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[[File:Gurvger.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|A Mongolic [[yurt|Ger]]]]
== Religion ==
{{Main|Buddhism in Mongolia|Mongolian Shamanism}}
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Buryatia August 2009-2.jpg|thumb|250px|Buddhist temple in [[Buryatia]], Russia]]
The original religion of the Mongolic peoples was [[Shamanism]]. The Xianbei came in contact with [[Confucianism]] and [[Daoism]] but eventually adopted [[Buddhism]]. However, the Xianbeis in Mongolia and Rourans followed a form of Shamanism. In the 5th century the Buddhist monk Dharmapriya was proclaimed State Teacher of the Rouran Khaganate and given 3000 families and some Rouran nobles became Buddhists. In 511 the Rouran [[Douluofubadoufa Khan]] sent Hong Xuan to the Tuoba court with a pearl-encrusted statue of the Buddha as a gift. The Tuoba Xianbei and Khitans were mostly Buddhists, although they still retained their original Shamanism. The Tuoba had a "sacrificial castle" to the west of their capital where ceremonies to spirits took place. Wooden statues of the spirits were erected on top of this sacrificial castle. One ritual involved seven princes with milk offerings who ascended the stairs with 20 female shamans and offered prayers, sprinkling the statues with the sacred milk. The Khitan had their holiest shrine on Mount Muye where portraits of their earliest ancestor Qishou Khagan, his wife Kedun and eight sons were kept in two temples. Mongolic peoples were also exposed to [[Zoroastrianism]], [[Manicheism]], [[Nestorianism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Islam]] from the west. The Mongolic peoples, in particular the Borjigin, had their holiest shrine on [[Burkhan Khaldun|Mount Burkhan Khaldun]] where their ancestor Börte Chono (Blue Wolf) and Goo Maral (Beautiful Doe) had given birth to them. [[Genghis Khan]] usually fasted, prayed and meditated on this mountain before his campaigns. As a young man he had thanked the mountain for saving his life and prayed at the foot of the mountain sprinkling offerings and bowing nine times to the east with his belt around his neck and his hat held at his chest. Genghis Khan kept a close watch on the Mongolic supreme shaman Kokochu Teb who sometimes conflicted with his authority. Later the imperial cult of Genghis Khan (centered on the [[Mausoleum of Genghis Khan|eight white gers]] and nine white banners in [[Ordos Loop|Ordos]]) grew into a highly organized indigenous religion with scriptures in the [[Mongolian script]]. Indigenous moral precepts of the Mongolic peoples were enshrined in oral wisdom sayings (now collected in several volumes), the anda (blood-brother) system and ancient texts such as the ''Chinggis-un Bilig'' (Wisdom of Genghis) and ''Oyun Tulkhuur'' (Key of Intelligence). These moral precepts were expressed in poetic form and mainly involved truthfulness, fidelity, help in hardship, unity, self-control, fortitude, veneration of nature, veneration of the state and veneration of parents.
[[File:Tamerlan.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|[[Timur]] of Mongolic origin himself had converted almost all the [[Borjigin]] leaders to [[Islam]].]]
In 1254 [[Möngke Khan]] organized a formal religious debate (in which [[William of Rubruck]] took part) between Christians, Muslims and Buddhists in [[Karakorum]], a cosmopolitan city of many religions. The Mongolic Empire was known for its religious tolerance, but had a special leaning towards Buddhism and was sympathetic towards Christianity while still worshipping [[Tengri]]. The Mongolic leader [[Abaqa Khan]] sent a delegation of 13–16 to the [[Second Council of Lyon]] (1274), which created a great stir, particularly when their leader 'Zaganus' underwent a public baptism. A joint crusade was announced in line with the [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] but did not materialize because Pope Gregory X died in 1276. [[Yahballaha III]] (1245–1317) and [[Rabban Bar Sauma]] (c. 1220–1294) were famous Mongolic Nestorian Christians. The [[Keraites]] in central Mongolia were Christian. In Istanbul the [[Church of Saint Mary of the Mongols]] stands as a reminder of the [[Byzantine-Mongol alliance]]. The western Khanates, however, eventually adopted Islam (under [[Berke]] and [[Ghazan]]) and the Turkic languages (because of its commercial importance), although allegiance to the Great Khan and limited use of the Mongolic languages can be seen even in the 1330s. In 1521 the first Mughal emperor Babur took part in a military banner milk-sprinkling ceremony in the Chagatai Khanate where the Mongolian language was still used. [[Al-Adil Kitbugha]] (reigned 1294-1296), a Mongol Sultan of Egypt, and the half-Mongol [[An-Nasir Muhammad]] (reigned till 1341) built the [[Madrassa of Al-Nasir Muhammad]] in Cairo, Egypt. An-Nasir's Mongol mother was Ashlun bint Shaktay. The Mongolic nobility during the [[Yuan dynasty]] studied Confucianism, built Confucian temples (including [[Beijing Confucius Temple]]) and translated Confucian works into Mongolic but mainly followed the [[Sakya]] school of Tibetan Buddhism under [[Drogön Chögyal Phagpa|Phags-pa Lama]]. The general populace still practised [[Shamanism]]. [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] and [[Bonan people|Bonan Mongols]] adopted Islam, as did [[Moghol language|Moghol]]-speaking peoples in Afghanistan. In the 1576 the [[Gelug]] school of Tibetan Buddhism became the state religion of the Mongolia. The Red Hat school of Tibetan Buddhism coexisted with the Gelug Yellow Hat school which was founded by the half-Mongol [[Je Tsongkhapa]] (1357-1419). Shamanism was absorbed into the [[Buddhism in Mongolia|state religion]] while being marginalized in its purer forms, later only surviving in far northern Mongolia. Monks were some of the leading intellectuals in Mongolia, responsible for much of the literature and art of the pre-modern period. Many Buddhist philosophical works lost in Tibet and elsewhere are preserved in older and purer form in Mongolian ancient texts (e.g. the Mongol [[Kangyur|Kanjur]]). [[Zanabazar]] (1635–1723), [[Zaya Pandita]] (1599–1662) and [[Danzanravjaa]] (1803–1856) are among the most famous Mongol holy men. The 4th Dalai Lama [[Yonten Gyatso]] (1589–1617), a Mongol himself, is recognized as the only non-Tibetan [[Dalai Lama]] although the current 14th Dalai Lama is of Mongolic [[Monguor people|Monguor]] extraction.<ref name="hill">Hill, Nathan. 'Review of Sam van Schaik. Tibet: A History. London and New York: Yale University Press, 2011.' http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/13173/1/Hill_rv_2012_van_Schaik_review.pdf "Finally, the remark that '[[Yonten Gyatso]] ... remains the only non-Tibetan to have held the role of Dalai Lama' (p. 177) presents a [[Monpa people|Monpa]] ([[sixth Dalai lama]]), and a Monguor (fourteenth Dalai Lama) as Tibetan although neither spoke Tibetan natively."</ref> The name is a combination of the Mongolian word dalai meaning "ocean" and the Tibetan word (bla-ma) meaning "guru, teacher, mentor".[1] Many Buryats became Orthodox Christians due to the Russian expansion. During the socialist period religion was officially banned, although it was practiced in clandestine circles. Today, a sizable proportion of Mongolic peoples are [[atheism|atheist]] or [[agnosticism|agnostic]]. In the most recent census in Mongolia, almost forty percent of the population reported as being atheist, while the majority religion was Tibetan Buddhism, with 53%.<ref>[http://www.toollogo2010.mn/doc/Main%20results_20110615_to%20EZBH_for%20print.pdf National Census 2010 Preliminary results] '''(Mongolian)'''</ref> Having survived suppression by the Communists, Buddhism among the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Mongols is today primarily of the [[Gelugpa]] (Yellow Hat sect) school of [[Tibetan Buddhism]]. There is a strong shamanistic influence in the Gelugpa sect among the Mongols.{{clear left}}
[[File:Babur and Humayun.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Babur]] and his heir [[Humayun]], The word ''Mughal'', is derived from the Persian word for Mongol.]]
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