were all religions founded by ruling families?

Hinduism, based on the Bhagavad-Gita of 3102 BC - the spoken word of the god Krishna - is the oldest surviving religion and separating fact from fiction regarding whether Krishna was a real man or not is impossible. However, based on the rigid caste system defined in the Bhagavad-Gita - and still practiced today by hundreds of millions of Indians - it is easy to surmise that its author was not only a rich man from a ruling family but he was also a white man.

Buddhism was founded by the Indian prince Siddhartha, born in Nepal in 563 BC, whose mother, the queen, had a dream that was interpreted by 64 Brahmins (the aristocrats of the Hindu caste system) that her son would either conquer the world or become the Buddha (the enlightened one). With 40,000 dancing girls to entertain him, Siddhartha became bored - wanting not to see women nor talk with them - and became a saffron-robed preacher, teaching harmony and a virtuous life.

Islam was founded by Mohammed - born 570 AD - a orphaned caravan merchant from a rich and distinguished ruling family in Medina who was raised by his uncle. At 25, Mohammed married a rich widow, Khadija, fifteen years his senior, and when she died 26 years later, he became very wealthy and took 10 wives, even though Islam - the religion he founded - prescribed a maximum of four wives.

Judaism was founded by Judah, born c.1740 BC. He was a rich merchant from a leading family who descended from Isaac (Abraham's second son) through Jacob (who had changed his name to Israel and had founded the nation of Israel). With his two wives and two concubines Jacob fathered 12 sons who, in turn, fathered the 12 tribes of Israel - of which Judah was the most prominent.

In that Confucius (b. 551 BC) - the founder of Confucianism - was a school teacher; Lao-Tzu (b. 600) - the founder of Taoism - was a librarian; and Jesus - the founder of Christianity - was a carpenter, not all religions were founded by rich men from ruling families.

However, that Confucius, Lao-Tzu and Jesus had the luxury of time to think and preach - as well as earn a living - means that these men were not exactly burdened by the type of abject poverty that precludes such activities and while not princes they were from well-connected families..