Five religions account for most of the world's believers: Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. People often know a little about each but rarely see them side by side. This guide lays out the basic facts for each one, using the same headings as our chart A Factual Chart of the Major Beliefs in the World. It ends with a note on how Islam understands its relationship to the other Abrahamic faiths.
When did each religion begin?
Placed on a single timeline, the five religions span roughly 2,400 years:
- Judaism: c. 1800 BCE, traced to the Prophet Abraham
- Hinduism: c. 1500 BCE, with no single founder
- Buddhism: c. 5th century BCE, from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
- Christianity: c. 33 CE, from the teachings of Jesus
- Islam: 610 CE, when the Qur'an began to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in Makkah
Followers worldwide
The figures below come from the Pew Research Center's report How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 (published June 2025), which estimates each group's size in 2020. The final column gives Pew's earlier long-range projection for 2010–2050, from The Future of World Religions (published 2015). The religiously unaffiliated are included for context, since together they form the third-largest group.
| Religion | Followers (2020) | Share of world population (2020) | Median age (2020) | Change 2010–2020 | Projected growth 2010–2050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christianity | about 2.3 billion | 28.8% | 30.8 | +6% (+122 million) | +35% |
| Islam | about 2.0 billion | 25.6% | 24 | +21% (+347 million) | +73% |
| Religiously unaffiliated | about 1.9 billion | 24.2% | 36.8 | +270 million | Small rise in number, falling share |
| Hinduism | about 1.2 billion | 14.9% | 28.6 | +12% (+126 million) | +34% |
| Buddhism | 324 million | 4.1% | 39.8 | −5% (−19 million) | Roughly unchanged |
| Judaism | 14.8 million | 0.2% | 38.2 | +6% (about +1 million) | +16% |
The median age of the whole world population in 2020 was 30.6, according to the same Pew report. Pew found that Muslims were nine years younger than non-Muslims on average (24 against 33), and that Muslim women had an average of 2.9 children compared with 2.2 for non-Muslim women. These two facts explain most of Islam's faster growth. Pew's 2015 projection expected Muslims to reach about 2.8 billion (30% of the world) by 2050 and Christians about 2.9 billion (31%). Pew's 2025 estimates for Buddhists are much lower than its 2015 figures because it changed how it counts Buddhists in China and elsewhere, so the two reports should not be compared directly for that group.
The five religions at a glance
| Judaism | Hinduism | Buddhism | Christianity | Islam | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Monotheistic, Abrahamic | Polytheistic, non-Abrahamic | No deity, non-Abrahamic | Trinitarian monotheistic, Abrahamic | Monotheistic, Abrahamic |
| Founded | c. 1800 BCE | c. 1500 BCE | c. 5th century BCE | c. 33 CE | 610 CE |
| Original language | Hebrew | Sanskrit | Pali | Aramaic | Arabic |
| God | YHWH (Yahweh) | Brahman | No deity | The Trinity | Allah |
| Scripture | Torah | Vedas | Tipitaka | Bible | Qur'an |
| Key figure | Abraham | No single founder | Siddhartha Gautama | Jesus | Muhammad ﷺ |
| Largest populations | Israel, United States, France | India, Nepal, Bangladesh | Thailand, China, Japan | United States, Brazil, Mexico | Indonesia, India, Pakistan |
| Core statement of belief | The Shema: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4) | No single creed | The Three Refuges: taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma (teaching) and the Sangha (community) | The Nicene Creed (325 CE, expanded 381 CE); the Apostles' Creed is also widely used | The Shahadah: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" |
| Place of worship | Synagogue | Temple (mandir), and home shrines | Temple or monastery (vihara), stupa or pagoda | Church | Masjid (mosque) |
| Day of congregational worship | Shabbat (Sabbath), from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall | No fixed weekly day; worship is daily, at home and in temples | No fixed weekly day; many observe Uposatha days, set by the phases of the moon | Sunday for most churches; Saturday for Seventh-day Adventists and some others | Friday (Jumu'ah) midday prayer, alongside five daily prayers |
| Holy city or cities | Jerusalem; also Hebron, Safed and Tiberias | Varanasi, and the seven sacred cities (Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain, Dwarka) | The four sites of the Buddha's life: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar | Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth; Rome for Catholics | Makkah, Madinah and Jerusalem (al-Masjid al-Aqsa) |
| Major festivals | Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover (Pesach), Shavuot, Sukkot, Hanukkah | Diwali, Holi, Navaratri, Maha Shivaratri, Janmashtami | Vesak (the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing), Magha Puja, Asalha Puja | Christmas, Easter, Pentecost | Eid al-Fitr (after the fast of Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (during Hajj) |
| Main branches | Three main movements: Orthodox, Conservative (Masorti), Reform; also Reconstructionist | Four main traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Smartism | Three main schools: Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana | Three main branches: Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox; also Oriental Orthodox | Two main branches: Sunni (about 87–90%) and Shia (about 10–13%); also a small Ibadi community |
| Dietary laws | Kashrut (kosher): no pork or shellfish, meat and dairy kept apart, animals slaughtered by shechitah | No single code; many are vegetarian and most avoid beef, as the cow is held sacred | No universal code; precepts discourage killing and intoxicants, and many Mahayana monastics are vegetarian | Generally no food laws; some churches keep fasts, such as Lent | Halal: no pork, alcohol or blood; meat slaughtered in the name of Allah; fasting in Ramadan |
| Pilgrimage | Not obligatory today; historically three pilgrimage festivals to the Temple in Jerusalem; many visit the Western Wall | Not obligatory; pilgrimage (tirtha yatra) to sacred rivers and sites, such as the Kumbh Mela and the Char Dham | Not obligatory; pilgrimage to the four sites of the Buddha's life | Not obligatory; pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and other sites | Hajj to Makkah: obligatory once in a lifetime for every adult Muslim who is physically and financially able |
The Sunni and Shia shares come from the Pew Research Center's Mapping the Global Muslim Population (2009). For up-to-date country rankings based on Pew's 2020 estimates, see the table below.
Countries with the largest populations
These are the five countries with the most followers of each religion in 2020, rounded, from the Pew Research Center's 2025 report How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020. Pew's own text gives figures only for the top two countries for Hindus and Buddhists; the remaining Hindu and Buddhist figures come from Pew's dataset as republished by SeasiaStats. Pew gives figures only for Israel and the United States among Jewish populations, so the figures for France, Canada and the United Kingdom are Sergio DellaPergola's estimates for 2019, published in the American Jewish Year Book.
| Rank | Judaism | Hinduism | Buddhism | Christianity | Islam |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel: almost 7 million | India: 1.1 billion | Thailand: 68 million | United States: 217 million | Indonesia: 239 million |
| 2 | United States: 5.7 million | Nepal: 24 million | China: 53 million | Brazil: 168 million | Pakistan: 227 million |
| 3 | France: 450,000 | Bangladesh: 13 million | Myanmar: 47 million | Mexico: 113 million | India: 213 million |
| 4 | Canada: 392,000 | Pakistan: 5 million | Japan: 47 million | Philippines: 103 million | Bangladesh: 151 million |
| 5 | United Kingdom: 292,000 | Indonesia: 4 million | Vietnam: 23 million | Russia: 102 million | Nigeria: 120 million |
Pew counts Jews by religion. Using a broader definition that includes Jews by culture or ancestry, the United States has about 7.5 million. India is home to 95% of the world's Hindus. Israel and the United States together hold 85% of the world's Jews.
Judaism
Judaism traces its origin to Abraham and the covenant between God and the Children of Israel. Its central teaching is that there is only one God, the Creator of everything. Its scripture begins with the Torah, the five books attributed to Moses, and is supplemented by the oral tradition later recorded in the Talmud. Judaism is the smallest of the five by number of followers, with most Jews living in the United States and Israel.
Hinduism
Hinduism has no single founder or founding moment. It grew from the traditions of ancient India, and its oldest scriptures, the Vedas, were composed in Vedic Sanskrit. Hindus describe an ultimate reality called Brahman, while worship is directed to many gods and goddesses, including Vishnu, Shiva, Lakshmi and Ganesha. A central goal is liberation from samsara, the continuous cycle of rebirth governed by karma.
Buddhism
Buddhism began with Siddhartha Gautama, a prince born in Lumbini in present-day Nepal, who left a sheltered life after encountering suffering. His teaching centres on attaining enlightenment and freeing oneself from the cycle of life and death. Early Buddhism does not teach worship of a creator God, although some later schools venerate celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas. The Pali Canon, known as the Tipitaka or "Three Baskets", is its classical scripture.
Christianity
Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus, born in Bethlehem. Most Christians believe in the Trinity: one God existing as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They believe salvation from original sin comes through faith in Jesus. The Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is Christianity's scripture and exists in many translations and versions. Christianity has the most followers of any religion.
Islam
Islam teaches the worship of the One God, Allah, who "neither begets, nor is born, nor is there for Him any equivalent" (Surah al-Ikhlas 112:3–4). Its scripture is the Qur'an, meaning "the Recitation", revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ over 23 years beginning in 610 CE. Muslims testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad ﷺ is His messenger. Islam has the youngest median age of the five and is the fastest-growing major religion.
Islam in numbers
- Followers: about 2.0 billion in 2020, or 25.6% of the world's population, up from 1.7 billion in 2010 (Pew Research Center, 2025)
- Muslim-majority countries: Muslims form a majority in 53 countries and territories (Pew Research Center, 2025). The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has 57 member states.
- Hajj 2025 (1446 AH): 1,673,230 pilgrims, of whom 1,506,576 came from outside Saudi Arabia and 166,654 were citizens and residents (Saudi General Authority for Statistics, GASTAT)
- The Qur'an: 114 surahs and 6,236 verses
- Ibrahim (Abraham) in the Qur'an: named 69 times, in 63 verses across 25 surahs. Surah 14 is named after him. This count was made by searching the Arabic text of the Qur'an for every form of the name.
A common misconception about Islam
Islam is often described as a new religion founded by Muhammad ﷺ about 1,400 years ago. Muslims understand it differently. In the Islamic view, Islam (submission to the will of the One God) is the same message taught by every prophet, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the last of these messengers, and the Qur'an is the final and complete revelation. The Qur'an says of Abraham:
"Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim (submitting to Allah). And he was not from the polytheists."
Surah Ali 'Imran 3:67
This is why Muslims speak of Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the Abrahamic faiths, and why comparing them side by side is a natural way to open conversations about belief.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the oldest of the five major religions?
Judaism and Hinduism are the oldest, with origins around 1800 BCE and 1500 BCE respectively. Islam teaches that its message of worshipping One God is as old as humanity itself, beginning with the first prophet, Adam.
Which religions are Abrahamic?
Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All three trace their roots to the Prophet Abraham and teach belief in one God.
Which religion has the most followers?
Christianity, followed by Islam. Islam is growing fastest, mainly because Muslims are on average the youngest of the major religious groups.
How many Muslims are there in the world?
About 2.0 billion in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. That is about one in four people in the world. Pew found that the number of Muslims grew by 347 million between 2010 and 2020, more than all other religions combined.
How many people perform Hajj each year?
In 2025, 1,673,230 pilgrims performed Hajj, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). Hajj is obligatory once in a lifetime for every adult Muslim who is physically and financially able.
Put the comparison on your wall
The core comparison above comes from our chart, which sets out all five religions on one page with a to-scale timeline. It's made for masjid noticeboards, classrooms, da'wah booths and study walls.
- Download the printable chart and print it locally