List of Founders of Religious Traditions

List Of Founders Of Religious Traditions

This article lists historical figures credited with founding 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 (Vedic Religion precursor of Hinduism, folk religion, animism), or with legendary founding-figures whose historicity cannot be established (such as Abraham, 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 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:

1. the Axial Age, with the earliest known major founding figures such as Zoroaster, Confucius, and Buddha.
2. Hellenism to Late Antiquity, with foundations of classical religious traditions and schools such as various sects of Early Christianity, Stoicism, Gnosticism.
3. the medieval to early modern period, with the rise of Islam, classical (Puranic) Hinduism, the Bhakti movement, Zen Buddhism, and the Protestant Reformation.
4. new religious movements, since ca. 1800.