Data source: Gina A. Zurlo, ed., World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2026.
| Tradition | Definition |
|---|---|
| Buddhists | Followers of the Buddha, mostly across Asia, including three main traditions: (a) Mahayana (Greater Vehicle); (b) Theravada (Teaching of the Elders); (c) Tibetan (Lamaists); plus (d) traditional Buddhist groups, but excluding neo-Buddhist new religions or religious movements. |
| – Mahayanists | Mahayana. The Greater Vehicle school of Buddhists (qv), or Northern Buddhism (China, Japan, et alia). |
| – Theravadins | (Theraveda). The Teaching of the Elders or the Hinayana school of Buddhists (qv), or Southern Buddhism (in Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos). |
| – Lamaists | Lamaism. Tantrayana, or the Tantrism school of Buddhism (qv). |
| Christians | Followers of Jesus Christ of all kinds: all traditions and confessions and all degrees of commitment. |
| – Catholics | All Christians in communion with the Church of Rome, also known as Roman Catholics. Affiliated Catholics are defined here as baptised Catholics plus catechumens. |
| – Independents | Churches or individual Christians separated from, uninterested in and independent of historic denominationalist Christianity. |
| – Orthodox | Four traditions: Eastern (Chalcedonian), Oriental (Pre-Chalcedonian, Non-Chalcedonian, Monophysite), Assyrian and non-historical Orthodox. |
| – Protestants | Christians in churches originating in, or reformulated at the time of, or in communion with, the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In European languages usually called Evangéliques (French), Evangelische (German), Evangélicos (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), though not usually Evangelicals (in English). |
| – doubly-affiliated Christians | Persons who are baptised members of two or more denominations at the same time. |
| – unaffiliated Christians | Persons professing allegiance and commitment to Christ but who have no church affiliation. |
| Hindus | Followers of the main Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism; Shaivism; Shaktism; neo-Hindu movements and modern groups; and other Hindu reform movements. |
| – Vaishnavites | Worshippers of Vishnu in any of his forms or incarnations, in several schools, including Sri Sampradayins, Vadagalai, Tengalai, Ramanandis, Vallabhacharins, Chaitanyas, Nimbarkas, Madhvas and others. |
| – Shaivites | Saivites. Worshippers of Shiva (Siva) in several schools, including Pasupata, Kashmiri, Siddha, Gorakhnatha, Vira. |
| – Shaktas | Saktists. Worshippers of Shakti/Devi (Hindu Divine Mother) who is also depicted as Kali, Durga and Parvati (consort of Shiva). |
| Muslims | Followers of Islam, in two primary branches: (a) Sunni; and (b) Shia. Other, significantly smaller, branches include Kharijite, Sanusi, Mahdiya, Ahmadiya, Druzes and Sabbateans. |
| – Sunnis | Sunnites. Followers of the larger of the major branches of Islam, that adheres to the orthodox tradition of the sunna, acknowledges the first 4 caliphs, and recognises 4 schools of jurisprudence: Hanafite, Hanbalite, Malikite, Shafiite. |
| – Shias | Followers of the smaller of the 2 divisions of Islam, rejecting the Sunna and holding that Mohammed’s son-in-law Ali was the Prophet’s successor and itself divided into the Ithna-Ashari Ismaili, Alawite and Zaydi groups. |
| – Islamic schismatics | Followers of Islam, in other than its 2 main branches of Sunni or Shia. Islamic schismatics include Kharijite and other orthodox groups; reform movements (Sanusi, Mahdiya), also heterodox groups (Ahmadiya, Druzes, Sabbateans). |
Data on 18 categories of religion, including non-religious, by country, province, and people.
Data on all religions, Christian activities, and trends.
Membership data, year begun, and rates of change.
Population and religion data on all major cities & provinces.
Detailed information covering religion, culture, and geography.
A repository of historical data, including a chronology of Christianity from the 1st to 21st centuries.