List of founders of religious traditions
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This article lists historical figures believed to have founded or inspired religions or religious philosophies or people who first codified older known religious traditions. It also lists those who have founded a specific major denomination within a larger religion.
In many cases, one can regard a religion as a continuous tradition extending to prehistoric times, without a specific founder, or with legendary founding-figures whose historicity cannot be established (such as Abraham or Lord Rishabha). This notwithstanding, the various historical denominations of such religions will still have founders, such as St. Peter and St. Paul (who formed what is now known as Pauline Christianity), Nestorius (who codified Nestorianism), or Martin Luther (who taught Lutheranism) — all exemplifying denominations of Christianity. Religion often develops by means of schism and reform (motivated either by revelation or by theological speculation), and it becomes a matter of subjective judgement at what point such a schism or reform assumes the quality of a "foundation" of a new religion.
Chronologically, foundations of religious traditions may sub-divide into:
- the Axial Age, with the earliest known major founding figures such as Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius and Socrates (via Plato);
- Hellenism to Late Antiquity, with foundations of classical religious traditions and schools such as various sects of Early Christianity, Stoicism, Gnosticism, Upanishadic Hinduism
- the medieval to early modern period, with the rise of Islam, classical (Pauranic) Hinduism, the Bhakti movement and the Protestant Reformation.
- new religious movements, since ca. 1800.
Contents |
[edit] Ancient (before 500 CE)
| Name | Religious tradition founded | Date |
|---|---|---|
| En-hedu-ana | priestess of Inanna, earliest author of religious scripture known by name. | 23rd century BCE |
| Akhenaten | Atenism | 14th c. BCE |
| Zoroaster | Zoroastrianism | Early Iron Age |
| Solomon | Israelite king who built the first Temple in Jerusalem and codified Judaism. | 10th c. BCE (Solomon's historicity is uncertain, see also Tel Dan Stele) |
| Parshva | The penultimate (23rd) Tirthankara in Jainism | 9th c. BCE |
| Numa Pompilius | Roman king who codified and organized the Roman religion | 717 BCE - 673 BCE |
| Laozi | Taoism | 7th c. BCE |
| Mahavira | The final Tirthankara in Jainism | 6th c. BCE |
| Siddhārtha Gautama | Buddhism | 5th c. BCE |
| Confucius | Confucianism | 551 BCE - 479 BCE |
| Pythagoras | Pythagoreanism | 520 BCE |
| Mozi | Mohism | 470 BCE - 390 BCE |
| Leucippus | Atomism | 440 BCE |
| Plato | Platonic realism | 427 BCE - 347 BCE |
| Epicurus | Epicureanism | 307 BCE |
| Zeno of Citium | Stoicism | 333 BCE - 264 BCE |
| Patanjali | Raja Yoga | 2nd century BCE |
| Jesus of Nazareth | Early Christianity | ca. 6 BCE - 27 CE (see historicity of Jesus) |
| Paul of Tarsus and Simon Peter | Apostles of Jesus, Paul codified Jesus' teachings to shape Pauline Christianity while Peter and his successors used their influence to shape the Christian Church according to a Pauline interpretation of the gospel | 1st century |
| James the Just | Bishop of Jerusalem who supported Christians remaining within the Jewish Faith, forming the Jewish Christian sect | 1st century |
| Judah haNasi | Talmudic Judaism | 2nd century |
| Nagarjuna | Madhyamaka | 150 - 250 |
| Plotinus | Neoplatonism | 205 - 270 |
| Marcion of Sinope | Marcionism | 110 - 160 |
| Mani | Manichaeism | 210 - 276 |
| Arius | Arianism | 250 - 336 |
| Pelagius | Pelagianism | 354 - 430 |
| Nestorius | Nestorianism | 386 - 451 |
| Eutyches | Monophysitism | 380 - 456 |
[edit] Medieval to Early Modern (500-1800 AD)
[edit] New religious movements (post-1800)
[edit] See also
- Timeline of religion
- Messiah claimants
- Buddha claimants
- List of charismatic leaders as defined by Max Weber's classification of authority
- Religious leaders by year
- List of deified individuals
- List of religions
- Claims to the oldest religion
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[edit] References
- ^ "Discussion of why Juche is classified as a major world religion". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/largecom/Juche.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-25. "Its promoters describe Juche as simply a secular, ethical philosophy and not a religion. But, from a sociological viewpoint Juche is clearly a religion"
