While the word

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

is hard to define, one standard model of religion used in religious studies courses defines it as a Many religions have narratives,

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

s and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of co ...

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

religious law Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas othe ...

s, or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups,

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

s, movements, ultimate concerns, which at some point in the future will be countless. The word ''religion'' is sometimes used interchangeably with the words "

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people ofte ...

" or "belief system", but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect. Most religions have organized behaviours, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...

, regular meetings or services for the purposes of

veneration Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etym ...

of a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

or for

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

holy places Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bles ...

(either natural or architectural) or

religious text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

s. Certain religions also have a

sacred language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sac ...

often used in liturgical services. The practice of a religion may also include

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

s, commemoration of the activities of a God or gods,

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s, feasts,

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

s, liturgies,

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secula ...

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

, invocation,

mediumship Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, art,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

or other aspects of human culture. Religious beliefs have also been used to explain

parapsychological Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near- ...

phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...

such as out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

, along with many other paranormal and

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

experiences. Some academics studying the subject have divided religions into three broad categories: world religions, a term which refers to transcultural, international faiths;

Indigenous religions Indigenous religions is a category used in the study of religion to demarcate the religious belief systems of communities described as being " indigenous". This category is often juxtaposed against others such as the " world religions" and "new ...

, which refers to smaller, culture-specific or nation-specific religious groups; and

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...

s, which refers to recently developed faiths. One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and

follows a model similar to the

Abrahamic religions The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...

as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings, and thus believes that religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems, or in which these systems are a substantially simpler construct.

Eastern religions

East Asian religions

Religions that originated in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

, also known as Taoic religions; namely

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

, Shenism, Muism and

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

, and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Confucianism

* Confucian churches ** Kongshenghui ** Hong Kong Confucian Academy ** Indonesian Confucian Church **

Shanrendao Shanrendao ( zh, c=善人道, p=Shànréndào, l=Way of the Virtuous Man) is a Confucian-Taoist religious movement in northeast China. Its name as a social body is the Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue ( zh, s=万国道德会, p=Wàngu ...

** Shengdao **

Taigu school The Taigu school (太谷学派 ''Tàigǔ xuépài''), also Great Perfection (大成教 ''Dàchéng jiào'') or Yellow Cliff teaching (黄崖教 ''Huángyá jiào''), is a mystical folk religious sect of Confucianism spread especially in Jiangsu, ...

** Luanism **

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) ...

** Edo Neo-Confucianism ** New Confucianism **

Korean Confucianism Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism that emerged and developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from China. T ...

Shinto

* Koshintō * Yoshida Shintō *

Izumo-taishakyo is a Japanese Shinto grouping. It was established by Takatomi Senge (1845–1918), the 80th head priest of Izumo-taisha in 1882, as one of the original thirteen sects of ''Kyoha Shintō Rengokai'' (Association of Sectarian Shinto), during the Me ...

Konkōkyō , or just Konkō, is a Shintō sect, being a part of the ''Kyoha Shintō Rengokai'' (Association of Sectarian Shinto), and an independent faith with origins in Shinbutsu-shūgō beliefs. Konkokyo worships the spirit and energy that flows throug ...

Kurozumikyō Kurozumikyō (黒住教), literally "the Teachings of Kurozumi," is a Japanese new religion largely derived from Shinto roots and founded in 1846. The founder, a Shinto priest by the name of Kurozumi, is claimed to have had a Divine union with Ama ...

Shōroku Shintō Yamatoyama is a Shintō-derived religious movement headquartered in the town of Hiranai in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. History Shōroku Shintō Yamatoyama originates from Tazawa Seishirō's dedication of a shrine in 1919 to a Yama-no-Kami after he witness ...

Tenshō Kōtai Jingūkyō Tenshō Kōtai Jingūkyō (Japanese ) is a Japanese new religious movement which emerged from Shinto. It was established by Sayo Kitamura () (1900–1967), with activities beginning in 1945. The movement includes 450,000 members. Kitamura clai ...

Taoism

* Way of the Five Pecks of Rice ** Way of the Celestial Masters *** Zhengyi Dao ("Way of the Right Oneness") * Shangqing School ("School of the Highest Clarity") * Lingbao School ("School of the Numinous Treasure") *

Quanzhen School The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China ...

("School of the Fulfilled Virtue") **

Dragon Gate Taoism The Dragon Gate sect ( 龍門派 Lóngmén pài) of the Complete Reality School ( 全真派 Quánzhēn pài) of Taoism incorporates elements of Buddhism and Confucianism into a comprehensive form of Taoism. Complete Reality Taoism is generally ...

* Wuliupai ("School of Wu-Liu") * Yao Taoism (a.k.a. "Meishanism") * Faism (a.k.a. "Redhead Taoism") *

Xuanxue Xuanxue (), sometimes called Neo-Daoism (Neo-Taoism), is a metaphysical post-classical Chinese philosophy from the Six Dynasties (222-589), bringing together Taoist and Confucian beliefs through revision and discussion. The movement found its scri ...

(a.k.a. "Neo-Taoism")

Other

= Chinese religions

= * Benzhuism (Bai people) * Bimoism (Yi people) * Chinese ancestral worship *

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

Chinese folk religion in Southeast Asia Chinese folk religion plays a dynamic role in the lives of the overseas Chinese who have settled in the countries of this geographic region, particularly Burmese Chinese, Singaporean Chinese, Malaysian Chinese, Thai Chinese and Hoa. The Indon ...

** Northeast China folk religion * Chinese religions of fasting * Chinese salvationist religions *

Chinese shamanism Chinese shamanism, alternatively called Wuism (; alternatively ''wū xí zōngjiào''), refers to the shamanic religious tradition of China. Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture ...

(Wuism) * De Jiao * Dongba (Nakhi people) * Guiyidao (Red Swastika Society) * Luoism * Maitreyanism * Manchu shamanism (Manchu people) * Mazu worship * Moism (Zhuang people) * Nuo folk religion (Tujia people) *

Qiang folk religion Qiang folk religion is the indigenous religion of the majority of the Qiang people, an ethnic group of Sichuan (China) tightly related to the Han Chinese and the Tibetans.Chapter 1.3.6 "Religion" It is pantheistic, involving the worship of a varie ...

(Qiang people) *

Sanyiism The Harmonious Church of the Three-in-One (), or Sanyiism () and Xiaism (), is a Chinese folk religious sect of Confucian character founded in the 16th century by Lin Zhao'en, in Putian.Seiwert, 2003. p. 343 In 2011, it was officially recognised ...

* Tiandiism * Wang Ye worship *

Weixinism Weixinism ( ''Wéixīnjiào''), institutionally also known by the extended title of Holy Church of the Heart-Only ( ''Wéixīn Shèngjiào'') is one of the Chinese salvationist religions born in Taiwan in the late 20th century. It was founded in 1 ...

* Xiantiandao *

Xuanyuanism Xuanyuandao (軒轅道 "Way of Xuanyuan"), also known as Xuanyuanism (軒轅教) or Huangdiism (黄帝教), is a Confucian folk religion of China which was founded in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1952.Goossaert, Palmer. 2011. p. 295 The founder was Wang Ha ...

* Yao folk religion (Yao people) * Yaochidao * Yiguandao *

Zailiism Zailiism (在理教, the "Way of the Abiding Principle") or Liism (理教), also known as the Baiyidao (白衣道 "White-Clad Way") or Bafangdao (八方道 "Octagonal Way"), is a Chinese folk religious sect of north China, founded in the 17th cen ...

=Chinese philosophy schools

= * Daojia *

Fajia Legalism or ''Fajia'' is one of the six classical schools of thought in Chinese philosophy. Literally meaning "house of (administrative) methods / standards (法, Fa)", the Fa "school" represents several branches of "men of methods", in the ...

* Huang–Lao *

Mohism Mohism or Moism (, ) was an ancient Chinese philosophy of ethics and logic, rational thought, and science developed by the academic scholars who studied under the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi (c. 470 BC – c. 391 BC), embodied in an ep ...

Ruism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

* Yangmingism

= Japanese religions

= *

Ainu religion The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Tōhoku region, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arri ...

* Kōshin-shinkō * Onmyōdō * Ryukyuan religion *

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local ...

= Korean religions

= *

Korean shamanism Korean shamanism or Mu-ism is a religion from Korea. In the Korean language, alternative terms for the tradition are ''musok'' () and ''mugyo'' (무교, 巫敎). Scholars of religion have classified it as a folk religion. There is no central aut ...

** Gasin faith * Cheondoism *

Daejongism Daejongism ( ko, 대종교, 大倧敎 ''Daejonggyo'' or ''Taejongkyo'', "religion of the Divine Progenitor" or "great ancestral religion") or Dangunism ( ko, 단군교, 檀君敎 ''Dangungyo'' or ''Tangunkyo'', "religion of Dangun") is the name of ...

* Daesun Jinrihoe * Jeung San Do * Suwunism * Korean Taoism

= Mongolian religions

= *

Mongolian shamanism Mongolian shamanism ( mn, Бөө мөргөл — ''Böö mörgöl''), more broadly called the Mongolian folk religion, or occasionally Tengerism, refers to the animistic and shamanic ethnic religion that has been practiced in Mongolia and i ...

Yellow shamanism Yellow shamanism is the term used to designate a particular version of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. "Yellow" indicates Buddhism in Mongolia, since most Buddhists there belong ...

Black shamanism Black shamanism is a kind of shamanism practiced in Mongolia and Siberia. It is specifically opposed to yellow shamanism, which incorporates rituals and traditions from Buddhism. Black Shamans are usually perceived as working with evil spirits, w ...

= Vietnamese religions

= * Vietnamese folk religion * Vietnamese Taoism *

Đạo Mẫu Đạo Mẫu (, ) is the worship of mother goddesses which was established in Vietnam in the 16th century. While scholars like Ngô Đức Thịnh propose that it represents a systematic worship of mother goddesses, Đạo Mẫu draws together fa ...

* Đạo Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương * Đạo Dừa * Caodaism * Hòa Hảo

Dharmic religions

The four main religions that originated in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

; namely

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Buddhism

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the '' Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

***

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

*** Cheontae *** Daśabhūmikā **

Huayan school The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based pri ...

*** Hwaeom ***

Kegon The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based pri ...

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit ''dhyāna in Buddhism, dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahayana, Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century Common Era, CE onwards, becoming e ...

*** Seon Buddhism *** Thiền Buddhism ****

Trúc Lâm Trúc Lâm Yên Tử (竹林安子), or simply Trúc Lâm ("Bamboo Grove"), is a Vietnamese ''Thiền'' (i.e. zen) sect. It is the only native school of Buddhism in Vietnam. The school was founded by Emperor Trần Nhân Tông (1258–1308) showing ...

***

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

*** Caodong school **** Sōtō *****

Keizan Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as . Keiza ...

line *****

Jakuen Jìyuán (寂円, 1207 – 8 October 1299), better known to Buddhist scholars by his Japanese name Jakuen, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk and a disciple of Rujing. Most of his life is known to us only through medieval hagiography, legends, ...

line ***** Giin line ***

Linji school The Línjì school () is a school of Chan Buddhism named after Linji Yixuan (d. 866). It took prominence in Song China (960–1279), spread to Japan as the Rinzai school and influenced the nine mountain schools of Korean Seon. History Song dyn ...

****

Rinzai school The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by My� ...

**** Ōbaku **** Fuke-shū *** Kwan Um School of Zen *** Sanbo Kyodan **

Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhis ...

***

East Asian Mādhyamaka East Asian Madhyamaka refers to the Buddhist tradition in East Asia which represents the Indian Madhyamaka (''Chung-kuan'') system of thought. In Chinese Buddhism, these are often referred to as the ''Sānlùn'' ( Ch. 三論宗, Jp. ''Sanron' ...

(a.k.a. the "Three Treatise school") *** Jonang *** Prasaṅgika *** Svatantrika **

Nichiren Buddhism Nichiren Buddhism ( ja, 日蓮仏教), also known as Hokkeshū ( ja, 法華宗, meaning ''Lotus Sect'') is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282) and is one ...

***

Honmon Butsuryū-shū The Honmon Butsuryū-shū () is a branch of the Honmon Hokke Shū sect (one of the most ancient sects of Nichiren Buddhism). It was founded by Nagamatsu Nissen (; 1817–1890) and a group of followers the 12th of January 1857 with the name of H ...

*** Kempon Hokke *** Nichiren Shōshū ***

Nichiren Shū Nichiren (16 February 1222 – 13 October 1282) was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. Nichiren declared that the Lotus Sutra alone contains the highest truth of Buddhist teachings suited for the Third Age of B ...

***

Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga , often referred to as just Nipponzan Myohoji or the Japan Buddha Sangha, is a Japanese new religious movement and activist group founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii, emerging from Nichiren Buddhism. "Nipponzan Myōhōji is a small Nichiren Buddh ...

*** Reiyūkai **** Myōchikai Kyōdan ****

Myōdōkai Kyōdan The is a Japanese Buddhist lay organisation that stems from the Reiyūkai, a branch of Nichiren Buddhism. It was founded in 1951 and has approximately 219,000 adherents, most of whom are in Japan.Montgomery, Daniel (1991). Fire in the Lotus, The D ...

**** Risshō Kōsei Kai *** Soka Gakkai **

Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism (; ja, 浄土仏教, translit=Jōdo bukkyō; , also referred to as Amidism in English,) is a broad branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Buddha's Buddha-field or Pure Land. It is one of the most wid ...

***

Jōdo Shinshū , also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Shin Buddhism is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan. History Shinran ...

**** Honganji-ha **** Ōtani-ha ***

Jōdo-shū , also known as Jōdo Buddhism, is a branch of Pure Land Buddhism derived from the teachings of the Japanese ex-Tendai monk Hōnen. It was established in 1175 and is the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan, along with Jōdo Shin ...

** Yogācāra *** East Asian Yogācāra ** Humanistic Buddhism * Nikaya Buddhism (incorrectly called "

Hinayana Hīnayāna (, ) is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term is applied collectively to the ''Śrāvakayāna'' and ''Pratyekabuddhayāna'' p ...

" in the West) **

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

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Sangharaj Nikaya The Sangharaja Nikaya is a tradition of Theravada Buddhism, located in Bangladesh. The word Nikaya is Pali and literally means "volume". It refers to the sections of the Tipitaka. However, an alternate usage is practiced in Southeast Asia, in ...

(Bangladesh) ***

Mahasthabir Nikaya The Mahasthabir Nikaya is a Bengali order of Buddhist monks. They were anti-reformists and anti-foreign influence who attempted to replace the movement led by Saramitra Mahasthabir ("Saramedha Mahasthavira" in Pali), which led to the formation of ...

(Bangladesh) *** Dwara Nikaya (Burma) *** Shwegyin Nikaya (Burma) *** Thudhamma Nikaya (Burma) **** Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw and disciples *** Amarapura Nikaya (Sri Lanka) *** Ramañña Nikaya (Sri Lanka) **** Galduwa Forest Tradition *** Siam Nikaya (Sri Lanka) ***

Sri Lankan Forest Tradition Sri Lankan Forest Monks' Tradition claims a long history. As the oldest Theravada Buddhist country in the world, several forest traditions and lineages had been existed, disappeared and re-emerged circularly in Sri Lanka. The current forest traditio ...

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Dhammayuttika Nikaya Dhammayuttika Nikāya (Pali; th, ธรรมยุติกนิกาย; ; km, ធម្មយុត្តិកនិកាយ, ), or Dhammayut Order ( th, คณะธรรมยุต) is an order of Theravada Buddhist ''bhikkhus'' (mon ...

(Thailand) ****

Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning Kammaṭṭhāna, "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a Parampara, lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The ...

***** Tradition of Ajahn Chah *** Maha Nikaya (Thailand) **** Dhammakaya Movement **

Vipassana movement The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain ...

(United States) *

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

Azhaliism Azhaliism (), also known as Dianmi or Baimi, is a Vajrayana Buddhist religion practiced among the Bai people of Yunnan, China. The name comes from lay tantric priests called ''azhali'' (Sanskrit: ''acharyas'') who are key figures in the religion, ...

(Bai people) **

Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra, established the Esoteric Buddhist ''Zhenyan'' (, "true ...

** Newar Buddhism (Nepal) **

Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism or Esoteric Buddhism in Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the traditions of Esoteric Buddhism found in Maritime Southeast Asia which emerged in the 7th century along the maritime trade routes and port cities of the ...

** Shingon Buddhism (Japan) ** Southern Esoteric Buddhism **

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

*** Bon (Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal) ***

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

*** Kagyu ****

Dagpo Kagyu Dagpo Kagyu encompasses the branches of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism that trace their lineage back through Gampopa (1079-1153), who was also known as Dagpo Lhaje () "the Physician from Dagpo" and Nyamed Dakpo Rinpoche "Incomparable Pre ...

*****

Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, ...

***** Barom Kagyu *****

Drukpa Lineage The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or " Red Hat sect" in older sources,

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Shangpa Kagyu The Shangpa Kagyu (, "Oral Tradition of the man from Shang") is known as the "secret lineage" of the Kagyu school of Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhism and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo Kagyu schools. The Dagpo Kagyu are the lin ...

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Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and trans ...

*** Sakya *** Jonang ***

Bodongpa The Bodongpa or Bodong tradition, is one of the smaller traditions of Tibetan Buddhism falling outside the classification of the four main schools. History Bodong E Monastery (), located in Yutok (), in modern Tashigang (), Lhatse County, was ...

*** Rimé movement * Kirat Mundhum (Nepal)

= Neo-Buddhism

= *

Navayana Navayana (Devanagari: नवयान, IAST: ''Navayāna'') means "new vehicle" and refers to the re-interpretation of Buddhism by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar; it is also called Neo-Buddhism and Ambedkarite Buddhism. Ambedkar was a polymath, theol ...

(India; also called Neo-Buddhism or Ambedkarite Buddhism) * Dalit Buddhist movement * Shambhala Buddhism * Diamond Way Buddhism * Triratna Buddhist Community * New Kadampa Tradition * Share International * Shinnyo-en *

True Buddha School The True Buddha School () is a relatively new ( Vajrayana oriented) Buddhist sect, that includes practices and deities from Taoism, and thus could arguably be defined as a new religious movement. Its headquarters are in Redmond, WA, USA, and t ...

* Hòa Hảo * Won Buddhism

Hinduism

Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi ( ta, அய்யாவழி, ml, അയ്യാവഴി ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a henotheistic belief that originated in South India.Tha. Krishna Nathan, ''Ayyaa vaikuNdarin vaazvum sinthanaiyum'', p. 62: "" (The day at which Vaik ...

* Kaumaram *

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

Aghori The Aghori (from Sanskrit '; ) are a monastic order of ascetic Shaivite sadhus based in Uttar Pradesh, India. They are the only surviving sect derived from the '' Kāpālika'' tradition, a Tantric, non-Puranic form of Shaivism which orig ...

** Indonesian Shaivism ** Kapalika **

Kashmir Shaivism Kashmir Shaivism or Trika Shaivism, is a nondualist tradition of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra which originated sometime after 850 CE. Since this tradition originated in Kashmir it is often called "Kashmiri Shaivism". It later went on to become a pan- ...

Nath Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India.Adinath Sampradaya ***

Inchegeri Sampradaya The Inchagiri Sampradaya, also known as Nimbargi Sampradaya, is a lineage of Hindu Navnath and Lingayat teachers from Maharashtra which was started by Bhausaheb Maharaj. It is inspired by Sant Mat teachers as Namdev, Raidas and Kabir. The ...

** Pashupata Shaivism **

Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () (Tamil: சைவ சித்தாந்தம் "Caiva cittāntam") is a form of Shaivism that propounds a dualistic philosophy where the ultimate and ideal goal of a being is to become an enlightened soul through Shiv ...

Veerashaivism Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or fiv ...

(

Lingayatism Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as '' Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...

) *

Shaktism Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti ( Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, al ...

** Kalikula ** Srikula * Smartism * Śrauta *

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the India ...

** Baul **

Kaula Kaula may refer to: People * Prithvi Nath Kaula (1924–2009), Indian librarian * William J. Kaula (1871–1953), American watercolor painter * William M. Kaula (1926–2000), Australian-born American geophysicist Other uses * USS ''Kaula'' (AG- ...

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as ...

Krishnaism Krishnaism (IAST: ''Kṛṣṇaism'') is a large group of independent Hindu traditions— sampradayas related to Vaishnavism—that center on the devotion to Krishna as '' Svayam Bhagavan'', '' Ishvara'', '' Para Brahman'', the source of all ...

** Balmikism **

Brahma Sampradaya In Hinduism, the Brahma Sampradaya () is the disciplic succession (''sampradaya'') of gurus starting with Brahma. The term is most often used to refer to the beliefs and teachings of Madhvacharya, his Dvaita Vedanta philosophy and Sadh Vaishna ...

(

Madhva tradition Sadh Vaishnavism (IAST: ''Sādh Vaiṣṇavism''), (popularly referred as Madhva Sampradaya, Madhva Vaishnavism and Brahma Sampradaya), is a denomination within the VaishnavismBhagavata tradition of Hinduism. Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by thir ...

) ***

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meani ...

**** Gaudiya Saraswata Sampradaya *****

Gaudiya Mission The Gaudiya Mission ( bn, গৌড়ীয় মিশন) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava monastic and missionary organization whose founder acharya is Srila Prabhupad (6 Feb 1874 — 3 Jan 1937) alias ''Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Goswami M ...

***** International Society for Krishna Consciousness *****

ISKCON Revival Movement The ISKCON Revival Movement (IRM) was formed as a pressure group in 2000 to revive and reform ISKCON on the basis of the directives for succession given by Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. IRM opposes both the zonal guru system and its ...

***** Science of Identity Foundation ****

Manipuri Vaishnavism Manipuri Vaishnavism, also known as Meitei Vaishnavism ( mni, Bhei-sna-bh Lāi-nīng), is a regional variant of Gaudiya Vaishnavism with a culture-forming role in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur. The Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worsh ...

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Haridasa The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement ( sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and ...

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Mahanam Sampraday , native_name_lang = Bn , image = Prabhu Jagadbandhu.jpg , caption = Prabhu Jagadbandu considered avatar by Mahanam Sampraday , formation = 1891 as movement , founder = Prabhu Jagadbandu (inspirator)Sripa ...

Ekasarana Dharma Ekasarana Dharma (literally: ''Shelter-in-One religion'') is a neo-Vaishnavite monolithic religion propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th-16th century in the Indian state of Assam. It reduced focus on vedic ritualism and focuses on ...

Kapadi Sampradaya Kapadi, also known as Kapdi is a small community in Gujarat. History The Kapadi Sampradaya claim to be descendants of Lalu Jasraj, the guide of the Hindu deity Rama, or either claim to be descendants of Rama's army as they marched through the d ...

Mahanubhava Mahanubhava (also known as Jai Krishni Pantha) refers to Krishnaite Hindu denomination in India that was founded by Sarvadnya Shri Chakradhar Swami (or Shri Chakradhara Swami),an ascetic and philosopher who is considered as a reincarnati ...

** Nimbarka Sampradaya **

Pranami Pranami () is a sect which worships the words of the Supreme God, Shri Krishna, which was given through Mahamati Prannathji and Satguru Shri Devchandraji as their holy book, Shri Tartam Sagar. History The Pranami sampradaya emerged in the ...

/ Pranami Sampraday **

Radha Vallabh Sampradaya The Radha Vallabh Sampradaya is a Vaishnava Hindu denomination which began in 1535 at Vrindavan with the bhakti poet- sant Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu (1502–1552). Harivansh's views are related to Krishnaism but emphasizes devotion to Radharani ...

** Ramsnehi ** Rudra Sampradaya ***

Pushtimarg Pushtimarg (), also known as ''Pushtimarg sampradaya'' or ''Vallabha sampradaya'', is a subtradition of the Rudra Sampradaya (Vaishnavism). It was founded in the early 16th century by Vallabhacharya (1479–1531) and is focused on Krishna.

Sri Vaishnavism Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

*** Ramanandi Sampradaya *** Thenkalais **** Manavala Mamunigal Sabha ***

Vadakalais Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, wh ...

** Swaminarayan Sampradaya ***

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Yagnapurushdas ( Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained present ...

*** Gunatit Samaj ***

Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi The Laxminarayan Dev Gadi ( Gujarati:- લક્ષ્મીનારાયણ દેવ ગાદી) is one of the two gadis (diocese) that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal a ...

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International Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal The International Swaminarayan Satsang Mandal (ISSM) is a religious organisation of the Hindu faith based in USA. It comes under the Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi of the Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday. The organisation has temples and centres in various pa ...

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Swaminarayan Gurukul Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot Sansthan, commonly known as Rajkot Gurukul or Swaminarayan Gurukul, is a Hindu religious and educational organization headquartered in Rajkot, Gujarat. It was established in 1947 in Rajkot by Shastriji Mahar ...

*** Nar Narayan Dev Gadi ****

International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation Acharya Shree Tejendraprasadji Maharaj (who was then Acharya of the Swaminarayan Sampraday (Ahmedabad Gadi)) founded International Swaminarayan Satsang Organization (I.S.S.O.) (Devanagari: अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्वामी ...

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Narnarayan Dev Yuvak Mandal NarNarayan Dev Yuvak Mandal (NNDYM) (Devnagari: नरनरायन देव युवक मनदल) was founded by Koshalendraprasad Pande (then pre-acharya) in 1994 with its headquarters at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Mandir (Ahmedabad) and w ...

*** Swaminarayan Gadi (Maninagar) ***

Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha Swaminarayan Mandir Vasna Sanstha (SMVS) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was founded in 1987 by Devnandandasji Swami, usually addressed as HDH Bapji by his devotees and followers, It propagates the preaching and ...

Vaishnava-Sahajiya Vaiṣṇava Sahajiyā was a form of Hindu tantric Vaishnavism focused on Radha Krishna worship that developed in the region of Greater Bengal (Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam).Hayes, Glen A"The Vaisnava Sahajiya Traditions of Medieval Bengal" in ...

** Warkari ; Sant Mat * Dadupanth * Kabir panth * Ravidassia religion * Sadh ; Hindu philosophy schools * Āstika (Orthodox schools) ** Nyaya **

Purva mimamsa The Fourteen Purva translated as ancient or prior knowledge, are a large body of Jain scriptures that was preached by all Tirthankaras (omniscient teachers) of Jainism encompassing the entire gamut of knowledge available in this universe. The pers ...

Samkhya ''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a dualistic school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, '' puruṣa'' ('consciousness' or spirit); and ''prakṛti'', (nature ...

** Vaisheshika **

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

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Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ...

*** Akshar-Purushottam Darshan ***

Bhedabheda Bhedābheda Vedānta is a subschool of Vedānta, which teaches that the individual self (''jīvātman'') is both different and not different from the ultimate reality known as Brahman. Etymology ''Bhedābheda'' ( Devanagari: ) is a Sanskrit wo ...

**** Achintya Bheda Abheda **** Dvaitadvaita ***

Dvaita Vedanta Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST:Tattvavāda), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta s ...

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Integral yoga Integral yoga, sometimes also called supramental yoga, is the yoga-based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and ''The Mother'' (Mirra Alfassa). Central to ''Integral yoga'' is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involu ...

*** Pratyabhijna ***

***

Shiva Advaita Shiva Advaita (Devanagari:शिवाद्वैत, kn, ಶಿವಾದ್ವೈತ, ), also known as or Shaivite '' qualified nondualism'' is a Shaivite school of philosophy from Southern India that was founded by Srikanta Sivacharya during ...

*** Shuddhadvaita ***

Vishishtadvaita Vishishtadvaita (IAST '; sa, विशिष्टाद्वैत) is one of the most popular schools of the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Vedanta literally means the in depth meaning ''of the Vedas.'' ''Vishisht Advaita'' (liter ...

Yoga (philosophy) Yoga philosophy is one of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism,Maurice Phillips (Published as Max Muller collection), The Evolution of Hinduism, , PhD. Thesis awarded by University of Berne, Switzerland, page 8 though it is only at the en ...

* Nāstika (Heterodox schools) ** Ajivika **

Ajñana ''Ajñāna'' () was one of the ''nāstika'' or "heterodox" schools of ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of radical Indian skepticism. It was a Śramaṇa movement and a major rival of early Buddhism, Jainism and the Ājīv ...

Charvaka Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embra ...

; Yoga *

Ananda Yoga Ananda Yoga, or ''Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness'' is a system of Hatha Yoga established by Kriyananda, a Western disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda, and is based on Yogananda's Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) and Yogoda Satsanga Society of In ...

Bhakti yoga Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014 ...

Hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

Bihar School of Yoga The Bihar School of Yoga is a modern school of yoga founded by Satyananda Saraswati in Munger, Bihar, India, in 1963. An Institute of Yogic Studies was created in 1994. History The Bihar School of Yoga was established in 1963 at Munger, in the ...

Integral Yoga Integral yoga, sometimes also called supramental yoga, is the yoga-based philosophy and practice of Sri Aurobindo and ''The Mother'' (Mirra Alfassa). Central to ''Integral yoga'' is the idea that Spirit manifests itself in a process of involu ...

* Jivamukti Yoga * Jnana yoga *

Karma yoga Karma yoga ( sa, कर्म योग), also called Karma marga, is one of the four classical spiritual paths in Hinduism, one based on the " yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge), Rāja yoga (path of meditat ...

Kripalu Yoga The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957. History Founder Amrit Desai ...

Kriya Yoga ''Kriyā'' (Sanskrit: क्रिया, 'action, deed, effort') is a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result. Kriya or Kriya Yoga may also refer to: * Kriya Yoga school The K ...

Kundalini yoga Kundalini yoga () derives from '' kundalini'', defined in tantra as energy that lies within the body, frequently at the navel or the base of the spine. In normative tantric systems kundalini is considered to be dormant until it is activated ( ...

Raja yoga ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Sahaja Yoga Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a religion founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans: ''Revered Immaculate Mother'') or, simply, as "Mother" by her followers, who ...

* Siddha Yoga * Sivananda yoga * Surat Shabd Yoga *

Tantric Yoga Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

= Hindu new movements

= * Ananda * Ananda Ashrama *

Ananda Marga Ānanda Mārga ("The Path of Bliss", also spelled Anand Marg and Ananda Marg) or officially Ānanda Mārga Pracāraka Saṃgha (organization for the propagation of the path of bliss), is a world-wide socio-spiritual organisation founded in J ...

* Anandamayee Sangha *

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sann ...

* Brahma Kumaris *

Chinmaya Mission The Chinmaya Mission is a Hindu religious and spiritual organization engaged in the dissemination of Vedanta, the science of the self as expounded in the Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, and other Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad G ...

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

* Mahima Dharma *

Matua Mahasangha Matua Mahasangha ( bn, মতুয়া মহাসংঘ) is a religious reformation movement that originated, around 1860 AD, in modern-day Bangladesh, with a considerable number of adherents both in Bangladesh and in West Bengal of India. ...

* Narayana Dharm * Oneness Movement * Ramakrishna Mission (

Vedanta Society Vedanta Societies refer to organizations, groups, or societies formed for the study, practice, and propagation of Vedanta, the ancient religion based on the Vedas. More specifically, they "comprise the American arm of the Indian Ramakrishna move ...

) * Satsang * Sathya Sai Baba movement *

Satya Dharma Satya Dharma is a humanistic and monotheistic new religious movement in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, which developed from Hinduism. Influence Satya Dharma is influenced by Islam, Humanism, Brahmo Samaj, Buddhism, Baul, Secularism, the Bh ...

* Shirdi Sai Baba movement * Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres *

Sri Aurobindo Ashram The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a spiritual community (ashram) located in Pondicherry, in the Indian territory of Puducherry. The ashram grew out of a small community of disciples who had gathered around Sri Aurobindo after he retired from ...

* Sri Ramana Ashram ** Neo-Advaita

Jainism

* Digambara **

Bispanthi ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practi ...

** Digambar Terapanth **

Kanji Panth are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequen ...

** Taran Panth * Śvētāmbara ** Murtipujaka **

Sthānakavāsī ''Sthānakavāsī'' is a sect of Śvētāmbara, Śvētāmbara Jainism. It believes that idol worship is not essential in the path of soul purification and attainment of Nirvana/Moksha. Sthānakavāsī accept thirty-two of the Jain Agamas, th ...

** Svetambar Terapanth

Sikhism

; Mainstream * Khalsa ; Sects * Damdami Taksal * Nanakpanthi * Nihang * Nirmala *

Sanatan Sikh Sanatan Sikh (Gurmukhi: ਸਨਾਤਨ ਸਿੱਖ ''sanātana sikha''), a term and formulation coined by Harjot Oberoi, referred to Sikhs who formed a traditionalist faction during the Singh Sabha Movement in 1873. They campaigned for a Dharm ...

* Sikh Dharma International (3HO) * Udasi

Middle Eastern religions

Religions that originated in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

; namely

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, and

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

, and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Abrahamic religions

Baháʼí Faith

* Azali * Babism * Baha'i faith ** Orthodox Baha'i Faith ** Caravan of East and West

Christianity

= Eastern Christianity

= *

Church of the East The Church of the East ( syc, ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ, ''ʿĒḏtā d-Maḏenḥā'') or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church or the Nestorian C ...

(called " Nestorianism") ** Ancient Church of the East ** Assyrian Church of the East ***

Chaldean Syrian Church The Chaldean Syrian Church of India ( Classical Syriac: ܥܕܬܐ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܖ̈ܝܐ; Malayalam: / ''Kaldaya Suriyani Sabha'') is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is organized as a metropolitan pro ...

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

Albanian Greek Catholic Church The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ( la, Ecclesiae Graecae Catholico Albanica; sq, Kisha Katolike Bizantine Shqiptare), also known as the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, is an autonomous ('' sui iuris'' in Latin) Byzantine Rite particular ...

** Belarusian Greek Catholic Church ** Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church **

Byzantine Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia sr, Гркокатоличка црква у Хрватској и Србији , native_name_lang = sh , image = Coat of arms of Đura Džudžar.svg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = ...

** Greek Byzantine Catholic Church **

Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church The Hungarian Greek Catholic Church ( hu, Magyar görögkatolikus egyház; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Hungariae) or Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church is a metropolitan ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic particular church in fu ...

** Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (a.k.a. the "Italo-Greek Catholic Church") ** Macedonian Catholic Church ** Melkite Greek Catholic Church ** Romanian Catholic Church **

Russian Greek Catholic Church The Russian Greek Catholic Church (russian: Российская греко-католическая церковь, ''Rossiyskaya greko-katolicheskaya tserkov; la, Ecclesia Graeca Catholica Russica''), Russian Byzantine Catholic Church or simply ...

** Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church (a.k.a. the "Byzantine Catholic Church" in the United States) ** Slovak Greek Catholic Church ** Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church **

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

** Syriac Catholic Church ** Maronite Church **

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church possessing self-governance under the Code of ...

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

**(Independent Eastern Catholic Churches) *** Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church *

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

(officially the "Orthodox Catholic Church") **

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

*** Belarusian Orthodox Church ** Romanian Orthodox Church **

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgars ...

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

Albanian Orthodox Church The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania ( sq, Kisha Ortodokse Autoqefale e Shqipërisë), commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autoce ...

** Ukrainian Orthodox Church **(Noncanonical/Independent Eastern Orthodox Churches) *** Greek Old Calendarists (a.k.a. "Genuine Orthodox" or "

True Orthodox True Orthodox church, True Orthodox Christians, True Orthodoxy or Genuine Orthodoxy, often pejoratively "Zealotry", designates groups of traditionalist Eastern Orthodox churches which have severed communion since the 1920s with the mainstream East ...

") ***

Russian Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow be ...

(a.k.a. "Old Ritualists") ****

Bezpopovtsy Bespopovtsy ( rus, беспоповцы, p=bʲɪspɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priestless ones") are Priestless Old Believers that reject Nikonite priests. They are one of the two major strains of Old Believers. Priestless Old Believers may have evolved into ...

****

Popovtsy The Popovtsy ( rus, поповцы, p=pɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priested ones") or Popovschina (russian: поповщина) were from the 17th century one of the two main factions of Old Believers, along with the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless ones"). Historic ...

Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represen ...

(a.k.a. "

Non-Chalcedonian Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christologica ...

" or " Miaphysite"/"

Monophysite Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the inca ...

") **

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

** Coptic Orthodox Church **

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

***

Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC), or the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in India also known as Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, the Jacobite Syrian Church, and the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, ...

(of the

St. Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

in India) ** Ethiopian Orthodox Church ** Eritrean Orthodox Church **

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

(of the

in India) *

Spiritual Christianity Spiritual Christianity (russian: духовное христианство) is the group of belief systems held by so-called ''folk Protestants'' (), including non- Eastern Orthodox indigenous faith tribes and new religious movements that eme ...

** Doukhobor ** Khlyst ** Molokan ** Skoptsy

= Western Christianity

= *

Proto-Protestantism Proto-Protestantism, also called pre-Protestantism, refers to individuals and movements that propagated ideas similar to Protestantism before 1517, which historians usually regard as the starting year for the Reformation era. The relationship be ...

Brethren of the Free Spirit The Brethren of the Free Spirit were adherents of a loose set of beliefs deemed heretical by the Catholic Church but held (or at least believed to be held) by some Christians, especially in the Low Countries, Germany, France, Bohemia, and Nort ...

(Historical) ** Hussites (Historical) *** Czech Brethren *** Moravians ** Strigolniki (Historical) **

Waldensians The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

** Anabaptists ( Radical Protestants) ***

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...

***

Hutterite Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th centu ...

s ***

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the R ...

s *** River Brethren *** Schwarzenau Brethren *** Shakers **

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

*** Anglo-Catholicism **** Anglican Papalism *** Broad church *** Continuing Anglican movement ***

English Dissenters English Dissenters or English Separatists were Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 17th and 18th centuries. A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who disagrees in opinion, belief and ...

***

Evangelical Anglicanism Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, ...

**** Nonconformists ***

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

****Fifth Monarchists ***Radical orthodoxy **Baptists ***General Baptists ****Free Will Baptists ***Landmarkism ***Missionary Baptists ***Primitive Baptists ***Strict Baptists ****Reformed Baptists **Black church ***Black theology **Christian deism **Confessing Movement **Evangelicalism ***Charismatic Movement, Charismatic movement ***Emerging church ***German Christians (movement) ***Neo-charismatic movement ***Neo-Evangelicalism ***New Apostolic Reformation ***Plymouth Brethren ****Exclusive Brethren ****Open Brethren ***Progressive Christianity ***Christian fundamentalism, Protestant fundamentalism **Jesuism **Lollardy (Historical) **Lutheranism ***Evangelical Catholic ***Laestadianism ***Neo-Lutheranism ***Pietism **Methodism ***Calvinistic Methodists ***Holiness movement ****Church of the Nazarene ***The Salvation Army ***Wesleyanism **Pentecostalism ***Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), Church of God ***Latter Rain (post–World War II movement), Latter Rain movement ***Word of Faith **Quakers ("Friends") **Calvinism, Reformed churches ***Amyraldism (a.k.a."four-point Calvinism") ***Arminianism ****Remonstrants ***Christian reconstructionism ***Congregational churches ***Continental Reformed churches ****Swiss Reformed ****Dutch Reformed Church, Dutch Reformed ****Huguenot, French Huguenot ***Neo-Calvinism ***New Calvinism ***Presbyterianism ***Zwinglianism (Historical) **Restoration Movement, Restoration movement ***Adventism ****Branch Davidians ****Seventh-day Adventist Church ***Christadelphians ***Christian Science ***Churches of Christ ***Cooneyites ***Iglesia ni Cristo ***Bible Student movement ****Jehovah's Witnesses ****Free Bible Students ****Friends of Man ***Latter Day Saint movement ****The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ****Community of Christ ****Mormon fundamentalism ***Millerism (Historical) ***Campbellite, Stone-Campbell movement (a.k.a. "Campbellites") ***Two by Twos (a.k.a. "No name church" and "Workers and Friends") **Swedenborgianism (a.k.a. "The New Church") **Unitarianism **Unity Church *Roman Catholic Church/Latin Church (a.k.a. "Roman Catholicism" or "Catholicism") **Anglican Ordinariate, Anglican Ordinariate Catholics **Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Charismatic Catholics **Civil Constitution of the Clergy **Gallicanism **Hebrew Catholics **Independent Catholic churches ***Old Catholic Church (Union of Utrecht) ****Polish National Catholic Church (Union of Scranton) **Liberal Catholicism **Liberation theology **Modernism (Roman Catholicism), Modernist Catholics **Traditionalist Catholics ***Sedevacantism ****Palmarian Catholic Church ***Sedeprivationism **Ultramontanism

= Other

= Certain Christian groups difficult to classify as "Eastern" or "Western." Many Gnostic groups were closely related to early Christianity, for example, Valentinus (Gnostic), Valentinism. Irenaeus wrote polemics against them from the standpoint of the then-unified Catholic Church. *Arianism (Historical) *Bagnolians (Historical) *Bogomilism (Historical) *Bosnian Church (Historical) *Catharism (Historical) *Cerdonians (Historical) *Christian Universalism *Christianity and neopaganism#Christopaganism, Christopaganism **Christianity and neopaganism#Christian Wicca, Christian Wicca *Eastern Lightning *Ecclesia Gnostica *Esoteric Christianity **Behmenism **Christian Kabbalah **Martinism *God Worshipping Society (Historical) *Johannite Church *Judaizers (Judeo-Christian) **Hebrew Roots **Makuya **Messianic Judaism **Sacred Name Movement **Yehowists **Ebionites (Historical) *Lisu Christianity, Lisu *Marcionism (Historical) *Nondenominational Christianity *Nontrinitarianism **Unitarianism **Bible Student movement **Christadelphians **Oneness Pentecostalism **

**Tolstoyan movement *Palamism *Paulicianism *Reformed Eastern Christianity *Sethianism (Historical) **Basilideans (Historical) **Valentinianism (Historical) ***Bardaisan#Bardaisanite school, Bardesanite School (Historical) *Simonians (Historical) *Theosophy (Boehmian), Theosophy *Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) **Hyung Jin Moon, World Peace and Unification Sanctuary Church *Xueta Christianity, Xueta

Druze

Islam

= Khawarij

= *Azraqi (Historical) *Haruriyyah (Historical) *Ibadi *Sufri (Historical)

= Shia Islam

= *Alevism **Alians **Bektashi Order, Bektashism **Kurdish Alevism *Alawites (Nusayris) *Isma'ilism **Mustaali ***Dawoodi Bohra ****Alavi Bohra ****Atba-i-Malak *****Atba-i-Malak Badar *****Atba-i-Malak Vakil ****Hebtiahs Bohra ****Progressive Dawoodi Bohra ***Sulaymani **Nizari ***Satpanth *Twelver **Ja'fari jurisprudence ***Akhbari ***Shaykhism ***Usuli *Zaidiyyah **Jarudiyah **Batriyya *Khurramites (Historical)

= Sufism

= *Bektashi Order *Chishti Order *Kubrawiya **Ma Laichi#The Khufiyya, Khufiyya *Mevlevi Order *Mouride *Naqshbandi **Jahriyya *Ni'matullāhī *Qadiriyya *Roshani movement, Roshani *Shadhili *Suhrawardiyya *Sufi Order International *Tijaniyyah *Universal Sufism **Dances of Universal Peace

= Sunni Islam

= *Kalam/Fiqh **Ash'ari ***Maliki ***Shafi'i ***Hanbali **Maturidi ***Hanafi ****Barelvi ****Deobandi *Athari **Salafi ***Madkhalism ***Wahhabism ***Ahle Hadith ***Islamism **Islamic Modernism *Muʿtazila

= Other

= *Ahmadiyya **Ahmadiyya, Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam *Al-Fatiha Foundation *Ali-Illahism *Din-i Ilahi *European Islam *Gafatar *Ittifaq al-Muslimin *Jadid *Jamaat al Muslimeen *Liberal movements within Islam **Muslim Canadian Congress ***Canadian Muslim Union **Progressive British Muslims **Progressive Muslim Union *Mahdavia *Mahdist State *Milah Abraham *Quranism **Tolu-e-Islam (organization), Tolu-e-Islam **United Submitters International *Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi **Messiah Foundation International *The Fellowship (Christian organization), The Fellowship (The Family) *Xidaotang

Judaism

= Kabbalah

= Non-Rabbinic Judaism

= * Haymanot * Karaite Judaism * Samaritanism

= Rabbinic Judaism

= * Conservative Judaism ( Masorti Judaism) * Humanistic Judaism * Jewish Renewal * Orthodox Judaism ** Haredi Judaism (a.k.a. ultra-Orthodox) *** Dor Daim *** Hardal *** Hasidic Judaism *** Misnagdim *** Sephardic Haredi ** Modern Orthodox Judaism *** Religious Zionism * Reconstructionist Judaism * Reform Judaism

= Others

= * Noahidism * Subbotniks

= Historical Judaism

= * Essenes ** Bana'im ** Hemerobaptists (possible ancestor of Mandaeism) (Historical) ** Maghāriya ** Nazarene (sect)#Nasoraean Mandaeans, Nasoraeans (possible ancestor of Mandaeism) (Historical) * Hypsistarians, Hypsistarianism (Historical) * Pharisees (ancestor of Rabbinic Judaism) (Historical) * Sadducees (possible ancestor of Karaite Judaism) (Historical) * Zealots (Judea) ** Sicarii * Jewish Christian, Messianic sects ** Ebionites ** Elcesaites ** Nazarene (sect), Nazarenes * Sabbateans * Second Temple Judaism * Frankism

Mandaeism

Iranian religions

Manichaeism

* Athinganoi (Historical) * Chinese Manichaeism * Denawars (Historical) * Miqlāsiyya (Historical) * Manichaean schisms, Mihriyya (Historical)

Yazdânism

*Shabakism *Yarsanism *Yazidi

Zoroastrianism

*Behafaridians (Historical) *Mazdakism (Historical) **Mazdaznan *Zurvanism (Historical)

Indigenous (ethnic, folk) religions

Religions that consist of the traditional customs and beliefs of particular ethnic groups, refined and expanded upon for thousands of years, often lacking formal doctrine. Some adherents do not consider their ways to be "religion," preferring other cultural terms.

African

Traditional African

* Abwoi religion * Kamba people, Akamba religion * Akan religion * Badimo * Baluba mythology, Baluba religion * Bantu mythology, Bantu religion ** Kongo religion ** Zulu traditional religion * Traditional Berber religion, Berber religion * Bushongo mythology, Bushongo religion * Bwiti * Dahomean religion * Dinka religion * Dogon people#Culture and religion, Dogon religion * Edo people#Traditional Beliefs, Edo religion * Efik mythology, Efik religion * Dahomean religion, Fon and Ewe religion * Hadza people#Religion, myths, and tales, Hadza religion * Hausa animism, Hausa religion * Ik people, Ik religion * Kalenjin mythology, Kalenjin religion * Khoekhoe#Religion, Khoekhoen religion * Lotuko mythology, Lotuko religion * Lozi mythology, Lozi religion * Lugbara mythology, Lugbara religion * Maasai mythology, Maasai religion * Mbuti mythology, Mbuti religion * Odinani, Odinala / Odinani * Ruhanga, Rutara religion * San religion * Serer religion * Tumbuka mythology, Tumbuka religion * Urhobo people#Religion, Urhobo religion * Waaqeffanna * Yoruba religion ** Ifá

Diasporic African

* Abakuá * Candomblé ** Candomblé Bantu ** Candomblé Jejé ** Candomblé Ketu * Comfa * Convince * Cuban Vodú * Dominican Vudú * Espiritismo * Haitian Vodou * Hoodoo (folk magic), Hoodoo * Kélé * Kumina * Louisiana Voodoo * Montamentu * Myal * Obeah * Palo (religion), Palo * Quimbanda * Santería * Tambor de Mina * Trinidad Orisha * Umbanda * Winti

Altaic

* Evenks#Religion, Evenki shamanism * Manchu shamanism * Turkic mythology, Turko-Mongolian mythology, Mongolic religion **

*** Tengrism ** Aiyy Faith, Aiyy ** Burkhanism ** Tengir Ordo ** Vattisen Yaly

American

* Abenaki mythology, Abenaki religion * Anishinaabe traditional beliefs * Blackfoot mythology, Blackfoot religion * Kuksu (religion), Californian religions ** Kuksu (religion), Kuksu ** Miwok mythology, Miwok religion ** Ohlone mythology, Ohlone religion ** Pomo religion * Cherokee mythology, Cherokee folk religion * Chilote mythology, Chilote religion * Choctaw mythology, Choctaw religion * Creek mythology, Creek religion * Crow religion * Fuegians#Spiritual culture, Fuegian religion ** Selk'nam mythology, Selk'nam religion * Guarani mythology, Guarani religion * Haida mythology, Haida religion * Ho-Chunk mythology, Ho-Chunk religion * Hopi mythology, Hopi religion * Religion in the Inca Empire, Incan religion * Inuit religion * Iroquois mythology, Iroquois religion ** Seneca mythology, Seneca religion ** Wyandot religion * Jivaroan peoples#Religion, Jivaroan religion * Kwakwakaʼwakw mythology, Kwakwakaʼwakw religion * Lakota mythology, Lakota religion * Lenape mythology, Lenape religion * Mapuche religion * Mesoamerican religion ** Aztec religion ** Maya religion ** Olmec religion ** Purépecha religion ** Talamancan mythology, Talamancan religion ** Zapotec civilization#Religion, Zapotec religion * Midewiwin *Muisca religion * Navajo#Spiritual and religious beliefs, Navajo religion * Nuu-chah-nulth mythology, Nuu-chah-nulth religion * Pawnee mythology, Pawnee religion * Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (religion of the Mississippian culture) * Tsimshian mythology, Tsimshian religion * Ute mythology, Ute religion * Zuni mythology, Zuni religion

Austroasiatic

* Khasi people#Religion, Ka Niam Khasi * Muong ethnic religion * Nicobarese people#Religion, Nicobarese folk religion * Santal people#Religion, Santal religion * Sarnaism * Vietnamese folk religion

Austronesian

* Aliran Kepercayaan/Mythology of Indonesia ** Balinese Hinduism ** Parmalim, Batak Parmalim ** Dayak people#Religion and festivals, Dayak religion *** Kaharingan ** Kejawèn, Javanese Kejawèn ** Kapitayan ** Pemena, Karo Pemena ** Marapu, Sumbese Marapu ** Sunda Wiwitan, Sundanese Wiwitan ** Saminism Movement *Malagasy mythology, Fomba Gasy *Kawas (mythology), Kawas * Malaysian folk religion ** Datuk Keramat ** Momolianism * Micronesian mythology, Micronesian religion * Indigenous religious beliefs of the Philippines, Dayawism ** Indigenous religious beliefs of the Tagalog people, Tagalog folk religion ** Indigenous religious beliefs of the Tagbanwa people, Tagbanwa folk religion * Polynesian narrative ** Hawaiian religion ** Māori religion * Samoan mythology, Samoan narrative * Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Tahitian narrative * Tao people#Ritual and religion, Tao Native religion

Dravidian

* Dravidian folk religion * Gondi people#Religion, Koyapunem * Tamil mythology, Tamil religion

Indo-European

* Assianism (Ossetian religion) * Kalash people#Religion, Kalashism

Tai and Miao

* Ahom religion * Mo (religion), Mo religion * Tai folk religion, Satsana Phi ** Tai folk religion#Lamet religion, Lamet religion * Yao Taoism

Sino-Tibetan

* Bathouism * Benzhuism * Bimoism * Bon * Mun (religion), Bongthingism * Burmese folk religion *

* Donyi-Polo * Kirat Mundhum, Kiratism *

* Sanamahism

Uralic

* Komi mythology, Komi shamanism * Mari Native Religion

Other Indigenous

* Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal religion * Circassian paganism, Circassian (Khabzeism) * Korean shamanism, Muism * Melanesian mythology, Melanesian religion ** Papuan mythology, Papuan religion *

* Shamanism in Siberia, Siberian shamanism * Vedda#Religion, Vedda religion

New religious movements

Religions that cannot be classed as either world religions or traditional folk religions, and are usually recent in their inception.

Cargo cults

*John Frum *Johnson cult *Prince Philip Movement *Vailala Madness

New ethnic religions

Black

*African Zionism *Ausar Auset Society *''Black Muslims (disambiguation), Black Muslims'' **American Society of Muslims *Dini Ya Msambwa *Five-Percent Nation *Godianism *Igbe religion *Moorish Science Temple of America **Moorish Orthodox Church of America *Mumboism *Nation of Islam **United Nation of Islam *Nuwaubian Nation

= Black Hebrew Israelites

= *African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem *Church of God and Saints of Christ *Commandment Keepers *Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ *Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge *Nation of Yahweh *One West Camp

= Rastafari

= * Bobo Ashanti * Nyabinghi * Twelve Tribes of Israel (Rastafari), Twelve Tribes of Israel

White

*Ariosophy *British Israelism *Christian Identity *Creativity (religion), Creativity *French Israelism *Nordic Israelism *Wotansvolk

Native American

*Ghost Dance *Indian Shaker Church *Longhouse Religion *Mexicayotl *Native American Church *Native American religions#Waashat Religion, Wasshat religion

Hindu-derived new religions

*Adidam *Brahmoism (Brahmo Samaj) **Adi Dharm **Sadharan Brahmo Samaj *Meivazhi *Rajneesh movement *Transcendental Meditation

Sikh-derived new religions

* Contemporary Sant Mat movements ** Advait Mat ** Radha Soami *** Radha Soami Satsang Beas *** Radha Soami Satsang Sabha, Radha Soami Satsang Dayagbal *** Radha Swami Satsang, Dinod *** Kirpal Singh#Ruhani Satsang, Ruhani Satsang *** Manavta Mandir *** Science of Spirituality (a.k.a. Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission) ** Radha Soami-influenced *** Ancient Teachings of the Masters *** Dera Sacha Sauda *** Eckankar *** Elan Vital (organization), Elan Vital (formerly Divine Light Mission) *** Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness ** Ravidassia

Christian-derived new religions

*Antoinism *Modekngei *Rātana *Ringatū, Ringatu *Pai Mārire, Pai Marire

Japanese new religions

*Aum Shinrikyo *Church of World Messianity *Happy Science *Konkokyo *Oomoto *PL Kyodan *Seicho-no-Ie *Shinmeiaishinkai *Tenrikyo *Zenrinkyo

Modern paganism

Ethnic neopaganism

*Armenian neopaganism *Baltic neopaganism **Dievturība **Romuva (religion), Romuva *Caucasian neopaganism **Abkhaz neopaganism ***Council of Priests of Abkhazia **Vainakh religion *Celtic neopaganism **Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism *Heathenry (new religious movement), Heathenry (a.k.a. Germanic neopaganism) *Hellenism (religion), Hellenism *Italo-Roman neopaganism **Nova Roma **Roman Traditional Movement *Kemetism **Kemetic Orthodoxy *Semitic neopaganism *Slavic Native Faith (a.k.a. Slavic neopaganism) **Native Polish Church **Peterburgian Vedism **Rodzima Wiara **Rodnover Confederation **RUNVira (a.k.a. Sylenkoism) **Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities **Ynglism *Uralic neopaganism **Estonian neopaganism **Finnish neopaganism, Suomenusko **Hungarian neopaganism **Mordvin Native Religion, Mastorava **Udmurt Vos *Zalmoxianism *Zuism

Syncretic neopaganism

*Adonism *Christianity and neopaganism#Christopaganism, Christopaganism **Christianity and neopaganism#Christian Wicca, Christian Wicca *Church of All Worlds *Church of Aphrodite *Cochrane's Craft *Druidry (modern), Druidry **Ár nDraíocht Féin **Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids **Reformed Druids of North America *Feraferia *Goddess movement *Huna (New Age), Huna *Ivanovism *Neoshamanism *Pow-wow (folk magic), Pow-wow *Radical Faeries *Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism *Stregheria *Summum *Technopaganism *Wicca **British Traditional Wicca ***Gardnerian Wicca ***Alexandrian Wicca ***Central Valley Wicca ***Algard Wicca ***Chthonioi Alexandrian Wicca ***Blue Star Wicca **Seax-Wica **Universal Eclectic Wicca **Celtic Wicca **Dianic Wicca **Faery Wicca **Feri Tradition **Georgian Wicca **Odyssean Wicca **Wiccan church ***Covenant of the Goddess

Entheogenic religions

*Church of the Universe *Neo-American Church *Santo Daime *Temple of the True Inner Light *Carlos Castaneda#Tensegrity, Tensegrity *THC Ministry *União do Vegetal

New Age Movement

* ''A Course in Miracles'' * Association for Research and Enlightenment * Chaos magic, Chaos Magic * ''Conversations with God'' * Eckankar * Love Has Won * Rainbow Family * The Family (Australian New Age group), The Family

New Thought

* Christian Science * Church of Divine Science * Church of the Truth * Church Universal and Triumphant * Home of Truth * Jewish Science * Psychiana * Religious Science * Seicho-no-Ie * The Infinite Way * Unity Church * Universal Foundation for Better Living

Parody religions and fiction-based religions

* Church of Euthanasia * Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (a.k.a. "Pastafarianism") * Church of the SubGenius * Dinkoism * Discordianism * Dudeism * Iglesia Maradoniana * Jediism * Kibology * Kopimism * Landover Baptist Church * Omphalos hypothesis#Last Thursdayism, Last Thursdayism * 'Pataphysics * Aerican Empire, Silinism * Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence * United Church of Bacon

Post-theistic and naturalistic religions

*Abrahamites *Cult of the Supreme Being (Historical) *Deism **Christian Deism *Ethical movement *Freethought **North Texas Church of Freethought *God-Building *Renaissance Humanism, Humanism *Ietsism *Moorish Orthodox Church of America *Pandeism *Pantheism **Naturalistic pantheism *Religion of Humanity **Church of Humanity *Theophilanthropy *Saint-Simonianism *Syntheism *Unitarian Universalism *Universal Life Church

UFO religions

*Aetherius Society *Ashtar Galactic Command *Chen Tao ("True Way") *Fiat Lux (UFO religion), Fiat Lux *Ground Crew Project *Heaven's Gate (religious group), Heaven's Gate *Industrial Church of the New World Comforter *Mark-Age *Nuwaubian Nation *Order of the Solar Temple *Raëlism *Scientology **Free Zone (Scientology), Independent Scientology *The Seekers (rapturists), The Seekers *Unarius Academy of Science *Universe people *''The Urantia Book, Urantia movement''

Western esotericism

*Anthroposophy *Archeosophical Society *Builders of the Adytum *Fraternity of the Inner Light *Hermeticism **Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ***The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc. *Illuminates of Thanateros *Luciferianism **Fraternitas Saturni **Neo-Luciferian Church *New Acropolis *Occultism **Gaianism **Mayanism **The Michael Teachings, Michael Teachings *Ordo Aurum Solis *Rosicrucian **Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis **Lectorium Rosicrucianum **Rosicrucian Fellowship *Satanism **Satanism#Rationality, Non-theistic Satanism ***LaVeyan Satanism ****Church of Satan ****First Satanic Church ***The Satanic Temple **Theistic Satanism ***Joy of Satan Ministries, Joy of Satan ***Order of Nine Angles ***Our Lady of Endor Coven (Historical) ***Temple of the Black Light ***Temple of Set *Thelema **A∴A∴ **Ordo Templi Orientis **Typhonian Order *Theosophy **Neo-Theosophy *Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth

Other new

*Bell Church, Bell religion *Nigerian Chrislam, Chrislam *Oahspe, Faithism *Falun Gong *Fourth Way *Heraka *Ishikism *Nontheism *Omnism *Open-source religion *Otherkin *Pilgrims of Arès, Pilgrims of Ares *Santa Muerte *Singularitarianism *Spiritualism (Spiritism) *Subud *Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy, Tai Ji Men *The Circle of Reason *The Family International

Historical religions

* Prehistoric religion ** Paleolithic religion

Bronze Age

* Ancient Egyptian religion ** Atenism * Ancient Mesopotamian religion ** Babylonian religion, Babylonian Religion ** Sumerian religion *Ancient Semitic religion ** Ancient Canaanite religion ** Yahweh, Yahwism *Religion of the Indus Valley Civilization, Harappan religion *Hittite mythology and religion, Hittite religion *Hurrian religion *Luwian religion *Minoan religion *Mycenaean religion *Proto-Indo-European mythology, Proto-Indo-European religion ** Paleo-Balkan mythology, Paleo-Balkan religion ** Proto-Indo-Iranian religion *Proto-Uralic religion

Classical antiquity

* Kingdom_of_Aksum#Religion, Aksumite religion * Albanian mythology, Albanian folk beliefs * Ancient Celtic religion ** Breton mythology, Breton paganism ** Cornish mythology, Cornish paganism ** Irish mythology, Irish paganism ** Isle of Man#Myth, legend, and folklore, Manx paganism ** Scottish mythology, Scottish paganism ** Welsh mythology, Welsh paganism * Ancient Greek religion ** Greco-Buddhism ** Greco-Roman mysteries *** Samothrace temple complex#Cult of the Great Gods, Cult of the Great Gods *** Dionysian Mysteries, Dionysian mysteries **** Orphism (religion), Orphism *** Eleusinian Mysteries, Eleusinian mysteries *** Mysteries of Isis ** Hellenistic religion ** Hermeticism ** Neoplatonism ** Pythagoreanism *** Neopythagoreanism ** Stoicism * Ancient Iranian religion * Armenian mythology, Armenian paganism * Castro culture#Religion, Castro cutlure religion * Basque mythology, Basque paganism * Cantabrian mythology, Cantabrian religion * Dacians#Religion, Dacian religion * Elam#Religion, Elamite religion * Etruscan religion * Gallaeci#Gallaecian deities, Gallaecian religion * Georgian mythology, Georgian paganism * Germanic paganism ** Anglo-Saxon paganism ** Continental Germanic mythology, Continental Germanic paganism ** Frankish mythology, Frankish paganism ** Old Norse religion * Gothic paganism * Armazi (god), Iberian religion * Illyrian religion * Nuristanis#Pre-Islamic religion, Kafirism * Ligures#Religion, Ligurian religion * Lusitanian mythology, Lusitanian religion * Lydians#religion, Lydian religion * Nauruan indigenous religion * Nuragic civilization#Religion, Nuragic religion * Punic religion * Religion in ancient Rome ** Gallo-Roman religion ** Imperial cult of ancient Rome, Imperial cult ** Greco-Roman mysteries *** Mithraism * Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia * Scythian religion * Thracian religion * Urartu#Religion, Urartu religion * Historical Vedic religion, Vedicism

Medieval Period

* Ainu people#Religion, Ainu religion * Balinese mythology, Balinese religion * Baltic mythology, Baltic paganism **Prussian mythology, Prussian paganism **Latvian mythology, Latvian paganism **Lithuanian mythology, Lithuanian paganism * Batak#Traditional Batak religion, Batak religion * Cook Islands mythology, Cook Islands narrative * Estonian mythology, Estonian shamanism * Religion in Fiji, Fijian religion * Finnish paganism, Finnish shamanism * Guanches#System of beliefs, Guanche religion * Hungarian mythology, Hungarian shamanism * Jamaican Maroon religion * Mangarevan narrative * Rapa Nui mythology, Rapa Nui narrative * Sámi shamanism * Slavic paganism * Tongan religion, Tongan narrative * Tuvaluan mythology, Tuvaluan narrative * Vainakh religion

Other categorisations

By demographics

* List of religious populations

By area

*Religion in Africa * Religion in Asia * Religion in Oceania * Religion in Europe * Religion in North America * Religion in South America * Religion by country ** List of state-established religions ** Buddhism by country *** Buddhism in the United States ** Christianity by country *** Roman Catholicism by country *** Eastern Orthodoxy by country *** Protestantism by country *** Oriental Orthodoxy by country ** Hinduism by country ** Islam by country *** Ahmadiyya by country ** Judaism by country, Jewish population by country ** Sikhism by country

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Patheos World Religions library

Statistics on religious belief or adherence

BBC.co.uk section on major world religions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Religions and spiritual traditions Religion-related lists Religious faiths, traditions, and movements, Spirituality, Dynamic lists