Greater religions

Greater religions

Translated from it.wikipedia.org as part of the WiTran Project
The main religious groups like percentage of the world-wide population in the 2005 second the esteem of www.adherents.com.

The appraisal of which is the greater religions, that is the main religions of the world, can be made with a pluralità of methods; in many cases, the affirmations on the relative importance of a religion reflect a detail point of view (many supporters to a religion consider own more influential or diffused faith than it is not in reality). Two methods are used in this voice: number of supporters and definition used from the students of the religions.

For the relations between they the voices are looked at religious pluralismo and interreligioso dialogue.

Index

Method of esteem of the number of supporters

The number of supporters to every religion is calculated with a combination of censuses and surveys for the countries in which a religious classification in the official censuses does not exist; the result can vary very dependent from the way in which the questions of the survey are placed and from the chosen representative sample. The religions inform them and not organized they are most difficult to analyze.

The data of the following table come from www.adherents.com, with some integrations. Directory of the main religions for number of supporters

The map extension the prevailing religion for every Country.
Prevalence of the abramitiche religions (fuxia) and of the dharmiche religions (yellow) for country.
Percentage of Christians (red) and Muslims for Country.

This directory does not make distinctions between organized religions and informs them. The religions are ordered for number of faithfuls and to their inside their greater internal flows are distinguished.

  1. Christianity 2.1 billions - origin: 27 d.C.
  2. Islam: more than 1,5 billions - origin: 610 d.C approximately
    • Sunnismo: 1,4 billions
    • Sciismo: from 122 million (8%) to 167 million (11%)
    • Kharigismo/Druses/Yazidismo: less than 2 million (approximately 1.300.000 the kharigiti ones; the 450.000 Druses; 100.000 approximately the Yezidi).
    • Alevismo: approximately 10 million
  3. The irreligiosi/agnostici/atei laity/: 1.1 billions
  4. Induismo: 1 billion - origin: XV century a.C approximately
  5. Buddhismo: 576 million - origin: YOU century a.C.
  6. Taoismo: 400 million - origin II century a.C., YOU century a.C in many aspects
  7. Animistici aboriginal cults: 300 million
    • It is not a single organized religion, it comprises a wide phantom of traditions and tribali and sciamaniche religions.
  8. Shintoismo: 100 million - origin in organized form: 300 a.C approximately
  9. Traditional cults Africans and diasporici: 100 million
    • It is not a single organized religion, it includes cults traditional Africans which the sincretiche and messianiche Yoruba and been born faiths of recent like the Vudù, the Santeria, the Candomblé and the Umbanda.
  10. Sikhismo: 27 million - origin: 1500 approximately
  11. Spiritualismo: 15 million - origin: half of XIX the century
  12. Ebraismo: 15 million - origin: XII century a.C.
  13. Falun Dafa: 10-100 million - origin: 1992
    • Necessarily a religion from the faithfuls is not considered or from the external observatories, a sign of belongings does not exist neither registries and the number of puts into effect them faithful or practicing it cannot be confirmed with certainty. The data is an esteem of the Falun Dafa for the population of China, other esteem is much advanced. The Falun Dafa is famous also as Falun Dong
  14. Caodaismo: 8 million - origin: 1926
  15. Bahaismo: 7 million - origin: XIX century
  16. Confucianism: 6 million - origin: V century a.C., YOU century a.C in many aspects
  17. Giainismo: 4,9 million - origin: YOU century a.C.
  18. Neopaganesimo: beyond 3 million - origin: 500 a.C.
  19. Ceondoismo: 3 million - origin: 1812
  20. Tenrikyo: 2 million - origin: 1838
  21. Ikuantao: 1 million - origin: 1928
  22. Rastafarianesimo: 600.000 - origin: 1929
  23. Scientology: 500.000 - origin: 1953
  24. Tiandejiao: 260.000 - origin: 1978
  25. Miledadao: 230.000 - origin: 1988
  26. Tiandeshengjiao: 200.000 - origin: 1899
  27. Zoroastrismo: 200.000 - uncertain origin, approximately X century a.C.
  28. Liismo: 169.000 - origin: XVII century
  29. Xuanyuanjiao: 150.000 - origin: 1957
  30. Mandeismo: 70.000 - origin: III century
  31. still not recognized like official religion, the politeismo (Greek, egizio, Nordic, Chinese, American etc)

Directory of the organized religions for number of supporters

Christian Science Monitor uses a various standard examinee only the organized religions; in 1998 it has indicated like First 10 organized religions the world, in descendent order:

  1. Christianity
  2. Islam
  3. Induismo
  4. Buddhismo
  5. Sikhismo
  6. Ebraismo
  7. Bahaismo
  8. Confucianism
  9. Giainismo
  10. Shintoismo

classic historical Vision

The greater religions also have been classified based on theirs perceived importance, or theological that temporal. This division has been generally the derivation of that of the Christian students of the West, therefore the lists of the meggiori classic religions betray this prejudgment. The first Christian students, first known classifiers of the greater religions, recognized alone three religions: Christianity, Ebraismo, and Aganism (that the other religions considered comprised all). This vision changed with the illuminismo and in XIX the century the western students considered Ebraismo, Christianity, Islam, Induismo and Buddhismo like greater religions. When it increased the exposure of the western ones to other religions, others six were added some to the list originate them: Confucianism, Taoismo, Giainismo, Shintoismo, Sikhismo, and Zoroastrismo. The more late religion of the Bahaismo has been addition to the list, that it counts twelve classic religions (in alphabetical order):

  1. Bahaismo
  2. Buddhismo
  3. Christianity
  4. Confucianism
  5. Ebraismo
  6. Giainismo
  7. Induismo
  8. Islam
  9. Sikhismo
  10. Shintoismo
  11. Taoismo
  12. Zoroastrismo

The modern western definition of majority religion drift from the classic definition, often oriented on the Christianity, and that it omits Giainismo and Zoroastrismo. An example is this list found in the public library of New York, Student Reference:

  • Buddhismo
  • Christianity
  • Confucianism
  • Induismo
  • Islam
  • Ebraismo

correlated Voices

Notes

  1. ^ the data are modernized to 2005. These statistics are based on a comparative analysis of several sources, for information on the analysis method look at the explanation on the site. The data on Falun Dafa and Umanesimo come from other sources.
  2. ^ Or 185 million if the Chinese buddhisti are not available. Recent searches have revealed a number of 200 million buddhisti in China. The figure is reported to the affiliated persons to the Chinese buddhista Church, therefore the number of buddhisti could be greater.
  3. ^ the Chinese taoista Church calculated a number of 100 million faithfuls official (that is affiliated to an organization) in 1998. An ulterior eight number million taoisti is gained from statistics on the population of Taiwan. Beyond to being today the much greater number of official taoisti in China the present communities in the West could be added to the sum also.
  4. ^ the group comprises the supporters with the popular Taoismo. As insufficient tolerated in Chinese territory, this type of religiosità not figure nearly never in statistics; it turns out therefore much difficult one to calculate of the effective supporters. The presence of beyond 300 million supporters with the popular Taoismo in China, and an other hundred of million is estimated abroad.

Sources

This page is a translation of it.wikipedia.org provided by The WiTran Project and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License