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Major religious groups

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Image:Major religions 2005 pie small.png
Major religious groups as a percentage of the world population in 2005. Total exceeds 100% due to rounding. See a larger version.

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Major religions have been distinguished from minor religions using a variety of methods, though any such division naturally reflects a particular bias, since adherents of many religions are likely to consider their own faith "major". Two methods are mentioned in this article: number of adherents and the definitions used by classical scholars of religions.

Another inherent difficulty in making a list of major religions is the problem of what to consider as a distinct religion versus what to consider as minor variants within the same basic religion. For example, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism are commonly considered variants of Christianity, although they have been at odds historically and doctrinally. The exercise of some degree of judgment is therefore necessary to be able to make any list of major religions. This article relies on a few key references for making such judgments. For a more comprehensive list of religions and an outline of some of their basic relationships, please see the article list of religions.

Contents

[edit] Defined by population

One way to define a major religion is by the number of current adherents. Population numbers by religion are computed by combination of census reports and population surveys (in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example USA or France), but results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used, and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count.

[edit] Largest religions or belief systems by number of adherents

This listing includes both organized religions, which have unified belief codes and religious hierarchies, and informal religions, such as Chinese folk religions. For completeness, it also contains a category for the non-religious, although their views would not ordinarily be considered a religion.

  1. Christianity: 2.1 billion (Began: ca. 27 AD/CE), with major branches as follows:
  2. Islam: 1.3 billion (Began: ca. 622 AD/CE), with major branches as follows: ***
  3. Secular/irreligious/agnostic/atheist/antitheistic/antireligious: 1.1 billion
    • Category includes a wide range of beliefs, without specifically adhering to a religion. The category also includes humanism, deism, pantheism, freethought, and Juche. For more information, see the Adherents.com discussion of this category and the note below. **
  4. Hinduism: 900 million (Began: approximately 1500 BC/BCE or 15th century BC/BCE however some aspects of it trace its history to 2600 BC/BCE or 26th century BC/BCE)
  5. Chinese folk religion: 394 million
    • Not a single organized religion, includes elements of Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and traditional nonscriptural religious observance (also called "Chinese traditional religion").
  6. Buddhism: 376 million (Began: 6th century BC/BCE)
  7. Primal indigenous: 300 million
    • Not a single organized religion, includes a wide range of traditional or tribal religions, including animism, shamanism and paganism. Since African traditional and diasporic religions are counted separately in this list, most of the remaining people counted in this group are in Asia.
  8. African traditional and diasporic: 100 million
    • Not a single organized religion, this includes several traditional African beliefs and philosophies such as those of the Yoruba, Ewe (vodun) and the Bakongo. These three religious traditions (especially that of the Yoruba) have been very influential to the diasporic beliefs of the Americas such as condomble, santeria and voodoo. The religious capital of the Yoruba religion is at Ile Ife.
  9. Sikhism: 23 million (Began: 1500s AD/CE)
  10. Spiritism: 15 million (Began: mid-19th century AD/CE)
    • Not a single organized religion, includes a variety of beliefs including some forms of Umbanda.
  11. Judaism: 14 million (Began: 13th century BC/BCE)
  12. Bahá'í Faith: 7 million (Began: 19th century AD/CE)
  13. Jainism: 4.2 million (Began: 6th century BC/BCE)
  14. Shinto: 4 million (Began: 300 BC/BCE)
    • This number states the number of actual self-identifying practicing primary followers of Shinto; if everyone were included who is considered Shinto by some people due to ethnic or historical categorizations, the number would be considerably higher — as high as 100 million.
  15. Cao Dai: 4 million (Began: 1926 AD/CE)
  16. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million (Began: Sometime between 16th and 6th century BC/BCE)
    • Parsis: 110,000
    • Gabars: 20,000
  17. Falun Gong: before the persecution: 70-100 million; current official estimate of PRC: 2.1 million* (Began: 1992 AD/CE)
    • Not necessarily considered a religion by adherents or outside observers. No membership or rosters, thus the actual figure of practitioners is impossible to confirm.
  18. Tenrikyo: 2 million (Began: 1838 AD/CE)
  19. Neopaganism: 1 million (Began: 20th century AD/CE)
  20. Unitarian Universalism: 800,000 (Began: 1961 AD/CE)
  21. Rastafari: 600,000 (Began: early 1930s AD/CE)
  22. Scientology: 500,000 (Began: 1952 AD/CE)

Source of statistics for all religions but Falun Gong: Adherents.com, updated 2005. These statistics are reportedly based on analysis of a range of sources on religious populations, for more on the methodology, please see Adherents.com's explanation.

* The number "over 70 million" was reported by the New York Times in 1999. [1] Allegedly the official sources of the People's Republic of China have tried to downplay Falun Gong's presence in the Chinese society after the crackdown in July 1999.

** Unlike the source site adherents.com, this list classifies Juche under the secular/non-religious category, since it does not fit most definitions of religion and is considered secular by its followers.

***Ahmadiyya consider themselves Muslim, but are not considered Muslim by the mainstream. Adherents.com includes Druze as Muslim, but they are usually considered a distinct religious community based mostly in the Middle East who are an offshoot of Islam.

[edit] Organized religions by population ranking

The Christian Science Monitor used a separate standard, examining only organized religions. The newspaper listed the following in 1998 as the "Top 10 Organized Religions in the World" based on descending numbers of adherents:

# Name of Religion Number of Adherents (*1) Date of Origin (*2) Remarks (*2, *4)
1 Christianity 2100 million 27 AD/CE Has the most followers and most widespread presence of all well-recognized religions; fastest growing religion (adherents) (*5)
2 Islam 1300 million 622 AD/CE A widespread religion with many countries majority Muslim
3 Hinduism 900 million 1500 BC/BCE some aspects 2600 BC/BCE Oldest of all well-recognized religions, forming the majority in India
4 Buddhism 376 million 6th century BC/BCE Largely in Southeast Asia; originated in the Indian subcontinent (near the current border between India and Nepal)
5 Sikhism 23 million 1469-1708 AD/CE Youngest of the top 5 with most located in Punjab region of parts of India and Pakistan
6 Judaism 14 million 13th century BC/BCE A widespread religion with Israel majority Judaic
7 Bahá'í Faith 7 million 19th century AD/CE Youngest of the group of 10, second most widely dispersed religion after Christianity; fastest growing (percentage) of top 10 (*5)
8 Confucianism (*3) not estimated by source 550-479 BC/BCE Mostly in China
9 Jainism 4.2 million 6th century BC/BCE Mostly in India
10 Shinto 4 million 300 BC/BCE Mostly in, and formerly the state religion of Japan

*1 Number of Adherents is from Adherents.com[2], updated 2005.

*2 Only the left-most two columns of the above table come from the Christian Science Monitor article. The others have been added as supplemental information for this article.

*3 Although no estimate for the number of adherents of Confucianism was provided by the adherents.com source, this religion is a subset of the above-listed category of Chinese folk religion, which has an estimated 394 million adherents.

*4 Geographic information comes from an Encyclopædia Britannica table regarding Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-2002.

*5 According to Trends in Adherence on the Religion page and World Christian Encyclopedia, David A. Barrett, 2001, p. 4.

[edit] Major groups of religions

The major religions of the world can be considered to fall into logical groupings, as can be found in various articles here and elsewhere.

Abrahamic religions are by far the biggest group, and these consist primarily of the Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Bahá'í Faith religions. All the religions in this group are related by their belief in Abraham and their strict belief in a monotheistic divine entity. Today, around 3.4 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions and are spread widely around the world apart from the regions around South-East Asia and China.

Dharmic religions are a family of religions having a theology and philosophy centered on the concept of Dharma. All Dharmic religions have their roots in India, and they are of the most influence across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and South East Asia. The main Dharmic religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and there is a close interrelationship among them.

[edit] Table of major groups of religions

Name of Group Name of Religion Number of followers Date of Origin Main regions covered
Abrahamic religions
3.4 billion 		Christianity 2100 million 27 AD/CE Worldwide except Middle-East, Northern Africa, China and South-East Asia
Islam 1300 million 622 AD/CE Middle-East, Northern Africa. Central Asia, South Asia, Western Africa, Eastern Africa, Russia, China and South-East Asia
Judaism 14 million 13th century BC/BCE Israel, USA, Europe
Bahá'í Faith 7 million 19th century AD/CE Asia, mainly India, Africa and Latin America
Dharmic religions
1.4 billion 		Hinduism 900 million 1500 BC/BCE
(some aspects 2600 BC/BCE) 		Indian subcontinent, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius and Sri Lanka
Buddhism 376 million 6th century BC/BCE Indian subcontinent, China, Tibet, Japan & South-east Asia
Sikhism 23 million 1469-1708 AD/CE India - Punjab
Jainism 4.2 million 6th century BC/BCE India, UK, Canada and East Africa
Other religions
0.9 billion 		Chinese folk religion 394 million 550-479 BC/BCE China
Primal indigenous 300 million from 1 BC/BCE India, Africa
African traditional and diasporic 100 million from 580s BC/BCE Africa
Shinto 4 million 300 BC/BCE Japan
Zoroastrianism 200 thousand 16th-6th century BC/BCE Iran, India

[edit] Historic "classic" view

Major religions have also been identified based on their perceived importance, whether theological or temporal. This sorting has been generally been the preserve of Western, Christian scholars, so lists of classic major religions portray this bias. Early Christian scholars, the earliest known classifiers of major religions, recognized only three religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Paganism (which they considered to encompass every other religion). Views evolved during the Enlightenment, however, and, by the nineteenth century, Western scholars considered the five major religions to be Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. As the exposure of Westerners to other religions increased, six other religions were added to the original five: Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Shinto, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. Later, the Bahá'í Faith was added to this list, resulting in twelve classic religions : [3]

Modern Western definitions of major religion come from the classical definition, often expanding on "Christianity," and omitting Jainism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. An example is this list found in the New York Public Library Student Reference:

[edit] Further reading

  • Tomoko Masuzawa, The invention of world religions, or, How European universalism was preserved in the language of pluralism, Chicago University Press 2005

[edit] See also

[edit] References

de:Weltreligion eo:Religio#Listo de religioj laŭ grandeco ko:세계의 주요 종교 it:Religioni maggiori nl:Wereldreligie ja:世界宗教 no:Verdensreligion nn:Verdsreligion ru:Мировая религия simple:Major world religions sl:Glavne svetovne religije sv:Världsreligion tr:Dinler

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