Religions

The youngest major world religion, founded in 1863 by the prophet Bahá'u'lláh. It grew out of the earlier religion of Babism, whose founder the Bab presaged the coming of another great prophet like the coming of Muhammad. It originated in Iran, although its current center is in Haifa, Israel. It is a monotheistic religion, but it teaches that religious truth is manifested and revealed by the founders of all the major world religions, including Jesus Christ and the Buddha.

Baha'i

A religious tradition founded by Gautama Buddha in the early 400s BCE, drawing from (or opposing) many of the same Vedic traditions that inform Hinduism. It flourished in India, receiving support from several powerful leaders, before declining during the medieval period. It is today the fourth largest religion in the world, being the majority religion of many countries in Southeast Asia, and with nearly 200 million practitioners in China.

Buddhism

A monotheistic religion centered around the personage of Jesus of Nazareth, or Jesus Christ. It arose in the 30s-50s CE as a religious offshoot of Judaism based on the teachings of Jesus, who was himself Jewish. It has collectively become the largest faith in the world by a wide margin.

Christianity

Not a religion in a strict sense. It is a philosophy that draws on the folk religion of China. This as a school of thought was founded by the Chinese philosopher Kng Qi, better known as Master Kng or Kngz, during China's Spring and Autumn period in the 500s BCE. It quickly became the preeminent of the "Hundred Schools of Thought" and became the foundation of the later imperial government of China.

Confucianism

By many accounts the oldest religion in the world, due to its origins in Vedic beliefs dating as far back as the 1500s BCE. The religion has no founder, and is a synthesis of many different Indian religious traditions. It is the dominant religion on the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most geographically concentrated of the major world religions—of the world's 1.12 billion followers of this religion, 1.07 billion live in India and Nepal.

Hinduism

A strictly monotheistic faith founded by the prophet Muhammad in the year 607 in present-day Saudi Arabia. His teachings, collected in the Quran, claim common descent with many Jewish and Christian beliefs. in the years since Muhammad's death, it has grown to become the world's second largest religion, mostly concentrated in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Islam

An ancient religious tradition from India; per its practitioners this religion is eternal, or at least older than Hinduism. Unlike Buddhism, this religion didn't spread far outside of its home in India, and today the vast majority of the world's 4-5 million these practicers live in India.

Jainism

Strictly monotheistic religion practiced by the Jewish people, an ethnic and religious nation descended from the historic peoples of Israel and Judah. It remains one of the most visible and widely practiced religions in the world.

Judaism

The traditional religion of Japan, which incorporates a vast array of local beliefs and customs across the nation. It is, for the most part, not an organized religion, and is instead the foundation of many cultural practices in Japan. Likewise, it's difficult to produce a number of people who follow the religion; based off of membership in organizations, only 4% of Japan follows the religion. However, up to 80% of Japanese people (even ones who proclaim no religious belief) still keep shrines and make prayers.

Shinto

A young religion founded in the early 1500s CE in Punjab (Northern India) by the Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak was raised as a Hindu in the Muslim-ruled Mughal Empire, but he rejected both dominant faiths and began preaching his own religion. Despite being a religious minority, they overthrew the Mughals and founded a major empire in Northern India in the 1800s. By different definitions this is either the fifth or eighth largest religion in the world, mostly concentrated in their home region of Punjab.

Sikhism

A philosophy and religion originating in China around the same time as Confucianism, and was the primary rival to Confucian thought out of the Hundred Schools. It claims descent from the (perhaps mythical) figure Loz (), which literally means "Old Master." It has been immensely influential on Chinese and East Asian cultures, with their thought influencing everything from literature to medicine to martial arts.

Taoism