Encountering all the religious mythology & historical quotations in Stargate SG1 (as I catch up on missed episodes on Hulu & Netflix DVDs) made me look up some of the lesser known old religions. Zoroastrians (NYT article, wikipedia) are interesting: the religion has the familiar concept of good vs. evil & the world being the space where the long battle between the two takes place, and the religion encourages individual choice, and is not interested in monasticism. Here is a video about a documentary about Zoroastrians:
Crisis in Faith: Zoroastrians Today
Crisis in Faith: Zoroastrians Today