---
id:"kb-2026-00349"
title:"World Religions"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"geography"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"The World's Religions (Huston Smith)"
    type:"book"
    year:1958
    url:"https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-worlds-religions-huston-smith"
    institution:"HarperOne"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Major world religions: Christianity (2.4B, Jesus Christ, Bible), Islam (1.9B, Muhammad, Quran), Hinduism (1.2B, oldest, diverse traditions, Vedas), Buddhism (520M, Siddhartha Gautama, Four Noble Truths), Judaism (15M, Torah, foundational to Christianity/Islam). Non-religious/unaffiliated: ~1.2B.

## Core Explanation

Christianity: Catholic (1.3B), Protestant, Orthodox — Trinity, salvation through faith. Islam: Sunni (85-90%), Shia — Five Pillars (prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage, faith declaration). Hinduism: karma, dharma, samsara (reincarnation), moksha (liberation). Buddhism: Four Noble Truths (suffering, cause, cessation, Eightfold Path). Sikhism (30M, Punjab, monotheistic, equality).

## Further Reading

- [The World's Religions (Huston Smith)](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-worlds-religions-huston-smith)