[{"id":"animism","name":"Animism & Shamanism","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 45,000 BCE →","region":"Worldwide","summary":"The oldest and widest current of human belief: a felt kinship between people and a living, ensouled world.","figures":["The shaman / medicine person","Ancestral spirits","Guardian and totem animals"],"texts":["Oral myth and song","Cave and rock art","Ritual memory"],"grew_from":[]},{"id":"dreamtime","name":"Aboriginal Dreaming","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 50,000 BCE →","region":"Australia","summary":"Among the longest continuous belief systems on Earth, binding land, law, and story into one living order.","figures":["Ancestral creator beings (e.g. Rainbow Serpent)","Elders and lawkeepers"],"texts":["Songlines","Dreaming stories","Ceremonial art"],"grew_from":[]},{"id":"nativeam","name":"Indigenous American Traditions","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 13,000 BCE →","region":"The Americas","summary":"Hundreds of distinct nations sharing a sense of the world as a web of sacred relations.","figures":["Creator / Great Spirit","Trickster figures (Coyote, Raven)","Medicine people"],"texts":["Oral cosmologies","Wampum and codices","Ceremonial cycles"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"egyptian","name":"Ancient Egyptian Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 3100 BCE – 400 CE","region":"Nile Valley","summary":"A civilization organized around cosmic order and the conquest of death.","figures":["Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus","The divine Pharaoh","Anubis, judge of the dead"],"texts":["Pyramid & Coffin Texts","Book of the Dead"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"mesopotamian","name":"Mesopotamian Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 3500 – 300 BCE","region":"Sumer, Babylon, Assyria","summary":"The world's first cities built their gods into towering temples and read destiny in the sky.","figures":["Anu, Enlil, Enki","Inanna / Ishtar","Marduk of Babylon"],"texts":["Enuma Elish","Epic of Gilgamesh","Temple hymns"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"canaanite","name":"Canaanite Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 2000 – 500 BCE","region":"Levant","summary":"The Levantine world of El and Baal from which Israelite religion first emerged.","figures":["El, the high father-god","Baal, storm and fertility","Asherah, the mother goddess"],"texts":["Ugaritic tablets","Ras Shamra myths"],"grew_from":["mesopotamian"]},{"id":"pie","name":"Proto-Indo-European Religion","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 4000 BCE (reconstructed)","region":"Pontic-Caspian steppe","summary":"A scholarly reconstruction — the shared root beneath Vedic, Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, and Iranian belief.","figures":["Dyeus Phter — the sky-father","Divine twins","A dragon-slaying hero"],"texts":["Reconstructed from later daughter traditions"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"vedic","name":"Historical Vedic Religion","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 1500 – 500 BCE","region":"Northwest India","summary":"The Indo-European fire-cult of the Vedas, from which the Dharmic traditions grew.","figures":["Indra, Agni, Varuna","The rishis (seers)","Brahmin priesthood"],"texts":["The four Vedas","Rig Veda hymns"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"greek","name":"Ancient Greek Religion","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 1200 BCE – 400 CE","region":"Greece & the Aegean","summary":"Olympian gods, tragic fate, and mystery cults that shaped the Western imagination.","figures":["Zeus and the Olympians","Heroes and demigods","Oracles and priestesses"],"texts":["Homer & Hesiod","Orphic and mystery texts"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"roman","name":"Ancient Roman Religion","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 750 BCE – 400 CE","region":"Roman world","summary":"A religion of duty and state that absorbed the gods of every people it met.","figures":["Jupiter, Juno, Mars","The deified emperors","Vestal Virgins & pontiffs"],"texts":["Ritual law and calendars","Sibylline Books"],"grew_from":["greek","pie"]},{"id":"celtic","name":"Celtic Polytheism","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 800 BCE – 400 CE","region":"Western & Central Europe","summary":"Druids, sacred groves, and a thin veil to the otherworld.","figures":["Lugh, the Dagda, Brigid","The Druids"],"texts":["Oral lore (later Irish/Welsh myth)"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"norse","name":"Norse / Germanic Paganism","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 500 BCE – 1100 CE","region":"Scandinavia & N. Europe","summary":"Gods, giants, and fate arrayed on the branches of a world-tree.","figures":["Odin, Thor, Freyja","The Norns (fate-weavers)"],"texts":["Poetic & Prose Edda","Runic inscriptions"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"zoroaster","name":"Zoroastrianism","family":"Iranian & Dualist","dates":"c. 1200 BCE →","region":"Greater Iran","summary":"Perhaps the first faith of one wise creator and a moral battle at the heart of the cosmos.","figures":["Zarathustra (the prophet)","Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord","Angra Mainyu, the hostile spirit"],"texts":["The Avesta","The Gathas of Zarathustra"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"mithraism","name":"Roman Mithraism","family":"Iranian & Dualist","dates":"c. 100 – 400 CE","region":"Roman Empire","summary":"A secretive Roman mystery cult of soldiers, centered on a god slaying a cosmic bull.","figures":["Mithras, the bull-slayer","Grades of initiates"],"texts":["Iconography (few texts survive)"],"grew_from":["zoroaster","roman"]},{"id":"gnosticism","name":"Gnosticism","family":"Iranian & Dualist","dates":"c. 100 – 400 CE","region":"Mediterranean & Near East","summary":"A radical current teaching that we are divine sparks exiled in a flawed creation.","figures":["The unknowable true God","Sophia (Wisdom)","The Demiurge, false creator"],"texts":["Nag Hammadi library","Gospel of Thomas"],"grew_from":["judaism","greek","zoroaster","christianity"]},{"id":"hinduism","name":"Hinduism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 500 BCE → (roots older)","region":"Indian subcontinent","summary":"Not one founder or creed but a vast family of paths toward one underlying reality.","figures":["Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva","Devi (the Goddess)","Countless avatars and gurus"],"texts":["Vedas & Upanishads","Bhagavad Gita","Epics & Puranas"],"grew_from":["vedic"]},{"id":"jainism","name":"Jainism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 600 BCE → (older roots)","region":"India","summary":"An ancient path of extreme nonviolence and the many-sidedness of truth.","figures":["Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara","Rishabhanatha (the first)"],"texts":["The Agamas","Tattvartha Sutra"],"grew_from":["vedic"]},{"id":"buddhism","name":"Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 500 BCE →","region":"Originating in India","summary":"A path diagnosing suffering and prescribing a way beyond it — without a creator god.","figures":["Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha","Bodhisattvas","Arhats and lineage teachers"],"texts":["The Pali Canon (Tripitaka)","Sutras"],"grew_from":["vedic"]},{"id":"theravada","name":"Theravāda Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 250 BCE →","region":"South & Southeast Asia","summary":"\"The Way of the Elders\" — the conservative branch closest to earliest Buddhism.","figures":["The historical Buddha","The monastic Sangha","Arhats"],"texts":["The Pali Canon"],"grew_from":["buddhism"]},{"id":"mahayana","name":"Mahāyāna Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 100 CE →","region":"East Asia","summary":"\"The Great Vehicle\" — compassion widened to the liberation of all beings.","figures":["Bodhisattvas (Avalokiteśvara)","Celestial Buddhas"],"texts":["Mahayana sutras (Lotus, Heart)"],"grew_from":["buddhism"]},{"id":"vajrayana","name":"Vajrayāna Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 600 CE →","region":"Tibet & the Himalaya","summary":"\"The Diamond Vehicle\" — a tantric path to swift awakening.","figures":["The Dalai Lama & lamas","Tantric deities","Padmasambhava"],"texts":["Tantras","Tibetan Book of the Dead"],"grew_from":["mahayana","hinduism","bon"]},{"id":"sikhism","name":"Sikhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"1469 CE →","region":"Punjab","summary":"One God, human equality, and devotion expressed as honest service.","figures":["Guru Nanak & the ten Gurus","The Guru Granth Sahib (eternal Guru)"],"texts":["Guru Granth Sahib"],"grew_from":["hinduism","sufism"]},{"id":"chinesefolk","name":"Chinese Folk Religion","family":"East Asian","dates":"c. 1600 BCE →","region":"China","summary":"The living substrate of Chinese belief: ancestors, local gods, and cosmic harmony.","figures":["Ancestors and household gods","The Jade Emperor","City and kitchen gods"],"texts":["Ritual almanacs and lore"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"taoism","name":"Taoism (Daoism)","family":"East Asian","dates":"c. 400 BCE →","region":"China","summary":"Harmony with the Way that underlies and moves through all things.","figures":["Laozi","Zhuangzi","The Celestial Masters"],"texts":["Tao Te Ching","Zhuangzi"],"grew_from":["chinesefolk"]},{"id":"confucianism","name":"Confucianism","family":"East Asian","dates":"c. 500 BCE →","region":"East Asia","summary":"An ethic of virtue, ritual, and right relationship that ordered East Asian civilization.","figures":["Confucius (Kongzi)","Mencius","The scholar-officials"],"texts":["The Analects","The Five Classics"],"grew_from":["chinesefolk"]},{"id":"shinto","name":"Shintō","family":"East Asian","dates":"c. 300 BCE → (codified later)","region":"Japan","summary":"\"The way of the kami\" — reverence for the spirits alive in nature and place.","figures":["The kami (spirits/gods)","Amaterasu, the sun goddess"],"texts":["Kojiki","Nihon Shoki"],"grew_from":["animism","buddhism"]},{"id":"tenrikyo","name":"Tenrikyō","family":"East Asian","dates":"1838 CE","region":"Japan","summary":"A Japanese faith of a loving parent-God calling humanity to the Joyous Life.","figures":["Nakayama Miki (Oyasama)","God the Parent (Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto)"],"texts":["Ofudesaki","Mikagura-uta"],"grew_from":["shinto","buddhism"]},{"id":"judaism","name":"Judaism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 1200 BCE → (Second Temple c. 500 BCE)","region":"Levant & diaspora","summary":"The first enduring monotheism — a covenant between one God and a people, lived through law.","figures":["Abraham, Moses","The prophets","Rabbinic sages"],"texts":["Torah & Tanakh","Talmud"],"grew_from":["canaanite","mesopotamian","zoroaster"]},{"id":"samaritan","name":"Samaritanism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 400 BCE →","region":"Israel/Palestine","summary":"An ancient Israelite kin-faith centered on Mount Gerizim rather than Jerusalem.","figures":["Moses (the sole prophet)","The Samaritan High Priest"],"texts":["Samaritan Pentateuch"],"grew_from":["judaism"]},{"id":"christianity","name":"Christianity","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 30 CE →","region":"Originating in Judea","summary":"Faith in Jesus as the risen Messiah, grown from Judaism into the world's largest religion.","figures":["Jesus of Nazareth","The Apostles","Paul of Tarsus"],"texts":["The Bible (Old & New Testaments)","The Gospels"],"grew_from":["judaism","greek"]},{"id":"orthodox","name":"Eastern Orthodoxy","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"Great Schism, 1054 CE","region":"Eastern Europe & beyond","summary":"The ancient churches of the East, guarding tradition, icons, and mystical union with God.","figures":["The Ecumenical Patriarch","The Church Fathers","Saints and icons"],"texts":["The Bible","The Church Fathers","Liturgical tradition"],"grew_from":["christianity"]},{"id":"catholic","name":"Roman Catholicism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"distinct after 1054 CE","region":"Worldwide","summary":"The worldwide church under the Pope, ordering grace through sacrament and tradition.","figures":["The Pope","The saints & the Virgin Mary","The Apostles"],"texts":["The Bible","Church tradition & catechism"],"grew_from":["christianity"]},{"id":"protestant","name":"Protestantism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"Reformation, 1517 CE →","region":"Worldwide","summary":"The Reformation's return to Scripture and grace, splintering into a thousand streams.","figures":["Martin Luther","John Calvin","Countless reformers"],"texts":["The Bible (sola scriptura)"],"grew_from":["catholic"]},{"id":"islam","name":"Islam","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"610 CE →","region":"Originating in Arabia","summary":"Submission to the one God, whose final word came through the Prophet Muhammad.","figures":["The Prophet Muhammad","Abraham, Moses, Jesus (as prophets)"],"texts":["The Qur’an","The Hadith"],"grew_from":["judaism","christianity"]},{"id":"sunni","name":"Sunni Islam","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"formalized c. 7th–9th c. CE","region":"Worldwide","summary":"The majority branch, following the way (sunna) of the Prophet and the community's consensus.","figures":["The Rightly-Guided Caliphs","The four legal scholars"],"texts":["Qur’an & the six Hadith collections"],"grew_from":["islam"]},{"id":"shia","name":"Shia Islam","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from c. 660 CE","region":"Iran, Iraq & beyond","summary":"The branch holding that rightful leadership passed through the Prophet's family.","figures":["Ali ibn Abi Talib","The Imams","The awaited Mahdi"],"texts":["Qur’an & Shia Hadith"],"grew_from":["islam"]},{"id":"sufism","name":"Sufism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 8th c. CE →","region":"The Muslim world","summary":"The mystical heart of Islam, seeking direct nearness to God through love.","figures":["Rumi, al-Ghazali","The Sufi masters (shaykhs)"],"texts":["Mystical poetry & treatises"],"grew_from":["islam"]},{"id":"druze","name":"Druze Faith","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 1017 CE","region":"Levant","summary":"A secretive Levantine monotheism grown from Ismaili Shia roots.","figures":["Hamza ibn Ali","The five cosmic principles"],"texts":["Epistles of Wisdom (esoteric)"],"grew_from":["shia"]},{"id":"bahai","name":"Bahá’í Faith","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"1863 CE","region":"Worldwide","summary":"A young world religion teaching the essential oneness of God, faith, and humankind.","figures":["Bahá’u’lláh (the founder)","The Báb (the herald)"],"texts":["Writings of Bahá’u’lláh"],"grew_from":["shia"]},{"id":"yoruba","name":"Yoruba Religion (Ifá)","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"ancient West Africa →","region":"West Africa","summary":"A West African tradition of one high God and vivid orishas — root of the diaspora faiths.","figures":["Olodumare, the supreme God","The orishas (Shango, Yemoja, Eshu)","The babalawo (diviner)"],"texts":["Ifá divination corpus (Odu)"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"vodou","name":"Haitian Vodou","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1700 CE →","region":"Haiti","summary":"An Afro-Haitian faith where spirits descend to dance and speak among the living.","figures":["Bondye (the distant creator)","The lwa (spirits)","The houngan/mambo (priesthood)"],"texts":["Oral liturgy and song"],"grew_from":["yoruba","catholic"]},{"id":"santeria","name":"Santería (Lucumí)","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1800 CE →","region":"Cuba & diaspora","summary":"A Cuban orisha religion that hid its African gods behind Catholic saints.","figures":["The orishas","Santos (paired Catholic saints)","Priests (santeros)"],"texts":["Oral tradition & divination"],"grew_from":["yoruba","catholic"]},{"id":"candomble","name":"Candomblé","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. early 1800s CE →","region":"Brazil","summary":"Brazil's orixá religion, preserving African gods through ecstatic communal worship.","figures":["The orixás","Mãe/Pai de santo (priesthood)"],"texts":["Oral liturgy"],"grew_from":["yoruba","catholic"]},{"id":"rastafari","name":"Rastafari","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"1930s CE →","region":"Jamaica & diaspora","summary":"An Afro-Caribbean faith reading the Bible through liberation, Africa, and Zion.","figures":["Haile Selassie I","Marcus Garvey (prophet-figure)"],"texts":["The Bible (read afresh)"],"grew_from":["protestant","judaism"]},{"id":"spiritualism","name":"Spiritualism","family":"Modern & New","dates":"1848 CE →","region":"US & Europe","summary":"The 19th-century conviction that the living can speak with the dead.","figures":["The Fox sisters","Mediums"],"texts":["Mediumistic writings"],"grew_from":["protestant"]},{"id":"unitarian","name":"Unitarian Universalism","family":"Modern & New","dates":"roots 18th c.; merged 1961","region":"Chiefly North America","summary":"A creedless faith prizing conscience, reason, and the search for truth.","figures":["Enlightenment reformers","Congregational ministers"],"texts":["No single creed; many sources"],"grew_from":["protestant"]},{"id":"neopagan","name":"Neopaganism","family":"Modern & New","dates":"c. 1900 CE →","region":"Western world","summary":"Modern revivals of pre-Christian nature religion, from Druidry to Heathenry.","figures":["Revivalist writers","Druid and heathen leaders"],"texts":["Reconstructed & new sources"],"grew_from":["celtic","norse","greek","hermeticism"]},{"id":"wicca","name":"Wicca","family":"Modern & New","dates":"1954 CE →","region":"Britain, then worldwide","summary":"A modern nature-and-magic religion of the Goddess and the turning seasons.","figures":["Gerald Gardner","The Goddess and Horned God"],"texts":["Book of Shadows"],"grew_from":["celtic","neopagan","thelema"]},{"id":"newage","name":"New Age Spirituality","family":"Modern & New","dates":"c. 1970s CE →","region":"Western world","summary":"An eclectic modern spirituality of self-transformation and cosmic oneness.","figures":["Diverse teachers & channelers"],"texts":["Eclectic — many sources"],"grew_from":["spiritualism","hinduism","buddhism","theosophy"]},{"id":"scientology","name":"Scientology","family":"Modern & New","dates":"1954 CE","region":"US, then worldwide","summary":"A 20th-century religion built on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard.","figures":["L. Ron Hubbard (founder)"],"texts":["Dianetics & Hubbard’s writings"],"grew_from":[]},{"id":"tengrism","name":"Tengrism","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 600 BCE – 1300 CE (revived today)","region":"Central Asian steppe","summary":"The sky-worship of the Turkic and Mongol steppe, honoring Tengri, the eternal heaven.","figures":["Tengri (the eternal sky)","Umay (mother goddess)"],"texts":["Oral tradition; later Orkhon inscriptions"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"arabian","name":"Pre-Islamic Arabian Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 400 BCE – 630 CE","region":"Arabian Peninsula","summary":"The tribal polytheism of ancient Arabia, with a high creator above many local gods.","figures":["Allah (a supreme creator)","Hubal","al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat"],"texts":["Oral poetry and tribal lore"],"grew_from":["mesopotamian","animism"]},{"id":"hermeticism","name":"Hermeticism","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 100 – 300 CE →","region":"Greco-Roman Egypt","summary":"A Greco-Egyptian esoteric philosophy of cosmic correspondence and the soul’s ascent.","figures":["Hermes Trismegistus (legendary sage)"],"texts":["The Corpus Hermeticum","The Emerald Tablet"],"grew_from":["egyptian","greek"]},{"id":"slavic","name":"Slavic Paganism","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 500 BCE – 1000 CE","region":"Eastern & Central Europe","summary":"The pre-Christian gods of the Slavs, led by the thunderer Perun.","figures":["Perun (thunder god)","Veles (lord of earth and cattle)","Mokosh (mother goddess)"],"texts":["Oral tradition"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"baltic","name":"Baltic Paganism","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 500 BCE – 1400 CE","region":"Baltic coast","summary":"The long-surviving nature religion of the Balts, singing of sky, sun, and sacred groves.","figures":["Dievas (sky god)","Perkūnas (thunder god)","Saulė (sun goddess)"],"texts":["Oral songs (dainas)"],"grew_from":["pie"]},{"id":"mandaeism","name":"Mandaeism","family":"Iranian & Dualist","dates":"c. 100 CE →","region":"Mesopotamia (Iraq & Iran)","summary":"The last living Gnostics, a baptizing people who revere John the Baptist.","figures":["John the Baptist (chief prophet)","Hibil Ziwa (a being of light)"],"texts":["The Ginza Rabba","The Book of John"],"grew_from":["judaism","gnosticism"]},{"id":"yazidism","name":"Yazidism","family":"Iranian & Dualist","dates":"c. 12th century CE →","region":"Kurdistan","summary":"A Kurdish faith centered on Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, guardian of the world.","figures":["Melek Taus (the Peacock Angel)","Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir (reformer)"],"texts":["Oral hymns (qewls)"],"grew_from":["zoroaster","islam","sufism"]},{"id":"bon","name":"Bön","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 300 BCE →","region":"Tibet","summary":"Tibet’s indigenous religion, shaped by and shaping Tibetan Buddhism.","figures":["Tonpa Shenrab (legendary founder)"],"texts":["The Bön canon (Kangyur and Tengyur)"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"chan","name":"Chan Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 500 CE →","region":"China","summary":"The Chinese meditation school that fused Buddhism with Taoist directness.","figures":["Bodhidharma (legendary founder)","Huineng (Sixth Patriarch)"],"texts":["The Platform Sutra"],"grew_from":["mahayana","taoism"]},{"id":"zen","name":"Zen Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 1191 CE →","region":"Japan","summary":"Japan’s spare, disciplined school of meditation and everyday awakening.","figures":["Eisai (brought Rinzai)","Dōgen (founded Sōtō)"],"texts":["Shōbōgenzō","Koan collections"],"grew_from":["chan"]},{"id":"pureland","name":"Pure Land Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"c. 400 CE →","region":"East Asia","summary":"Buddhism of grace: rebirth in a paradise through faith in Amitābha.","figures":["Amitābha Buddha","Hōnen and Shinran (Japanese teachers)"],"texts":["The Pure Land Sutras"],"grew_from":["mahayana"]},{"id":"nichiren","name":"Nichiren Buddhism","family":"Dharmic","dates":"1253 CE →","region":"Japan","summary":"A Japanese school holding the Lotus Sutra as the one complete path.","figures":["Nichiren (founder)"],"texts":["The Lotus Sutra"],"grew_from":["mahayana"]},{"id":"caodai","name":"Cao Đài","family":"East Asian","dates":"1926 CE →","region":"Vietnam","summary":"A Vietnamese faith uniting the world’s religions under the all-seeing Divine Eye.","figures":["Cao Đài (the Supreme Being)","Revered saints, including Victor Hugo and Sun Yat-sen"],"texts":["Scriptures revealed through séance"],"grew_from":["taoism","buddhism","confucianism","catholic"]},{"id":"falungong","name":"Falun Gong","family":"East Asian","dates":"1992 CE →","region":"China, then worldwide","summary":"A modern Chinese cultivation practice of moral discipline and meditative exercise.","figures":["Li Hongzhi (founder)"],"texts":["Zhuan Falun"],"grew_from":["taoism","buddhism"]},{"id":"kabbalah","name":"Kabbalah","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 1200 CE →","region":"Spain & Provence","summary":"The mystical heart of Judaism, mapping the hidden inner life of God.","figures":["Moses de León (compiler of the Zohar)","Isaac Luria (later mystic)"],"texts":["The Zohar","The Sefer Yetzirah"],"grew_from":["judaism"]},{"id":"hasidism","name":"Hasidic Judaism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"c. 1740 CE →","region":"Eastern Europe","summary":"A joyful mystical revival within Judaism, gathered around charismatic rebbes.","figures":["The Baal Shem Tov (founder)"],"texts":["Tanya","Hasidic teachings"],"grew_from":["judaism","kabbalah"]},{"id":"coptic","name":"Oriental Orthodoxy","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 451 CE →","region":"Egypt, Ethiopia, Armenia, Syria, India","summary":"The ancient churches that parted ways over the nature of Christ in 451.","figures":["St. Mark (traditional founder in Egypt)"],"texts":["The Bible","The early church fathers"],"grew_from":["christianity"]},{"id":"anglican","name":"Anglicanism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1534 CE →","region":"England, then worldwide","summary":"The English \"middle way\" between Catholic form and Protestant reform.","figures":["Thomas Cranmer (architect of its liturgy)"],"texts":["The Book of Common Prayer","The Bible"],"grew_from":["catholic","protestant"]},{"id":"methodist","name":"Methodism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1739 CE →","region":"Britain, then worldwide","summary":"A revival of warm-hearted faith and disciplined holiness within Protestantism.","figures":["John Wesley (founder)","Charles Wesley (hymn writer)"],"texts":["The Bible","Wesley’s sermons and hymns"],"grew_from":["anglican"]},{"id":"baptist","name":"Baptist Churches","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1609 CE →","region":"England & America, then worldwide","summary":"Protestants who baptize believers by immersion and prize the free congregation.","figures":["John Smyth (early leader)"],"texts":["The Bible"],"grew_from":["protestant"]},{"id":"pentecostal","name":"Pentecostalism","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1906 CE →","region":"US, then worldwide","summary":"Christianity of the Spirit: tongues, healing, and fervent worship.","figures":["William J. Seymour (Azusa Street revival)"],"texts":["The Bible"],"grew_from":["protestant"]},{"id":"mormon","name":"Latter-day Saints","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1830 CE →","region":"US, then worldwide","summary":"A restorationist faith founded on new scripture revealed to Joseph Smith.","figures":["Joseph Smith (founder)","Brigham Young (early leader)"],"texts":["The Bible","The Book of Mormon"],"grew_from":["protestant"]},{"id":"ismaili","name":"Ismaili Islam","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 765 CE →","region":"Middle East & South Asia","summary":"A Shia branch following a living hereditary Imam and the inner meaning of faith.","figures":["Ismail ibn Jafar","The Aga Khan (living Imam)"],"texts":["The Quran","Esoteric teachings"],"grew_from":["shia"]},{"id":"ahmadiyya","name":"Ahmadiyya","family":"Abrahamic","dates":"from 1889 CE →","region":"South Asia, then worldwide","summary":"A modern messianic reform movement within Islam, committed to peaceful mission.","figures":["Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (founder)"],"texts":["The Quran"],"grew_from":["sunni"]},{"id":"umbanda","name":"Umbanda","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"from 1908 CE →","region":"Brazil","summary":"A Brazilian religion weaving African orixás, Catholic saints, and Spiritism together.","figures":["Spirit guides: Pretos Velhos and Caboclos","The orixás of Afro-Brazilian tradition"],"texts":["Oral and mediumistic teaching"],"grew_from":["candomble","catholic","spiritualism"]},{"id":"theosophy","name":"Theosophy","family":"Modern & New","dates":"from 1875 CE →","region":"US & India, then worldwide","summary":"A synthesis claiming one hidden wisdom beneath every religion.","figures":["Helena Blavatsky (co-founder)","Henry Steel Olcott"],"texts":["The Secret Doctrine","Isis Unveiled"],"grew_from":["spiritualism","hinduism","buddhism","hermeticism"]},{"id":"thelema","name":"Thelema","family":"Modern & New","dates":"from 1904 CE →","region":"Britain, then worldwide","summary":"Aleister Crowley’s esoteric philosophy of discovering and living one’s true will.","figures":["Aleister Crowley (founder)"],"texts":["The Book of the Law"],"grew_from":["hermeticism","kabbalah","spiritualism"]},{"id":"humanism","name":"Secular Humanism","family":"Modern & New","dates":"from 1933 CE →","region":"Western world","summary":"An ethical worldview grounding meaning and morality in reason, not the divine.","figures":["The signers of the Humanist Manifesto"],"texts":["The Humanist Manifestos"],"grew_from":["protestant","greek"]},{"id":"mesoamerican","name":"Mesoamerican Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1500 BCE – 1521 CE","region":"Mexico and Central America","summary":"A shared religious world of temples, calendars and feathered serpents across three thousand years of Mexico and Central America.","figures":["The Feathered Serpent","Rain gods (Chaac, Tlaloc)","Maize deities"],"texts":["Painted codices","Carved stelae and calendars","Later written sagas"],"grew_from":["nativeam"]},{"id":"maya","name":"Maya Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1000 BCE →","region":"Yucatán, Guatemala, Belize","summary":"The religion of the Maya city-states, of kings, calendars and the Popol Vuh, still alive in Maya communities today.","figures":["Itzamna, the creator","Chaac, the rain god","The Hero Twins"],"texts":["Popol Vuh","The Dresden Codex","Temple inscriptions"],"grew_from":["mesoamerican"]},{"id":"aztec","name":"Mexica (Aztec) Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"1325 – 1521 CE","region":"Valley of Mexico","summary":"The state religion of Tenochtitlan, built around the sun, the rain and the cycles of the Fifth Sun.","figures":["Huitzilopochtli","Tlaloc","Quetzalcoatl"],"texts":["Codex Borgia and Borbonicus","Florentine Codex (recorded 1500s)"],"grew_from":["mesoamerican"]},{"id":"inca","name":"Andean Religion (Inca and earlier)","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 3000 BCE – 1572 CE","region":"The Andes","summary":"Mountain gods, the sun and Mother Earth: the faith of the Andes from Caral to the Inca Empire.","figures":["Viracocha, the creator","Inti, the sun","Pachamama, Mother Earth"],"texts":["Quipu records","Spanish-era accounts","Huarochirí Manuscript"],"grew_from":["nativeam"]},{"id":"polynesian","name":"Polynesian Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1000 BCE →","region":"The Pacific","summary":"The shared faith of the great Pacific voyagers, carried across thousands of kilometres of ocean.","figures":["Tangaroa, god of the sea","Tāne, god of forests","Māui, the trickster hero"],"texts":["Genealogical chants","Navigation lore","Oral histories"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"maori","name":"Māori Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1300 CE →","region":"Aotearoa New Zealand","summary":"The faith of the Māori, rooted in genealogy linking people to land, sea and the gods.","figures":["Ranginui and Papatūānuku","Tāne Mahuta","Māui"],"texts":["Whakapapa (genealogy)","Karakia (chants)","Pūrākau (stories)"],"grew_from":["polynesian"]},{"id":"hawaiian","name":"Hawaiian Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1000 CE →","region":"Hawai‘i","summary":"Gods of war, farming, the sea and fire, and a creation chant of more than two thousand lines.","figures":["Kū, Kāne, Lono and Kanaloa","Pele, goddess of volcanoes","‘Aumakua, family guardians"],"texts":["The Kumulipo creation chant","Mele and hula"],"grew_from":["polynesian"]},{"id":"akan","name":"Akan Religion","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1000 CE →","region":"Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire","summary":"The faith of the Asante and other Akan peoples, of the sky god Nyame, the earth Asase Yaa and the ancestors.","figures":["Nyame, the sky god","Asase Yaa, the earth","Anansi, the spider"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Adinkra symbols","Proverbs"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"vodun","name":"West African Vodun","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1600 CE → (older roots)","region":"Benin and Togo","summary":"The religion of the Fon and Ewe, and the root of Haitian Vodou and New Orleans Voodoo.","figures":["Mawu-Lisa, the creator pair","Legba, the gatekeeper","Dan, the rainbow serpent"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Fa divination verses"],"grew_from":["animism","yoruba"]},{"id":"kongo","name":"Kongo Religion","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1300 CE →","region":"Central Africa","summary":"The religion of the Kingdom of Kongo, whose cosmogram and spirit objects shaped Palo and other Atlantic faiths.","figures":["Nzambi a Mpungu, the creator","Bisimbi, nature spirits","Banganga, ritual healers"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Minkisi (sacred objects)"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"zulu","name":"Zulu and Nguni Religion","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1000 CE →","region":"Southern Africa","summary":"The ancestral religion of the Zulu and related Nguni peoples, centred on the amadlozi.","figures":["Unkulunkulu, the first being","Amadlozi, the ancestors","Izangoma, diviners"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Praise poetry"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"dogon","name":"Dogon Religion","family":"African & Diaspora","dates":"c. 1400 CE →","region":"Bandiagara, Mali","summary":"A rich cosmology of the Bandiagara cliffs, known for mask dances and the Sigui festival.","figures":["Amma, the creator","The Nommo, ancestral spirits","The Hogon, spiritual leader"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Mask societies"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"finnish","name":"Finnish Paganism","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"ancient – c. 1300 CE","region":"Finland and Karelia","summary":"The old faith of the Finns and Karelians, remembered through sung poetry gathered in the Kalevala.","figures":["Ukko, god of the sky and thunder","Väinämöinen, the singer-sage","Tapio, lord of the forest"],"texts":["Kalevala (compiled 1835)","Runo songs"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"sami","name":"Sámi Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"ancient →","region":"Sápmi (northern Scandinavia)","summary":"The shamanic religion of the Sámi, with its drums, sacred stones and joik.","figures":["Beaivi, the sun","Noaidi, shamans","Sieidi, sacred stones"],"texts":["Drum images","Joik songs"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"inuit","name":"Inuit Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1000 CE →","region":"The Arctic","summary":"A faith of the Arctic, where respect for animals and the sea goddess Sedna made survival possible.","figures":["Sedna, mother of sea animals","The angakkuq, shaman","Sila, the spirit of the air"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Songs and stories"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"lakota","name":"Lakota Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1700 CE → (older roots)","region":"The northern Plains","summary":"The faith of the Lakota, of the sacred pipe, the Sun Dance and the Black Hills.","figures":["Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery","White Buffalo Calf Woman","Black Elk"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Black Elk Speaks (1932)"],"grew_from":["nativeam"]},{"id":"cherokee","name":"Cherokee Religion","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"c. 1000 CE → (older roots)","region":"Southern Appalachians","summary":"The faith of the Cherokee, of the sacred fire and the Green Corn ceremony.","figures":["The Great Spirit (Unetlanvhi)","Grandmother Sun","The Little People"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Myths recorded by James Mooney (1900)"],"grew_from":["nativeam"]},{"id":"pnw","name":"Pacific Northwest Traditions","family":"Indigenous & Animist","dates":"ancient →","region":"Northwest coast of North America","summary":"The traditions of the Tlingit, Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw and neighbours, of Raven, crests and the potlatch.","figures":["Raven, trickster and creator","Thunderbird","Ancestral crest beings"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Totem poles and crests"],"grew_from":["nativeam"]},{"id":"ainu","name":"Ainu Religion","family":"East Asian","dates":"c. 1200 CE →","region":"Hokkaido and Sakhalin","summary":"The faith of the Ainu, Japan’s Indigenous people, in which animals are gods visiting the human world.","figures":["Kamuy, the gods and spirits","Kamuy Fuchi, goddess of the hearth","The bear as a visiting god"],"texts":["Yukar epics","Oral tradition"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"muism","name":"Korean Shamanism (Muism)","family":"East Asian","dates":"ancient →","region":"Korea","summary":"The native religion of Korea, where shamans called mudang hold rituals to heal and to honour the dead.","figures":["Hwanin and Dangun, the founders","The mudang, shamans","Mountain spirits (sansin)"],"texts":["Oral tradition","Ritual songs (muga)"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"hittite","name":"Hittite Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 1650 – 1180 BCE","region":"Anatolia","summary":"The religion of the Hittite Empire, the “land of a thousand gods”.","figures":["Tarhunt, the storm god","The Sun goddess of Arinna","Kumarbi"],"texts":["Archives of Hattusa","The Kumarbi Cycle"],"grew_from":["pie","mesopotamian"]},{"id":"minoan","name":"Minoan Religion","family":"Ancient Near East","dates":"c. 3000 – 1100 BCE","region":"Crete","summary":"The religion of Bronze Age Crete, of goddesses, bulls and the double axe.","figures":["A great goddess","The snake goddess figurines","Priestesses"],"texts":["Linear A (undeciphered)","Frescoes and seals"],"grew_from":["animism"]},{"id":"etruscan","name":"Etruscan Religion","family":"Indo-European Pagan","dates":"c. 800 BCE – 100 CE","region":"Central Italy","summary":"The religion of the Etruscans, masters of divination whose arts Rome borrowed.","figures":["Tinia, the sky god","Uni and Menrva","Haruspices, diviners"],"texts":["Liver of Piacenza","Liber Linteus (linen book)"],"grew_from":["animism","greek"]}]