11 Most Popular Religions in The World

If you are wondering about most popular religions in the world, you are in the right place to find the answer.

Religion is closely connected to the term “faith” that is in this case defined as belief based on spiritual understanding rather than belief based on proof. There are many classifications of religions but one of the simplest classifies them into three broad groups: international religions, indigenous religions, and new religious movements. International religions are ones that have followers all around the world and are considered transcultural like Christianity or Islam. Religions associated with a specific ethnic group or nation like Judaism are considered to be indigenous religions. New religious movements refer to the newly established religions like Scientology and Pastafarianism.

The latter one is particularly interesting. Pastafarianism or Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster started off as a satirical response to the fact that Kansas State Board of Education allowed teaching intelligent design in school as an alternative to teaching evolution. It teaches that Flying Spaghetti Monster created the Earth and bunch of other things.  Of course, the internet community is always eager to try new things, so Pastafarianism turned into real internet phenomenon and became officially recognized as a religion in New Zealand and the Netherlands. If you are interested in learning about growing religions check out our list of 5 Fastest Growing Religions in Europe and the World.

According to The Global Religious Landscape study and report from Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, 84% of world’s population was affiliated with some religion in 2010. That leaves us with 16% or 1.1 billion people in the world population that aren’t affiliated with any religion. If we were to consider them a religious group, they would be third in size. It is important to note that among these 1.1 billion are also people who have some religious beliefs but they don’t consider themselves adherents of a religion. China is home to the largest number of religiously unaffiliated people with their number being 700 million.

In order to find out which are the most popular religions in the world, we consulted previously mentioned a study from Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life and ranked the religions according to the number of adherents. The study used surveys, around 2,500 national censuses, and population registers to find out the size and geographical distribution of major religions and religious groups including the religiously unaffiliated. Although the study mostly concentrated on major religions, the accompanying report contains information about the size of other religions taken from The World Religion Database and other sources. Taking into consideration the lack of other credible sources, this study is the best indicator of how popular are particular religions in the world. Now, let’s check out our list of most popular religions in the world.

11. Shintoism

Followers: 3 million

Shinto is the most popular religion in Japan, and it is believed that more than 80% of Japan’s population practices it. Despite this, there are not many people identifying themselves as adherents of Shintoism in surveys. One of the reasons for this is that there are different meanings of Shinto in Japan, and people tend to visit the shrines but don’t consider themselves to belong to the institutional religion of Shintoism. Shinto doesn’t have sacred books or texts but instead has books with stories about Shinto beliefs.

10. Jainism

Followers: 4.5 million

The origins of Jainism, the next one on the list of most popular religions in the world can be traced back to 6th-century B.C.E in India, where the most followers of religion still reside. According to estimations, there are 4.5 million of Jainism adherents, but some Jains make claims that the number is larger. Besides India, Jainism has followers in Canada, Kenya, the United States and the United Kingdom, their number being around 250,000. Jainism teaches about non-violence, having an open mind, and not being attached to the worldly possessions.

9. Baha’i Faith

Followers: 5 million

Baha’i Faith is founded in Persia (current Iran) in the 19th century by Bahá’u’lláh and teaches about the unity of all humankind through the unity of God, religion, and humanity. It also teaches that through history, divine messengers were sent to Earth in order to establish the religion fitting to that particular period. According to The Baha’i International Community, the religion has 5 million followers all around the world, including substantial numbers in India, Kenya, and the United States.

8. Taoism

Followers: 8 million

Founded by Chinese philosopher Laozi in 6th century B.C.E., Taoism, the number 8 on the list of most popular religions in the world teaches that all people should live according to Tao, meaning the “way”. In Taoism, Tao is eternal, beginning of all things and the “way” everything should follow. There are currently estimated 8 million Taoists, most of them living in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

7. Judaism

Followers: 14 million

You will surely be familiar with this entry on our list of most popular religions in the world. There are currently 14 million people (0.2% of global population) who consider themselves Jews, but the number of Judaism adherents could be bigger. The biggest number of Jews is located in the United States (5.69 million) and Israel (5.61 million) with Canada, France, and the United Kingdom also having big Jewish communities. Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, basing its teachings on Torah (foundational text) and oral tradition. Just like in all major monotheistic religions, there is a number of Judaism branches with differences in approach.

6. Sikhism

Followers: 23 Million

Founded by Guru Nanak in the 16th century in Punjab ( the region now divided between India and Pakistan), Sikhism teaches about faith in one creator, living an honest life, generosity and helping others. Teachings of Guru Nanak and ten other Gurus that came after him are contained in Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture that is considered to be the final and eternal Guru. Almost 90% of global Sikhs population is located in India, but there are notable Sikh communities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

5. Folk and Traditional Religions

Followers: 405 million people (6% of the world’s population)

Although this isn’t a particular religion, but rather a group of religions, we decided to feature it on our list of most popular religions in the world since there are no specific size data for any of the religions in the group. All of these religions have few things in common. They are linked with a specific tribe, ethnicity or people and usually don’t have sacred texts or doctrine. Often these religions blend local customs and beliefs with elements of major world religions. Some examples of these types of religions include Native American religions, African traditional religions, and Chinese folk religions.

4. Buddhism

Followers: 488 million (7% of the world’s population)

Buddhism is mostly based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha who lived between 6th and 4th century B.C.E. in India. Differentiating in the philosophy and practice, there are two major branches of Buddhism.  More than 50% of Buddhists in the world belong to Mahayana while 37% are considered to follow Theravada which is considered to be closer to the original form of Buddhism. In the core of both branches remain devotion to following the example of Buddha and his teachings. 51% of global Buddhist population is concentrated in China, while Thailand, Burma and Japan together account for 30%. Despite originating in India, Buddhism has less than 10 million adherents there.

3. Hinduism

Followers: 1 billion (15% of the world’s population)

Considered to be among the oldest religions in the world, Hinduism, the number three on our list of most popular religions in the world is often viewed as a fusion of traditions and cultures of India. Hinduism isn’t considered to be an organized religion but all Hindus believe in Supreme Being and follow some core concepts. Hinduism is regionally most concentrated major religion in the world, with 99% of followers living in Asia-Pacific region. 94% of the adherents live in India, followed by 2.3% in Nepal and 1.3% in Bangladesh.

2. Islam

Followers: 1.6 billion (23% of the world’s population)

Islam originated in the 7th century in Saudi Arabia and teaches that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is his last messenger. Teachings of Islam are contained in the holy book Quran (considered the final revelation of Allah) and sunnah which is the practice of Muhammad. There are two major groups in Islam, Sunni (87% – 90% of Muslim population in the world) and Shia (10% – 13% of Muslim population in the world). They have the same core teachings but differentiate in some practices and beliefs.  Asia – Pacific region is home to more than 60% of all Muslims, while Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh being the countries with the largest Muslim population. Islam is believed to be the fastest growing major religion in the world.

1. Christianity

Followers: 2.2 billion Christians (32% of the world’s population)

It is time for our final entry on the list of most popular religions in the world. Christianity is the largest religion in the world and also most dispersed. At its core is a belief that there is one God who created the world that Jesus Christ is his son and that the Bible is inspired by God and presents a guide for faithful living. Christianity also has numerous branches due to disputes and opposing views. The largest one is Catholic Church accounting for 50% of Christians, followed by various forms of Protestantism (37%) and Eastern Orthodox Church (12%). According to estimations, 26% of the global Christian population is located in Europe while Latin America has 24% of all Christians in the world. Although Christianity originated in the Middle East, less than 1% of Christians are located there.