Major world religions
Major world religions have been distinguished from minor religions using a variety of methods, though any such division naturally reflects a particular bias, since many adherents of a religion 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.
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.
All religions or belief systems by number of adherents
This listing does not draw distinctions between organized religion, which has a single belief code and religious hierarchies, and informal religions, such as Chinese traditional religions, which are a mix of different folk religious ideas.
Christianity 2.1 billion
Roman Catholicism: 1.1 billion
Protestantism: 350 million
Eastern Orthodoxy: 240 million
Anglican: 84 million
Oriental Orthodoxy, Assyrians, and other Christians: 350 million
Islam 1.3 billion
Sunnism: 940 million
Shi’ism: 170 million
Sufi, Ibadiyyah, Ahmadiyyah, Druze and other Muslims : 2 million
Secular/Irreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.1 billion
Hinduism 900 million
Chinese traditional religion 394 million
Not a single organized religion, includes elements of Taoism, Chinese folk religion, and traditional nonscriptural religious observance.
Buddhism 376 million (see also Buddhism by country)
Mahayana: 185 million
Theravada: 124 million
Primal indigenous 300 million
Not a single organized religion, includes a wide range of primarily Asian traditional or tribal religions, including Shamanism and Paganism.
African traditional and diasporic 100 million
Not a single organized religion, this includes traditional African beliefs such as Yoruba as well as diasporic beliefs such as Santeria (which itself draws from Catholicism) and Vodoun.
Sikhism 23 million
Juche 19 million
Not considered a religion by adherents, who view it as secular and anti-revisionist. Juche is the political ideology of the Workers Party of Korea, the ruling party of the DPRK; some have argued it constitutes a religion due to its Great Leader Worship characteristics. The number is approximately the entire population of the country.
Spiritism 15 million
Not a single organized religion, includes a variety of beliefs including some forms of Umbanda.
Judaism 14 million
Bahá’í Faith 7 million
Jainism 4.2 million
Shinto 4 million
Cao Dai 4 million
Zoroastrianism 2.6 million
Tenrikyo 2 million
Neopaganism 1 million
Unitarian Universalism 800,000
Rastafari movement 600,000
Scientology 500,000
Source of statistics: adherents.com, updated 2005. These statistics are based on analysis of a range of sources on religious populations, for more on the methodology, please see Adherent.com’s explanation.
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 level of population:
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Sikhism
Judaism
Bahá’í Faith
Confucianism
Jainism
Shintoism
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 betray 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 19th 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, five other religions were added to the original five: Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Shinto and Zoroastrianism. Later, the Bahá’í Faith was added to this list, resulting in eleven classic religions:
Bahá’í Faith
Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism
Hinduism
Islam
Jainism
Judaism
Shinto
Taoism
Zoroastrianism
Modern Western definitions of major religion come from the classical definition, often expanding on “Christianity,” and omitting Jainism and Zoroastrianism. An example is this list found in the New York Public Library Student Reference:
Bahá’í Faith
Buddhism
Catholicism
Confucianism
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Orthodox Eastern Church
Protestantism
Shinto
Taoism
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Major world religions”.