| Buddhism |
| Founder |
Gautama Siddhartha Buddha (563-483 BC), born in Lumbini, Nepal |
| Date Founded |
500 BC, India |
| Sacred text |
The Tripitaka (a collection of Buddha’s teachings) |
| Place of Worship |
Vihar (Temple) and Monastery (Where monks reside) |
| Sects |
Mahayana and Hinayana |
| Sacred places |
Lumbini (Nepal) where Buddha was born, Both Gaya (Bihar) where he received Enlightenment and Kushinagar (UP) where he attained ‘Nirwana’. |
| Followed in |
China, Tibet, Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Cambodia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam
|
| Christianity |
| Founder |
Jesus Christ (4 BC – Ad 30), Born in Bethlehem, also called Jesus of Nazareth |
| Date Founded |
1st AD |
| Sacred text |
Holy Bible consisting of the Old Testament (Before Christ) and the New Testament (during and after Christ) |
| Place of Worship |
Church |
| Sects |
Catholics and Protestants |
| Sacred places |
Jerusalem where Christ lived and preached |
| Followed in |
Spread all over the world |
| Hinduism |
| Founder |
Of the divine origin |
| Date Founded |
1500 BC, India |
| Sacred text |
The Vedas, The Upanishads, The Bhagavad-Gita and the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana |
| Place of Worship |
Mandir (Temple) |
| Sacred places |
Ayodhya, Mathura, Amarnath, Hardwar, Varanasi, Tripura, Puri, Rameshwaram, Kedarnath, etc. |
| Followed in |
Concentrated in India and Nepal and also in Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Guyana, Trinidad. |
| Islam |
| Founder |
Prophet Muhammad (AD 570-632), born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Date Founded |
7th AD, Arabian Peninsula |
| Sacred text |
The Qur’an(word of god), the Hadis (collection of prophet’s sayings) |
| Place of Worship |
Masjid (Mosque) |
| Sects |
Sunnis and Shias |
| Sacred places |
Mecca and Medina |
| Followed in |
Spread all over the world |
| Jainism |
| Founder |
Vardhamana Mahavira (599- 527BC), born in Kunda near Vaishali, India |
| Date Founded |
600 BC, India |
| Sacred text |
Bo Specific Text |
| Place of Worship |
Temple |
| Sacred places |
Kunda near Vaishali, India |
| Followed in |
Mainly concentrated in India |
| Judaism |
| Founder |
Abraham (2000BC) and Moses (1200BC), Born in Egypt |
| Date Founded |
200BC |
| Sacred Texts |
The Hals, Founded particularly in the five books of the Bible, Commentary on Torah was known as Talmud and Midrash |
| Place of Worship |
Synagogue |
| Sacred places |
Jerusalem |
| Followed in |
Worldwide with the concentration in Israel and United States |
| Sikhism |
| Founder |
Guru Nanak (1469-1539), born in Talwandi village, now in Pakistan |
| Date Founded |
1500 AD |
| Sacred text |
The Guru Granth Sahib |
| Place of Worship |
Gurdwara |
| Sacred places |
Golden Temple, Amritsar |
| Followed in |
India |
| Zoroastrianism (Parsi Religion) |
| Founder |
Zoroaster (600 BC), born in Iran |
| Date Founded |
600 BC, Iran |
| Sacred text |
The Zend Avesta |
| Places of Worship |
Fire Temple |
| Followed in |
Iran and Northwest India |
