List of founders of major religions

The following figures are believed to have founded major religions or to have been the first codifiers or best known proponents of older traditions.

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• Abraham - claimed as a founder by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam - ca. 2166 BC and 1991 BC)
• Moses - Judaism dates unknown, estimates range from ca. 1600 BC to 1100 BC.
• Zoroaster - Zoroastrianism, ca. 1000 BC or earlier
• Numa Pompilius - Roman king who codified and organized Roman religion, ca. 717 BC-673 BC
• Siddartha Gautama - Buddhism, ca. 563 BC-483 BC, or (trad.) 1029 BC-949 BC.
• Mahavira - Jainism, 599 BC-527 BC
• Confucius - Confucianism, ca. 551 BC-479 BC (trad.)
• Laozi - Taoism, ca. 500 BC
• Mozi - Mohism, ca. 470 BC-390 BC
• Jesus - Christianity, ca. 4 BC-ca. 30 AD
• Mani - Manichaeism, ca. 210-276
• Muhammad - prophet of Islam, ca. 570-632
• Nanak - Sikhism, 1469-1539
• Nakayama Miki - Tenrikyo, 1798-1887
• Joseph Smith - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1805-1844
• Bahá'u'lláh - Bahá'í Faith, 1817-1892
• Mirza Ghulam Ahmad - Ahmadiyya 1835-1908
• Ngo Van Chieu(first disciple)- Cao Dai 1878-1926?
• L. Ron Hubbard - Scientology, 1911-1986

Note that absence from this list does not imply that a religion is not major. Hinduism and Shinto, for example, have no single founder.

Related Topics:
Hinduism - Shinto

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