DESCRIPTIONS OF 36 RELIGIONS, FAITH GROUPS & ETHICAL SYSTEMS

[Baha'i, Christianity (early), Christianity (modern), Hare Krishna, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Humanism
Judaism, Neopaganism, Satanism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Unitarian Universalism (copyright by Solar Web), Wicca]

Some of the following essays are long and detailed, in an attempt to balance the great amount of misinformation that has been spread about various belief systems.

We categorize groups according to how they themselves regard their beliefs. Some are listed in more than one section, because their memberships are divided on whether they should be considered Christian or not.

Information for these essays was extracted from reliable sources, and believed to be accurate and reasonably unbiased. Where possible, they have been reviewed by a person or group who follows the belief.

"World" Religions:

There are 11, long established, major religions, each with over 3 million followers:

Small Non-Christian Religions:

These are smaller religions, with a well defined belief in deity, humanity and the rest of the universe. Of the many hundreds of faith groups in the world, we have chosen these because of their historical significance, or because of the massive amount of misinformation that has been spread about them in North America:

Christian Denominations and Sects:

People who regard themselves as Christians have many definitions of the term "Christian Church". Some individuals are much more restrictive than others; some define minority groups to be cults, or even destructive, mind control cults. We use a very simple, inclusive description, defining a Christian Church as any organization that regards itself as Christian.

About 85% of the people in the United States and Canada follow a Christian faith and belong to one of about 1500 individual Christian denominations, sects and cults. We have selected the following mainly because:

they have had major cultural and religious influences in spite of their small size, or
they are the victims of massive misinformation campaigns by other Christian groups

Other Ethical Groups, Religions and Spiritual Paths:

If you would like to a particular faith group added to this list, please contact the OCRT and we will do our best to include it.