Religion

=== Abrahamic ===
[[File:Molnár Ábrahám kiköltözése 1850.jpg|thumb|The patriarch [[Abraham]] (by [[József Molnár (painter)|József Molnár]])]]
[[Abrahamic religions]] are [[monotheistic]] religions which believe they descend from [[Abraham]].

==== Judaism ====
{{Main|Judaism}}
[[File:Open Torah and pointer.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Torah]] is the primary sacred text of Judaism.]]

[[Judaism]] is the oldest Abrahamic religion, originating in the people of [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|ancient Israel and Judah]].<ref name="britannica.com">{{cite web |title=Judaism {{!}} Definition, Origin, History, Beliefs, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101160152/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Torah]] is its foundational text, and is part of the larger text known as the [[Tanakh]] or [[Hebrew Bible]]. It is supplemented by oral tradition, set down in written form in later texts such as the [[Midrash]] and the [[Talmud]]. Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Within Judaism there are a variety of movements, most of which emerged from [[Rabbinic Judaism]], which holds that God revealed his laws and [[613 Mitzvot|commandments]] to [[Moses]] on [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]] in the form of both the [[Torah|Written]] and [[Oral Torah]]; historically, this assertion was challenged by various groups. The [[Jewish people]] were scattered after the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] in 70 CE. Today there are about 13 million Jews, about 40 per cent living in Israel and 40 per cent in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton61/st02_27.pdf |title=Info |website=www.cbs.gov.il |access-date=22 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026202909/https://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton61/st02_27.pdf |archive-date=26 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The largest [[Jewish religious movements]] are [[Orthodox Judaism]] ([[Haredi Judaism]] and [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]]), [[Conservative Judaism]] and [[Reform Judaism]].<ref name="britannica.com" />

==== Christianity ====
[[File:ISR-2013-Jerusalem-Holy Sepulchre-dome.jpg|thumb|Jesus is the central figure of Christianity.]]

[[Christianity]] is based on the life and teachings of [[Jesus]] of Nazareth (1st century) as presented in the New Testament.<ref name="Christianity">{{cite web |title=Christianity {{!}} Definition, Origin, History, Beliefs, Symbols, Types, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101193717/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67592/Forms-of-Christian-education |url-status=live }}</ref> The Christian faith is essentially faith in Jesus as the [[Christ]],<ref name="Christianity" /> the [[Son of God]], and as [[Messiah|Savior]] and Lord. Almost all Christians believe in the [[Trinity]], which teaches the unity of [[God the Father|Father]], [[God the Son|Son]] (Jesus Christ), and [[Holy Spirit]] as three persons in [[monotheism|one Godhead]]. Most Christians can describe their faith with the [[Nicene Creed]]. As the religion of [[Byzantine Empire]] in the first millennium and of [[Western Europe]] during the time of colonization, Christianity has been propagated throughout the world via [[Christian mission|missionary work]].<ref name="Spread">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=g2AtOlJMPTUC&pg=PA52|title = Muslim-Christian Relations|publisher = Amsterdam University Press|quote = The enthusiasm for evangelization among the Christians was also accompanied by the awareness that the most immediate problem to solve was how to serve the huge number of new [[Conversion to Christianity|converts]]. Simatupang said, if the number of the Christians were double or triple, then the number of the ministers should also be doubled or tripled and the role of the laity should be maximized and Christian service to society through schools, universities, hospitals and orphanages, should be increased. In addition, for him the Christian mission should be involved in the struggle for justice amid the process of modernization.|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-90-5356-938-2|year = 2006|archive-date = 20 June 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130620150610/http://books.google.com/books?id=g2AtOlJMPTUC&pg=PA52|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Charity">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WmuV6g0yR3sC&pg=PA77|page = 77|author = Fred Kammer|title = Doing Faith Justice|publisher = [[Paulist Press]]|quote = Theologians, bishops, and preachers urged the Christian community to be as compassionate as their God was, reiterating that creation was for all of humanity. They also accepted and developed the identification of Christ with the poor and the requisite Christian duty to the poor. Religious congregations and individual charismatic leaders promoted the development of a number of helping institutions-hospitals, hospices for [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrims]], orphanages, shelters for unwed mothers-that laid the foundation for the modern "large network of hospitals, orphanages and schools, to serve the poor and society at large."|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-0-8091-4227-9|date = 2004|archive-date = 26 January 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210126184216/https://books.google.com/books?id=WmuV6g0yR3sC&pg=PA77|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Service">{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=dz_EM2ofIb4C&pg=PA132|title = Christian Church Women: Shapers of a Movement|publisher = Chalice Press|quote = In the central provinces of India they established schools, orphanages, hospitals, and churches, and spread the gospel message in zenanas.|access-date = 18 October 2007|isbn = 978-0-8272-0463-8|date = March 1994|archive-date = 20 June 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130620110214/http://books.google.com/books?id=dz_EM2ofIb4C&pg=PA132|url-status = live}}</ref> It is the [[Major religious groups|world's largest religion]], with about 2.3 billion followers as of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/|title=World's largest religion by population is still Christianity|website=Pew Research Center|language=en-US|access-date=27 February 2019|archive-date=24 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191124021738/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/|url-status=live}}</ref> The main divisions of Christianity are, according to the number of adherents:<ref name="history.com">{{cite web |title=Christianity |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity#:~:text=Christianity%20is%20broadly%20split%20into,Catholic%20bishops%20around%20the%20world. |website=HISTORY |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111205557/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity#:~:text=Christianity%20is%20broadly%20split%20into,Catholic%20bishops%20around%20the%20world. |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The [[Catholic Church]], led by the [[Bishop of Rome]] and the bishops worldwide in communion with him, is a [[Communion (Christian)|communion]] of 24 Churches ''[[sui iuris]]'', including the [[Latin Church]] and 23 [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Catholic churches]], such as the [[Maronite]] Catholic Church.<ref name="history.com" />
* [[Eastern Christianity]], which include [[Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Oriental Orthodoxy]], and the [[Church of the East]].
* [[Protestantism]], separated from the Catholic Church in the 16th-century [[Protestant Reformation]] and is split into thousands of [[Religious denomination|denominations]]. Major branches of Protestantism include [[Anglicanism]], [[Baptists]], [[Calvinism]], [[Lutheranism]], and [[Methodism]], though each of these contain many different denominations or groups.<ref name="history.com" />

There are also smaller groups, including:
* [[Restorationism]], the belief that Christianity should be restored (as opposed to reformed) along the lines of what is known about the [[Apostolic Age|apostolic early church]].
* [[Latter-day Saint movement]], founded by [[Joseph Smith]] in the late 1820s.
* [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], founded in the late 1870s by [[Charles Taze Russell]].
* [[Christian existentialism|Christian Existentialist]]

==== Islam ====
[[File:Kaaba, Makkah6.jpg|alt=|thumb|220x220px|[[Muslim]]s [[Tawaf|circumambulating]] the [[Kaaba]] in [[Mecca]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[Holiest sites in Islam|most sacred site]] in [[Islam]]]]
[[Islam]] is a [[Monotheism|monotheistic]]<ref name="Islam">{{cite web |title=Islam |url=https://www.history.com/topics/religion/islam#:~:text=The%20word%20%E2%80%9CIslam%E2%80%9D%20means%20%E2%80%9C,of%20complete%20submission%20to%20Allah. |website=HISTORY |access-date=10 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503051151/https://www.history.com/topics/religion/islam#:~:text=The%20word%20%E2%80%9CIslam%E2%80%9D%20means%20%E2%80%9C,of%20complete%20submission%20to%20Allah. |url-status=live }}</ref> religion based on the [[Quran]],<ref name="Islam" /> one of the [[Islamic holy books|holy books]] considered by Muslims to be [[Wahy|revealed]] by [[God in Islam|God]], and on the [[Hadith|teachings (hadith)]] of the [[Prophets of Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]], a major political and religious figure of the 7th century CE. Islam is based on the unity of all religious philosophies and accepts all of the [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] prophets of Judaism, Christianity and other Abrahamic religions before [[Muhammad]]. It is the most widely practiced religion of [[Southeast Asia]], [[North Africa]], [[Western Asia]], and [[Central Asia]], while [[Muslim-majority countries]] also exist in parts of [[South Asia]], [[Sub-Saharan Africa]], and [[Southeast Europe]]. There are also several [[Islamic republic]]s, including [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]], [[Mauritania]], and [[Afghanistan]]. With about 1.8 billion followers (2015), almost a quarter of [[world population|earth's population]] are [[Muslims]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/|website=Pew Research Center|date=5 April 2017|title=The Changing Global Religious Landscape|access-date=20 October 2018|archive-date=6 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406033738/http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* [[Sunni Islam]] is the largest denomination within Islam and follows the Qur'an, the ahadith (plural of Hadith) which record the [[sunnah]], whilst placing emphasis on the [[sahabah]].
* [[Shia Islam]] is the second largest denomination of Islam and its adherents believe that [[Ali]] succeeded Muhammad and further places emphasis on Muhammad's family.
* There are also Muslim revivalist movements such as [[Muwahhidism]] and [[Salafism]].

Other denominations of Islam include [[Nation of Islam]], [[Ibadi]], [[Sufism]], [[Quranism]], [[Mahdavia]], [[Ahmadiyya]] and [[non-denominational Muslims]]. [[Wahhabism]] is the dominant Muslim [[Maddhab|schools of thought]] in the [[Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]].

==== Other ====
Whilst Judaism, Christianity and Islam are commonly seen as the only three Abrahamic faiths, there are smaller and newer traditions which lay claim to the designation as well.<ref>{{harvnb|Massignon|1949|pp=20–23}}</ref>
[[File:Lotus Temple in New Delhi 03-2016.jpg|thumb|The [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] Lotus Temple in Delhi]]
For example, the [[Baháʼí Faith]] is a [[new religious movement]] that has links to the major Abrahamic religions as well as other religions (e.g., of Eastern philosophy). Founded in 19th-century Iran, it teaches the unity of all religious philosophies<ref name="bahai.org">{{cite web |title=What Bahá'ís Believe {{!}} The Bahá'í Faith |url=https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/ |website=www.bahai.org |access-date=11 January 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413230539/https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and accepts all of the prophets of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well as additional prophets (Buddha, Mahavira), including its founder [[Bahá'u'lláh]]. It is an offshoot of [[Bábism]]. One of its divisions is the [[Orthodox Baháʼí Faith]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beit-Hallahmi|first1=Benjamin|author-link1=Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi|editor1-last=Rosen|editor1-first=Roger|title=The illustrated encyclopedia of active new religions, sects, and cults|year= 1992|publisher=Rosen Pub. Group|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8239-1505-7|edition=1st|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc00beit}}</ref>{{rp|48–49}}

Even smaller regional Abrahamic groups also exist, including [[Samaritanism]] (primarily in Israel and the [[State of Palestine]]), the [[Rastafari movement]] (primarily in Jamaica), and [[Druze]] (primarily in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel). The Druze faith originally developed out of [[Isma'ilism]], and it has sometimes been considered an [[Islamic schools and branches|Islamic school]] by some Islamic authorities, but Druze themselves do not identify as [[Muslims]].<ref name="Incorporated-1996">{{cite book|author=[[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James Lewis]]|title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1615927387|access-date=13 May 2015|year=2002|publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/are-the-druze-people-arabs-or-muslims-deciphering-who-they-are/ |website=Arab America |access-date=13 April 2020 |language=en |date=8 August 2018 |archive-date=20 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020060455/https://www.arabamerica.com/are-the-druze-people-arabs-or-muslims-deciphering-who-they-are/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East|first=Ronald|last= De McLaurin|year= 1979| isbn= 978-0-03-052596-4| page =114 |publisher=Michigan University Press|quote= Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above.}}</ref> [[Mandaeism]], sometimes also known as Sabianism (after the mysterious [[Sabians]] mentioned in the Quran, a name historically claimed by several religious groups),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=De Blois|first1=François|year=1960–2007|title=Ṣābiʾ|editor1-last=Bearman|editor1-first=P.|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor2-first=Th.|editor2-link=Thierry Bianquis|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor3-first=C.E.|editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor4-first=E.|editor4-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel|editor5-last=Heinrichs|editor5-first=W.P.|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0952}} {{cite book|last1=Van Bladel|first1=Kevin|year=2017|title=From Sasanian Mandaeans to Ṣābians of the Marshes|location=Leiden|publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/9789004339460|isbn=978-90-04-33943-9|url=https://brill.com/view/title/34389|access-date=19 June 2022|archive-date=1 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601074236/https://brill.com/view/title/34389|url-status=live}} p. 5.</ref> is a [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]], [[monotheistic]] and [[ethnic religion]].<ref name="Mandaens">{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=Jorunn Jacobsen |author-link= |year=2002 |chapter=Part I: Beginnings – Introduction: The Mandaean World |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I9G-zLZRMLQC&pg=PA3 |title=The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] on behalf of the [[American Academy of Religion]] |doi=10.1093/0195153855.003.0001 |pages=1–20 |isbn=978-0-19-515385-9 |oclc=57385973 |access-date=17 December 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208175543/https://books.google.com/books?id=I9G-zLZRMLQC&pg=PA3 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|4}}<ref name=Ginza>{{cite book|title=[[Ginza Rabba]]|translator1-last=Al-Saadi |translator1-first=Qais |translator2-last=Al-Saadi |translator2-first=Hamed |edition=2nd |place=Germany |year=2019 |publisher=Drabsha}}</ref>{{rp|1}} Its adherents, the [[Mandaeans]], consider [[John the Baptist]] to be their chief prophet.<ref name="Mandaens" /> Mandaeans are the last surviving Gnostics from antiquity.<ref name=McGrath>{{Citation|last=McGrath|first=James|title=The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans|website=YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University|date=23 January 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv6I02MNlc|access-date=16 December 2021|archive-date=4 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104131705/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvv6I02MNlc|url-status=live}}</ref>