List of founders of religious traditions


These are historical figures credited with founding religions or religious philosophies, or who codified older known religious traditions. The list includes those who have founded a specific major denomination within a larger religion.

Legendary/semi-historical

Ancient (before AD 500)

  1. #
Founder nameReligious tradition foundedLife of founder
AkhenatenAtenismc. 1353 BC – 1336 BC
ZoroasterZoroastrianismc. 1000 BC
ParshvanathaThe penultimate Tirthankara in Jainism877 BC – 777 BC
Nebuchadnezzar IIbuilt the Etemenanki, established Marduk as the patron deity of Babylonc. 634 BC – 562 BC
Ajita KesakambaliCharvaka6th century BC
MahaviraThe final tirthankara in Jainism599 BC – 527 BC
Gautama BuddhaBuddhism563 BC – 483 BC
ConfuciusConfucianism551 BC – 479 BC
PythagorasPythagoreanismfl. 520 BC
MoziMohism470 BC – 390 BC
ZamolxisZamolxism5th century BC
Makkhali GosalaĀjīvika5th century BC
EzraSecond Temple Judaismfl. 459 BC
EpicurusEpicureanismfl. 307 BC
Zeno of CitiumStoicism333 BC – 264 BC
Pharnavaz I of IberiaArmazi326 BC – 234 BC
ValmikiValmikismc. 3rd century BC
PatanjaliRāja yoga sect of Hinduism2nd century BC
Jesus Christianityc. 4 BC – c. 30/33 AD
Paul the ApostlePauline Christianityc. 33 AD
James the JustJewish Christianityc. 33 AD
LakulishaPashupata Shaivism sect of Hinduism1st century AD
Judah the PrinceRabbinic Judaism2nd century AD
MontanusMontanism2nd century AD
Marcion of SinopeMarcionism110–160
ElkesaiElkesaism170–230
NagarjunaMadhyamaka150–250
PlotinusNeoplatonism205–270
ManiManichaeism216–274
AriusArianism250–336
PelagiusPelagianism354–430
NestoriusNestorianism386–451
EutychesMonophysitism380–456

Medieval to Early Modern (500–1800 AD)

New religious movements (post-1800)

NameReligious tradition foundedLife of founder
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'íShaykhism, precursor of Bábism1753–1826
Ram Mohan RoyBrahmo Samaj1772–1833
SwaminarayanSwaminarayan Sampraday1781–1830
Auguste ComteReligion of Humanity1798–1857
Nakayama MikiTenrikyo1798–1887
Ignaz von DöllingerOld Catholic Church1799–1890
Phineas QuimbyNew Thought1802–1866
Allan Kardec
Holy Spirit 		Spiritism1804–1869
Joseph SmithMormonism, also known as the Latter Day Saint movement1805–1844
John ThomasChristadelphians1805–1871
Abraham GeigerReform Judaism1810–1874
Jamgon KongtrulRimé movement1813–1899
Hong XiuquanTaiping Christianity1814–1864
Bahá'u'lláhBaháʼí Faith1817–1892
BábBábism, precursor of the Baháʼí Faith1819–1850
Azriel HildesheimerModern Orthodox Judaism1820–1899
James Springer WhiteSeventh-day Adventist Church1821–1881
Wang JueyiYiguandao1821–1884
Mary Baker EddyChristian Science1821–1910
Ramalinga SwamigalSamarasa Sutha Sanmarga Sangam1823–1874
Dayananda SaraswatiArya Samaj1824–1883
Ellen G. WhiteSeventh-day Adventist Church1827–1915
John Ballou NewbroughFaithism1828–1891
Helena BlavatskyTheosophy1831–1891
Subh-i-AzalAzalism1831–1912
Ayya VaikundarAyyavazhi1833–1851
Mirza Ghulam AhmadAhmadiyya1835–1908
Nao DeguchiOomoto1837–1918
John SlocumIndian Shaker Church1838–1897
Guido von ListArmanism 1848–1919
Charles Taze RussellBible Student movement1852–1916
WovokaGhost Dance1856–1932
Rudolf SteinerAnthroposophy1861–1925
Swami VivekanandaRamakrishna Mission1863–1902
William IrvineTwo by Twos and Cooneyites1863–1947
Max HeindelThe Rosicrucian Fellowship1865–1919
Tsunesaburo MakiguchiSoka Gakkai1871–1944
Sri AurobindoIntegral yoga1872–1950
Mason RemeyOrthodox Baháʼí Faith1874–1974
Aleister CrowleyThelema1875–1947
Charles Fox ParhamPentecostalism1873–1929
"Father Divine"International Peace Mission movementc. 1876–1965
Edgar CayceAssociation for Research and Enlightenment1877–1945
Ngô Văn ChiêuCaodaism1878–1926
Guy Ballard"I AM" Activity1878–1939
Frank BuchmanOxford Group/Moral Re-Armament1878–1961
Alfred G. MosesJewish Science1878–1956
Ōnishi AijirōHonmichi1881–1958
Mordecai KaplanReconstructionist Judaism1881–1983
Gerald GardnerWicca1884–1964
Felix ManaloIglesia ni Cristo 1886–1963
Frank B. RobinsonPsychiana1886–1948
Noble Drew AliMoorish Science Temple of America1886–1929
Marcus GarveyRastafari1887–1940
Ernest HolmesReligious Science1887–1960
Sadafal Deo Ji MaharajVihangamyoga1888–1954
Aimee Semple McPhersonFoursquare Church1890–1944
Zélio Fernandino de MoraesUmbanda1891–1975
Ida B. RobinsonMount Sinai Holy Church of America1891–1946
B. R. AmbedkarNavayana Buddhism1891–1956
Wallace Fard MuhammadNation of Islam1891–1934
Paramahansa YoganandaYogoda Satsanga Society of India, Self-Realization Fellowship1893–1952
Masaharu TaniguchiSeicho-no-Ie1893–1985
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaInternational Society for Krishna Consciousness1896–1977
Ruth NormanUnarius1900–1993
Ross NicholsOrder of Bards, Ovates, and Druids1902-1975
Swami MuktanandaSiddha Yoga1908–1982
Paul TwitchellEckankar1908–1971
Ikurō TeshimaMakuya1910–1973
L. Ron HubbardDianetics and Scientology1911–1986
Chinmayananda SaraswatiChinmaya Mission1916–1993
Victor Henry AndersonFeri Tradition1917–2001
Maharishi Mahesh YogiTranscendental Meditation1918–2008
Samael Aun WeorUniversal Christian Gnostic Movement1917–1977
Mark L. ProphetThe Summit Lighthouse1918–1973
Ben KlassenCreativity1918–1993
Ahn Sahng-hongWorld Mission Society Church of God1918–1985
Huỳnh Phú SổHòa Hảo1919–1947
Yong Myung MoonUnification Church1920–2012
Prabhat Ranjan SarkarAnanda Marga1921–1990
Clarence 13XFive-Percent Nation1922–1969
Mestre GabrielUnião do Vegetal1922–1971
Nirmala SrivastavaSahaja Yoga1923–2011
Sveinbjörn BeinteinssonÁsatrú1924–1993
Sathya Sai BabaSathya Sai Organization1926–2011
Michel PotayPilgrims of Arès1929–
Anton LaVeyChurch of Satan 1930–1997
RajneeshRajneesh movement1931–1990
Mark L. Prophet;
Elizabeth Clare Prophet		Church Universal and Triumphant1918–1973;
1939–2009
Adi DaAdidam1939–2008
Claude VorilhonRaëlism1946–
Marshall Vian SummersNew Message from God1949–
Li HongzhiFalun Gongborn 1951 or 1952
Ryuho OkawaHappy Science1956–2023
VissarionChurch of the Last Testament1961–
Chris KordaChurch of Euthanasia1962–
Tamara SiudaKemetic Orthodoxy1969–
Olumba Olumba ObuBrotherhood of the Cross and Star1918–2003
Erdoğan ÇınarIshikism21st century
J.R. "Bob" DobbsChurch of the SubGenius1972–
Abdullah HashemAhmadi Religion of Peace and Light1983–
Isak GersonMissionary Church of Kopimism1993–