The world's major religions

Religions are systems of belief and practice concerning what people hold sacred, often including ideas about God or gods, the meaning of life, moral conduct and what happens after death. They shape art, law, festivals, food, family life and politics across the world.

This guide describes traditions as their followers generally understand them, without judging their truth. Every major religion also contains great internal diversity, so any short summary simplifies.

Christianity is the world's largest religion, with over two billion followers. It centres on Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish teacher in first-century Judea, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God, who died by crucifixion and rose from the dead, offering salvation to humanity.

Its scriptures are the Bible, comprising the Old Testament, shared in large part with Judaism, and the New Testament. Its three largest branches are Catholicism, Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Most Christians believe in the Trinity, one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Islam has nearly two billion followers, called Muslims. It teaches that there is one God, Allah in Arabic, and that Muhammad, who lived in Arabia in the seventh century, was the final prophet in a line that includes Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The Quran is believed to be God's word revealed to Muhammad.

Islamic practice is built on the Five Pillars: the declaration of faith, five daily prayers, charity, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca for those able to make it. The two main branches are Sunni, the large majority, and Shia.

Hinduism, with over a billion followers mostly in India and Nepal, has no single founder and developed over thousands of years. Many Hindus call it Sanatana Dharma, the eternal way. Its sacred texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads and epics such as the Mahabharata, which contains the Bhagavad Gita.

Key ideas include dharma, duty and right conduct; karma, the principle that actions have consequences; samsara, the cycle of rebirth; and moksha, liberation from that cycle. Hindus worship many deities, such as Vishnu, Shiva and Devi, which many understand as forms of a single ultimate reality called Brahman.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, the awakened one, who lived in northern India around the fifth century BCE. Buddhism has hundreds of millions of followers, especially across East and Southeast Asia.

The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths: life involves suffering; suffering arises from craving; suffering can end; and the way to end it is the Noble Eightfold Path of ethical conduct, mental discipline and wisdom. The goal is nirvana, release from craving and rebirth. Major branches include Theravada and Mahayana, which includes Zen and Tibetan traditions.

• Judaism, one of the oldest monotheistic religions, traces its origins to the covenant between God and Abraham; its central text is the Torah, and there are about 15 million Jews worldwide.
• Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak in Punjab in the fifteenth century; it teaches devotion to one God, equality and service, and its scripture is the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Chinese traditions include Confucianism, focused on ethics and social harmony, and Taoism, which seeks harmony with the Tao, the way of nature.
• Shinto is the Indigenous religion of Japan, centred on kami, spirits present in nature, places and ancestors.
• Many Indigenous and folk religions worldwide centre on ancestors, land and spirits, and a growing share of people describe themselves as non-religious.