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Major religious groups

The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in different societies,[2] but this practice has since fallen into disrepute in many contemporary cultures.

"World Religions" redirects here. For the Canadian TV series, see World Religions (TV series).

Whether to count "historically predominant religious culture[s]"

[3]

Whether to count only those who actively "practice" a particular religion

[4]

Whether to count based on a concept of "adherence"

[5]

Whether to count only those who expressly self-identify with a particular denomination

[6]

Whether to count only adults, or to include children as well.

Whether to rely only on official government-provided statistics

[7]

Whether to use multiple sources and ranges or single "best source(s)"

Religions by country according to The World Factbook – CIA

[32]

Religion by region

Religion in Africa

Religion in Antarctica

Religion in Asia

Religion in the Middle East

Religion in Europe

Religion in the European Union

Religion in North America

Religion in Oceania

Religion in South America

[43]

Indian religions

[43]

is the term applied to any religious faith which has emerged since the 19th century, often syncretizing, re-interpreting or reviving aspects of older traditions such as Ayyavazhi, Mormonism, Ahmadiyya, Jehovah's Witnesses, polytheistic reconstructionism, and so forth.

New religious movement

Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion, arranged by historical origin and mutual influence. Abrahamic religions originate in the Middle East,[38][39] Indian religions in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia)[40] and East Asian religions in East Asia.[41] Another group with supra-regional influence are Afro-American religion,[42] which have their origins in Central and West Africa.

Irreligion

List of religions and spiritual traditions

List of religious populations

World religions

Numinous

Religious conversion

State religion

—from the "Religion & Ethics" part of the BBC website, interactive animated view of the spread of world religions (requires Flash plug-in).

Animated history of World Religions

BBC A-Z of Religions and Beliefs

Major World Religions

International Council for Inter-Religious Cooperation