Two major religions originated...

Two major religions originated in ancient Galilee. Both rabbinic Juadaism and Christianity stem from and lay claim to ancient Israelite traditions that were cultivated in Galilee as well as in Judaea and Samaria. According to the Christian Gospels, Jesus, who was recognized by his followers as the Messiah and whose "hometown" was Nazareth, carried out his ministry primarily in Galilee, with headquarters in Capernaum, at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. According to the rabbinic traditions, following the destructive Roman suppression of two widespread revolts in Judaea, the rabbis and other Judaeans relocated in Galilee where they established academies and compiled first the Mishnah and later the Jerusalem Talmud.

When Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire, Galilee became part of the "Holy Land" along with Judaea and Jerusalem, with successive generations of pilgrims flocking to sacred sites such as Nazareth and Capernaum. Similarly, Jews have traditionally considered Galilee part of Eretz Israel, with many a town or village being the revered site of some great rabbi's tomb. The rise of Islam, of course, produced yet another prophetic religion whose faithful considered this territory holy. Horsley, Galilee 1.

We are so accustomed to thinking of Jerusalem and its Temple as ever and always central to the whole life of Israel, This is largely true when considering the political and administrative realities of the time, but when we address the question of origins, the focus more properly shifts to Galilee.
The map below is an attempt to visualize the difference between these two persepctives: Jerusalem as centralizing and Galilee as originating.