World Religions

The term world religion is a rough grid for the large number of religions, which are characterized, for example, by the large number of their followers, the supra-regional spread and/or their universal claim.

A clear definition is difficult. In religious studies, the concept of world religion is avoided in order to avoid problems of definition.

The listing of world religions is always subject to a certain arbitrariness.

Buddhism, Christianity and Islam meet the criteria of the world religion in terms of universal validity when the religion was founded, worldwide distribution, the large number of followers and the age of the religion. If the proportion of the world population is taken into account, Hinduism is included and if its worldwide spread is taken into account, Judaism is also taken into account.

The worldwide distribution of religions can only be statistically recorded through approximate estimates. In many countries there are no reliable figures on religious affiliation, but in some cases there is also a lack of clarity due to multiple religious affiliations (e.g. to Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan).