1. Christianity Population: 2.2 billionHistory: Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Its followers believe Jesus to be the son of God and they follow the teachings of the Bible.
2. Islam Population: 1.3 billion History: Islam is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran. Its followers believe the Quran to be a message sent by God through Muhammad.
3. Hinduism Population: 865 millionHistory: Hinduism is a set of religious traditions that originated mainly in the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses many religious practices whose details vary greatly. Hindus generally believe in a cosmic spirit called Brahman, and the three main gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
4. Chinese folk religions Population: 850 millionHistory: It comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years, which included ancestor worship and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology.
5. Buddhism Population: 380 millionHistory: Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy and arguably a form of psychology. It focuses on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, who lived on the Indian subcontinent in or around the fifth century B.C.
6. Sikhism Population: 26 millionHistory: It began in the sixteenth century in Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus.
7. Judaism Population: 15 millionHistory: Judiaism was the first recorded monotheistic faith and one of the oldest religious traditions that is still practiced today. The values and history of the Jewish people are a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Islam, as well as Samaritanism and the Bahá’Ã Faith.
8. Bahá’Ã faithPopulation: 7 millionHistory: Founded in 1844, it is the youngest of the world’s independent monotheistic religions. The central theme of the message of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of Bahá’Ã, is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society.
9. Jainism Population: 4 millionHistory: Traditionally known as Jain Dharma, Jainism is a religion and philosophy originating in ancient India. It is now a minority in India, with growing communities in the U.S., Western Europe and Africa.
10. Shintoism Population: 3 millionHistory: Is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of kami, or gods. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spiritual being/spirit or genius of a particular place, but others represent major natural objects and processes.
Information complied from noblemind.com.
