List of founders of religious traditions

For legendary figures for which historicity cannot be established, see Culture hero.

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

Traditional founder	Religious tradition founded	Historical founder(s)	Life of historical founder
Abraham (covenant with God) Moses (religious law)	Judaism	Yahwists[n 1]	c. 13th[1][2][3] to 8th century BC[n 2]
Laozi	Taoism	Zhuang Zhou	369 BC – 286 BC

Ancient (before AD 500)

See culture hero for legendary founders of doubtful historicity. For figures that fall into that category, please add them to the Legendary section, not here.

Founder name	Religious tradition founded	Life of founder
Akhenaten	Atenism	c. 1353 BC – 1336 BC[4]
Zoroaster	Zoroastrianism	c. 1000 BC[5]
Parshvanatha	The penultimate (23rd) Tirthankara in Jainism	877 BC – 777 BC[6][7][8][9][10]
Numa Pompilius	Roman Religion	c. 753 BC – 672 BC
Nebuchadnezzar II	built the Etemenanki, established Marduk as the patron deity of Babylon[citation needed]	c. 634 BC – 562 BC[citation needed]
Ajita Kesakambali	Charvaka	6th century BC[11][12][13]
Mahavira	The final (24th) tirthankara in Jainism	599 BC – 527 BC[14][15][16]
Gautama Buddha	Buddhism	563 BC – 483 BC[17][18]
Confucius	Confucianism	551 BC – 479 BC[19][20]
Pythagoras	Pythagoreanism	fl. 520 BC
Mozi	Mohism	470 BC – 390 BC
Makkhali Gosala	Ājīvika	5th century BC[21]
Ezra	Second Temple Judaism[22]	fl. 459 BC[n 3]
Epicurus	Epicureanism	fl. 307 BC
Zeno of Citium	Stoicism	333 BC – 264 BC
Pharnavaz I of Iberia	Armazi	326 BC – 234 BC
Valmiki	Valmikism	c. 3rd century BC[23]
Patanjali	Rāja yoga sect of Hinduism	2nd century BC
Jesus (and the Twelve Apostles)	Christianity	c. 4 BC – c. 30/33 AD
Paul the Apostle	Pauline Christianity	c. 33 AD
James the Just	Jewish Christianity	c. 33 AD
Lakulisha	Pashupata Shaivism sect of Hinduism	1st century AD
Judah the Prince	Rabbinic Judaism	2nd century AD
Montanus	Montanism	2nd century AD
Marcion of Sinope	Marcionism	110–160
Elkesai	Elkesaism	170–230
Nagarjuna	Madhyamaka	150–250
Plotinus	Neoplatonism	205–270
Mani	Manichaeism	216–274
Arius[n 4]	Arianism[n 5]	250–336
Pelagius[n 4]	Pelagianism[n 6]	354–430
Nestorius[n 4]	Nestorianism[n 7]	386–451
Eutyches	Monophysitism[n 8]	380–456

Medieval to Early Modern (500–1800 AD)

Name	Religious tradition founded	Life of founder
Mazdak	Mazdakism	died c. 526
Bodhidharma	Zen, more specifically Ch'an	5th or 6th century
Muhammad	Islam	c. 570–632
Gaudapada	Advaita Vedanta	c. 6th century CE
Songtsen Gampo	Tibetan Buddhism	7th century
En no Gyōja	Shugendō	late 7th century
Huineng	East Asian Zen Buddhism	638–713
Padmasambhava	Nyingma	8th century
Han Yu	Neo-Confucianism	8th or 9th century
Saichō	Tendai (descended from Tiantai)	767–822
Kūkai	Shingon Buddhism	774–835
Ibn Nusayr	Alawites	late 9th century
Matsyendranath	Nath	10th century
Khadafi	Shawawanism Islam	876-948
Ramanuja	Vishishtadvaita	1017–1137
Great Peacemaker	Great Law of Peace	Between the 10th and 15th centuries
Hamza ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad[24]	Druze	11th century
Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir	Yazidism	12th century
Basava	Lingayatism	12th century
Peter Waldo	Waldensianism	1140–1205
Hōnen	Jōdo-shū (descended from Pure Land Buddhism)	1131–1212
Eisai	Rinzai Zen (descended from the Linji school)	1141–1215
Shinran	Jōdo Shinshū (descended from Jōdo-shū)	1173–1263
Dōgen	Sōtō Zen (descended from the Caodong school)	1200–1253
Haji Bektash Veli	Bektashi Order of Sufism	1209–1271
Nichiren	Nichiren Buddhism	1222–1282
Abraham Abulafia	Prophetic Kabbalah, a.k.a. ecstatic Kabbalah	1240–1290s
Dyaneshwar	Varkari	1275–1296
Madhvacharya	Dvaita	1238–1317
John Wycliffe	Lollardy	1320s–1384
Fażlu l-Lāh Astar-Ābādī	Hurufism	14th century
Mahmoud Pasikhani	Nuqṭawism	late 14th century
Jan Hus	Hussitism	1372–1415
Tlacaelel	Cult of Huitzilopochtli	1397–1487
Ramananda	Ramanandi Vaishnavism	15th century
Kabir	Kabir Panth	1398–1448
Pachacuti	Cult of Inti	1418–1472
Sankardev	Ekasarana Dharma	1449–1568
Ravidas	Ravidassia	c. 1450–1520
Guru Nanak	Sikhism, Nanak Panth	1469–1539
Sri Chand	Udasi	1494–1629
Vallabha Acharya	Shuddhadvaita	1479–1531
Martin Luther	Lutheranism and Protestantism in general	1483–1546
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu	Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Achintya Bheda Abheda	1486–1534
Thomas Cranmer	Anglicanism (Church of England)	1489–1556
Menno Simons	Mennonite	1496–1561
Conrad Grebel	Swiss Brethren, Anabaptists	1498–1526
Jacob Hutter	Hutterite	1500–1536
Isaac Luria	Lurianic Kabbalah	1534–1572
Sultan Sahak	Yarsanism	early 15th century
John Calvin	Calvinism[25]	1509–1564
Michael Servetus[26]	Unitarianism	1511?–1553
John Knox[27]	Presbyterianism	1510–1572
Akbar	Din-i Ilahi	1542–1605
Jacobus Arminius	Arminianism	1560–1609
John Smyth[28]	Baptists	1570–1612
Avvakum[citation needed]	Old Believers of Russian Orthodox Church	1620–1682
George Fox[29]	Quakers	1624–1691
Philipp Spener[30]	Pietism	1635–1705
Jakob Ammann	Amish	1656–1730
Emanuel Swedenborg	The New Church	1688–1772
Yisroel ben Eliezer "Baal Shem Tov"[31]	Hasidic Judaism	1698–1760
John Wesley,[32] Charles Wesley, George Whitefield	Methodism	1703–1791
Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab	Wahhabism	1703–1792
Ann Lee[33]	Shakers	1736–1784

New religious movements (post-1800)

Further information: List of new religious movements

Name	Religious tradition founded	Life of founder
Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í[34][35]	Shaykhism, precursor of Bábism[36][37]	1753–1826
Ram Mohan Roy	Brahmo Samaj	1772–1833
Swaminarayan	Swaminarayan Sampraday	1781–1830
Auguste Comte	Religion of Humanity	1798–1857
Nakayama Miki	Tenrikyo	1798–1887
Ignaz von Döllinger	Old Catholic Church	1799–1890
Phineas Quimby	New Thought	1802–1866
Allan Kardec (founder of the religion) Holy Spirit (made the teachings)	Spiritism	1804–1869
Joseph Smith	Mormonism, also known as the Latter Day Saint movement	1805–1844
John Thomas	Christadelphians	1805–1871
Abraham Geiger	Reform Judaism	1810–1874
Jamgon Kongtrul	Rimé movement	1813–1899
Hong Xiuquan	Taiping Christianity	1814–1864
Bahá'u'lláh[38]	Baháʼí Faith	1817–1892
Báb	Bábism, precursor of the Baháʼí Faith	1819–1850
Azriel Hildesheimer	Modern Orthodox Judaism	1820–1899
James Springer White	Seventh-day Adventist Church	1821–1881
Wang Jueyi	Yiguandao	1821–1884
Mary Baker Eddy[39]	Christian Science	1821–1910
Ramalinga Swamigal	Samarasa Sutha Sanmarga Sangam	1823–1874
Dayananda Saraswati	Arya Samaj	1824–1883
Ellen G. White[40]	Seventh-day Adventist Church	1827–1915
John Ballou Newbrough	Faithism	1828–1891
Helena Blavatsky	Theosophy	1831–1891
Subh-i-Azal	Azalism	1831–1912
Ayya Vaikundar	Ayyavazhi	1833–1851
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad	Ahmadiyya	1835–1908
Nao Deguchi	Oomoto	1837–1918
John Slocum	Indian Shaker Church	1838–1897
Guido von List	Armanism (Germanic mysticism)	1848–1919
Charles Taze Russell[41]	Bible Student movement	1852–1916
Wovoka	Ghost Dance	1856–1932
Rudolf Steiner	Anthroposophy	1861–1925
Swami Vivekananda	Ramakrishna Mission	1863–1902
William Irvine[42]	Two by Twos and Cooneyites	1863–1947
Max Heindel	The Rosicrucian Fellowship	1865–1919
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi	Soka Gakkai	1871–1944
Sri Aurobindo	Integral yoga	1872–1950
Mason Remey	Orthodox Baháʼí Faith	1874–1974
Aleister Crowley	Thelema	1875–1947
Charles Fox Parham	Pentecostalism	1873–1929
"Father Divine"	International Peace Mission movement	c. 1876–1965
Edgar Cayce	Association for Research and Enlightenment	1877–1945
Ngô Văn Chiêu	Caodaism	1878–1926
Guy Ballard	"I AM" Activity	1878–1939
Frank Buchman	Oxford Group/Moral Re-Armament	1878–1961
Alfred G. Moses	Jewish Science	1878–1956
Ōnishi Aijirō	Honmichi	1881–1958
Mordecai Kaplan	Reconstructionist Judaism	1881–1983
Gerald Gardner	Wicca	1884–1964
Felix Manalo	Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ)	1886–1963
Frank B. Robinson	Psychiana	1886–1948
Noble Drew Ali	Moorish Science Temple of America	1886–1929
Marcus Garvey	Rastafari	1887–1940
Ernest Holmes	Religious Science	1887–1960
Sadafal Deo Ji Maharaj	Vihangamyoga	1888–1954
Aimee Semple McPherson[43]	Foursquare Church	1890–1944
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes[44]	Umbanda	1891–1975
Ida B. Robinson	Mount Sinai Holy Church of America	1891–1946
B. R. Ambedkar	Navayana Buddhism	1891–1956
Wallace Fard Muhammad	Nation of Islam	1891–1934 (absentia)
Paramahansa Yogananda	Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, Self-Realization Fellowship	1893–1952
Masaharu Taniguchi	Seicho-no-Ie	1893–1985
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada	International Society for Krishna Consciousness	1896–1977
Ruth Norman	Unarius	1900–1993
Swami Muktananda	Siddha Yoga	1908–1982
Paul Twitchell	Eckankar	1908–1971
Ikurō Teshima	Makuya	1910–1973
L. Ron Hubbard	Dianetics and Scientology	1911–1986
Chinmayananda Saraswati	Chinmaya Mission	1916–1993
Victor Henry Anderson	Feri Tradition	1917–2001
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi	Transcendental Meditation	1918–2008
Samael Aun Weor	Universal Christian Gnostic Movement	1917–1977
Mark L. Prophet	The Summit Lighthouse	1918–1973
Ben Klassen	Creativity	1918–1993
Ahn Sahng-hong	World Mission Society Church of God	1918–1985
Huỳnh Phú Sổ	Hòa Hảo	1919–1947
Yong (Sun) Myung Moon[45]	Unification Church	1920–2012
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar	Ananda Marga	1921–1990
Clarence 13X	Five-Percent Nation	1922–1969
Mestre Gabriel	União do Vegetal	1922–1971
Nirmala Srivastava	Sahaja Yoga	1923–2011
Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson	Ásatrú	1924–1993
Sathya Sai Baba	Sathya Sai Organization	1926–2011
Michel Potay	Pilgrims of Arès	1929–
Anton LaVey	Church of Satan (LaVeyan Satanism)	1930–1997
Rajneesh[46]	Rajneesh movement	1931–1990
Mark L. Prophet; Elizabeth Clare Prophet[47]	Church Universal and Triumphant	1918–1973; 1939–2009
Adi Da	Adidam	1939–2008
Claude Vorilhon	Raëlism	1946–
Marshall Vian Summers	New Message from God	1949–
Li Hongzhi	Falun Gong	born 1951 or 1952
Ryuho Okawa	Happy Science	1956–2023
Vissarion	Church of the Last Testament	1961–
Chris Korda	Church of Euthanasia	1962–
Tamara Siuda	Kemetic Orthodoxy	1969–
Olumba Olumba Obu	Brotherhood of the Cross and Star	1918–2003
Isak Gerson	Missionary Church of Kopimism	1993–
Erdoğan Çınar	Ishikism	21st century
Abdullah Hashem	Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light	1983–
J.R. "Bob" Dobbs	Church of the SubGenius	1972–

See also

• Burial places of founders of world religions
• List of Buddha claimants
• List of messiah claimants
• List of people who have been considered deities
• List of religions and spiritual traditions
• Lists of religious leaders by century
• Timeline of religion

Notes

1. The religion of the Israelites of Iron Age I was based on a cult of ancestors and worship of family gods, the "gods of the fathers". With the emergence of the monarchy at the beginning of Iron Age II the kings promoted their family god, YHWH (Yahweh), as the god of the kingdom, but beyond the royal court, religion continued to be both polytheistic and family-centered. As such, this founding group is referred to as "Yahwists".
2. Israel emerges into the historical record in the last decades of the 13th century BCE, at the very end of the Late Bronze Age, as the Canaanite city-state system was ending. In the words of archaeologist William Dever, "most of those who came to call themselves Israelites … were or had been indigenous Canaanites". The worship of YHWH (Yahweh) alone began at the earliest with Elijah in the 9th century BCE, but more likely with the prophet Hosea in the 8th; even then it remained the concern of a small party before gaining ascendancy in the exilic and early post-exilic period.
3. historicity disputed but widely considered plausible. Gosta W. Ahlstrom argues the inconsistencies of the biblical tradition are insufficient to say that Ezra, with his central position as the 'father of Judaism' in the Jewish tradition, has been a later literary invention. (The History of Ancient Palestine, Fortress Press, p.888)
4. The teaching of the traditional "founding father" of a "heresy" is may well have differed greatly from the contents of the heresy as generally understood. For references see following notes.
5. Acc. to Rowan Williams, 'Arianism' was essentially a polemical creation of Athanasius in an attempt to show that the different alternatives to the Nicene Creed collapsed back into some form of Arius' teaching. (Arius, SCM (2001) p.247)
6. Pelagius' thought was one sided and an inadequate interpretation of Christianity, but his disciples, Celestius and, to a greater extent, Julian of Eclanum pushed his ideas to extremes.(Kelly, J.N.D. Early Christian Doctrines A & C. Black (1965) p.361) Pelagius himself was declared orthodox by the synod of Diospolis in 415, after repudiating some of Celestius' opinions. (Frend, W.H.C. Saints and Sinners in the Early Church DLT (1985) p.133)
7. Nestorius specifically endorsed the repudiation of "Nestorianism" reached at Chalcedon in 451 (Prestige, G.L. Fathers and Heretics SPCK (1963) p.130)
8. Monophysitism represents an advanced type of Alexandrian Theology; it emerged in a distinctive form in 433 as a result of the agreement between John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria. The exaggerated form held by Eutyches was condemned in 451 by the Council of Chalcedon. In its moderate forms the divergence from orthodoxy may be simply terminological. Alexandrian Theology stressed both divine transcendence and a marked dualism between the material and the spiritual and so tended to nullify the humanity of Christ.(Cross & Livingstone. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974) arts. Monophysitism, Alexandrian Theology)