# Religions Hub The world's major religions and their major denominations as **substrate-layer reference** for the rest of the vault. The vault is dense with right-wing-Christianity content — [[Christian Nationalism]], [[Dominionism]], [[Christian Reconstructionism]], [[Christian Zionism]], [[Integralism]], [[Quiverfull]], dozens of religious organizations, the entire Christian Nationalism terminology subfolder at `/Terminology/Christian Nationalism/` — all of which implicitly assume the religion-substrate this folder finally documents. **Architecture note (2026-05-25; buildout completed 2026-08-15).** This MOC and the `/Foundations/Religions/` subfolder were created together as a sibling shelf to `/Foundations/Types of Government/`. Both are reference shelves: regime types describe governance forms, religions describe civilizational/religious substrates. Entries use `type: concept` + `domain: religion` + a `religion` or `denomination` tag, following the `/Foundations/Types of Government/` precedent of not introducing new type-enum values for Foundations subfolders. ## How to find these in the vault All entries below live in `/Foundations/Religions/` with `type: concept` and `domain: religion`. To list them dynamically (Dataview): ```dataview LIST FROM "Foundations/Religions" WHERE domain = "religion" SORT file.name ASC ``` To pull just religion entries (excluding denomination entries): ```dataview LIST FROM "Foundations/Religions" WHERE domain = "religion" AND contains(tags, "religion") SORT file.name ASC ``` To pull just denomination entries: ```dataview LIST FROM "Foundations/Religions" WHERE domain = "religion" AND contains(tags, "denomination") SORT file.name ASC ``` ## Abrahamic religions The three major Abrahamic traditions, listed by founding chronology. These are the religions with the deepest footprint in US right-wing politics, and the ones with the largest denominational expansion in this folder. - [[Christianity]] — c. 1st century CE; **~2.3 billion adherents, 28.8% of world population (Pew, 2020 data published June 2025)** — up 122 million in absolute terms over the decade but down 1.8 points as a share. The dominant religion in the US right-wing coalition. Denominational depth built in Phase 3 (2026-05-25). - [[Islam]] — c. 7th century CE; **~1.98 billion adherents, 25.6% (Pew, 2020)** — the fastest-growing major tradition, up 347 million in a decade, more than all other religions combined. Appears in US right-wing discourse primarily as object of foreign-policy framing and domestic othering rather than as coalition participant. Denominational depth built in Phase 4 (2026-08-15). - [[Judaism]] — Antiquity; **~14.8 million adherents, 0.2% (Pew, 2020)**. Cross-cuts the right-wing coalition unusually: object of antisemitic conspiracy theory on one hand, focus of [[Christian Zionism]] alliance on the other, with Orthodox Jewish communities increasingly aligned with the US political right. Denominational depth built in Phase 4 (2026-08-15). ## Dharmic religions The major religions originating in the Indian subcontinent. - [[Hinduism]] — Ancient (no single founding date); **~1.2 billion adherents, 14.9% (Pew, 2020)** — share unchanged over the decade. Appears in US right-wing discourse around Hindu nationalism / Hindutva (Modi, Vance connections, [[Vivek Ramaswamy]]) and around "Eastern spirituality" syncretism in tech-right circles. - [[Buddhism]] — c. 6th–5th century BCE; **~324 million adherents, 4.1% (Pew, 2020)** — the only major tradition to shrink in absolute numbers, down 19 million. Note the discrepancy with the ~520 million figure still common in older sources; the gap is largely a measurement question about China. Limited direct US right-wing political footprint; appears in syncretist tech-right "spiritual but not religious" strains. - [[Sikhism]] — c. 15th–17th century CE; ~30 million adherents globally. Limited US right-wing political footprint; appears as object of post-9/11 anti-Muslim violence (mistaken-identity attacks) and in broader immigrant-targeting rhetoric. - [[Jainism]] — c. 7th–5th century BCE; ~4–5 million adherents globally. Minimal direct political footprint; included for completeness. ## East Asian religions Traditions originating in China and Japan; the religion-vs-philosophy boundary is famously contested for several of these. - [[Confucianism]] — c. 6th–5th century BCE; not always classified as religion. Appears in US right-wing discourse around "Western civilization" comparison frames and around Chinese authoritarianism analyses. - [[Daoism]] — c. 6th–4th century BCE; ~12 million formal adherents but vastly more cultural reach. Appears in tech-right syncretism. - [[Shinto]] — Ancient; primarily Japanese. Appears in US right-wing discourse around Japanese nationalism comparisons (especially "shrine politics" parallels with Christian Nationalism). ## Iranian and other ancient living traditions - [[Zoroastrianism]] — c. 2nd millennium BCE; ~100,000–200,000 adherents globally. Influential historically on Abrahamic eschatology; appears in Western-civilization-decline narratives. - [[Bahá'í Faith]] — Mid-19th century CE; ~5–8 million adherents globally. The youngest of the world religions tracked here; persecuted in Iran which sometimes makes it an object of US right-wing foreign-policy reference. ## Indigenous traditions (umbrella) - [[Indigenous Religious Traditions]] — irreducibly plural; covers African Traditional Religions, Native American spiritualities, Pacific Islander traditions, Indigenous Australian traditions, and many others. Treated as one umbrella entry here rather than per-tradition. Appears in US right-wing discourse around colonial / "civilizational" framings. ## Denominational depth ### Christianity (Phase 3 — shipped 2026-05-25) - [[Catholicism]] · [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] · [[Oriental Orthodoxy]] · [[Protestantism]] - Protestant families: [[Reformed Christianity]] · [[Lutheranism]] · [[Anglicanism]] · [[Baptist Christianity]] · [[Methodism]] · [[Pentecostalism]] · [[Anabaptism]] - Restorationist family: [[Restorationism]] · [[Mormonism (LDS)]] - Independent / non-denominational: [[Non-Denominational Evangelicalism]] ### Islam (Phase 4 — shipped 2026-08-15) - [[Sunni Islam]] · [[Shia Islam]] · [[Wahhabism]] (with Salafism) · [[Sufism]] ### Judaism (Phase 4 — shipped 2026-08-15) - [[Reform Judaism]] · [[Conservative Judaism]] · [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]] · [[Haredi Judaism]] ## The payoff MOC (Phase 5 — shipped 2026-08-15) - [[Religions and Right-Wing Politics]] — walks each tradition's political tributaries with links into the existing `/Ideologies/`, `/Concepts/`, `/Organizations/`, and `/Terminology/Christian Nationalism/` layers, sorted by the **role** each tradition plays: coalition participant, doctrinal supplier, object of mobilization, or rhetorical reference. This is the page that justifies the substrate layer as a vault investment. ## The chronological spine - [[World Religions Timeline]] — the comparative time axis across every tradition on this page, from the first ritual evidence through the [[Axial Age]] cluster and the imperial state religions to the religious-nationalist governments of 2026. Where this hub describes each tradition standing still, the timeline shows them moving in parallel. ## See also - `/Foundations/_README.md` — Foundations folder top-level - `/Foundations/Religions/_README.md` — folder-local README - `/Foundations/Types of Government/` — the sibling reference shelf this folder parallels; [[Theocracy]] in particular cross-links here heavily - `/Terminology/Christian Nationalism/` — vocabulary subfolder that pairs tightly with this folder - [[Foundations Concepts]] — the Foundations Concepts MOC - `/Foundations/People.md` and `/Foundations/Works.md` — the other Foundations MOCs (titles "People" and "Works" collide vault-wide, so referenced by path rather than wikilink)