List of religions and spiritual traditions

While the word religion is difficult to define, one standard model of religion used in religious studies courses defines it as

[a] system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.[1]

Further information: Major religious groups, Religious denomination, and History of religion

Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws, or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, or ultimate concerns.[2]

The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with the words "faith" or "belief system", but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect. Most religions have organized behaviours, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity or for prayer, holy places (either natural or architectural) or religious texts. Certain religions also have a sacred language often used in liturgical services. The practice of a religion may also include sermons, commemoration of the activities of a God or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, rituals, liturgies, ceremonies, worship, initiations, funerals, marriages, meditation, invocation, mediumship, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religious beliefs have also been used to explain parapsychological phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, and reincarnation, along with many other paranormal and supernatural experiences.[3][4]

Some academics studying the subject have divided religions into three broad categories: world religions, a term which refers to transcultural, international faiths; Indigenous religions, which refers to smaller, culture-specific or nation-specific religious groups; and new religious movements, which refers to recently developed faiths.[5] One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings,[6] and thus believes that religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to non-Western cultures that are not based upon such systems, or in which these systems are a substantially simpler construct.

Eastern religions
Main article: Eastern religions

Indian religions
Main article: Indian religions

The four main religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Buddhism
Main article: Buddhism
See also: Schools of Buddhism

Dharmic philosophy schools
Main article: Hindu philosophy

Hinduism
Main article: Hinduism
Further information: Hindu denominations and Bhakti movement

Syncretic Hinduism

Jainism
Main article: Jainism
See also: Jain schools and branches

Sikhism
Main article: Sikhism
Further information: Sects of Sikhism

Sects such as the Nirankari, Ramraiya and Namdhari are not accepted within the Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh Code of Conduct) as they believe in a current human Satguru which goes against Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Dohra in Ardaas.

Yoga
Main article: Yoga

East Asian religions
Main article: East Asian religions
See also: Three teachings

Religions that originated in East Asia, also known as Taoic religions; namely Taoism, Confucianism, Muism and Shinto, and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Chinese folk religion
Main article: Chinese folk religion

Chinese philosophy schools
Main article: Hundred Schools of Thought

Confucianism
Main article: Confucianism

Japanese religions
Main articles: Shinto and Religion in Japan
See also: Shinto sects and schools

Korean religions
Main articles: Korean shamanism and Religion in Korea

Taoism
Main article: Taoism
See also: Taoist schools

Syncretic Taoism

Southeast Asian religions

Religions that originated in Southeast Asia, namely Vietnamese folk religion, Muong ethnic religion, Philippine folk religions, and animistic indigenous religions.

Filipinos religions
Main articles: Indigenous Philippine folk religions and Religion in Philippines

Vietnamese religions
Main articles: Vietnamese folk religion and Religion in Vietnam

Middle Eastern religions
Main article: Religion in the Middle East
See also: Western religions

Religions that originated in the Middle East; namely Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and religions and traditions related to, and descended from them.

Abrahamic religions
Main article: Abrahamic religions

Christianity
Main article: Christianity
See also: List of Christian denominations

Early Christianity

Main article: Early christianity
See also: Diversity in early Christian theology

Eastern Christianity

Main article: Eastern Christianity

Western Christianity

Main article: Western Christianity
See also: List of Independent Catholic denominations and List of the largest Protestant denominations

Syncretic

Other

Islam
Main article: Islam
See also: Islamic schools and branches, Ilm al-Kalam, Ahl al-Hadith, and Islamism

Khawarij

Main article: Khawarij

Shia Islam

Main article: Shia Islam
See also: List of extinct Shia sects

Sufism

Main articles: Sufism and Islamic Mysticism
See also: List of Sufi orders

Sunni Islam

Main article: Sunni Islam

Syncretic

Other

Judaism
Main articles: Judaism and Jewish religious movements
See also: Jewish schisms

Kabbalah

Main articles: Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism

Non-Rabbinic Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism

Main article: Rabbinic Judaism

Historical Judaism

Other Abrahamic

Iranian religions
Main articles: Iranian religions and Religion in Iran

Manichaeism
Main article: Manichaeism
See also: Manichaean schisms

Yazdânism
Main article: Yazdânism

Zoroastrianism
Main article: Zoroastrianism

Indigenous (ethnic, folk) religions
Main articles: Ethnic religion and Folk religion
See also: List of ethnic religions, Paganism, Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, and Fetishism

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

African
Main article: Religion in Africa

Traditional African
Main article: Traditional African religions

Diasporic African
Main article: Afro-American religion

Altaic
Main article: Shamanism in Siberia
See also: List of Tengrist movements

American
Main article: Native American religion

Austroasiatic

Austronesian

Caucasian

Dravidian
Main article: Dravidian folk religion
See also: Religion in ancient Tamilakam

Indo-European

Melanesian and Aboriginal
Main article: Melanesian mythology

Negrito

Paleosiberian
Main article: Shamanism in Siberia

Sino-Tibetan

Tai and Miao

Uralic

Other

New religious movements
Main article: New religious movement
See also: List of new religious movements

Religions that cannot be classed as either world religions or traditional folk religions, and are usually recent in their inception.[12]

Cargo cults
Main article: Cargo cults

New ethnic religions
Main article: Ethnic religion
See also: List of ethnic religions

Black

Black Hebrew Israelites

Main article: Black Hebrew Israelites

Rastafari

Main article: Rastafari

White

Native American

Abrahamic-derived

Chinese salvationist religions
Main article: Chinese salvationist religions

Hindu reform movements
Main article: Hindu denominations § Newer movements
See also: Neo-Vedanta and Hindu reform movements

Muist-derived
Main article: Korean new religions

Neo-Buddhism
Main article: Buddhist modernism

Perennial and interfaith

Shinshukyo
Main article: Japanese new religions

Sikh-derived

Modern paganism
Main article: Modern paganism
See also: List of Neopagan movements

Ethnic neopaganism
See also: Polytheistic reconstructionism and European Congress of Ethnic Religions

Syncretic neopaganism

Entheogenic religions
Main article: Entheogen

New Age Movement
Main article: New Age

New Thought
Main article: New Thought
See also: List of New Thought denominations and independent centers

Parody religions and fiction-based religions
Main article: Parody religion
See also: List of fictional religions

Post-theistic and naturalistic religions
Main articles: Post-theism and Religious naturalism

UFO religions
Main article: UFO religions

Western esotericism
Main article: Western esotericism
See also: Ceremonial magic, Left-hand path and right-hand path, and Occult

Historical religions
Main article: History of religion

Prehistoric Religion
Main article: Prehistoric religion

Bronze Age

Classical antiquity

Medieval Period

Other categorisations

By demographics
Main article: Religious demographics

By area
Further information: Religion and geography

See also

References
  1. (Clifford Geertz, Religion as a Cultural System, 1973)
  2. "World Religions Religion Statistics Geography Church Statistics". Archived from the original on April 22, 1999. Retrieved 5 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "About - the Parapsychological Association".
  4. "Key Facts about Near-Death Experiences". Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. Harvey, Graham (2000). Indigenous Religions: A Companion. (Ed: Graham Harvey). London and New York: Cassell. Page 06.
  6. Vergote, Antoine, Religion, belief and unbelief: a psychological study, Leuven University Press, 1997, p. 89
  7. Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli. Vol. 1-2. Indian Philosophy (1923) Vol. 1, 738 p. (1927) Vol. 2, 807 p. Oxford University Press.
  8. Tattwananda, Swami (1984). Vaisnava Sects, Saiva Sects, Mother Worship (1st rev. ed.). Calcutta: Firma KLM Private Ltd.
  9. Dandekar, R. N. (1987). "Vaiṣṇavism: An Overview". In Eliade, Mircea (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 14. New York: MacMillan.
  10. "Welcome to Jainworld – Jain Sects – tirthankaras, jina, sadhus, sadhvis, 24 tirthankaras, digambara sect, svetambar sect, Shraman Dharma, Nirgranth Dharma". Jainworld.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  11. Melton 2003, p. 611.
  12. Clarke 2006.
  13. Melton 2003, p. 1001.
  14. Melton 2003, p. 1004.
  15. Melton 2003, p. 997.
  16. Melton 2003, p. 1112.
  17. Clarke 2006, pp. 507–509, Radhasoami movements.
  18. Laycock, Joseph P. Reitman (2012). "We Are Spirits of Another Sort". Nova Religio. 15 (3): 65–90. doi:10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65. JSTOR 10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65.

Sources
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