Religions: how the big ones won

Modern religions (Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam) share the characteristic of having written records. This earns them the name 'historical'.  Because of their scriptures, each of these had an advantage over the strictly oral traditions.

For example, at the cusp of the first millenium of the Christian era, the death-and-rebirth religions of northern Africa and the coastal Middle East amount to competing cults: none can claim a monopoly over the others, considering the emphases on differing gods, slight variations in rituals, festivals that don't mesh, and distinct modes of sacrifice.

Consequently, the number of worshippers are split among cults -- no set of gods wins outright. Put into this mixed-up situation, the devout man has to place bets on a number of religions.  Few have committed their essence to paper.

Mergers, definitive decisions by higher-ups, common behavior of the believers, even banishment of household 'minigods' would have helped -- an evident simplicity and well-articulated story made for great advantage to the death-and-rebirth story of Jesus.  The Jesus faith wins the numbers game over competing cults in a walk -- in less than two centuries the Mediterranean is dotted with churches from Italy to Turkey and from Syria down to Egypt.

Most telling is that the converts latched on the written accounts of the birth-and-resurrection story told by men still alive (in the Gospels and Acts) and by their immediate survivors (Letters, etc.).  Written records solidify the story, sacrifice, meaning, primitive ritual -- all factors in the victory of the Church.

The 'historical' religions - there are more than five - have other notable elements in common: a) sacred places the members felt compelled to travel to and b) group dwellings for those committed to the Path for life: pilgrimages and monasteries anchor these religious traditions in a compelling way.