A Theosophical History of Religions

One of the objectives of the Theosophical Society is the study of comparative religion. The founding ideologue of the movement, Helena Blavatsky constructed an alternative history of religions that nevertheless departed radically from mainstream scholarship. Every religion, in Blavatsky’s view, presents an exoteric version of its teachings to ordinary believers, and another, esoteric, aspect to a spiritually advanced elite. The esoteric aspect is presented as a wisdom tradition common to all major religions. In her writings, Blavatsky presented this purported esoteric essence, explained how it had been transmitted over time, and how it had been veiled in exoteric symbolism.