INTRODUCTION TO MAJOR
WORLD RELIGIONS
I. What is Religion?
A. Religion defined: sacred engagement with that which is believed to be a spiritual reality.
B. Religion is a worldwide phenomenon that has played a part in all human culture.
C. The exact number of religions is unknown.
D. The best estimate is that there are approximately 4200 religions in the world.
II. Classical World Religions List
A. Baha’i
B. Buddhism
C. Christianity
D. Confucianism
E. Hinduism
F. Islam
G. Jainism
H. Judaism
I. Shinto
J. Sikhism
K. Daoism
L. Zoroastrianism
III. Development of classical world religions list
A. In early Western thought, some attempted to divide the world into “world religions.”
B. Three religions were recognized:
1. Christians
2. Jews
3. Pagans (i.e. everybody else)
C. During the 1800s, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism became known as the most significant “world religions.”
D. Many consider these the “Big 5” and are the most discussed religions.
E. Eventually, five smaller religions were officially recognized:
1. Confucianism
2. Daoism
3. Jainism
4. Shinto
5. Zoroastrianism
F. This brought the list of recognized world religions to 10.
G. Around 1900, Sikhism became recognized.
H. Sikhism had been classified as a sect of Hinduism.
I. Baha’i is the most recent entrant to the Classical list. It is about 150 years old with 7 million adherents.
IV. Components of Major Religions
A. Large numbers of adherents
B. Widespread—significant numbers in several countries.
C. Independent—distinct from a broader religion.
V. Population of World Religions
A. Christianity– 2 billion
B. Islam – 1.3 billion
C. Hinduism – 900 million
D. Secular/Nonreligious – 850 million
E. Buddhism – 360 million
F. Chinese Traditional – 225 million
G. Primal-indigenous – 150 million
H. African traditional – 95 million
I. Sikhism – 23 million
J. Spiritism – 14 million
K. Judaism – 14 million
