List of religions and spiritual traditions

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of new religious movements. (Discuss)

The following is a list of religions and spiritual traditions, however it excludes modern religions, which can be found in list of new religious movements.

Note: A discussion of the ways in which "major religions" have historically been separated from the list of all religions can be found in the article Major world religions

Note: As there are countless small religions, many of which cannot be verified to be real or legitimate, only those religions with Wikipedia articles will be listed in order to ensure that all entries on this list are notable and verifiable.

Note: The classification below is only one of a few possible, using 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, ideally, only be listed once. The definition of religion for this page is inclusive.

1 List of Religions
2 Other categorisations

[edit] List of Religions

[edit] Abrahamic religions

A group of monotheistic traditions sometimes grouped with one another for comparative purposes, because all refer to a patriarch named Abraham.

[edit] Bábism

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

Ghulat including (considered separate religions)
- Ahl-e Haqq (Yarsan)
- Ahmadi
- Druze
- Submission

Kalam Schools
- Ash'ari
- Kalam
- Maturidi
- Murji'ah
- Mu'tazili

Kharijite
- Ibadi (Only surviving sect)
- Harūriyya
- Azraqi
- Sufri

Shi'a
- Ismailis
  - Mustaali / Bohra
- Jafari
  - Twelvers
  - Alawites
  - Alevi / Bektashi
- Zaiddiyah

Sufism
- Bektashi
- Chishti
- Mevlevi
- Naqshbandi
- Tariqah
- Quadiriyyah
- Suhrawardiyya
- Tijani

Sunni
- Hanafi
  - Berailvi
  - Deobandi
- Hanbali
  - Wahhabi
- Maliki
- Shafi'i

[edit] Judaism

Contemporary divisions
- Conservative Judaism (Masorti/Conservadox)
  - Union for Traditional Judaism
- Humanistic Judaism (atheistic, not always identified as a religion)
- Karaite Judaism
- Orthodox Judaism
- Reconstructionist Judaism (regards Jewish identity as primarily cultural, not religious)
- Reform Judaism
Historical groups
- Essenes
- Pharisees (ancestor of Rabbinic/Orthodox Judaism)
- Sadducees
- Sects that believed Jesus was a prophet
- Zealots
  - Sicarii
- Sabbateans
  - Frankists

[edit] Rastafarianism

[edit] Sabians

[edit] Samaritanism

[edit] Indian religions

Mostly religions that originated in Greater India that share a number of key concepts, namely Dharma and Karma and religions and traditions related to, and descended from, them.

[edit] Ayyavazhi

[edit] Buddhism

(see Schools of Buddhism)

Mahayana
Nikaya schools (which have historically been called Hinayana in the West)
- Theravada
Vajrayana
- Shingon Buddhism
- Tibetan Buddhism
  - Bön
  - Gelukpa
  - Kagyupa
  - Nyingmapa
  - Sakyapa
    - Jonangpa

[edit] Hinduism

(see also Contemporary Hindu movements)

Agama Hindu Dharma (Javanese Hinduism)
Lingayatism
Reform movements
- Arya Samaj
- Brahmo Samaj
Shaivism
Shaktism
Tantrism
Smartism
Vaishnavism
- Gaudiya Vaishnavism
  - ISKCON (Hare Krishna)
  - Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission

Six major schools and movements of Hindu philosophy
- Nyaya
- Purva mimamsa
- Samkhya
- Vaisheshika
- Vedanta (Uttar Mimamsa)
- Yoga

[edit] Jainism

[edit] Sikhism

Khalsa
- Nihang
Namdhari or Kuka Sikhs
Sahajdhari Sikh

[edit] Iranic religions

Religions originating in the area known today as Iran

[edit] Manichaeism

[edit] Mazdakism

[edit] Yazdânism

[edit] Zoroastrianism

Zurvanism
Magus (see Three Wise Men)

[edit] Taoic/Far Eastern/East Asian religions

Religions originating in east Asia.

[edit] Caodaism

[edit] Chondogyo

[edit] Confucianism

[edit] Shinto

Oomoto

[edit] Taoism

[edit] Yiguandao

[edit] Chinese folk religion

[edit] African diasporic religions

Religions originating but not entirely located in Africa

[edit] "Pagan" religions (Historical Polytheism, Indigenous Traditional)

Traditionally, these faiths have all been classified "Pagan" due to common elements of animism, shamanism and polytheism. However in recent times, scholars have begun to dispute this, preferring the terms "indigenous/primal/folk/ethnic religions", "historical polytheism" and "Neo-Paganism".

[edit] Indigenous religions

The orally transmitted canon of indigenous peoples, many involving some variant of animism and many defunct

[edit] African traditional religions

West Africa

Akan mythology
Ashanti mythology (Ghana)
Dahomey (Fon) mythology
Efik mythology (Nigeria, Cameroon)
Igbo mythology (Nigeria, Cameroon)
Isoko mythology (Nigeria)
Yoruba mythology (Nigeria, Benin)

Central Africa

East Africa

Akamba mythology (East Kenya)
Dinka mythology (Sudan)
Lotuko mythology (Sudan)
Masai mythology (Kenya, Tanzania)

Southern Africa

[edit] Eurasian

Asian

Bön (Tibet)
Siberian Shamanism (Siberia)
Tengriism (Indigenous Mongol, Tartar & Kazakh belief)

European

[edit] Native American religions

[edit] Pacific religions

[edit] Cargo cults

Religions appearing in Pacific tribal societies in the wake of Western culture.

[edit] Historical Polytheism

Further information: Prehistoric religion and History of religion

[edit] Ancient Near East

Main article: Ancient Near Eastern religions

[edit] Indo-European

Main article: Proto-Indo-European religion

[edit] Hellenism

Main article: Hellenistic religion

[edit] Nonsectarian and trans-sectarian religious or spiritual movements

[edit] Spiritualism

[edit] New Age

[edit] Esotericism

[edit] Mysticism

Christian mysticism
Hindu mysticism
- Tantra
  - Ananda Marga Tantra-Yoga
Kabbalah (also part of Judaism)
- Kabbalah Centre
Martinism
Merkabah (also part of Judaism)
Meher Baba
Sufism

[edit] Left-Hand Path

Faiths teaching that the ultimate goal is separating consciousness from the universe, rather than being absorbed by it

[edit] Magic (religion)

Hoodoo (Rootwork)
- New Orleans Voodoo
Kulam - Filipino witchcraft
Magick
Pow-wow
Seid (shamanic magic)
Vaastu Shastra (Hinduism)
Witchcraft

[edit] Organizations promoting Ecumenism

[edit] Systems claiming not to be religions, but which have characteristics of religion

[edit] Other categorisations

[edit] By demographics

Main article: Religious demographics

List of religious populations

[edit] By area

Further information: Religion geography

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e

Religion topics

Major groups

Abrahamic	Bahá'í · Christianity · Islam · Judaism · Rastafarianism

Indian	Ayyavazhi · Buddhism · Hinduism · Jainism · Sikhism

Iranian	Zoroastrianism · Manichaeanism · Yarsan · Mazdakism · Yazidi

East Asian	Chinese · Confucianism · Juche · Taoism · Shinto

Modern	Cao Dai · Neopaganism · Scientology · Spiritism · Tenrikyo · Unitarian Universalism

Ethnic / Folk	African · Afro-American · Eurasian

Ancient religions

Prehistoric

Near East	Egyptian · Semitic · Mesopotamian

Indo-European	Celtic · Germanic · Greek · Hellenism (Gnosticism · Neoplatonism) · Roman · Slavic · Vedic