List of religions
From Thelemapedia
Part of the Thelema & Religion series
The following is a list of religions. Note that the classification hereunder is only one of several possible. This system uses a filter system for categorization. A group will be listed in a category as close to the top of the page as the definitions for the category allow. Even if multiple definitions are applicable a religion will only be listed once. The definition of religion for this page is fairly liberal.
Magical / Esoteric
Abrahamic religions
Believers in One God also called classical monotheism.
- Babism
- Bahá'í
- Bahá'í Faith
- Druzism
- Orthodox Bahá'í Faith
- Samaritanism (Samaritans)
- Mandaeanism
- Rastafarianism
- Black Hebrews
Christianity
- Eastern Orthodoxy
- Roman Catholicism
- Oriental Orthodoxy (Monophysitism)
- Nestorianism
- Protestantism
- Anabaptists
- Anglicans
- Baptists
- Lutherans
- Methodists
- Pentecostalism|Pentecostals
- Reformed
- Presbyterian
- Society of Friends (Quakers)
- Waldensians
- Restorationism
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Mormonism
- Seventh-day Adventist
Gnosticism
- Basilidians
- Bogomils
- Borborites
- Cainites
- Carpocratians
- Cathars
- Marcionism (not entirely Gnostic)
- Ophites
- Valentinians
Islam
- Ahmadiyya
- Kharijites
- Ibadis
- Sufris
- Nation of Islam
- Shi'a Islam (Shiite)
- Alawites
- Ismailis
- Jafari
- Zaiddiyah
- Sunni Islam
- Berailvi
- Deobandi
- Hanafi
- Hanbali
- Maliki
- Mu'tazili
- Shafi'i
- Wahhabi
- Sufism
- Zikri
Judaism
- Contemporary divisions
- Karaite Judaism
- Rabbinic Judaism
- Orthodox Judaism
- Haredi Judaism
- Hassidic Judaism
- Modern Orthodox Judaism
- Reform Judaism
- Conservative Judaism ( Masorti )
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Orthodox Judaism
- Humanistic Judaism
- Historical Sects
- Hasmoneans
- Essenes
- Pharisees
- Sadducees
- Zealots
- Sicarii
- Heretical sects that believed Jesus was a prophet
- Ebionites
- Elkasites
- Nazarenes
- Talmidaism
- Crypto-Jews
- Marranos
- Conversos
- Jewish messianic movements
- Jacob Frank (Frankists)
- Sabbatai Zevi (Sabbatians)
- Donmeh
Dharmic religions
Religions with a concept of Dharma, also major religions of historical India
Hinduism
- Agama Hindu Dharma (Javanese Hinduism)
- Shaivism
- Shaktism
- Smartism
- Vaishnavism
- Swaminarayan Religion
- Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday
- Gaudiya Vaishnavism
- ISKCON (Hare Krishna)
- Six major schools and movements of Hindu philosophy
- Samkhya
- Nyaya
- Vaisheshika
- Purva mimamsa
- Vedanta (Uttar Mimamsa)
- Advaita Vedanta
- Aurobindo|Integral Yoga
- Yoga
Buddhism
- Mahayana
- Nikaya Buddhism (which have historically been called Hinayana in the West)
- Theravada
- Vajrayana
Jainism
- Digambara
- Shvetambara
Other revealed religions
These are broadly similar to Abrahamic religions in scope and nature, but follow a separate history of prophesy and belief
Indigenous religions
The orally transmitted canon of indigenous peoples, many involving some variant of animism and most defunct
African religions
- Akamba mythology
- Akan mythology
- Ashanti mythology
- Bushongo mythology
- Dahomey mythology
- Dinka mythology
- Efik mythology
- Egyptian mythology
- Isoko mythology
- Khoikhoi mythology
- Lotuko mythology
- Lugbara mythology
- Pygmy mythology
- Tumbuka mythology
- Yoruba mythology
- Zulu mythology
European religions
- Anglo-Saxon mythology
- Basque mythology
- Chukchi mythology
- Druidry (Celtic Religion )
- Finnish mythology
- Greek religion
- Greek mythology
- Mystery religions
- Norse mythology
- Roman religion
- Roman mythology
- Slavic mythology
Asian religions
- Babylonian and Assyrian religion
- Assyrian mythology
- Babylonian mythology
- Chaldean mythology
- Sumerian mythology
- Bön (Indigenous Tibetan belief)
- Chinese mythology
- Shinto
- Oomoto
- Tengrism (Indigenous Mongol, Tartar & Kazakh belief)
- Yezidis (Modified indigenous Kurdish belief)
Native American religions
- Abenaki mythology
- Aztec mythology
- Blackfoot mythology
- Chippewa mythology
- Creek mythology
- Crow mythology
- Guarani mythology
- Haida mythology
- Ho-Chunk mythology
- Huron mythology
- Ibo mythology
- Iroquois mythology
- Kwakiutl mythology
- Lakota mythology
- Lenape mythology
- Navaho mythology
- Nootka mythology
- Pawnee mythology
- Salish mythology
- Seneca mythology
- Tsimshian mythology
- Ute mythology
- Zuni mythology
Northern indigenous religions
- Aleut mythology
- Evenk mythology
- Inuit mythology
- Yukaghir mythology
Oceanic religions
- Australian Aboriginal mythology
- Balinese mythology
- Micronesian mythology
- Maori mythology
- Modekngei (Republic of Palau )
- Nauruan indigenous religion
- Polynesian mythology
- Tuvaluan mythology
Neopaganism
Modern religions seeking to recreate indigenous, usually pre-Christian, beliefs and practices
- Ásatrú
- Church of All Worlds
- Dievturiba
- Ghost Dance
- Neo-druidism
- Judeo-Paganism
- Hellênismos
- Orisha (beliefs of the former West African slaves in the New World)
- Kongo (beliefs of the former South and Central African (Bantu) slaves in the New World
- Candomblé
- Macumba
- Palo
- Mayombe
- Kimbisa
- Briyumba
- Malongo
- Mayombe
- Umbanda and Quimbanda
- Xango
- Rodoverie (Slavic paganism)
- Summum
Wicca
- Alexandrian Wicca
- Dianic Wicca ( Feminist Wicca )
- Gardnerian Wicca
- Seax-Wica
- Faery Wicca
- Feri Tradition
Non-revealed religions
Philosophies not transmitted by a divine prophet
- Taoism
- Confucianism
- Carvaka
- Fellowship of Reason
- Spiritual Humanism
- Mohism
- Prometheism [1] (http://www.prometheism.net/)
Left-Hand Path religions
The ultimate goal is separating consciousness from the universe, rather than being absorbed by it
- Demonolatry
- Dragon Rouge
- Satanism
- LaVeyan Satanism
- Church of Satan
- First Satanic Church
- Order of Nine Angles
- LaVeyan Satanism
- Setianism also spelled Sethianism
- Temple of Set
- The Storm
- Quimbanda
Syncretic religions
Faiths created from blending earlier religions or that consider all or some religions to be essentially the same
- Revelation of Arès
- Cao Dai
- Falun Dafa ( Falun Gong )
- Huna
- Konkokyo
- Law of One
- Mahikari [2] (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/easia/mahik.html)
- Manichaeism
- Unitarian Universalism
- Universal Life Church
- Tenrikyo
- Theosophy
- Seicho-No-Ie
Entheogen religions
Religions based around divinely inspiring substances
- Ayahuasca-based beliefs
- Santo Daime [3] (http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/latam/santo.html)
- União do Vegetal
- Church of the Universe (marijuana sacrament)
- Peyotism
- THC Ministry
New religious movements
Religions founded since 1850 with small followings
Indigenous NRM's
- Burkhanism
- Cargo cults
- Ghost Dance
- Native American Church
African Diaspora / Latin American NRM's
- Rastafarianism
- Umbanda
- Candomble
Hindu-oriented NRM's
- Sai Baba / Sathya Sai Baba
- Hare Krishna
- Transcendental Meditation
- Sant Mat
- Swaminarayan
- Vedanta Society
- Rajneeshism
- Meher Baba (actually a Zoroastrian)
NRM's with Islamic Roots
- Subud
- Ahmadi
- Baha'i
- Dances of Universal Peace
- Said Nursi
- Nation of Islam (Black Muslims)
Christian-oriented NRM's
- Unification Church
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Adventism
- Mormonism
- Jesus People
- Children of God
- People's Temple
- Pentecostalism
- Holiness movement
Buddhist-oriented NRM's
- Soka Gakkai
- Won Buddhism
- Hoa Hao
- Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
Chinese-oriented NRM's
- I-Kuan Tao
- Falun Gong
Japanese-oriented NRM's
- Tenrikyo
- Seicho no Ie
- Johrei or Reiki
- Oomoto
- Soka Gakkai
- Aum Shinrikyo
Korean-oriented NRM's
- Chondogyo
- Unification Church
Vietnamese-oriented NRM's
- Caodaism
- Hoa Hao
White Supremacist Religions
- Church of Jesus Christ Christian
- Covenant of the Sword and the Arm of the Lord
- World Church of the Creator ( Creativity Movement )
- Church of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan [4] (http://www.adl.org/backgrounders/american_knights_kkk.asp)
Alien-based religions
- The Aetherius Society [5] (http://www.aetherius.org/index.html)
- Raelism
- Scientology
- Church of Scientology
- Free Zone
- Unarius society ( Unarius Academy of Science ) [6] (http://www.unarius.org/start.html)
- Urantia, Book of
Other NRM's
- Anthroposophy
- Aum Shinrikyo ( Aleph )
- Baluan Native Christian United Church
- Breatharianism (Air cult)
- Brianism
- Christian Fellowship Church of New Georgia
- Church Universal and Triumphant
- Eckankar
- Elan Vital
- Faithists of Kosmon
- Juche (The personality cult of North Korean leaders)
- Order of the Solar Temple
- Process Church|Process Church of the Final Judgement
- Purtillology
- Racist religions
- Sathya Sai Organisation
- Kardecist Spiritism
- Subud
- Tuka Movement
- The Unification Church (Moonies)
- Church of Virus
- Yoism
Parody or mock religions
Groups that poke fun at other religions or religion in general
- Church of the SubGenius (The cult of Bob Dobbs)
- Discordianism (The Cult of Eris, the Goddess of Chaos)
- Church of Bill Nye The Science Guy
- Church of God the Utterly Indifferent
- Elvis religions
- Church of Jesus Christ Elvis
- The First Preslyterian Church of Elvis the Divine [7] (http://www.geocities.com/presleyterian_church/home.html)
- Fictional religions turned Parody
- Bokononism
- Jedi census movement
- The First Church of the Last Laugh [8] (http://www.saintstupid.com/)
- Invisible Pink Unicorn
- Kibology
- Landover Baptist Church
- Universal Church of Google
- Roshambo (religion)|Roshambo
- Shatnerology
- Text editor religions
- Church of Emacs
- Cult of Vi
- First Church of Pac-Man [9] (http://www.flamingmayo.com/firstchurchofpacman/)
Nonsectarian and trans-sectarian religious movements and practices
Mysticism
- Christian mysticism
- Hinduism
- Tantra
- Yoga
- Bhakti yoga
- Vedanta
- Kabbalah (also part of Judaism)
- Martinism
- Meditation
- Spirituality
- Ananda Marga
- Sufism
- Theosophy
Forms of religion
- Agnosticism
- Animism
- Atheism
- Deism
- Ditheism ( Dualism )
- Henotheism
- Humanism
- Kathenotheism
- Maltheism
- Monism
- Monotheism
- Monistic Theism
- Pandeism
- Panentheism
- Pantheism
- Polytheism
- Shamanism
- Suitheism
- Theism
- Transcendentalism
External links
- Statistics on religious belief or adherence (http://www.adherents.com)
- Sacred Texts (http://www.sacred-texts.com)
References
- Adapted from: Wikipedia. (2005). List of Religions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religions). Retrieved June 11, 2005.