# 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

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

## Ancient (before AD 500)

| Founder name | Religious tradition founded | Life of founder |
| Akhenaten | Atenism | c. 1353 BC – 1336 BC |
| Zoroaster | Zoroastrianism | c. 1000 BC |
| Parshvanatha | The penultimate (23rd) Tirthankara in Jainism | 877 BC – 777 BC |
| Numa Pompilius | Roman Religion | c. 753 BC – 672 BC |
| Nebuchadnezzar II | built the Etemenanki, established Marduk as the patron deity of Babylon | c. 634 BC – 562 BC |
| Ajita Kesakambali | Charvaka | 6th century BC |
| Mahavira | The final (24th) tirthankara in Jainism | 599 BC – 527 BC |
| Gautama Buddha | Buddhism | 563 BC – 483 BC |
| Confucius | Confucianism | 551 BC – 479 BC |
| Pythagoras | Pythagoreanism | fl. 520 BC |
| Mozi | Mohism | 470 BC – 390 BC |
| Makkhali Gosala | Ājīvika | 5th century BC |
| Ezra | Second Temple Judaism | fl. 459 BC |
| 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 |
| 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 | Arianism | 250–336 |
| Pelagius | Pelagianism | 354–430 |
| Nestorius | Nestorianism | 386–451 |
| Eutyches | Monophysitism | 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 |
| Ramanuja | Vishishtadvaita | 1017–1137 |
| Great Peacemaker | Great Law of Peace | Between the 10th and 15th centuries |
| Hamza ibn ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad | 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 | 1509–1564 |
| Michael Servetus | Unitarianism | 1511?–1553 |
| John Knox | Presbyterianism | 1510–1572 |
| Akbar | Din-i Ilahi | 1542–1605 |
| Jacobus Arminius | Arminianism | 1560–1609 |
| John Smyth | Baptists | 1570–1612 |
| Avvakum | Old Believers of Russian Orthodox Church | 1620–1682 |
| George Fox | Quakers | 1624–1691 |
| Philipp Spener | Pietism | 1635–1705 |
| Jakob Ammann | Amish | 1656–1730 |
| Emanuel Swedenborg | The New Church | 1688–1772 |
| Yisroel ben Eliezer "Baal Shem Tov" | Hasidic Judaism | 1698–1760 |
| John Wesley, Charles Wesley, George Whitefield | Methodism | 1703–1791 |
| Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab | Wahhabism | 1703–1792 |
| Ann Lee | Shakers | 1736–1784 |

## New religious movements (post-1800)

| Name | Religious tradition founded | Life of founder |
| Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í | Shaykhism, precursor of Bábism | 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 | 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 | Christian Science | 1821–1910 |
| Ramalinga Swamigal | Samarasa Sutha Sanmarga Sangam | 1823–1874 |
| Dayananda Saraswati | Arya Samaj | 1824–1883 |
| Ellen G. White | 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 | Bible Student movement | 1852–1916 |
| Wovoka | Ghost Dance | 1856–1932 |
| Rudolf Steiner | Anthroposophy | 1861–1925 |
| Swami Vivekananda | Ramakrishna Mission | 1863–1902 |
| William Irvine | 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 | Foursquare Church | 1890–1944 |
| Zélio Fernandino de Moraes | 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 | 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 | Rajneesh movement | 1931–1990 |
| Mark L. Prophet; Elizabeth Clare Prophet | 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– |