the seemingly unstoppable Chinese, abandon his religion? If so, which would he adopt? Christianity, the religion of the Russians to the west? Judaism, the religion of their fellow Turkic Khazars? Buddhism, the religion of the all-but-all-powerful Chinese? Or Tengriism, the traditional religion not yet wiped out by Islam?

LurkerLordB (Talk) 03:31, September 2, 2012 (UTC)