Criticism of religion developed from the 17th century onwards. For example, in Asia, no one before the 19th century self-identified as a "Hindu" or other similar identities. With the existence of diverse modern categories of religion such as monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, nontheism and diverse specific religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism and many others, it is not always clear to whom the criticisms are aimed at or to what extent they are applicable to other religions. Some criticisms of monotheistic religions have been: Dennett and Harris have asserted that theist religions and their scriptures are not divinely inspired, but man made
The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam each of these faiths were given the opportunity to convince others of the truth of their religion in the context of a few published themes and so that the listeners may assess each speech and accept the truth from wherever it was to be found. Each speaker was required to address the five themes set by the moderators and to confine his discourse to the holy scriptures of their religions. Among those who attended the conference were representatives of Hinduism, Freethought, the Theosophical Society, Christianity, Islam and Sikhism as well as various scholars, barristers, lawyers, professor, doctors and extra assistants,