A comparative encyclopedia
World Religions Compared – History, Influence and Violence
How each religion began and spread, what it gave the world, how it is criticised, what it teaches about human life and peace, and its link to power, war and conquest. 15 religions, all in the same framework, factual and non-judgemental.
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From oldest to newest
- African Traditional Religions Prehistory Prehistory – very ancient traditions with no known date
- Hinduism 1500 BCE Roots in the Indus Valley civilisation; Vedic culture from about 1500 BCE
- Chinese Folk Religion 1250 BCE Prehistoric roots; ancestor worship documented under the Shang dynasty (about 1250 BCE)
- Zoroastrianism 1000 BCE Various estimates between 1500 and 600 BCE
- Judaism 1000 BCE Israelites documented from about 1200 BCE; the kingdoms from about 1000 BCE. Tradition: Abraham, about 1800 BCE
- Jainism 500 BCE Parshva (9th–8th centuries BCE, uncertain); Mahavira (6th–5th centuries BCE)
African Traditional Religions
Hinduism
Zoroastrianism
JudaismHow many followers does each religion have?
Out of about 8 billion people. Figures for the large religions are from the Pew Research Center (2020); for smaller ones, estimates – see each religion's page.
- Christianity 2.3 billion
- Islam 2 billion
- Hinduism 1.2 billion
- Religiously unaffiliated 1.9 billion
- Chinese Folk Religion 400 million
- Buddhism 324 million
- African Traditional Religions 100 million
- Shinto 80 million
- Sikhism 25 million
- Taoism (Daoism) 18 million
- Judaism 14.8 million
- Confucianism 6 million
- Bahá'í Faith 6 million
- Jainism 5 million
- Druze Faith 1 million
- Zoroastrianism 120 thousand
The religions
Christianity
The world's largest religion. It began as a movement within Judaism centred on Jesus, became the official religion of the Roman Empire, and went on to shape Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Islam
The world's second-largest and fastest-growing religion. Founded in Arabia in the 7th century, it spread rapidly from Spain to India and produced a rich civilisation in science, law and the arts.
Hinduism
One of the world's oldest religious traditions and the third largest. It has no founder, no single binding scripture and no central authority. It is a family of traditions that share ideas such as karma, dharma and reincarnation.
Buddhism
A spiritual path founded in India about 2,500 years ago by the Buddha. It focuses on understanding the cause of suffering and freeing oneself from it through ethics, meditation and wisdom.
Judaism
One of the world's oldest monotheistic religions and the root of Christianity and Islam. It is the religion of a people, combining faith, law, history and national identity, and has survived thousands of years in exile.
Sikhism
A relatively young monotheistic religion founded in Punjab by Guru Nanak. It stresses the equality of all people, honest work, service to others and constant remembrance of God.
Taoism (Daoism)
An ancient Chinese tradition that is both a philosophy and a religion. It is about living in harmony with the Tao, "the Way" underlying the universe, and encourages simplicity, naturalness and balance between yin and yang.
Confucianism
A moral and social system founded by Confucius. It emphasises personal morality, respect for parents and ancestors, education and social harmony, and for about two thousand years it shaped China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
Shinto
Japan's native religion, based on the worship of kami, sacred spirits found in nature, mountains, rivers and ancestors. Shinto is woven into Japanese culture, festivals and shrines, and is usually combined with Buddhism.
Jainism
An ancient Indian religion founded on absolute nonviolence (ahimsa) towards every living being. It is small in numbers, but its moral and economic influence in India is large.
Bahá'í Faith
A young religion founded in 19th-century Persia. At its centre are the oneness of God, the oneness of religion and the oneness of humanity. Its world centre is in Haifa and Akko, with the famous Bahá'í Gardens.
Zoroastrianism
One of the oldest religions still practised. It was the religion of the great Persian empires, and its ideas of good and evil, judgement after death and redemption probably influenced Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Druze Faith
A secretive monotheistic religion that grew out of Ismaili Shia Islam in the 11th century and developed into a separate faith. The Druze are a close-knit community with a tradition of loyalty to the state they live in.
Chinese Folk Religion
The beliefs and customs of hundreds of millions of Chinese people: ancestor veneration, local gods, feng shui and traditional festivals. It is one of the world's largest belief systems, even though it has no official name or institution.
African Traditional Religions
Hundreds of religious traditions of African peoples, passed down orally. They are based on a supreme God, spirits and ancestors, and are tied to the community, nature and the life cycle. They live on within African Christianity and Islam and in the African diaspora in the Americas.
⚖️ Religion, War and Peace
Do religions cause wars? What research says, the great religious wars, today's conflicts with a religious dimension, what each religion teaches about the sanctity of life – and religion as a force for peace.
Comparison table
Click a column heading to sort. The table scrolls sideways.
| Religion | Followers | Founded | Origin | Type of belief | Scriptures | Afterlife | Spreading the faith |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 2.3 billion | 1st century CE | Judea and Galilee under Roman rule | Monotheistic (one God in the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit) | The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament | Heaven and hell; resurrection of the dead; in Catholicism also purgatory | Strongly missionary |
| Islam | 2 billion | 7th century CE (610 according to tradition) | The Arabian Peninsula (Mecca and Medina) | Monotheistic (absolute oneness of God – tawhid) | The Quran; the Hadith (reports of the Prophet's words and deeds) | Day of Judgement, paradise (jannah) and hell (jahannam) | Missionary (da'wa) |
| Hinduism | 1.2 billion | No founding date; roots in Vedic culture (about 1500 BCE) and possibly earlier | The Indian subcontinent | Diverse: one supreme reality (Brahman) revealed through many gods; monotheistic, polytheistic and monist strands | The Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata and Ramayana | Reincarnation (samsara) according to karma; liberation from the cycle of births (moksha) | Generally not missionary (except movements such as Hare Krishna) |
| Buddhism | 324 million | 5th century BCE (approximately) | Northern India and Nepal | Largely non-theistic (no creator god; spiritual beings in some traditions) | The Pali Canon (Tipitaka), the Mahayana sutras, Tibetan texts | Rebirth according to karma; the goal is nirvana – the end of suffering and release from rebirth | Usually spread through teaching and example rather than aggressive recruitment |
| Judaism | 14.8 million | Traditionally Abraham and the giving of the Torah; historically, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the Second Temple period (1st millennium BCE) | The Land of Israel | Monotheistic | The Hebrew Bible (Torah, Prophets and Writings), the Mishnah and Talmud, and later legal and philosophical literature | The world to come and resurrection of the dead; the main emphasis is on keeping the commandments in this world | Not missionary; conversion is possible but not encouraged |
| Sikhism | 25 million | Late 15th century (about 1500) | Punjab (north-west India and today's Pakistan) | Monotheistic | Guru Granth Sahib (the scripture, regarded as the "living Guru") | Reincarnation according to deeds; liberation and union with God by His grace | Not missionary; open to anyone who wishes to join |
| Taoism (Daoism) | 18 million | Ideas from the 6th–4th centuries BCE; organised religion from the 2nd century CE | China | Diverse: a philosophical way (the Tao) alongside a pantheon of gods, immortals and spirits | Tao Te Ching, Zhuangzi, and the Taoist Canon (Daozang) | Pursuit of longevity and spiritual immortality; merging with the Tao | Not missionary |
| Confucianism | 6 million | 6th–5th centuries BCE | China (the state of Lu) | A moral-philosophical tradition; belief in "Heaven" (tian) and ancestor veneration, without a central personal god | The Analects, the Mencius, and the "Four Books and Five Classics" | No detailed doctrine; the emphasis is on this life and on remembering the ancestors | Not missionary |
| Shinto | 80 million | No founding date; prehistoric roots in Japan | Japan | Polytheistic-animist: worship of kami – sacred spirits and forces in nature, ancestors and places | No binding scripture; the chronicles Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720) record myths | Vague notions; death and mourning customs in Japan are mostly Buddhist | Not missionary |
| Jainism | 5 million | 6th–5th centuries BCE (Mahavira), and according to tradition earlier | North-east India (today's Bihar) | Non-theistic (no creator god); veneration of the Tirthankaras – teachers who attained liberation | The Agamas (canonical scriptures) and the Tattvartha Sutra | Reincarnation according to karma; liberation of the soul (moksha) from the cycle of births | Not missionary |
| Bahá'í Faith | 6 million | 1863 (Bahá'u'lláh's declaration), with roots in the Bábí movement (1844) | Persia (Iran) and the Ottoman Empire | Monotheistic | The writings of Bahá'u'lláh (such as the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Kitáb-i-Íqán), the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá | Eternal spiritual progress of the soul towards God; heaven and hell as spiritual states | Actively shares its faith ("teaching"), but forbids coercion and aggressive proselytising |
| Zoroastrianism | 120 thousand | Not known precisely; estimates range from 1500 to 600 BCE | Ancient Persia and Central Asia | Monotheistic with a dualist element: Ahura Mazda (the good God) versus Angra Mainyu (the spirit of evil) | The Avesta, centred on the Gathas – hymns attributed to Zarathustra | Judgement after death (the Chinvat Bridge), heaven and hell, and resurrection at the end of days | Not missionary; most communities do not accept converts |
| Druze Faith | 1 million | 1017 CE (start of the da'wa) | Fatimid Egypt, then Lebanon and Syria | Monotheistic | Rasa'il al-Hikma ("Epistles of Wisdom"), mostly kept secret from all but the initiated (the 'uqqal) | Immediate reincarnation into another human body; a Day of Judgement at the end of time | Closed: no one has been able to join since 1043, nor to leave |
| Chinese Folk Religion | 400 million | No founding date; very ancient roots in China | China | Polytheistic: local gods, spirits and ancestors, combined with Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian ideas | No binding scripture; popular morality books, almanacs and ritual manuals | A world of spirits and ancestors who need their descendants' care; combined with Buddhist ideas of retribution and rebirth | Not missionary |
| African Traditional Religions | 100 million | No founding date; very ancient traditions | Sub-Saharan Africa | Diverse: usually a supreme, distant creator god, alongside spirits, local deities and ancestors | No scripture; oral tradition, myths, proverbs and rituals | The dead become ancestors who continue to influence family and community life | Not missionary |
How we wrote this site
Every religion follows exactly the same chapters – including Human Life, War and Peace (what it teaches) and Religion, Power and Violence (what actually happened, including its peace traditions and times its believers were victims). Criticism is presented as the view of critics or scholars, not of this site. More about our method.