Human religions

A List of All Religions and Belief Systems

religions and belief systems

• Agnosticism -  A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief that (1) God, if it exists, is by nature unknowable and will always be unknowable, or, (2) that the individual being asked cannot conclude if god exists or not for lack of evidence one way or the other

• Amish - The symbol of ChristianityPeaceful Christian fundamentalist group famous for its rejection of technology and strict adherence to OT and NT laws 

• Ancestor worship -  A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief that good relations need to be kept with tribal ancestor spirits. Often a form of Shamanism

• Animism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. The belief that all objects contain spirits. More a traditional form of belief than a "religion" in the Western sense

• Asatrú - A modern uptake of Nordic religion

• Atheism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Either (1) the active and extrinsic disbelief that God exists, or (2) an intrinsic lack of belief due to lack of knowledge about god(s) in local culture

• Aum Shinrikyo - Dangerous and violent religious community responsible for the 1995 Sarin gas attack on Tokyo\'s subway and other crimes. Eventually they apologized, stopped using the Bible, and formed the more prosaic group called Aleph

• Bahá\'í Faith - A world religion2,3. Belief that a series of prophets have come from God, and that Bahá\'í is the latest religion founded by God. A liberal offshoot of Islam, but persecuted in Iran

• Brahma Kumari - This group are preparing to rule the world after a coming apocalypse, and embrace many practices which are now called New Age

• Branch Davidians - The symbol of ChristianityApocalyptic suicide cult famed for its dramatic armed fight against authorities in the town of Waco, USA, in 1993

• Buddhism - The symbol of BuddhismA world religion2,3,5. The belief that meditation and good living can break the cycle of reincarnation and result in enlightenment

• Celtic Paganism - Modern reconstructions of Celtic paganism form part of the neo-pagan range of religions

• Chen Tao -  A series of civilisations on Earth have arisen but destroyed themselves in nuclear war. Each time, some faithful believers were rescued by flying saucers and put back on Earth

• Chinese Religion -  A varied cultural religion practiced traditionally on a town-by-town and region-by-region basis

• Christadelphians - Bible-based Christianity

• Christian Apostolic Church In Zion - Fundamentalist Anti-science flat-earth Christian cult, who also predicted the End of the World would occur 4 different times

• Christianity - A world religion2,3. Belief that a single creator god had a son, Jesus Christ, born to a human mother, and that Jesus\' crucifixion by the Romans brings salvation

• Concerned Christians - Fundamentalist Christians active in USA, Israel and Greece who expected the end of the world in year 2000, starting with a nuclear attack on the USA, which they appeared to be trying to instigate themselves

• Confucianism - A world religion8,3. A collection of ethical and moral teachings

• Dami Xuanjiao - A millenarian cult based on the belief that Jesus would return to judge survivors in 1999. Suspected of being on the verge of mass suicide after predictions of the end of the world failed in year 2000

• Deism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief in a single creator god who is not "personal" and does not have human emotions, and which many believers say does not interact with the world

• Divine Lightmission -  A self-help religious group involving meditation, with few fixed beliefs

• Druidism -  Celtic religion in prehistoric England. Modern reconstructed Druidism is part of the neo-pagan range of religions

• Druze -   A semi-secretive esoteric religion with features of a Mystery Religion

• Dualism -  A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief that either (1) There is a good and evil god of equal, or almost-equal power, or (2) there are two gods, such as a male and female one

• Ebionites - 1st century Jewish Christians, possibly the earliest form of Christianity to exist

• Eckankar - New Age religion, a mix of Sant Mat, Theosophy and Scientology

• Gnosticism -  The belief that we must escape from this world, which was created and is ruled by an inferior and unworthy god, and reunite with the true god

• Hare Krishna - The embracing of Krishna through correct living, honesty, spiritual life and austerity

• Heathenism - Modern uptake of Nordic religion. Part of the neo-pagan range of religions

• Heaven\'s Gate - Apocalyptic suicide cult who combined Biblical eschatology with New Age and ideas about UFOs. All 39 members committed suicide in San Diego, USA in 1997

• Hinduism - A world religion2,3. Cultural religion of India which was historically decentralized and disparate and not a single belief system. Western influence made it into a single religion, an identity which Hindus now accept

• Hookers For Jesus / The Family Of God -  Sexually promiscuous group who fell foul of police suspicion. As is often the case, increasing pressure from outside resulted in the group retreating even further into insanity, and they became The Family, predicting the end of the world

• Humanism - An organized form of atheism where moral and ethical goodness is emphasized

• Islam - A world religion2,3. Strict monotheism taught by Muhammad, the world\'s 2nd largest religion

• Jainism - Beliefs include non-violence and equality of all living things

• Jedi Knights - A campaign saw many put this down as their religion on the UK census in 2001. Midichlorians exist in all living beings, which create a \'living force\' that can be interacted with

• Jehovah\'s Witnesses - A 140-year-old Christian fundamentalist/literalist organisation famous for preaching that the world is about to end (nowadays - because of the existence of the United Nations)

• Judaism - A world religion2,3. Organized Judaism emerged from Babylonian writings. Belief that God has a special contract with a Hebrew tribe, involving many specific rules of behaviour

• Mennonite -  A Protestant Christian denomination

• Mithraism - Roman mystery religion that believed that the Son of the Sun was a saviour who was sacrificed for the good of all

• Monotheism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief in a single creator god

• Mysticism - The belief that God is unknowable but accessible, and that doctrinal religion hampers spiritual growth

• Native American - Church Beliefs vary from tribe to tribe and are sometimes noticeably Christian

• New Age - A disparate and diverse collection of popular beliefs and practices

• No religion - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. The rise secularisation has seen public and private religion decline throughout the developed world

• Occultism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Normally existing within other belief systems, occult systems concentrate on esoteric meanings in texts, often with magical undertones

• Order Of The Solar Temple - Apocalyptic suicide cult, with mass suicides in Switzerland, France and Quebec, in preparation for Jesus\' second coming

• Paganism - Part of the neo-pagan range of religions

• Pantheism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. God is everywhere, and everything, but is not transcendent and may have no distinct consciousness

• Pastafarianism - A parody religion based on worship of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

• People\'s Temple - Apocalyptic suicide cult that imploded, resulting in the deaths of over 600 adults and 276 children

• Polytheism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief in multiple gods, often in some form of hierarchy

• Raja Yoga - An astika school of Hindu philosophy based around mastering and quieting the mind, involving meditation

• Rastafarian - God (called Jah) fathered a black Jesus; marijuana use in rituals

• Ravidassia - Souls are part of the divine and proper living allows us to realize God

• Salvation Army - Christian organisation of evangelists organised along military lines, famous for charity work

• Santería -  A combination of West African, Caribbean beliefs with some elements of Roman Catholicism

• Satanism - An atheist religion that uses dark and evil symbology for self-development and anti-religious purposes - Satan itself is not a real being, just a symbol

• Scientology -  Derived from the writings of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, a series of practices called Dianetics is used to clear minds of alien influences and attain a state of mental perfection

• Shamanism - Belief that Shamans need to keep good relations with tribal ancestor spirits for the good fortune of the whole tribe

• Shinto - A world religion2,3. Official collection of practices in Japan, more cultural than religious

• Sikhism - A world religion"Religions of the World" by Breuilly, O\'Brien & Palmer (1997)2,3. Prayer, meditation and self control to become a soldier of God

• Spiritualism -  The belief that the souls of the dead communicate with the living, mostly through Mediums, but, suffered serious credibility problems with the original founders admitted to fraudulently inventing the \'rappings\' that formed the communications

• Sun worship - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. The basis of much symbology used in many subsequent religions

• Taoism - A world religion2,3. A relaxed and peaceful religion based on following and accepting the flow of life

• Theism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. The belief in god(s)

• Thelema - A magical system of discerning True Will with inspiration from a host of Egyptian gods

• Theosophy - Mired in fraud arrests and exposés, the Spiritualism scene had soured, so Madame Blavatsky reinvented her routine as a new religion, using an Indian theme

• Traditional African Church - A range of Churches ranging from mostly Christian, to those mostly encapsulating native African spirituality

• Unification Church -Sun Myung Moon embodied the Second Coming of Christ, and his commercialist church runs a media empire

• Unitarianism - A liberal and non-Trinitarian Christian church

• Unitarian-universalism - A liberal and diverse pluralist religion accepting of believers without needing them to leave their current religions

• Unitas Fratrum - A Protestant Christian denomination

• Universalism - A form of belief, rather than a specific system. Belief that all people go to heaven

• Voodoo - A traditional religion from Haiti with an ethical focus on combating greed and promoting honour

• Wicca - Neo-pagan organisation based around reconstructed elements of folklore

• Witchcraft - A description of various cultural practices, which are often part of a parent belief system

• Yezidism - An ancient religion. Malek Taus looks after the world with 6 other angels. Heavily persecuted by Muslims and accused of Devil Worship

• Zhu Shen Jiao - As this group got more and more excited about establishing a Kingdom of God, in the approach to year 2000, its leaders were arrested amid fears that it would turn into a suicide cult

• Zoroastrianism - A world religion3. An ancient dualistic religion from Iran with one good god (Ahura Mazda) and one evil one (Ahriman)