The birth of religion, God and soul

In ancient times - times preceding onset of Buddhism - people of Bharatvarsh recognised that existence has fivefold constituents - space, heat (energy), matter, air and water mixed in different proportions. They also realised that life abounded and everything was controlled by universal  celestial laws eg. of birth, prime youth, old age and death. Merger into the undifferentiated and taking of many forms from the undifferentiated was a common occurrence and observation. Coming into presence / existence; creativity - creation and dissolution (read destruction) was a common feature accompanying change. Everyone of us was only meandering through or purposefully clearing his / her phenomenon in the cycle of existence. Any person capable of adopting a fourth perceptual dimension can visualise this drama of existence and dissolution not only as bodies, also as ongoing process within bodies.

These phenomena were ongoing events. There were causal factors but no causing entities. There were people who had divining powers.  There were people whose predictions came true. There were black magicians as well - the good and the evil. The former treated people and the latter brought misfortune on others at the behest of their customers.

9k-7k BCE is the era of which evidence of worship has been found. It was worship of the spirits of the dead, not of gods. 

2.2k BCE is the era of which formal worship of a variety of goddesses have been found in Sumeria - Crete. Formal religion was not in existence. 

1.7k - 1.1k BCE is the era of Vedas and worship of gods of Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer. As yet no formal religion can be identified. 

1500 is Vedic Age after collapse of Indus Valley Civilization but no Religion. 

Birth of formal religion

1450 BCE Hebrew Leader established Moses established Judaism as a monotheistic religion. 

1350-1100 BCE evidence of monotheistic religion in Egypt. 

1250-600 BCE first evidence of origins of Hinduism, also of Buddhism and Jainism. 

600-500 BCE five books of Torah written marking birth of Jewism. 

600 BCE start of Zorastrianism. 

600-500 BCE Confusianism establishing ideas of harmony and heaven. 

599-527 BCE Jainism formally established by tenets laid down by Mahavira. 

500 BCE Confucianism established. 

~450 BCE Buddhism established. 

250 BCE first Buddhist missionaries sent to far lands. 

140 BCE Sanskrit Grammar established by Panini. 

400 BCE - 33 CE Era of Christianity established.

70CE Birth of Rabbinic Judaism. 

570-632 Islam established. 

712 Shinto Texts in Japan. 

780-822 ADI Shankara consolidated Advaita Vedanta and spread Hinduism across India. 

1052-1135 Spread of Tibetan Buddhism. 

1469-1539 Sikhism established. 

1486-1534 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revives Krishnite Hinduism. 

1872-1891 Bahaism established. 

Worship started as worship of spirits of the dead - with accompanying belief in after life. Then worship of a God around 1450 BCE. 

Humans moved from appreciating reality to belief in supernatural personal Gods who could be prayed and worshipped for a variety of reasons. Living a conditioned life expecting place in heaven and believing in a God dispensing judgement where one would go. Alongside birth of the concept of soul as being an independent existence in humans. And it being reborn or spending time in heaven.

So today believers live far away from achieving merger with consciousness of reality.

*Historical epochs are sourced from Wikipedia.