In 1517, Martin Luther and his followers left the Catholic Church. Protestantism started in Western Europe and because of emigration, it has spread to other regions of the world, especially North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Baptists, Methodists, and Lutheran are the largest branches of Protestantism. Many Christians hope to regain a sense of unity among the different branches. Due to the missionary efforts, Christianity exists in almost every inhabited piece of land in the world.
Christians represent more than one-third of the world s population.
Islam Islam is one of the three great monotheistic faiths-the other two being Christianity and Judaism. All three faiths believe in only one God. Islam was founded in the year 622 CE by Mohammed in Medina on the Arabian Peninsula. Even though the Islam religion was founded in 622 CE, the Muslims believed that Abraham and his son Ishmal, from the Bible, were the first true Muslims. Islam is the youngest of the world s great religions.