Religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, symbol

Symbol

A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...

s, tradition

Tradition

A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...

s and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life

Meaning of life

The meaning of life constitutes a philosophical question concerning the purpose and significance of life or existence in general. This concept can be expressed through a variety of related questions, such as "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", and "What is the meaning of it all?" It has...

 or to explain the origin of life or the universe

Universe

The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...

. They tend to derive morality, ethics

Ethics

Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...

, religious law

Religious law

In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by a God defining and governing all human affairs. Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of ethics and morality which are upheld and required by the God...

s or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos

Cosmos

In the general sense, a cosmos is an orderly or harmonious system. It originates from the Greek term κόσμος , meaning "order" or "ornament" and is antithetical to the concept of chaos. Today, the word is generally used as a synonym of the word Universe . The word cosmos originates from the same root...

 and human nature

Human nature

Human nature refers to the distinguishing characteristics, including ways of thinking, feeling and acting, that humans tend to have naturally....

.

The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith

Faith

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...

or belief system, but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect. Most religions have organized behaviors

Religious behaviour

The religions of the world consist of religious images and religious behaviour. The images of the religions from the past and of present day religions, like gods, ghosts and worshipped ancestors, concepts of guilt, dogmatic teachings and ideas of the hereafter, are generally quite well known...

, including clerical hierarchies

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregation

Local church

A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...

s of laity

Laity

In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...

, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity

Deity

A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....

 or for prayer

Prayer

Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

, holy places (either natural or architectural), and/or scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include sermon

Sermon

A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, 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

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

 or gods, sacrifice

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...

s, festival

Festival

A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....

s, feasts

Banquet

A banquet is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone....

, trance

Trance

Trance denotes a variety of processes, ecstasy, techniques, modalities and states of mind, awareness and consciousness. Trance states may occur involuntarily and unbidden.The term trance may be associated with meditation, magic, flow, and prayer...

, initiation

Initiation

Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony 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...

s, funerary services

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...

, matrimonial services, meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

, public service

Community service

Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....

, or other aspects of human culture.

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

Transculturation

Transculturation is a term coined by Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz in 1940 to describe the phenomenon of merging and converging cultures....

, international

International

----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...

 faiths; indigenous religions, which refers to smaller, culture-specific or nation-specific religious groups; and new religious movements, which refers to recently developed faiths. One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism

Social constructionism

Social constructionism and social constructivism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena or objects of consciousness develop in social contexts. A social construction is a concept or practice that is the construct of a particular group...

, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

 practice and worship

Worship

Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...

 follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions

Abrahamic religions are the monotheistic faiths emphasizing and tracing their common origin to Abraham or recognizing a spiritual tradition identified with him...

 as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings, and thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately

Reification (fallacy)

Reification is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction is treated as if it were a concrete, real event, or physical entity. In other words, it is the error of treating as a "real thing" something which is not a real thing, but merely an idea...

 to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems, or in which these systems are a substantially simpler construct.

Abrahamic religions

A group of monotheistic traditions

Monotheism

Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...

 sometimes grouped with one another for comparative

Comparative religion

Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...

 purposes, because all refer to a patriarch named Abraham

Abraham

Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

.

Christianity

Catholicism

• Anglicanism
  Anglicanism
  Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
  
   (website)
• Assyrian Church of the East
  Assyrian Church of the East
  The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
  
   (website)
• Eastern Orthodox Church
  Eastern Orthodox Church
  The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
  
   (website)
• Oriental Orthodox Church (website)
• Roman Catholic Church
  Roman Catholic Church
  The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
  
   (website)

Protestantism

Other groups

• Bible Student movement
  Bible Student movement
  The Bible Student movement is the name adopted by a Millennialist Restorationist Christian movement that emerged from the teachings and ministry of Charles Taze Russell, also known as Pastor Russell...
  
  
• Christian Universalism
  Christian Universalism
  Christian Universalism is a school of Christian theology which includes the belief in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, the view that all human beings or all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God....
  
  
• Latter Day Saint movement
  Latter Day Saint movement
  The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
  
  
• Nontrinitarianism
  Nontrinitarianism
  Nontrinitarianism includes all Christian belief systems that disagree with the doctrine of the Trinity, namely, the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases and yet co-eternal, co-equal, and indivisibly united in one essence or ousia...
  
  
• Swedenborgianism
• Unitarianism
  Unitarianism
  Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
  
  
• The Creativity Movement

Gnosticism

Christian Gnosticism

• Ebionites
  Ebionites
  Ebionites, or Ebionaioi, , is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian sect or sects that existed during the first centuries of the Christian Era. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites...
  
  
• Cerdonians
  Cerdonians
  The Cerdonians were a Gnostic sect founded by Cerdo, a Syrian, who came to Rome about 137, but concerning whose history little is known. They held that there are two first causes — the perfectly good and the perfectly evil. The latter is also the creator of the world, the god of the Jews, and the...
  
  
  • Marcionism
    Marcionism
    Marcionism was an Early Christian dualist belief system that originated in the teachings of Marcion of Sinope at Rome around the year 144; see also Christianity in the 2nd century....
    
     (not entirely Gnostic)
• Colorbasians
  Colorbasians
  In early Christianity, the Colorbasians were a branch of Gnostics, so called from Colorbasus, who improved on the visions of the Gnostics that had preceded them. Epiphanius enumerates and rebuts their beliefs in the Panarion....
  
  
• Simonians
  Simonians
  The Simonians were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century which regarded Simon Magus as its founder and traced its doctrines, known as Simonianism, back to him. The sect flourished in Syria, in various districts of Asia Minor and at Rome...
  
  

Early Gnosticism

• Borborites
  Borborites
  According to the Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis , and Theodoret's Haereticarum Fabularum Compendium, the Borborites or Borborians were a libertine Gnostic sect, said to be descended from the Nicolaitans...
  
  
• Cainites
  Cainites
  The Cainites, or Cainians, were a Gnostic and Antinomian sect who were known to worship Cain as the first victim of the Demiurge Jehovah, the deity of the Tanakh , who was identified by many groups of gnostics as evil...
  
  
• Carpocratians
• Ophites
  Ophites
  The Ophites or Ophians were members of a Christian Gnostic sect depicted by Hippolytus of Rome in a lost work, the Syntagma....
  
  
• Hermeticism
  Hermeticism
  Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
  
  

Medieval Gnosticism

• Cathars
• Bogomils
• Paulicianism
  Paulicianism
  Paulicians were a Christian Adoptionist sect and militarized revolt movement, also accused by medieval sources as Gnostic and quasi Manichaean Christian. They flourished between 650 and 872 in Armenia and the Eastern Themes of the Byzantine Empire...
  
  
• Tondrakians
  Tondrakians
  Tondrakians were members of an anti-feudal, heretical Christian sect that flourished in medieval Armenia between the early 9th century and 11th century and centered around the city of Tondrak, north of Lake Van in Western Armenia.-History:...
  
  

Persian Gnosticism

• Mandaeanism
• Manichaeism
  Manichaeism
  Manichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
  
  
  • Bagnolians
    Bagnolians
    The Bagnolians were a sect in the 8th century, deemed heretical, who rejected the Old Testament and part of the New Testament. They held the world to be eternal, and affirmed that God did not create the soul, when he infused it into the body. They derived their name from Bagnols, a city in...
    
    

Syrian-Egyptic Gnosticism

• Sethians
  • Basilidians
  • Valentinians
    • Bardesanites

Islam

Kalam Schools

• Ash'ari
  Ash'ari
  The Ashʿari theology is a school of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari...
  
  
• Kalam
  Kalam
  ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
  
  
• Maturidi
  Maturidi
  In Islam, a Maturidi is one who follows Abu Mansur Al Maturidi's theology, which is a close variant of the Ash'ari theology . The Maturidis, Ash'aris and Atharis are all part of Sunni Islam, which makes up the overwhelming majority of Muslims...
  
  
• Murji'ah
  Murji'ah
  Murji'ah is an early Islamic school, whose followers are known in English language as Murjites or Murji'ites ....
  
  
• Mu'tazili
  Mu'tazili
  ' is an Islamic school of speculative theology that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present-day Iraq, during the 8th–10th centuries. The adherents of the Mu'tazili school are best known for their having asserted that, because of the perfect unity and eternal nature of God,...
  
  

Kharijite

• Ibadi
  Ibadi
  The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
  
   (Only surviving sect)
• Azraqi
  Azraqi
  Abul-Mahāsin Abu Bakr Zaynuddin Azraqi was an 11th century poet who lived in Persia.Born in Herat, Firdowsi is said to have taken refuge in his father's house on his flight from Ghazneh to Tus....
  
  
• Haruriyya
  Haruriyya
  The Harūrī were an early Muslim sect from the period of the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs , named for their first leader, Habīb ibn-Yazīd al-Harūrī. The Harūrī were one branch of the Khārijī "Rejectors" movement, so called because they rejected ‘Alī's right to the Caliphate...
  
  
• Sufri
  Sufri
  The Sufris were a Khariji sect of Islam that existed in the 7th and 8th centuries. They established the Midrarid state at Sijilmassa.In Algeria , the Banu Ifran were Sufri Berbers who opposed Umayyad, Abbasids and Fatimid rule, most notably under resistance movements led by Abu Qurra and Abu...
  
  

Shia Islam

• Ismailism
  • Mustaali
    Mustaali
    The Musta‘lī Ismā'īlī Muslims are so named because they accept Al-Musta'li as the nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir...
    
     / Bohra
    Dawoodi Bohra
    Dawoodi Bohra is a subsect of Ismāʿīlī Shīʿa Islām. While the Dawoodi Bohra is based in India, their belief system originates in Yemen, where it evolved from the Fatimid Caliphate and where they were persecuted due to their differences from mainstream Sunni Islam...
    
    
  • Nizari
    Nizari
    'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...
    
    
• Jafari
  • Twelvers
    • Akhbari
      Akhbari
      The Akhbārīs are Twelver Shī‘a Muslims who reject the use of reasoning in deriving verdicts, and believe only the Qur'an, aḥadīth, and consensus should be used as sources to derive verdicts . The term Akhbārī is used in contrast to Usūlī...
      
      
    • Shaykhi
    • Usuli
  • Alawites
  • Alevi
    Alevi
    The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
    
     / Bektashi
    Bektashi
    Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
    
    
• Zaidiyyah
  Zaidiyyah
  Zaidiyya, or Zaidism is a Shi'a Muslim school of thought named after Zayd ibn ʻAlī, the grandson of Husayn ibn ʻAlī. Followers of the Zaydi Islamic jurisprudence are called Zaydi Shi'a...
  
  

Sufism

• Bektashi
  Bektashi
  Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
  
  
• Chishti
• Mevlevi
  Mevlevi
  The Mevlevi Order, or the Mevlevilik or Mevleviye are a Sufi order founded in Konya by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form...
  
  
• Mujaddediyah
• Naqshbandi
  Naqshbandi
  Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
  
  
  • Jahriyya
    Jahriyya
    Jahriyya is a Sufi order in China that once existed in Persia and the Turkish World. Founded by Hadrat Abu Yaqub Yusuf Hamdani, it was brought to China in the 1760s by Ma Mingxin...
    
    
  • Khufiyya
• Nimatullahi
  Nimatullahi
  The Ni'matullāhī or Ne'matollāhī is a Sufi order originating in Iran. According to Moojan Momen, the number of Ni'matullāhī in Iran in 1980 was estimated to be between 50,000 and 350,000. Following the emigration of Dr...
  
  
• Tariqah
  Tariqah
  A tariqa is an Islamic religious order. In Sufism one starts with Islamic law, the exoteric or mundane practice of Islam and then is initiated onto the mystical path of a tariqa. Through spiritual practices and guidance of a tariqa the aspirant seeks ḥaqīqah - ultimate truth.-Meaning:A tariqa is a...
  
  
• Quadiriyyah
• Sufi Order International
  Sufi Order International
  The Sufi Order International is an organization dedicated to "Universal Sufism" as elaborated by Hazrat Inayat Khan.The order is currently led by Pir Zia Inayat Khan, the grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan and son of Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan....
  
  
• Sufism Reoriented
  Sufism Reoriented
  Sufism Reoriented is an American school of spiritual training headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, established by Meher Baba in 1952. In November of that year he signed The Chartered Guidance from Meher Baba for the Reorientation of Sufism. He appointed Ivy O...
  
  
• Suhrawardiyya
  Suhrawardiyya
  Suhrawardy redirects here. For the East Bengali politician and Prime Minister of Pakistan, see Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. The well-known Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi "the Executed" , the Shia founder of Illuminationism, is unconnected....
  
  
• Tijani
  Tijaniyyah
  The Tijāniyyah is a sufi tariqa originating in North Africa but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea, and Northern Nigeria and Sudan...
  
  
• Universal Sufism
  Universal Sufism
  Universal Sufism is a universalist spiritual movement founded by Hazrat Inayat Khan while traveling throughout the West between 1910 and 1926, based on unity of all people and religions and the presence of spiritual guidance in all people, places and things. It is to some extent influenced by the ...
  
  
  • Dances of Universal Peace
    Dances of Universal Peace
    The Dances of Universal Peace are meditative, spiritual practices using the mantras of all world religions to promote peace. The DUP dances, of North American Sufic origin, combine chants from world faiths with dancing, whirling, and a variety of movement with singing.-The Dances:Conducted in the...
    
    

Sunni Islam

• Hanafi
  Hanafi
  The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
  
  
  • Barelvi
    Barelvi
    Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
    
    
  • Deobandi
    Deobandi
    Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
    
    
  • Gedimu
  • Yihewani
  • Xidaotang
    Xidaotang
    Xidaotang is a Chinese-Islamic school of thought. It was founded by Ma Qixi , a Chinese Muslim from Lintan in Gansu, at the beginning of the 20th Century...
    
    
• Hanbali
  Hanbali
  The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
  
  
• Maliki
  Maliki
  The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
  
  
• Shafi'i
  Shafi'i
  The Shafi'i madhhab is one of the schools of fiqh, or religious law, within the Sunni branch of Islam. The Shafi'i school of fiqh is named after Imām ash-Shafi'i.-Principles:...
  
  

Other Islamic Groups

• Ahl-e Hadith or Salafi
  Salafi
  A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
  
  
• Ahl-e Haqq
  Ahl-e Haqq
  The Ahl-e Haqq or Yârsân , are members of a religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000, primarily found in western Iran and Iraq, mostly ethnic Kurds and Laks, though there are also smaller groups of Luri,...
  
   or Yarsan
• Ahl-e Quran
• Ahmadiyya
  Ahmadiyya
  Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
  
  
  • Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
    Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
    The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
    
    
  • Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
    Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement
    The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam Lahore , also known as the Lahoris, formed as a result of ideological differences within the Ahmadiyya movement, after the demise of Maulana Hakim Noor-ud-Din in 1914, the first Khalifa after its founder,...
    
    
• Al-Fatiha Foundation
  Al-Fatiha Foundation
  The Al-Fatiha Foundation is an organization which advances the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims. It was founded in 1997 by Faisal Alam, a Pakistani American, and is registered as a nonprofit organization in the United States...
  
  
• Canadian Muslim Union
  Canadian Muslim Union
  The Canadian Muslim Union is a registered not-for-profit corporation in Canada.The CMU was started on August 20, 2006 following an unsuccessful attempt to resolve deep divisions in the Muslim Canadian Congress board...
  
  
• Druze
  Druze
  The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
  
  
• European Islam
  European Islam
  European Islam or Euro-Islam is a hypothesized new branch of Islam, which some believe is or should be emerging in Europe...
  
  
• Five Percenters
• Ittifaq al-Muslimin
  Ittifaq al-Muslimin
  Ittifaq al-Muslimin was a liberal-democratic party of Muslims in Russian Empire. The party was formed after The First Congress of Muslims of Russia and the party line was similar to Kadets...
  
  
• Jamaat al-Muslimeen
  Jamaat al-Muslimeen
  Jamaat al-Muslimeen , literally translated as "Group of Muslims", "The Muslim Group", "The Muslim Assembly", "The Muslim Society", or "The Muslim Community", is a Muslim group found in the South Asia. Headquartered in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, it was founded by Masood Ahmad in the 1960s. The...
  
  
• Jadid
  Jadid
  The Jadids were Muslim modernist reformers within the Russian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. They normally referred to themselves by the Turkic terms Taraqqiparvarlar , Ziyalilar , or simply Yäşlär/Yoshlar...
  
  
• Liberal Muslims
• Muslim Canadian Congress
  Muslim Canadian Congress
  The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." The organization claimed to have 300 dues-paying members prior to its 2006 split.-Origins:It was...
  
  
• Moorish Science Temple of America
  Moorish Science Temple of America
  The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American organization founded in the early 20th century by Timothy Drew. He claimed it was a sect of Islam but he also drew inspiration from Buddhism, Christianity, Freemasonry, Gnosticism and Taoism....
  
  
• Mahdavia
• Nation of Islam
  Nation of Islam
  The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
  
  
• Nuwaubianism
  Nuwaubianism
  The Nuwaubian Nation or Nuwaubian movement led by Malachi York,...
  
  
• Progressive British Muslims
  Progressive British Muslims
  Progressive British Muslims is a group of Liberal British Muslims that formed following the London terrorist attacks of July 7, 2005.The organisation was founded and is chaired by Farmida Bi, an expert in Islamic Finance to provide a voice for progressive Muslims who she felt were unrepresented by...
  
  
• Progressive Muslim Union
  Progressive Muslim Union
  The Progressive Muslim Union of North America was a liberal Islamic organization. The group officially launched on November 15, 2004 in Manhattan but was disbanded in December 2006...
  
  
• Qur'an Alone
  Qur'an alone
  Quranism is an Islamic denomination that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said and done,...
  
  
• Tolu-e-Islam
  Tolu-e-Islam
  Tolu-e-Islam , also known as Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam, is a group of Muslims that interpret Qur'an as the main source of guidance and deny the authority of the hadiths....
  
  
• United Submitters International
  United Submitters International
  United Submitters International is a reformist moderate Islamic religious community, following the teachings of Rashad Khalifa who is regarded in this faith as God's messenger of the Covenant, who claims to be prophesied in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran. Majority of Muslims...
  
  
• Wahabi
• Zikri
  Zikri
  The Zikris are a branch of Islam settled in Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. They are followers of Imam e Akhar Zama . The name Zikri comes from the Arabic word dhikr . The Zikri sect developed within Sunni Hanafi during the 18th century Mahdi movement as a reaction to British...
  
  

Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism

• Orthodox Judaism
  Orthodox Judaism
  Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
  
  
  • Haredi Judaism
    Haredi Judaism
    Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
    
    
  • Hasidic Judaism
    Hasidic Judaism
    Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
    
    
  • Modern Orthodox Judaism
    Modern Orthodox Judaism
    Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
    
    
• Conservative Judaism
  Conservative Judaism
  Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
  
  
  • Masorti
    Masorti
    The Masorti Movement is the name given to Conservative Judaism in Israel and other countries outside Canada and U.S. Masorti means "traditional" in Hebrew...
    
    
  • Conservadox Judaism
    Conservadox Judaism
    Conservadox is the term sometimes used to describe Jews whose beliefs and practices place them on the religious continuum somewhere between Conservative Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism...
    
    
    • Union for Traditional Judaism
      Union for Traditional Judaism
      The Union for Traditional Judaism is an ostensibly non-denominational Jewish educational, outreach and communal service organization. The UTJ, as it is known, sees itself as trans-denominational, and works to encourage traditional observance among all Jews. The UTJ maintains various educational...
      
      
• Reform Judaism
  Reform Judaism
  Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
  
  
• Progressive Judaism
  Progressive Judaism
  Progressive Judaism , is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life...
  
  
  • Liberal Judaism
    Liberal Judaism
    Liberal Judaism , is one of the two forms of Progressive Judaism found in the United Kingdom, the other being Reform Judaism. Liberal Judaism, which developed at the beginning of the twentieth century is less conservative than UK Reform Judaism...
    
    

Karaite Judaism
Modern Non-Rabbinic Judaism

• Alternative Judaism
  Alternative Judaism
  Alternative Judaism refers to a variety of groups whose members, while identifying as Jews in some fashion, nevertheless do not practice Rabbinic Judaism.-Variety:...
  
  
• Humanistic Judaism
  Humanistic Judaism
  Humanistic Judaism is a movement in Judaism that offers a nontheistic alternative in contemporary Jewish life. It defines Judaism as the cultural and historical experience of the Jewish people and encourages humanistic and secular Jews to celebrate their Jewish identity by participating in Jewish...
  
   (not always identified as a religion)
• Jewish Renewal
  Jewish Renewal
  Jewish Renewal , is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices...
  
  
• Reconstructionist Judaism
  Reconstructionist Judaism
  Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
  
  

Historical groups

• Essenes
  Essenes
  The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
  
  
• Pharisees
  Pharisees
  The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
  
   (ancestor of Rabbinic Judaism)
• Sadducees
  Sadducees
  The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
  
   (possible ancestor of Karaite Judaism)
• Zealots
  • Sicarii
    Sicarii
    Sicarii is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, to an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots, who attempted to expel the Romans and their partisans from Judea using concealed daggers .-History:The Sicarii used...
    
    

Sects that believed Jesus was a prophet

• Ebionites
  Ebionites
  Ebionites, or Ebionaioi, , is a patristic term referring to a Jewish Christian sect or sects that existed during the first centuries of the Christian Era. They regarded Jesus as the Messiah and insisted on the necessity of following Jewish religious law and rites...
  
  
• Elkasites
• Nazarenes
  Nazarene (sect)
  The Nazarene sect is used in two contexts:* Firstly of the New Testament early church where in Acts 24:5 Paul is accused before Felix at Caesarea by Tertullus of being "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes."...
  
  
• Sabbateans
  • Frankists

Black Hebrew Israelites

• African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem
• Church of God and Saints of Christ
  Church of God and Saints of Christ
  The Church of God and Saints of Christ is a Hebrew Israelite religious group established in Lawrence, Kansas, by William Saunders Crowdy in 1896. William Crowdy began congregations in several cities in the Midwestern and Eastern United States, and sent an emissary to organize locations in at least...
  
  
• Commandment Keepers
  Commandment Keepers
  The "Commandment Keepers Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation of the Living God Pillar & Ground of Truth, Inc.: " are a sect of Black Jews, founded in 1919 by Nigerian-born Rabbi Wentworth Arthur Matthew, who believe that people of Ethiopian descent represent one of the lost tribes of Israel...
  
  

Mandaeans and Sabians

• Mandaeism
  Mandaeism
  Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a Gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist...
  
  
• Sabians
  Sabians
  The Sabians of Middle Eastern tradition were a monotheistic Abrahamic religious group mentioned three times in the Quran: "the Jews, the Sabians, and the Christians." In the Hadith they are nothing but converts to Islam, while their identity in later Islamic literature became a matter of...
  
  
  • Sabians of Harran
  • Mandaean Nasaraean Sabeans

Indian religions

Religions that originated in India and religions and traditions related to, and descended from, them.

Buddhism

• Nikaya schools
  Nikaya Buddhism
  The term Nikāya Buddhism was coined by Dr. Masatoshi Nagatomi, in order to find a more acceptable term than Hinayana to refer to the early Buddhist schools. Examples of these schools are pre-sectarian Buddhism and the early Buddhist schools...
  
   (which have historically been called Hinayana
  Hinayana
  Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit and Pāli term literally meaning: the "Inferior Vehicle", "Deficient Vehicle", the "Abandoned Vehicle", or the "Defective Vehicle". The term appeared around the 1st or 2nd century....
  
   in the West)
  • Theravada
    Theravada
    Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
    
    
    • Sri Lankan Amarapura Nikaya
      Amarapura Nikaya
      The Amarapura Nikaya is a Sri Lankan monastic fraternity founded in 1800. It is named after the city of Amarapura, Myanmar , the former capital of the Burmese kingdom...
      
      
    • Sri Lankan Siam Nikaya
      Siam Nikaya
      The Siam Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lanka, founded by Upali Thera and located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand...
      
      
    • Sri Lankan Ramañña Nikaya
      Ramanna Nikaya
      Ramanna Nikaya is one of the most orthodox Buddhist orders in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1864 when Ambagahawatte Saranankara, returned to Sri Lanka after being ordained by the Neyyadhama Munivara Sangharaja of Ratnapunna Vihara in Burma.-Similar orders:Ramanna Nikaya is said to be similar to the...
      
      
    • Bangladeshi Sangharaj Nikaya
      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 South-East Asia, in which the word "Nikaya" is a respectful term for a...
      
      
    • Bangladeshi Mahasthabir Nikaya
      Mahasthabir Nikaya
      The Mahasthabir Nikaya is a Bengali order of Buddhist monks. They were anti-reformists who attempted to stifle the movement led by Saramitra Mahasthabir , which led to the formation of the Sangharaj Nikaya in 1864....
      
      
    • Burmese Thudhamma Nikaya
      Thudhamma Nikaya
      Thudhamma Nikaya is the largest monastic order of monks in Burma, with 85-90% of Burmese monks belonging to this order. It is one of 9 legally sanctioned monastic orders in the country, under the 1990 Law Concerning Sangha Organizations...
      
      
      • Vipassana tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw
        Mahasi Sayadaw
        The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw U Sobhana was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of Vipassana meditation in the West and throughout Asia...
        
         and disciples
    • Burmese Shwekyin Nikaya
    • Burmese Dvaya Nikaya
    • Thai Maha Nikaya
      Maha Nikaya
      "Maha Nikaya" refers to one of the two principal sects of modern Thai Buddhism. The other principle sect is Dhammayuttika Nikaya...
      
      
      • Dhammakaya Movement
        Dhammakaya Movement
        -Origins:It was founded by the Thai meditation master Phramongkolthepmuni - a celebrated meditation master and the late abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, Thonburi...
        
        
    • Thai Thammayut Nikaya
      • Thai Forest Tradition
        Thai Forest Tradition
        The Thai Forest Tradition is a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism. Practitioners inhabit remote wilderness and forest dwellings as spiritual practice training grounds. Maha Nikaya and Dhammayuttika Nikaya are the two major monastic orders in Thailand that have forest...
        
        
        • Tradition of Ajahn Chah
          Ajahn Chah
          Venerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo was an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition....
          
          
• Mahayana
  Mahayana
  Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
  
  
  • Humanistic Buddhism
    Humanistic Buddhism
    Humanistic Buddhism is a modern Buddhist philosophy practiced mostly by Mahayana Buddhists. It is the integration of people's spiritual practice into all aspects of their daily lives...
    
    
  • Madhyamaka
    Madhyamaka
    Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
    
    
    • Prāsangika
    • Svatantrika
      Svatantrika
      In the philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism, specifically in the Madhyamaka view, Svātantrika is a category of Madhyamaka viewpoints attributed primarily to the 6th century Indian scholar Bhavaviveka...
      
      
    • Sanlun
      Sanlun
      Mādhyamaka in East Asia refers to the Buddhist traditions in East Asia which represent the Indian Mādhyamaka system of thought. In Chinese Buddhism, these are often referred to as the Sānlùn school Mādhyamaka in East Asia refers to the Buddhist traditions in East Asia which represent the Indian...
      
       (Three Treatise school)
      • Sanron
    • Maha-Madhyamaka (Jonangpa)
  • Nichiren
    Nichiren Buddhism
    Nichiren Buddhism is a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren...
    
    
    • Nichiren Shū
      Nichiren Shu
      Nichiren Shū is the name of a confederation of several Nichiren Buddhist schools that go back to Nichiren's original disciples...
      
      
    • Nichiren Shōshū
      Nichiren Shoshu
      Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese monk Nichiren . Nichiren Shōshū claims Nichiren as its founder through his disciple Nikkō , the founder of the school's Head Temple Taiseki-ji...
      
      
    • Nipponzan Myōhōji
    • Soka Gakkai
  • Pure Land
    Pure land
    A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
    
    
    • Jodo Shu
      Jodo Shu
      , 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 Shinshū....
      
      
    • Jodo Shinshu
      Jodo Shinshu
      , also known as Shin Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism. It was founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran. Today, Shin Buddhism is considered the most widely practiced branch of Buddhism in Japan.-Shinran :...
      
      
  • Tathagatagarbha
    Tathagatagarbha doctrine
    In Mahāyāna, The "Tathāgatagarbha Sutras" are a collection of Mahayana sutras which present a unique model of Buddha-nature, i.e. the original vision of the Buddha-nature as an ungenerated, unconditioned and immortal Buddhic element within all beings. Even though this collection was generally...
    
    
    • Daśabhūmikā
      Dashabhumika
      Daśabhūmikā was a Buddhist sect in China, based around Vasubandhu's Sanskrit sutra of the same name...
      
       (absorbed into Huayan)
    • Huayan school 
      • Hwaeom
      • Kegon
        Kegon
        Kegon is the name of the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism.Huayan studies were founded in Japan when, in 736, the scholar-priest Rōben originally a monk of the Hossō tradition invited Shinshō to give lectures on the Avatamsaka Sutra at...
        
        
  • Tiantai
    Tiantai
    Tiantai is an important school of Buddhism in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. In Japan the school is known as Tendai, and in Korea it is known as Cheontae. Tiantai is also called the "Lotus School", due to its emphasis on the Lotus Sūtra as its doctrinal basis...
    
    
    • Tendai
      Tendai
      is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, a descendant of the Chinese Tiantai or Lotus Sutra school.Chappell frames the relevance of Tendai for a universal Buddhism:- History :...
      
      
    • Cheontae
      Cheontae
      Cheontae is the Korean descendant of the Chinese Buddhist school Tiantai. Tiantai was introduced to Korea a couple of times during earlier periods, but was not firmly established until the time of Uicheon who established Cheontae in Goryeo as an independent school.Due to Uicheon's influence, it...
      
      
  • Yogācāra
    Yogacara
    Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
    
    
    • Cittamatra in Tibet
    • Wei-Shi (Consciousness-only school) or Faxiang (Dharma-character school)
      • Beopsang
      • Hossō
  • Chan / Zen
    Zen
    Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
    
     / Seon / Thien
    • Caodong
      Caodong
      Cáodòng is a Chinese Zen Buddhist sect founded by Dongshan Liangjie and his Dharma-heirs in the 9th century. Some attribute the name "Cáodòng" as a union of "Dongshan" and "Caoshan" from one of his Dharma-heirs, Caoshan Benji; however, the "Cao" much more likely came from Cáoxī , the...
      
      
      • Sōtō
        Soto
        Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
        
        
        • Keizan
          Keizan
          -Biography:Keizan Jōkin 螢山紹瑾 , also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, was the second of the great founders of the Sōtō Zen sect in Japan. While Dōgen Zenji, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as Taiso , or Greatest Patriarch...
          
           line
        • Jakuen
          Jakuen
          Jìyuán , better known to Buddhist scholars by his Japanese name Jakuen, was a Chinese Zen monk and a disciple of Rujing. Most of his life is known to us only through medieval hagiography, legends, and sectarian works. It is generally agreed, though, that during his time at Tiāntóng Mountain he...
          
           line
        • Giin line
    • Linji
      • Rinzai
        Rinzai school
        The Rinzai school is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.Rinzai is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Linji Yixuan...
        
        
      • Ōbaku
        Obaku (school of Buddhism)
        The , is , one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.-History:Often termed the third sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan, it was established in 1661 by a small faction of masters from China and their Japanese students at Manpuku-ji in Uji, Japan.Today Manpuku-ji serves as the Ōbaku's head temple,...
        
        
      • Fuke Zen
        Fuke Zen
        Fuke Zen or the Hottô Ha , was a distinct and ephemeral derivative of Japanese Zen Buddhism which originated as an obscuration of the Rinzai school during the nation's feudal era, lasting from the 13th century until the late 19th century...
        
        
      • Won Buddhism
        Won Buddhism
        Wŏn Buddhism, a compound of the Korean wŏn and pulgyo , means literally "Round Buddhism," or "Consummate Buddhism." It is the name of an indigenous religion founded in Korea in the 20th century.-History:...
        
        : Korean Reformed Buddhism
    • Kwan Um School of Zen
      Kwan Um School of Zen
      The Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
      
      
    • Sanbo Kyodan
      Sanbo Kyodan
      Sanbo Kyodan is a Zen sect derived from both the Rinzai and Soto traditions of Japanese Zen.-History:...
      
      
• Vajrayana
  Vajrayana
  Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
  
  
  • Shingon Buddhism
    Shingon Buddhism
    is one of the mainstream major schools of Japanese Buddhism and one of the few surviving Esoteric Buddhist lineages that started in the 3rd to 4th century CE that originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra...
    
    
  • Tibetan Buddhism
    Tibetan Buddhism
    Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
    
    
    • Bön
    • Gelukpa
    • Kagyu
      Kagyu
      The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...
      
      pa
      • Dagpo Kagyu
        Dagpo Kagyu
        Dagpo Kagyu encompases all the branches of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism which trace their lineage back through Gampopa who was also known as Dagpo Lhaje and as Nyamed Dakpo Rinpoche or the "Incomparible Precious One from Dagpo"...
        
        
        • Karma Kagyu
          Karma Kagyu
          Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
          
          
        • Barom Kagyu
        • Tsalpa Kagyu
        • Phagdru Kagyu
        • Drikung Kagyu
          Drikung Kagyu
          Drikung Kagyu or Drigung Kagyu is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyu lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa while "minor" refers to all the lineages founded by disciples of Phakmo Drupa , one of the three...
          
          
        • Drukpa Kagyu
      • Shangpa Kagyu
        Shangpa Kagyu
        The Shangpa Kagyu is known as the "secret" lineage and differs in origin from the better known Dagpo Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dagpo Kagyud come from the lineage of Tilopa whereas the Shangpa lineage descends from Naropa's consort Niguma as well as Sukhasiddhi...
        
        
    • Nyingmapa
    • Sakyapa
      • Jonangpa
• New Buddhist movements
  • Aum Shinrikyo
    Aum Shinrikyo
    Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
    
     (now known as Aleph)
  • Diamond Way
  • Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
    Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
    The Triratna Buddhist Community is an international fellowship of Buddhists, and others who aspire to its path of mindfulness, under the leadership of the Triratna Buddhist Order...
    
    
  • New Kadampa Tradition
    New Kadampa Tradition
    The New Kadampa Tradition ~ International Kadampa Buddhist Union is a global Buddhist organisation founded by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso in England in 1991. In 2003 the words "International Kadampa Buddhist Union" were added to the original name "New Kadampa Tradition"...
    
    
  • Share International
    Share International
    Share International Foundation is a spiritual movement founded by Benjamin Creme with its main offices in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Los Angeles...
    
    
  • True Buddha School
    True Buddha School
    The True Buddha School is a modern Vajrayana Buddhist sect based in Taiwan and parts of East Asia with influence from Sutrayana and Taoism.Founded in the late 1980s, the founder of this sect is Lu Sheng-yen , often referred to by his followers as a tulku, a Tibetan term for a reincarnated teacher...
    
    
  • Vipassana movement
    Vipassana movement
    The Vipassana movement refers to a number of branches of modern Theravāda Buddhism, for example in the various traditions of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos and Thailand including contemporary American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield...
    
    

Hinduism

• Swaminarayan
• Shrauta
• Lingayatism
  Lingayatism
  Lingayatism, also known as Veerashaivism, is a distinct Shaivite denomination in India. It makes several departures from mainstream Hinduism and propounds monotheism through worship centered on Lord Shiva. It also rejects the authority of the Vedas and the caste system. The adherents of this faith...
  
  
• Shaivism
  Shaivism
  Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
  
  
• Shaktism
  Shaktism
  Shaktism is a denomination of Hinduism that focuses worship upon Shakti or Devi – the Hindu Divine Mother – as the absolute, ultimate Godhead...
  
  
• Tantrism
  • Ananda Marga
    Ananda Marga
    Ananda Marga, organizationally known as Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha , meaning the samgha for the propagation of the marga of ananda , is a social and spiritual movement founded in Jamalpur, Bihar, India in 1955 by Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar .Ánanda Márga followers describe Ánanda Márga as a...
    
    
• Smartism
  Smartism
  Smarta Sampradaya is a liberal or nonsectarian denomination of the Vedic Hindu religion which accept all the major Hindu deities as forms of the one Brahman, in contrast to Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, the other three major Hindu sects, which revere Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti,...
  
  
• Vaishnavism
  Vaishnavism
  Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
  
  
  • Gaudiya Vaishnavism
    Gaudiya Vaishnavism
    Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
    
    
    • ISKCON (Hare Krishna
      International Society for Krishna Consciousness
      The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
      
      )
• Hindu reform movements
  Hindu reform movements
  Several contemporary groups, collectively termed Hindu reform movements, strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism. Although these movements are very individual in their exact philosophies they generally stress the spiritual, secular and logical and scientific aspects of the Vedic...
  
  
  • Arya Samaj
    Arya Samaj
    Arya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
    
    
  • Brahmo Samaj
    Brahmo Samaj
    Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm after its eclipse in Bengal consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of...
    
    
• Hinduism in Indonesia
  Hinduism in Indonesia
  Hinduism in Indonesia, also known by its formal Indonesian name Agama Hindu Dharma, refers to Hinduism as practised in Indonesia. According to the 2000 census Hindus consisted 1.79% of the total population with 88.05% in Bali and 5.89% in Central Kalimantan...
  
  

Major schools and movements of Hindu philosophy

• Nyaya
  Nyaya
  ' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
  
  
• Purva mimamsa
• Samkhya
  Samkhya
  Samkhya, also Sankhya, Sāṃkhya, or Sāṅkhya is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy and classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, although no historical verification is possible...
  
  
• Vaisheshika
  Vaisheshika
  Vaisheshika or ' is one of the six Hindu schools of philosophy of India. Historically, it has been closely associated with the Hindu school of logic, Nyaya....
  
  
• Vedanta
  Vedanta
  Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
  
   (Uttara Mimamsa)
  • Advaita Vedanta
    Advaita Vedanta
    Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
    
    
  • Integral Yoga
  • Vishishtadvaita
    Vishishtadvaita
    Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is a sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy, the other major sub-schools of Vedānta being Advaita, Dvaita, and Achintya-Bheda-Abheda. VishishtAdvaita is a non-dualistic school of Vedanta philosophy...
    
    
  • Dvaita Vedanta
• Yoga
  Yoga
  Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
  
  
  • Ashtanga Yoga
    Ashtanga Yoga
    Ashtanga Yoga may refer to:*Raja Yoga or Yoga, the classical system described in the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali *Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, a system of yoga developed by Pattabhi Jois...
    
    
  • Bhakti Yoga
    Bhakti yoga
    Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....
    
    
  • Hatha yoga
    Hatha yoga
    Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
    
    
  • Siddha Yoga
    Siddha Yoga
    Siddha Yoga is a spiritual path based on the Hindu spiritual traditions of Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism. The Siddha Yoga path was founded by Swami Muktananda Paramahamsa . The present spiritual head of the Siddha Yoga path is Gurumayi Chidvilasananda...
    
    
  • Surat Shabd Yoga
    Surat Shabd Yoga
    Surat Shabd Yoga or Surat Shabda Yoga is a form of spiritual practice that is followed in the Sant Mat and many other related spiritual traditions...
    
    
  • Tantric Yoga
  • Sahaja Yoga
    Sahaja Yoga
    Sahaja Yoga is a new religious movement founded by Nirmala Srivastava, more widely known as 'Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi' and affectionately as 'Mother' by her followers . According to the movement, Sahaja Yoga is the state of self realization produced by kundalini awakening and is accompanied by the...
    
    

Jainism

• Digambara
  Digambara
  Digambara "sky-clad" is one of the two main sects of Jainism. "Sky-clad" has many different meaning and associations throughout Indian religions. Many representations of deities within these traditions are depicted as sky-clad, e.g. Samantabhadra/Samantabhadrī in Yab-Yum...
  
  
  • Bisapanthi
  • Digambar Terapanth
    Digambar Terapanth
    The Adhyatma movement among the Jains arose in 1626 AD in Agra. Its leading proponent was Banarasidas of Agra. Adhyatma groups flourished during 1644-1726 in Agra, Lahore and Multan. While the movement was based on the books written by Acharya Kundakunda, most of its followers were of Shwetambar...
    
    
  • Taran Panth
    Taran Panth
    The Taran Panth or Taranpanthi sect of Digambar Jainism was founded by Taran Svami in Bundelkhand in 1505. Taran Svami is also referred to as Taran Taran, the one who can help the swimmers to the other side, i.e. towards nirvana....
    
    
  • Kanji Panth
  • Gumanapantha
  • Totapantha
• Shvetambara
  • Svetambar Terapanth
  • Murtipujaka
    Murtipujaka
    Murtipujaka, also known as Deravasi, is the term for a sect of Jainism that includes most Svetambaras.Murtipujaka Svetambaras differ from Sthanakvasi Svetambaras in that their derasars contain idols of the Tirthankaras instead of empty rooms....
    
     or Deravasi
  • Sthanakvasi
    Sthanakvasi
    Sthānakavāsī is a sect of Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji about 1653 CE that believes that God is nirakar "without form", and hence do not pray to any statue...
    
    

Sikhism

• Khalsa
  Khalsa
  +YouWebImagesVideosMapsNewsMailMoreTranslateFrom: ArabicTo: EnglishEnglishHindiEnglishAllow phonetic typingHindiEnglishArabicAssumptionGoogle Translate for Business:Translator ToolkitWebsite TranslatorGlobal Market Finder...
  
  
  • Nihang
    Nihang
    Nihang is an armed Sikh order. Early Sikh military history is dominated by the Akali Nihang military order, particularly for many famous military victories won while often heavily outnumbered. The Akali Nihang have historically been held in great affection and respect by Sikhs due the pivotal role...
    
    
• Namdhari
  Namdhari
  Namdhari are a sect of Sikhism. The main difference between Namdhari Sikhs and mainstream Sikhs is their belief in Jagjit Singh as their living Guru...
  
   or Kuka Sikhs
• Sahajdhari
  Sahajdhari
  Sahajdhari is a person born into a non-Sikh family who desires to become a Sikh and has chosen the path of Sikhism. A sahajdhari believes in all the tenets of Sikhism and the teachings of the Sikh Gurus...
  
   Sikh
• Ravidasi
  Ravidasi
  Ravidassia are people who follow the Ravidassia Dharam a religion based on the teachings of Guru Ravidas. The members of the Ravidasi religion believe in Guru Ravidas or Raidas as their founding prophet. The members are called Ravidasias who believe in Guru Ravidas to be their spiritual master and...
  
  

Other

• Caodaism
• Chinese folk religion
  Chinese folk religion
  Chinese folk religion or Shenism , which is a term of considerable debate, are labels used to describe the collection of ethnic religious traditions which have been a main belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups for most of the civilization's history until today...
  
  
• Chondogyo
• Falun Gong
  Falun Gong
  Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
  
  
• Hoa Hao
  Hoa Hao
  Hòa Hảo is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider Sổ to be a prophet, and Hòa Hảo a continuation of a 19th-century Buddhist ministry known as Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương...
  
  
• I-Kuan Tao
  I-Kuan Tao
  I-Kuan Tao, also Yīguàn Dào, or usually initialized as IKT is a new religious movement that originated in twentieth-century China. It incorporates elements from Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and recognizes the validity of non-Chinese religious traditions such as Christianity and...
  
  
• Jeung San Do
  Jeung San Do
  Jeung Sando or Jeungism is a new religion founded in Korea in 1974. This movement is characterised by a universal message, millenarianism and a method of healing meditation...
  
  
• Mohism
  Mohism
  Mohism or Moism was a Chinese philosophy developed by the followers of Mozi , 470 BC–c.391 BC...
  
  
• Oomoto
  Oomoto
  Oomoto also known as Oomoto-kyo , is a sect, often categorised as a new Japanese religion originated from Shinto; it was founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao...
  
  
• Seicho-No-Ie
  Seicho-No-Ie
  Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
  
  
• Tenrikyo
  Tenrikyo
  Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...
  
  

African diasporic religions

African diasporic religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas among African slaves and their descendants in various countries of the Caribbean Islands and Latin America, as well as parts of the southern United States. They derive from African traditional religions, especially of West and Central Africa, showing similarities to the Yoruba religion in particular.

• Batuque
• Candomblé
  Candomblé
  Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...
  
  
• Dahomey mythology
  Dahomey mythology
  The Dahomey are a nation located in Benin, Africa. The mythology of the Dahomey includes an entire pantheon of thunder gods; for example,*Xevioso is the god of thunder in the So region....
  
  
• Haitian mythology
  Haitian mythology
  Haitian Vodou is a syncretic mixture of Roman Catholic rituals introduced during the French colonial period, African beliefs, with roots in the Yoruba, Kongo and Dahomey mythology, and folkloric influence from the indigenous Taino Amerindians that once populated the island...
  
  
• Kumina
  Kumina
  Kumina or Cumina is a cultural form indigenous to Jamaica. It is a religion, music and dance practiced by, in large part, Jamaicans who reside in the eastern parish on St. Thomas on the island. These people have retained the drumming and dancing of the Akan people. Like the Kongo practitioners...
  
  
• Macumba
  Macumba
  Macumba is a word of African origins. Various explanations of its meaning include "a musical instrument", the name of a Central African deity, and simply "magic". It was the name used for all Bantu religious practices mainly in Bahia Afro-Brazilian in the 19th Century...
  
  
• Mami Wata
  Mami Wata
  Mami Wata is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North and South America. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male.-Appearance:...
  
  
• Obeah
  Obeah
  Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...
  
  
• Oyotunji
  Oyotunji
  Oyotunji African Village is a village located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina that was founded by the late Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970, as part of a "New World Yoruba" initiative....
  
  
• Quimbanda
  Quimbanda
  Quimbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda practices are typically associated with magic, rituals involving animal sacrifice and marginal locations, orishas, exus, and pomba gira spirits. Quimbanda was originally contained under the...
  
  
• Santería
  Santería
  Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
  
   (Lukumi)
• Umbanda
  Umbanda
  Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African religions with Catholicism, Spiritism and Kardecism, and considerable indigenous lore....
  
  
• Vodou

Indigenous traditional religions

Traditionally, these faiths have all been classified "Pagan", but scholars prefer the terms "indigenous/primal/folk/ethnic religions".

African

West Africa

• Akan mythology
• Ashanti mythology
  Ashanti mythology
  The Ashanti people of Ghana in West Africa are known for their colorful folktales and mythology. But they are mostly Christians Now.The supreme being in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame , the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. His wife is Asase Ya and they have two children, Bia and Tano. Asase...
  
   (Ghana)
• Dahomey (Fon) mythology
  Dahomey mythology
  The Dahomey are a nation located in Benin, Africa. The mythology of the Dahomey includes an entire pantheon of thunder gods; for example,*Xevioso is the god of thunder in the So region....
  
  
• Efik mythology
  Efik mythology
  In Efik mythology, Abassi is considered to be the creator god. His wife, Atai, is known as the mediator. It is believed that Atai convinced Abassi to allow two humans , also known as their children, to live on Earth, but forbade them to work or reproduce. The children were required to return to...
  
   (Nigeria, Cameroon)
• Igbo mythology
  Igbo mythology
  Ọdinani, also Ọdinala, Omenala,Omenana, Odinana or Ọmenani is the traditional cultural beliefs and practises of the Igbo people of West Africa...
  
   (Nigeria, Cameroon)
• Isoko mythology (Nigeria)
• Yoruba mythology
  Yoruba mythology
  The Yorùbá religion comprises the original religious beliefs and practices of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in Southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, a region that has come to be known as Yorubaland...
  
   (Nigeria, Benin)

Central Africa

• Bushongo mythology
  Bushongo mythology
  The Bushongo are an ethnic group from the Congo River and surrounding areas. The creation god in Bushongo mythology is called Bumba. The god Bumba is said to have vomited forth the sun, moon, earth, plants and animals, and then humanity...
  
   (Congo)
• Bambuti (Pygmy) mythology
  Bambuti mythology
  Mbuti mythology is the mythology of the African Mbuti Pygmies of Congo.The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon is Khonvoum , a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from two snakes that together appear to humans as a rainbow...
  
   (Congo)
• Lugbara mythology
  Lugbara mythology
  The Lugbara live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In Lugbara mythology, Adroa appeared in both good and evil aspects; he was the creator god and appeared on Earth as a human who was near death. He was depicted as a very tall white man with only one half of a body, missing one...
  
   (Congo)

East Africa

• Akamba mythology (East Kenya)
• Dinka mythology
  Dinka mythology
  The Dinka, or Jieng/Muonyjang, are a Nilotic ethnic group in South Sudan.In Dinka mythology, the supreme, creator god is Nhialic . He is believed to be present in all of creation, and to control the destiny of every human, plant and animal on Earth...
  
   (Sudan)
• Lotuko mythology
  Lotuko mythology
  The Lotuko are an ethnic group from South Sudan.The chief god of the Lotuko is called Ajok; he is generally seen as kind and benevolent, but can be angered. He once reportedly answered a woman's prayer for the resurrection of her son. Her husband, however, was angry and re-killed the child...
  
   (Sudan)
• Masai mythology
  Masai mythology
  The Maasai mythology involves several beliefs of the Maasai people, an ethnic group living in Kenya and Tanzania.-Neiterkob:According to some sources Neiterkob/Naiteru-kop may also be a reference to Enkai...
  
   (Kenya, Tanzania)

Southern Africa

• Khoikhoi mythology
  Khoikhoi mythology
  This is a summary of some of the gods, heroes and monsters that appear in the beliefs of the Khoikhoi, an ethnic group from southern Africa.- Gods and heroes :...
  
  
• Lozi mythology
  Lozi mythology
  The main function of Lozi mythology is to show that the original Lozi people were dwellers on the Barotse Floodplain of the upper Zambezi River and that they are, therefore, entitled to claim unchallenged title to that homeland...
  
   (Zambia)
• Tumbuka mythology
  Tumbuka mythology
  The Tumbuka are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. In Tumbuka mythology, Chiuta is the chief deity; he is all-powerful, omniscient and self-created. Chiuta literally means Great Bow and is symbolised in the sky by the rainbow. He is also a god of rain and fertility.Tumbuka,...
  
   (Malawi)
• Zulu mythology
  Zulu mythology
  Zulu mythology contains numerous deities, commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena.Unkulunkulu is the highest God and is the creator of humanity. Unkulunkulu was created in Uhlanga , a huge swamp of reeds, before he came to Earth...
  
   (South Africa)

American

• Abenaki mythology
  Abenaki mythology
  The Abenaki people are an indigenous peoples of the Americas located in the northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. Religious ceremonies are led by medicine keepers, called Medeoulin or Mdawinno.-Three ages:...
  
  
• Anishinaabe
  Anishinaabe
  Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
  
  
• Aztec mythology
  Aztec mythology
  The aztec civilization recognized a polytheistic mythology, which contained the many deities and supernatural creatures from their religious beliefs. "orlando"- History :...
  
  
• Blackfoot mythology
  Blackfoot mythology
  The Blackfoot are a tribe of Native Americans who currently live in Montana and Alberta. They lived north and west of the Great Lakes and came to participate in Plains Indian culture.-Cosmology:...
  
  
• Cherokee mythology
  Cherokee mythology
  thumb|The [[water spider]] is said to have first brought fire to the inhabitants of the earth in the basket on her back.This article concerns itself with the mythology of the Cherokee, Native Americans indigenous to the Appalachias, and today are enrolled in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,...
  
  
• Chickasaw mythology
• Choctaw mythology
  Choctaw mythology
  Choctaw mythology is related to Choctaws who are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . In the 19th century, Choctaws were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" because they had integrated numerous cultural and technological practices of their European...
  
  
• Creek mythology
  Creek mythology
  The Creek mythology is related to an American Indian Creek people who are originally from the southeastern United States, also known by their original name Muscogee , the name they use to identify themselves today. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. Modern Muscogees live primarily in...
  
  
• Crow mythology
  Crow mythology
  Crow religion is the indigenous religion of the Crow tribe, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States.The medicine people of the tribe are known as Akbaalia ....
  
  
• Ghost Dance
  Ghost Dance
  The Ghost Dance was a new religious movement which was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The traditional ritual used in the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times...
  
  
• Guarani mythology
  Guaraní mythology
  The Guaraní people live in south-central part of South America, especially in Paraguay and parts of the surrounding areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.-Overview:There exist no written records of the ancient myths and legends associated with the Guaraní people...
  
  
• Haida mythology
  Haida mythology
  The Haida are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their national territories lie along the west coast of Canada and include parts of south east Alaska....
  
  
• Ho-Chunk mythology
  Ho-Chunk mythology
  The Hocągara or Hocąks are a Siouan-speaking Indian Nation originally from Wisconsin and northern Illinois, but due to forced emigration, they are also found in Nebraska, where about half the nation now lives...
  
   (aka: Winnebago)
• Hopi mythology
  Hopi mythology
  The Hopi maintain a complex religious and mythological tradition stretching back over centuries. However, it is difficult to definitively state what all Hopis as a group believe. Like the oral traditions of many other societies, Hopi mythology is not always told consistently and each Hopi mesa, or...
  
  
• Inca mythology
  Inca mythology
  Inca mythology includes many stories and legends that are mythological and helps to explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs.All those that followed the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro burned the records of the Inca culture...
  
  
• Indian Shaker Church
  Indian Shaker Church
  The Indian Shaker Church is a Christian denomination founded in 1881 by Squaxin logger John Slocum in Washington. The Indian Shaker Church is a unique blend of American Indian, Catholic, and Protestant beliefs and practices....
  
  
• Inuit mythology
  Inuit mythology
  Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other polar regions. Inuit traditional religious practices could be very briefly summarised as a form of shamanism based on animist principles....
  
  
• Iroquois mythology
  Iroquois mythology
  Much of the mythology of the Iroquois has been lost. Some of their religious stories have been preserved, including creation stories and some folktales....
  
  
• Keetoowah Nighthawk Society
  Keetoowah Nighthawk Society
  The Keetoowah Society were the spiritual core of the Cherokee people during their early years in Oklahoma Cherokee Culture, namely the early 1900s...
  
  
• Kuksu
  Kuksu (religion)
  Kuksu, also called the Kuksu Cult, was a shamanistic religion in Northern California practiced in different degrees by many Native American people before and during contact with the arriving European settlers...
  
  
• Kwakiutl mythology
• Lakota mythology
  Lakota mythology
  Here is a list of articles pertaining to Lakota mythology, a Native American people of North and South Dakota:#Anog Ite#Anoliy#Anpao#Canotila#Capa#Cetan#Haokah#Ictinike #Inyan#Iya#Ptehehincalasanwin #Skan#Tate...
  
  
• Leni Lenape mythology
• Longhouse religion
  Longhouse Religion
  thumb|right|A traditional longhouse.The Longhouse Religion, refers to the religious movement, founded in 1799, among peoples who formerly lived in longhouses. Prior to the adoption of the single family dwelling, various groups of peoples lived in large, extended-family homes also known as...
  
  
• Mapuche mythology
  Mapuche mythology
  The beliefs of the Mapuche and their mythology, stories about to the world and creatures born of the extensive and old religious beliefs, next to a series of common legend and myths that belong to the different groups that compose the Mapuche ethnic group .-Description:In the mythology and beliefs...
  
  
• Maya mythology
  Maya mythology
  Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles...
  
  
• Midewiwin
  Midewiwin
  The Midewiwin or the Grand Medicine Society is a secretive religion of the aboriginal groups of the Maritimes, New England and Great Lakes regions in North America. Its practitioners are called Midew and the practices of Midewiwin referred to as Mide...
  
  
• Miwok
  Miwok
  Miwok can refer to any one of four linguistically related groups of Native Americans, native to Northern California, who spoke one of the Miwokan languages in the Utian family...
  
  
• Native American Church
  Native American Church
  Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
  
  
• Navajo mythology
  Navajo mythology
  , the Navajo creation story, describes the prehistoric emergence of the Navajos, and centers on the area known as the Dinétah, the traditional homeland of the Navajo people.This story forms the basis for the traditional Navajo way of life...
  
  
• Nootka mythology
• Ohlone mythology
  Ohlone mythology
  The mythology of the Ohlone Native American people of Northern California include creation myths as well as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their conception of the world order...
  
  
• Olmec mythology
  Olmec mythology
  The religion of the Olmec people significantly influenced the social development and mythological world view of Mesoamerica. Scholars have seen echoes of Olmec supernaturals in the subsequent religions and mythologies of nearly all later pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures.The first Mesoamerican...
  
  
• Pomo mythology
  Pomo mythology
  The indigenous religion of the Pomo people, Native Americans from Northwestern California, centered on belief in the powerful entities of the 'Kunula', a Coyote, and 'Guksu', a spirit healer from the south.-Creation stories:...
  
  
• Pawnee mythology
  Pawnee mythology
  Pawnee mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Pawnee concerning their gods and heroes. The Pawnee are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, originally located on the Great Plains along tributaries of the Missouri River. They spoke a Caddoan language.-Beliefs and...
  
  
• Salish mythology
  Salish mythology
  The Salish are a linguistic and cultural grouping of First Nations originally from British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA.-Elements of Salish mythology:...
  
  
• Selk'nam religion
• Seneca mythology
  Seneca mythology
  The Seneca tribe was is one of the six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy from the northeastern United States. Some important figures in Seneca Mythology were:*Eagentci, whose name translates as "ancient-bodied one" is the Earth-mother, or First Mother....
  
  
• Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
  Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
  The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies, and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from...
  
  
• Sun Dance
  Sun Dance
  The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony practiced by a number of Native American and First Nations peoples, primarily those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices and ceremonial protocols...
  
  
• Tsimshian mythology
  Tsimshian mythology
  Tsimshian mythology is the mythology of the Tsimshian, a First Nations Native American people in Canada and the United States. The majority of Tsimshian people live in British Columbia, while others live in Alaska....
  
  
• Urarina
  Urarina
  The Urarina are an indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon Basin who inhabit the Chambira, Urituyacu, and Corrientes Rivers. According to both archaeological and historical sources, they have resided in the Chambira Basin of contemporary northeastern Peru for centuries. The Urarina refer to...
  
  
• Ute mythology
  Ute mythology
  The Ute mythology, is the mythology of the Ute Tribe, a tribe of Native Americans from the western United States.-Folk Tales:* Pokoh, the Old Man* Blood Clot* Porcupine Hunts Buffalo* Puma and the Bear* Two Fawns and a Rabbit* Two Grandsons*...
  
  
• Wyandot religion
• Zuni mythology
  Zuni mythology
  Zuni mythology is the oral history, cosmology, and religion of the Zuni people. The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in New Mexico. Their religion is integrated into their daily lives and respects ancestors, nature, and animals. Due to a history of religious persecution by non-native peoples, they...
  
  

Eurasian

Asian

• Bön
• Chinese mythology
  Chinese mythology
  Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
  
  
• Japanese mythology
  Japanese mythology
  Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...
  
  
• Koshinto
  Ko-shinto (Jomon-jin)
  is the name given to the original Shinto tradition of the Jomon people still practiced today in some Ainu families and communities, as well as in some Ryukyuan areas.Ko-Shinto has much in common with Shinto...
  
  
• Siberian Shamanism
• Tengriism
  Tengriism
  Tengriism is a Central Asian religion that incorporates elements of shamanism, animism, totemism and ancestor worship. Despite still being active in some minorities, it was, in old times, the major belief of Turkic peoples , Bulgars, Hungarians and Mongols...
  
  

European

• Estonian mythology
  Estonian mythology
  Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology.Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers...
  
  
• Eskimo religion
  Shamanism among Eskimo peoples
  Shamanism among Eskimo peoples refers to those aspects of the various Eskimo cultures that are related to the shamans’ role as a mediator between people and spirits, souls, and mythological beings...
  
  
• Finnish mythology
  Finnish mythology
  Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...
  
   and Finnish paganism
  Finnish paganism
  Finnish paganism was the indigenous pagan religion in Finland, Estonia and Karelia prior to Christianization. It was a polytheistic religion, worshipping a number of different deities...
  
  
• Marla faith
  Marla faith
  The Mari Traditional Religion is a syncretic religion and the traditional faith of the Mari people of the republic of Mari El, Russia. The religion encompasses animist beliefs, Paganism, and elements of Christianity and Islam...
  
  
• Hungarian folk religion
  Shamanistic remnants in Hungarian folklore
  Comparative methods used in analysing ethnographic data of Hungarian folktales, and some historical sources reveal that some features of Hungarian folklore are remnants of shamanistic beliefs, maintained from the deep past, or possibly borrowed from Turkic peoples with whom Hungarians used to live...
  
  
• Sami religion
  Sami religion
  Sámi shamanism is a Sámi neo-shamanistic or neo-paganistic religion. Though it varied considerably from region to region within Sápmi, it commonly emphasized ancestor worship and animal spirits, such as the bear cult...
  
   (including the Noaidi)
• Tadibya
  Tadibya
  Tadibya is the mediator between the ordinary world and the upper- and underworlds of the spirits among the Nenets people. The Nenets rank their shamans after their spiritual attachment and function, as well according to their experience....
  
  

Oceania/Pacific

• Australian Aboriginal mythology
  Australian Aboriginal mythology
  Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
  
  
• Austronesian beliefs
  Austronesian people
  The Austronesian-speaking peoples are various populations in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speak languages of the Austronesian family. They include Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia,...
  
  
  • Balinese mythology
    Balinese mythology
    Balinese mythology is the traditional mythology of the people of the Indonesian island of Bali, before the majority adoption of Hinduism.Balinese mythology is mainly a kind of animism with some widely-known characters and deities...
    
    
  • Javanese beliefs
    Javanese beliefs
    Javanese beliefs have principles embodying a search for inner self but at the core is the concept of peace of mind. Although Kejawen is not strictly a religious affiliation, it addresses ethical and spiritual values as inspired by Javanese tradition. It is not a religion in usual sense of the...
    
    
  • Melanesian mythology
    Melanesian mythology
    Melanesian mythology is a European way of referring to the custom stories of the world area known since the 19th century as "Melanesia", an umbrella term used for the archipelagos of New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands, the Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu...
    
    
  • Micronesian mythology
    Micronesian mythology
    Micronesian mythology refers to the traditional belief systems of the people of Micronesia.-See also:* Anagumang* Anulap* Areop-Enap* Auriaria* Gadao* Kai-n-Tiku-Aba* Nei Tituaabine* Uekera* Nauruan indigenous religion-Sources:*...
    
    
    • Modekngei
      Modekngei
      Modekngei, or Ngara Modekngei is a monotheistic religious movement founded around 1915 by Temedad, a native of the island of Babeldaob, that spread throughout Palau...
      
      
    • Nauruan indigenous religion
      Nauruan indigenous religion
      The Nauruan indigenous religion is a monotheistic system of belief that includes a female deity called Eijebong and an island of spirits called Buitani. Believers say that the sky and the earth were created by a spider called Areop-Enap...
      
      
  • Philippine mythology
    Philippine mythology
    Philippine mythology include a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Some Filipinos, even though heavily westernized and Christianized, still believe on these tales...
    
    
    • Anito
      Anito
      Anito is the collective name for Pre-Hispanic belief system that exists in the Philippines. It is also the name for spirits, which may include deceased ancestors and nature-spirits or diwatas. Native Filipinos usually keep statues to represent these spirits and to ask guidance and even magical...
      
      
    • Gabâ
      Gabâ
      Gabâ or gabaa, for the people in many parts of the Philippines), is the concept of a non-human and non-divine, imminent retribution. A sort of negative karma, it is generally seen as an evil effect on a person because of their wrongdoings or transgressions...
      
      
    • Kulam
      Kulam
      Kulam is a Tagalog word meaning "hex or "curse"." Often, the same word is used as a term for witchcraft.-Usage and Related Terms:Kulam is actually a Tagalog noun which literally means bewitchment or hex....
      
      
  • Polynesian mythology
    Polynesian mythology
    Polynesian mythology is the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia, a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian triangle together with the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers...
    
    
    • Hawaiian mythology
      Hawaiian mythology
      Hawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion...
      
      
    • Maori mythology
      Maori mythology
      Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...
      
      
      • Maori religion
        Maori religion
        Māori religion is the religious beliefs and practice of the Māori, the Polynesian indigenous people of New Zealand.-Traditional Māori religion:...
        
        
    • Rapa Nui mythology
      Rapa Nui mythology
      The Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, is the name given to the myths, legends and beliefs of the native Rapanui people of the island of Rapa Nui , located in the south eastern Pacific Ocean, almost four thousand kilometers from continental...
      
      
      • Moai
        Moai
        Moai , or mo‘ai, are monolithic human figures carved from rock on the Chilean Polynesian island of Easter Island between the years 1250 and 1500. Nearly half are still at Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry, but hundreds were transported from there and set on stone platforms called ahu around the...
        
        
      • Tangata manu
        Tangata manu
        The Tangata manu , was the winner of a traditional competition on Rapa Nui . The ritual was an annual competition to collect the first Sooty Tern egg of the season from the islet of Motu Nui, swim back to Rapa Nui and climb the sea cliff of Rano Kau to the clifftop village of Orongo.-Myth:In the...
        
        

Cargo cults

• John Frum
  John Frum
  John Frum is a figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman, who will bring wealth and prosperity to the people if they follow him. He is sometimes portrayed as black, sometimes as white; from David Attenborough's...
  
  
• Johnson cult
  Johnson cult
  The so-called "Johnson cult", formerly misidentified as a cargo cult, was initiated on New Hanover Island in Papua New Guinea in 1964. Although labeled as a cargo cult, it is characterized more as a political theater.-History:...
  
  
• Prince Philip Movement
  Prince Philip Movement
  The Prince Philip Movement is a religious sect followed by the Yaohnanen tribe on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu.The Yaohnanen believe that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the consort to Queen Elizabeth II, is a divine being; the pale-skinned son of a mountain spirit and brother of John...
  
  
• Vailala Madness
  Vailala Madness
  The Vailala Madness was a social movement in the Papuan Gulf, in the Territory of Papua beginning in the later part of 1919 and petering out after 1922...
  
  

Ancient Near Eastern

• Ancient Egyptian religion
• Ancient Semitic religions
• Mesopotamian mythology
  • Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...
    
     (pre-Islamic)
  • Babylonian and Assyrian religion
    • Babylonian mythology
    • Chaldean mythology
  • Canaanite mythology
    • Canaanite religion
      Canaanite religion
      Canaanite religion is the name for the group of Ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries of the Common Era....
      
      
  • Hittite mythology
    Hittite mythology
    Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital Hattusa and other Hittite sites: "there are no canonical scriptures, no theological disquisitions or...
    
    
  • Persian mythology
    Persian mythology
    Persian mythology are traditional tales and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Central Asia, they reflect the...
    
    
  • Sumerian mythology

Indo-European

• Proto-Indo-Iranian religion
  • Historical Vedic religion
    Historical Vedic religion
    The religion of the Vedic period is a historical predecessor of Hinduism. Its liturgy is reflected in the mantra portion of the four Vedas, which are compiled in Sanskrit. The religious practices centered on a clergy administering rites...
    
    
  • Zoroastrianism
    Zoroastrianism
    Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
    
    
• Baltic polytheism
  Baltic mythology
  Baltic mythology generally covers the pre-Christian mythology of the Latvians, Lithuanians and Old Prussians, which are thought to have at least some common roots....
  
  
• Celtic polytheism
  Celtic polytheism
  Celtic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
  
  
  • Brythonic mythology
  • Gaelic mythology
• Germanic polytheism
  • Anglo-Saxon religion
  • Continental Germanic religion
  • Norse religion
    Norse mythology
    Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
    
    
• Greek polytheism
  Ancient Greek religion
  Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These different groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or "cults" in the plural, though most of them shared...
  
  
• Finnish polytheism
• Hungarian polytheism
  Hungarian mythology
  Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians. Many parts of it are thought to be lost, i.e. only some texts remained which can be classified as a myth. However, a significant amount of Hungarian mythology was successfully recovered in the last...
  
  
• Roman polytheism
• Slavic polytheism

Hellenistic

• Mystery religions
  Greco-Roman mysteries
  Mystery religions, sacred Mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious cults of the Greco-Roman world, participation in which was reserved to initiates....
  
  
  • Eleusinian Mysteries
    Eleusinian Mysteries
    The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance...
    
    
  • Mithraism
    Mithraism
    The Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. The name of the Persian god Mithra, adapted into Greek as Mithras, was linked to a new and distinctive imagery...
    
    
  • Orphism
• Pythagoreanism
  Pythagoreanism
  Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
  
  
• Gallo-Roman religion
  Gallo-Roman religion
  Gallo-Roman religion was a fusion of the traditional religious practices of the Gauls, who were originally Celtic speakers, and the Roman and Hellenistic religions introduced to the region under Roman Imperial rule. It was the result of selective acculturation....
  
  

Esotericism and mysticism

• Anthroposophy
  Anthroposophy
  Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
  
  
• Christian mysticism
  Christian mysticism
  Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
  
  
• Esoteric Christianity
  Esoteric Christianity
  Esoteric Christianity is a term which refers to an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices, hidden from the public but accessible only to a narrow circle of "enlightened",...
  
  
• Hindu mysticism
  Hinduism
  Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
  
  
  • Tantra
    Tantra
    Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
    
    
  • Vaastu Shastra
• Martinism
  Martinism
  Martinism is a form of mystical and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration' or illumination....
  
  
• Meher Baba
  Meher Baba
  Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
  
  
• Rosicrucian
  Rosicrucian
  Rosicrucianism is a philosophical secret society, said to have been founded in late medieval Germany by Christian Rosenkreuz. It holds a doctrine or theology "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe...
  
  
  • Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
    Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis
    The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis , also called Rosicrucian Order, is a philosophical and humanist worldwide fraternal organization. Members are known as students...
    
    
  • Rosicrucian Fellowship
    Rosicrucian Fellowship
    The Rosicrucian Fellowship – "An International Association of Christian Mystics" – was founded in 1909 by Max Heindel as herald of the Aquarian Age and with the aim of publicly promulgating "the true Philosophy" of the Rosicrucians....
    
    
• Sufism
  Sufism
  Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
  
  
• Theosophy
  Theosophy
  Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
  
  

Occult and magic

• Ceremonial magic
  Ceremonial magic
  Ceremonial magic, also referred to as high magic and as learned magic, is a broad term used in the context of Hermeticism or Western esotericism to encompass a wide variety of long, elaborate, and complex rituals of magic. It is named as such because the works included are characterized by...
  
  
  • Enochian magic
    Enochian magic
    Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the evocation and commanding of various spirits. It is based on the 16th-century writings of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelley, who claimed that their information was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contained the...
    
    
  • Goetic magic
    Goetia
    refers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the evocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17th century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon, which features an Ars Goetia as its first section...
    
    
• Chaos magic
  Chaos magic
  Chaos magic is a school of the modern magical tradition which emphasizes the pragmatic use of belief systems and the creation of new and unorthodox methods.-General principles:...
  
  
• Hoodoo (Rootwork)
  • New Orleans Voodoo
    New Orleans VooDoo
    The New Orleans VooDoo are an Arena Football League team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They play their home games in New Orleans Arena....
    
    
• Kulam
  Kulam
  Kulam is a Tagalog word meaning "hex or "curse"." Often, the same word is used as a term for witchcraft.-Usage and Related Terms:Kulam is actually a Tagalog noun which literally means bewitchment or hex....
  
   – Filipino witchcraft
• National Socialism and Occultism
• Pow-wow
  Pow-wow (folk magic)
  Pow-wow is a system of American folk religion and magic associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch.-Origin of the name and practices:Its name comes from the book Pow-wows, or, The Long Lost Friend, written by John George Hohman and first published in German as Der Lange Verborgene Freund in 1820...
  
  
• Seiðr
  Seiðr
  Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. Sometimes anglicized as "seidhr," "seidh," "seidr," "seithr," or "seith," the term is also used to refer to modern Neopagan reconstructions or emulations of the...
  
   – Norse sorcery
• Thelema
  Thelema
  Thelema is a religious philosophy that was established, defined and developed by the early 20th century British writer and ceremonial magician, Aleister Crowley. He believed himself to be the prophet of a new age, the Æon of Horus, based upon a religious experience that he had in Egypt in 1904...
  
  
• Wicca
  Wicca
  Wicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
  
  
• Witchcraft
  Contemporary Witchcraft
  This article is about contemporary witchcraft, including, but not limited to, Wicca.Contemporary witchcraft refers to many different types of witchcraft practices of the 21st century...
  
  

Syncretic

• Adonism
  Adonism
  Adonism is a Neopagan religion founded in 1925 by the German esotericist Franz Sättler , who often went by the pseudonym of Dr. Musalam. Although Sättler claimed that it was the continuation of an ancient pagan religion, it has been recognised by academics as being "instead the single-handed...
  
  
• Church of All Worlds
  Church of All Worlds
  The Church of All Worlds is a neopagan religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and...
  
  
• Church of Aphrodite
  Church of Aphrodite
  The Church of Aphrodite is a Neopagan religious group founded in 1938 by Gleb Botkin , a Russian émigré to the United States. Monotheistic in structure, the Church believes in a singular female Goddess, who is named after the ancient Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite.Having grown up in the Russian...
  
  
• Feraferia
  Feraferia
  Feraferia is a Nevada City, California-based Neopagan community, practicing Hellenic-inspired Goddess worship.The founder of the group, Frederick McLaren Charles Adams II, met and was deeply influenced by Robert Graves and his book The White Goddess...
  
  
• Neo-Druidism
  Neo-Druidism
  Neo-Druidism or Neo-Druidry, commonly referred to as Druidism or Druidry by its adherents, is a form of modern spirituality or religion that generally promotes harmony and worship of nature, and respect for all beings, including the environment...
  
  
• Neoshamanism
  Neoshamanism
  Neoshamanism is a term signaling a "new" form or a revival of an old form of "shamanism", a system that comprises a range of beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spiritual world....
  
  
• Neo-völkisch movements
  Neo-völkisch movements
  Neo-völkisch movements, as defined by the historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, cover a wide variety of mutually influencing groups of a radically ethnocentric character which have emerged, especially in the English-speaking world, since World War II...
  
  
• Technopaganism
  Technopaganism
  Technopaganism is an umbrella term that characterizes several different beliefs and practices in Neopaganism in reference to the place of technology in Neopagan practice.- Definitions :...
  
  
• Unitarian Universalist

Ethnic

• Baltic Neopaganism
  Baltic neopaganism
  The Baltic countries were the last part of Europe to be Christianized, and vestiges of paganism blend into a Neopaganism movement that is largely independent of Western Asatru.*Romuva in Lithuania*Dievturība in Latvia...
  
  
• Celtic Neopaganism
  Celtic Neopaganism
  Celtic Neopaganism refers to Neopagan movements based on Celtic polytheism.-Types of Celtic Neopaganism:*Neo-druidism, grew out of the Celtic revival in 18th century Romanticism....
  
  
• Finnish Neopaganism
  Finnish neopaganism
  Finnish Neopaganism is a Neopagan religious system that attempts to revive old Finnish paganism, the pre-Christian polytheistic ethnic religion of the Finnish people....
  
  
• Germanic Neopaganism
  Germanic Neopaganism
  Germanic neopaganism is the contemporary revival of historical Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria. A second wave of revival began in the early 1970s...
  
  
• Hellenic Neopaganism
• Kemetism
• Roman Neopaganism
• Semitic Neopaganism
  Semitic Neopaganism
  Semitic Neopaganism is the revival, mostly US based, of religious traditions deriving from Ancient Semitic religion...
  
  
• Slavic Neopaganism
  Slavic Neopaganism
  Slavic Neopaganism is a modern fakeloric, polytheistic, reconstructionistic, and Neopagan religion; its adherents call themselves Rodnovers , and consider themselves to be the legitimate continuation of pre-Christian Slavic religion.- Rebirth of Slavic spirituality :The pre-Christian religions...
  
  
• Taaraism
  Taaraism
  Taaraism is a Neopagan ethnic religion practiced as of 2000 by approximately 1,900 people in Estonia, albeit 11% of the population claims affinity to it. Maausk is a parallel movement considered more Reconstructionist and traditionalist...
  
  

New Thought

• Divine Science
  Divine Science
  The Church of Divine Science is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement. The group was founded originally in San Francisco in the 1880s under Malinda Cramer...
  
  
• Religious Science
  Religious Science
  Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was established in 1927 by Ernest Holmes and is a spiritual, philosophical and metaphysical religious movement within the New Thought movement. In general, the term "Science of Mind" applies to the teachings, while the term "Religious Science"...
  
  
• Unity Church
  Unity Church
  Unity, known informally as Unity Church, is a religious movement within the wider New Thought movement and is best known to many through its Daily Word devotional publication...
  
  
• Jewish Science
  Jewish Science
  Jewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable with the New Thought Movement. Many of its members also attend services at conventional synagogues....
  
  
• Seicho-no-Ie
  Seicho-No-Ie
  Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
  
  

Shinshukyo

• Church of World Messianity
  Church of World Messianity
  The Church of World Messianity , abbreviated COWM, is a "new religion" founded in 1935 by Mokichi Okada. The religion's key concept is Johrei, claimed to be a method of channeling divine light into the body of another for the purposes of healing...
  
  
• Konkokyo
  Konkokyo
  or just Konko, is a new religion of Japanese origin also regarded as a type of Sect Shinto. It is a syncretic, henotheistic and panentheistic religion, which worships God under the name of Tenchi Kane No Kami, the Golden God of Heaven and Earth. Tenchi Kane No Kami is also referred to as Kami, or...
  
  
• Oomoto
  Oomoto
  Oomoto also known as Oomoto-kyo , is a sect, often categorised as a new Japanese religion originated from Shinto; it was founded in 1892 by Deguchi Nao...
  
  
• PL Kyodan
  PL Kyodan
  , is a Japanese Shinshūkyō founded in 1924 by Tokuharu Miki , who was a priest in the Obaku Sect of Zen Buddhism. The stated aim of the Church of Perfect Liberty is to bring about world peace.-Teachings:...
  
  
• Seicho-No-Ie
  Seicho-No-Ie
  Seicho-no-Ie, sometimes rendered Seicho-no Iye , is a syncretic, nondenominational, monotheistic, New Thought religion, one of the Shinshūkyō in Japan that have spread since the end of World War II...
  
  
• Tenrikyo
  Tenrikyo
  Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion originating in revelations to a 19th-century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known as Oyasama by followers...
  
  

Left-hand path religions

• Demonolatry
• Luciferianism
  Luciferianism
  Luciferianism is a belief system that venerates the essential characteristics that are affixed to Lucifer, originally a name referring to the planet Venus when it rises ahead of the Sun....
  
  
• Satanism
  Satanism
  Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
  
  
  • Church of Satan
    Church of Satan
    The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.- History :...
    
    
• Setianism

Parody or mock religions

• Church of Euthanasia
  Church of Euthanasia
  The Church of Euthanasia , is a political organization started by the Reverend Chris Korda in the Boston, Massachusetts area of the United States....
  
  
• Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
  Flying Spaghetti Monster
  The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of the parody religion the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism...
  
  
• Church of the SubGenius
  Church of the SubGenius
  The Church of the SubGenius is a "parody religion" organization that satirizes religion, conspiracy theories, unidentified flying objects, and popular culture. Originally based in Dallas, Texas, the Church of the SubGenius gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s and maintains an active presence on...
  
  
• Iglesia Maradoniana
  Iglesia Maradoniana
  The Iglesia Maradoniana is a parody religion, created by fans of the retired Argentine football player Diego Maradona, who they believe to be the best player of all time.- Ten Commandments :# The ball must not be stained, as D10S has proclaimed;...
  
  
• Invisible Pink Unicorn
  Invisible Pink Unicorn
  The Invisible Pink Unicorn is the goddess of a parody religion used to satirize theistic beliefs, taking the form of a unicorn that is paradoxically both invisible and pink...
  
  
• Kibology
  Kibology
  Kibology is a parody religion. It grew out of the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.kibology named after Kibo, the central figure. Practitioners of Kibology are called Kibologists or Kibozos....
  
  
• Landover Baptist Church
  Landover Baptist Church
  The Landover Baptist Church is a fictional Baptist church based in the fictional town of Freehold, Iowa. The Landover Baptist web site and its associated Landoverbaptist.net Forum are a satire of fundamentalist Christianity and the Religious Right in the United States.-Origin:The site was created...
  
  
• Last Thursdayism
• Dudeism
  Dudeism
  Dudeism is a religion whose primary objective is to promote a philosophy and lifestyle consistent with the original form of Chinese Taoism, outlined in Tao and Laozi , blended with Greek concepts by Epicurus , and personified by the modern day character "The Dude" in the Coen Brothers' 1998 film...
  
  

Others

• Deism
  Deism
  Deism in religious philosophy is the belief that reason and observation of the natural world, without the need for organized religion, can determine that the universe is the product of an all-powerful creator. According to deists, the creator does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the...
  
  
• Discordianism
  Discordianism
  Discordianism is a religion based on the worship of Eris , the Greco-Roman goddess of strife. It was founded circa 1958–1959 after the publication of its holy book the Principia Discordia, written by Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst after a series of shared hallucinations at a...
  
  
• Eckankar
  Eckankar
  Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
  
  
• Ethical Culture
  Ethical Culture
  The Ethical movement, also referred to as the Ethical Culture movement or simply Ethical Culture, is an ethical, educational, and religious movement that is usually traced back to Felix Adler...
  
  
• Fellowship of Reason
  Fellowship of Reason
  The Fellowship of Reason is a moral community based in Atlanta, in the United States. Its founder, Martin L. Cowen III, calls himself a "non-theist", and says that although he does not believe in God or other things supernatural, he nonetheless thinks that churches serve a useful function by...
  
  
• Fourth Way
• Humanism
  Humanism
  Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
  
  
• Jediism
  Jediism
  Jediism is a religious movement based on the philosophical and spiritual ideas of the Jedi as depicted in Star Wars media.-Belief:Practitioners identify themselves with the Jedi Knights in Star Wars, believe in the existence of the Force and that interaction with the Force is possible. Believers...
  
  
• Juche
  Juche
  Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
  
  
• Meher Baba
  Meher Baba
  Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
  
  
• Native American Church
  Native American Church
  Native American Church, a religious denomination which practices Peyotism or the Peyote religion, originated in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and is the most widespread indigenous religion among Native Americans in the United States...
  
  
• Naturalistic Pantheism
  Naturalistic pantheism
  Naturalistic pantheism is a naturalistic form of pantheism that encompasses feelings of reverence and belonging towards nature and the wider universe, but is realist and embraces rationalism and the scientific method...
  
  
• Pantheism
  Pantheism
  Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
  
  
• Scientology
  Scientology
  Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
  
  
• Secular Humanism
  Secular humanism
  Secular Humanism, alternatively known as Humanism , is a secular philosophy that embraces human reason, ethics, justice, and the search for human fulfillment...
  
  
• Subud
  Subud
  Subud is an international spiritual movement that began in Indonesia in the 1920s as a movement founded by Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. The basis of Subud is a spiritual exercise commonly referred to as the latihan kejiwaan, which was said by Muhammad Subuh to represent guidance from...
  
  
• Universal Life Church
  Universal Life Church
  The Universal Life Church is a religious organization that offers anyone semi-immediate ordination as a ULC minister free of charge. The organization states that anyone can become a minister immediately, without having to go through the pre-ordination process required by other religious faiths...
  
  
• Unitarian Universalism
  Unitarian Universalism
  Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
  
  

By area

• Religion in Africa
  Religion in Africa
  Religion in Africa is multifaceted. Most Africans adhere to either Christianity or Islam. Many adherents of either religion also practice African traditional religions, with traditions of folk religion or syncretism practised alongside an adherent's Christianity or Islam.Judaism also has roots in...
  
  
• Religion in Asia
  Religion in Asia
  Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, with millions of different peoples following a wide variety of different religions...
  
  
• Religion in Australia
  Religion in Australia
  In the 21st century, religion in Australia is demographically dominated by Christianity, with 64% of the population claiming at least nominal adherence to the Christian faith as of 2007, although less than a quarter of those attend church weekly. 18.7% of Australians declared "no-religion" on the...
  
  
• Religion in Europe
  Religion in Europe
  Religion in Europe has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law. The largest religion in Europe for at least a millennium and a half has been Christianity. Two countries in Southeastern Europe have Muslim majorities, while two more Muslim countries located mostly in Asia have...
  
  
• Religion in North America
  Religion in North America
  Religion in North America spans the period of Native American dwelling, European settlement, and the present day. Its various faiths have been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law....
  
  
• Oceania / Pacific
• Religion in South America
• Religion by country
  • List of state-established religions
  • Buddhism by country
    Buddhism by country
    Obtaining exact numbers of practicing Buddhists can be difficult and may be reliant on the definition used. Adherents of Eastern religions such as Buddhism with local Animism, Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism often have beliefs composed of a mix of religious ideas...
    
    
  • Christianity by country
    Christianity by country
    As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.1 billion adherents. The faith represents nearly one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with approximately 38,000 Christian denominations. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's...
    
    
    • Roman Catholicism by country
      Roman Catholicism by country
      The tables below represent statistics with regards to the Catholic Church by country.-Sources used in the table:Most of the figures are taken from the CIA Factbook....
      
      
    • Protestantism by country
      Protestantism by country
      For the purposes of this list, "Protestant" includes the following denominations: Assemblies of God, Anglican/Episcopalian , Baptist, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Churches of Christ, Congregationalist, Calvinist, Holiness, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian,...
      
      
  • Hinduism by country
    Hinduism by country
    The percentage of Hindu population of each country was taken from the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Report 2006. Other sources used were the CIA World Factbook and adherents.com...
    
    
  • Islam by country
    Islam by country
    Islam is the world's second largest religion after Christianity. According to a 2009 demographic study, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world population....
    
    
  • Judaism by country, Jewish population
    Jewish population
    Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" is a source of controversy.-Total population:...
    
    
  • Sikhism by country
    Sikhism by country
    Sikhism can be found predominantly in the Punjab region of India but Sikh communities exist on every inhabited continent, with the largest emigrant population being Indian Britons in the United Kingdom...
    
    

See also

• Civil religion
  Civil religion
  The intended meaning of the term civil religion often varies according to whether one is a sociologist of religion or a professional political commentator...
  
  
• List of Catholic rites and churches
• List of religious organizations
• Lists of people by belief
• Mythology
  Mythology
  The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
  
  
• Shamanism
  Shamanism
  Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
  
  
• Totemism
  Totemism
  Totemism is a system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant...
  
  
• Western esotericism

External links

• Statistics on religious belief or adherence