Historical Vedic religion given to Absolute reality (Brahman) speculations in the early Upanishads, as these terms are etymologically linked. The word Brahmanism was coined by Gonçalo Fernandes Trancoso (1520-1596) in the 16th century. The Vedic religion was probably the religion of the Vedic Indo-Aryans, and existed in northern India from c. 1750–500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were a branch of the Indo-European language family, which originated in the Sintashta culture and further developed into the Andronovo culture, which in turn developed out of the Kurgan culture of the Central Asian steppes. The commonly proposed period of earlier Vedic age is dated back to 2nd
Is Religion Dangerous? surveys suggesting a strong link between faith and altruism. He cites extensive studies to show that there is little or no evidence that religion ever causes mental disorders, and that overall religion is a positive contributor to mental health. He specifically addresses and rebuts the claim that religious belief is a delusion. He quotes the definition in the "Oxford Companion to Mind" as "a fixed, idiosyncratic belief, unusual in the culture to which the person belongs" suggesting that "most great philosophers have believed in God", and that the many religious people who exhibit a high degree of rational ability "...