The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative degrees of civility in different societies, but this concept of a ranking order has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.
Religious demographics
One way to define a major religion is by the number of current adherents. The population numbers by religion are computed by a combination of census reports and population surveys, in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example the United States or France. Results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count.
There is no consensus among researchers as to the best methodology for determining the religiosity profile of the world's population. A number of fundamental aspects are unresolved:
Whether to count "historically predominant religious culture(s)". Whether to count only those who actively "practice" a particular religion. Whether to count based on a concept of "self-identification as adherents". Whether to count only those who expressly self-identify with a particular denomination. Whether to count only adults, or to include children as well. Whether to rely on official government-provided statistics. Whether to use multiple sources and ranges or single "best source(s)". Pew Research Centre's 2025 report on religious changes from 2010-2020, had Christians as the world's largest group at 2.3 billion representing 28.8%, 2 billion Muslims at 25.6%, 1.9 billion Religiously unaffiliated at 24.2%, 1.2 billion Hindus at 14.9%, 300 million Buddhists at 4.1%, 200 million Other religions at 2.2%, and 10 million Jews at 0.2%.
Largest religious groups Religion Followers (billions) Cultural tradition Founded References Christianity 2.3 Abrahamic religions Judaea (Middle East), c. 30 CE Islam Abrahamic religions Hejaz (Middle East), c. 610 CEIrreligion1.9SecularismWorldwide Hinduism Indian religions Indian subcontinent, c. 20th to 17th century BCE Buddhism 0.3 Indian religions Nepal, c. 5th century BCE Folk religion 0.2 Regional Worldwide
Medium-sized religions
Religion Followers (millions) Cultural tradition Founded References Shinto 89 Japanese religions Japan, unknown origin date Taoism Chinese religions China, 2nd century CE Yoruba Religion African religions Yorubaland, unknown origin date Olupona, Jacob Kẹhinde; Rey, Terry. Òrìşà Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture, p. 23. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2008. - "...more than 70 million African and New World peoples participate in or are closely familiar with, religious systems that include Ogun." Voodoo 60 African religions Dahomey, unknown origin date Sikhism 25–30 Indian religions Indian subcontinent, 15th century Ahmadiyya 10–20 Abrahamic religions and New religious movements Indian subcontinent, 19th century Judaism 15 Abrahamic religions Judah (Middle East), 6th to 5th century BCE Spiritism Abrahamic religions and New religious movements France, 19th century Mu-ism Korean religions Korea, unknown origin date Unification Church 10 Abrahamic religions and New religious movements South Korea, 1954 Ayyavazhi Indian religions and New religious movements South India, 19th century 31st Indian Social Science Congress, A note on People's Struggles and Movements for Equitable Society , Plenary IV: People's Struggles and Movements For Gender/ Racial/ Caste-Discrimination-free Equitable Society, p. 47. Baháʼí Faith Abrahamic religions and New religious movements Persia, 19th century Historically, the Baháʼí Faith arose in 19th-century Persia, in the context of Shia Islam, and thus may be classed on this basis as a divergent strand of Islam, placing it in the Abrahamic tradition. However, the Baháʼí Faith considers itself an independent religious tradition, which draws from Islam but also other traditions. The Baháʼí Faith may also be classed as a new religious movement, due to its comparatively recent origin, or may be considered sufficiently old and established for such classification to not be applicable. Confucianism Chinese religions China, 6th to 5th century BCE Sarnaism5Indian religionsChota Nagpur Plateau, Unknown Jainism Indian religions Indian subcontinent, 7th to 9th century BCE Cheondoism Korean religions and New religious movements Korea, 19th century Self-reported figures from North Korea (South Korean followers are minimal according to census): World Mission Society Church of God 3.9 Abrahamic religions and New religious movements South Korea, 1964 Hoahaoism Vietnamese religions Vietnam, 20th century Iglesia ni Cristo 2.8 Abrahamic religions and New religious movements Philippines, 1913 Tengrism 2 Animism Central Asia, unknown origin date Ravidassia1.5–2Indian religions and New religious movements Indian subcontinent, 2010 Caodaism Vietnamese religions Vietnam, 20th century Tenriism Japanese religions Japan, 19th century Druze 1 Abrahamic religions Egypt, 9th century Rastafari 1 Abrahamic religions and New religious movements Jamaica, 1930s Yarsanism 1 Abrahamic religions and Iranian religions Iran, 14th century Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
Small-sized religions Religion Followers Cultural tradition Founded ReferencesWicca800,000Modern paganism (New religious movements)United Kingdom, 1954 CEYazidism300,000–500,000Kurdish religionsKurdistan, 16th to 14th century CEAssianism200,000–450,000Iranian religions and Modern paganism (New religious movements) Ossetia, 1980s See also the results' main interactive mapping and the static mappings: The Sreda Arena Atlas was realised in cooperation with the All-Russia Population Census 2010 (Всероссийской переписи населения 2010), the Russian Ministry of Justice (Минюста РФ), the Public Opinion Foundation (Фонда Общественного Мнения) and presented among others by the Analytical Department of the Synodal Information Department of the Russian Orthodox Church. See: Donyi-Polo370,000Indian religions and New religious movements Indian subcontinent, 1970 Native American Church300,000 Native American religions and New religious movements United States, 19th centurySanamahism222,422Indian religionsManipur, 10th century BCE Zoroastrianism 121,962 Iranian religions Iran, 16th to 14th century BCE Rodnovery 22,000–777,000 Modern paganism (New religious movements) Eastern Europe, 1930s-1950s Evaluation of the Secretary of the Department of Religious Studies of the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Dmytro Bazik // Segodnya. July 7, 2013. Mandaeism 60,000–70,000 Abrahamic religions and Iranian religions Middle East, 1st to 3rd century CE Happy Science13,000–38,000Japanese religions and New religious movementsJapan, 1986Shugendō6,000Japanese religionsJapan, 7th century CERoman reconstructionism 3,200Modern paganism (New religious movements)Italy, 1970s; Roots in Ancient RomeSamaritanism900Abrahamic religionsJudah, 6th to 5th century BCE
By region
Religions by country according to The World Factbook – CIA Religion by region Religion in Africa Religion in Antarctica Religion in Asia Religion in the Middle East Muslim world (SW Asia and N Africa) Religion in Europe Religion in the European Union Christian world Religion in North America Religion in Oceania Religion in South America
Trends in adherence
+ Trends in adherenceThe results have been studied and found "highly correlated with other sources of data", but "consistently gave a higher estimate for percent Christian in comparison to other cross-national data sets." 1970–1985 (%)1990–2000 (%)2000–2005 (%) 1970–2010 (%)Baháʼí Faith3.652.281.704.26Buddhism1.671.092.76Christianity1.641.361.322.10Confucianism0.83Hinduism2.341.691.572.62Islam2.742.131.844.23Jainism2.60Judaism1.09 -0.03Sikhism1.871.623.08Shinto -0.83Taoism9.85Zoroastrianism2.5Neopaganism 7.03 4.52 2.28 8.30unaffiliated0.37
Maps of self-reported adherence
Classification
Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion, arranged by historical origin and mutual influence. Abrahamic religions originate in the Middle East, Indian religions in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia) and East Asian religions in East Asia. Another group with supra-regional influence are Afro-American religion, which have their origins in Central and West Africa. In contemporary scholarship, Modern Paganism is increasingly classified as a distinct supra-regional group, encompassing both eclectic traditions and polytheistic reconstructionism, the latter of which often functions as a contemporary ethnic religion focused on reviving pre-Christian European traditions.
Middle Eastern religions: Abrahamic religions are the largest group, and these consist mainly of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. They are named for the Hebrew patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of monotheism. Today, at least 3.8 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions and are spread widely around the world apart from the regions around East and Southeast Asia. Several Abrahamic organizations are vigorous proselytizers. Abrahamic religions with fewer adherents include the Baháʼí Faith, the Druze faith, Samaritanism, and Rastafari. Iranian religions, partly of Indo-European origins, include Zoroastrianism, Yazdânism, Uatsdin, Yarsanism, Manichaeism, and Yazidism. Gnosticism, including historical traditions of Mandaeism, which is still alive in the Middle East and diaspora. Eastern religions: Indian religions, originated in Greater India and they tend to share a number of key concepts, such as dharma, karma, reincarnation among others. They are of the most influence across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as isolated parts of Russia. The main Indian religions are Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. In 2010 Ravidassia religion was separated from Sikhism. East Asian religions consist of several East Asian religions which make use of the concept of Tao (in Chinese), Đạo (in Vietnamese) or Dō (in Japanese or Korean). They include many Chinese folk religions, Taoism and Confucianism, as well as Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese religions, which are influenced by Chinese religious thought. Indigenous ethnic religions, found on every continent, now marginalized by the major organized faiths in many parts of the world or persisting as undercurrents (folk religions) of major religions. Includes traditional African religions, Asian shamanism, Native American religions, Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal traditions, Chinese folk religions, and postwar Shinto. Under more traditional listings, this has been referred to as "paganism" along with historical polytheism. African religions: The religions of the tribal peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, but excluding ancient Egyptian religion, which is considered to belong to the ancient Middle East; African diasporic religions practiced in the Americas, imported as a result of the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 18th centuries, building on traditional religions of Central and West Africa. Modern Paganism and Polytheistic reconstructionism is a broad group of religions that seek to revive or recreate pre-Christian spiritualities. Scholars categorize these along a continuum between eclecticism (blending traditions) and reconstructionism (seeking historical and ethnic accuracy).