This page groups religions by the rough size of their following, from faiths with a handful of adherents to the few traditions that dominate world population. Wikipedia notes that the four largest religious groups, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, together "account for 5.8 billion people and 73% of the population." Browsing by size lets a visitor see how a small or newer movement compares in scale to a religion counted in the billions.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingReligions founded in the modern era, usually around a living founder and a new revelation or a new reading of an old one. The label describes age and origin and passes no judgement on legitimacy. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard category in the sociology of religion, adopted deliberately from the 1970s in place of cult, which had come to deliver a verdict rather than a description. 2 Learn More
New religious movements
This group gathers new religious movements: religions and spiritual movements that emerged in the modern period, typically in the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries, often around a founder, a new revelation or a fresh synthesis of older sources.
The browser will find a varied set of movements, ranging from established faiths to small and sometimes controversial groups. The atlas describes each in its own terms, records its documented history, and notes controversy where it is well attested, without either endorsing or dismissing.
Adherents Band
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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