Top 5 Most Popular Religions in the World

The concept of religion dates back 5,200 years ago to the invention of writing.

The concept of religion dates back 5,200 years ago to the invention of writing. And, whether old or new, a religion’s influence can define the morals and customs of a culture. That means religion plays a part in everything from music to art to funerals to holidays. Of course, religious places of worship also happen to be some of the most-visited around the world.

While there are hundreds of religions in the world that you likely don’t know, do you know which ones are the biggest? Here are the top five most popular religions that people have been practicing for centuries.

5. Buddhism

Getty Images

Number of devotees: 521 million

Percentage of all religions: 6.9%

Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as “Buddha,” founded Buddhism in India more than 2,500 years ago. Born as a prince in present-day Nepal, Gautama decided to give up his royal lifestyle and sought a life without indulgences. When he died around 483 B.C., his followers created a movement, which evolved into Buddhism.

The Buddhist principles focus on living life in a way that will help you one day achieve enlightenment or a state of inner peace known as Nirvana. There’s no supreme god or deity; instead, Buddhists use meditation and wisdom to live moral lives and seek truth. They also believe in karma — in which your actions and thoughts determine your current and future life — as well as reincarnation — the belief that a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after death.

* Demographics are sourced from the Pew Research Center.

4. Hinduism

Getty Images

Number of devotees: 1.15 billion

Percentage of all religions: 15.1%

As one of the world’s oldest religions, Hinduism dates back more than 4,000 years in what many believe to be modern-day Pakistan. Unlike other religions on this list, there’s no single founder of Hinduism. It’s not even really a single religion but, instead, considered more a “way of life” that’s made up of many different beliefs. Most of the forms of Hinduism worship Brahman as God but also recognize other gods and goddesses.

Like Buddhism, Hinduism relies heavily on the concept of karma as well as dharma, a code of living rooted in morality and balance that all Hindus strive to achieve. They also believe in reincarnation.

3. Atheism

Roberto Galan / Getty Images

Number of devotees: 1.2 billion

Percentage of all religions: 16%

Atheism is the exact opposite of theism, the belief that at least one god exists. Therefore, atheism is simply the absence of believing in any type of god, belief system or religion. Other terms that tend to describe atheism are agnostic, secular, humanist or freethinker.

It’s particularly popular in European countries such as Estonia and Czechia.

2. Islam

Getty Images

Number of devotees: 1.8 billion

Percentage of all religions: 24.1%

While Islamic roots date back centuries, most scholars believe the religion’s creation to be around the seventh century. That means it’s actually the youngest of the biggest world religions on this list. Islam centers around the life of the prophet, Mohammed, and those who practice Islam believe that Allah’s (God’s) word was shown to Mohammed through the angel, Gabriel.

Muslims believe that God sent Mohammed as the last prophet to bring the religion to the world, but when he died, there was much debate as to who was to replace him, leading to the two key sects of Islam — Sunnis and Shiites — as well as others. The Quran is Islam’s holy text.

1. Christianity

Getty Images

Number of devotees: 2.3 billion

Percentage of all religions: 31.2%

That brings us to the world’s most popular religion: Christianity, which has dozens of sects and spinoffs. The religion believes in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God, who was sent to save the world and who was crucified on the cross to offer forgiveness of sin. Christians believe in one God and believe that he created Earth and the heavens.

Christianity’s holy text is the Bible, a collection of 66 books written by different authors. In the Bible, it states that the first church was organized 50 days after Jesus’ death.

For more of the world’s biggest religions, check out “Largest Religions in the World.”