Data source: Gina A. Zurlo, ed., World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2025).
| 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 sects, but excluding neo-Buddhist new religions or religious movements. |
| – Mahayanists | 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 | Tantrayana, or the Tantrism school of Buddhism (qv). |
| Christians | Followers of Jesus Christ, including: (a) Catholics; (b) Protestants; (c) Orthodox; (d) Independents; and (e) unaffiliated. |
| – unaffiliated Christians | Persons professing allegiance and commitment to Christ but who have no church affiliation. |
| – Orthodox | In 4 traditions: Eastern (Chalcedonian), Oriental (Pre-Chalcedonian, Non-Chalcedonian, Monophysite), Assyrian Church of the East (Nestorian), and non-historical Orthodox. |
| – Catholics | All Christians in communion with the Church of Rome, also known as Roman Catholics. Affiliated Catholics are defined here as baptized Catholics plus catechumens. |
| – Protestants | Christians in churches originating in, or reformulated at the time of, or in communion with, the Western world’s 16th-century Protestant Reformation in European languages usually called Evangéliques (French), Evangelische (German), Evangélicos (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), though not usually Evangelicals (in English). |
| – Independents | Christians who identify as independent of the major Christian traditions (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant). Independent of historic, organised, institutionalized and denominationalist Christianity. |
| – doubly-affiliated Christians | Persons who are baptized members of 2 or more denominations at the same time. |
| Hindus | Followers of the main Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism; Shaivism; Shaktism; neo-Hindu movements and modern sects; 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 | Worshippers of Shiva (Siva) in several schools, including Pasupata, Kashmiri, Siddha, Gorakhnatha, Vira; also diversity according to geographic location in India. |
| – 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 | Followers of the larger of the major branches of Islam, that adheres to the orthodox tradition of the sunna (qv), acknowledges the first 4 caliphs, and recognizes 4 schools of jurisprudence: Hanafite, Hanbalite, Malikite, Shafiite. |
| – Shias | (Shi’is). Followers of the smaller of the 2 great 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 sects. |
| – Islamic schismatics | Followers of Islam, in other than its 2 main branches of Sunni or Shia. Islamic schismatics include Kharijite and other orthodox sects; reform movements (Sanusi, Mahdiya), also heterodox sects (Ahmadiya, Druzes, Sabbateans). |
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