‘Religion’ as we now understand it, i.e. as a ‘belief system’, is a relatively modern idea -- defined as a "particular system of faith in the worship of a divine being or beings" (middle english, c. 1300), or the "recognition of and allegiance to a higher, unseen power or powers" (from the 1530s); in Old French it meant to live a monastic way of life; in old Latin (c.500) it meant "devotion to the divine" or "respect to what is sacred".
So the many different cultures of the world don't represent different religions, but styles of religious devotion, or ways of life that were nonetheless understood universally, in all cultures.
Each culture had it's specific customs, its teachers or guides, its holy men or prophets who could enter the subliminal state and receive the Word of God as a Divine In-dwelling or Revelation; each had its sacred scriptures handed down which preserved not only the creation myths, the histories of past epochs and the cataclysms that washed them away, but also the teachings of righteousness or how to live a holy or devoted life.
Some of them also contain language codes, the ‘Holy Names’ or ‘Divine expressions’, the ‘Keys to Ascension’ so that mankind individually and collectively can be raised up spiritually and escape this fallen state where we are held captive within a matrix of lies and deceptions.
Even within some New Age circles there is the understanding that not all people living in the world today will attain to 5D reality, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem. As the frequency shifts, (and it will shift soon, is shifting now -- in fact it is a shifting of the grids that re-aligns the earth and resets us within a higher frequency band ) many will be thrown into confusion and chaos of not knowing their true identity. They will be caught up into a 4D matrix of multiple personalities living multiple lives simultaneously. They won't know how to find their way to the light, and will live out the ‘1000 years of Christ's Reign’ upon the earth in utter confusion. This is what we need to be concerned about, the ‘urgency of awakening’. This is what the masters came to prepare us for -- This ‘Great Awakening’. It is upon us, and very few are prepared!