Last Updated: November 14, 2014
Since the beginning of time, mankind has formed beliefs of the unexplainable and unknowable. Over thousands of years, these beliefs became traditional, customary, and institutionalized within regional societies. People continue to express an interest in spiritual matters from all corners around the world. Everybody has pondered the meaning of life, what happens after we die, what existed before us, and whether any other life exists in the universe. Mankind may never know concrete answers regarding the spiritual. In fact, humans may destroy the planet before we can discover the remaining life in unexplored regions. Nevertheless, we continue to seek spiritual enlightenment and a connection with our Creator.

Follow this time line to understand the historical origins of some of the most prominent religious organizations in human history:
• In 2,085 BC, Abraham was chosen as the father of the first monotheistic religion modernly referred to as Judaism, the religious doctrine, philosophy, and the way of life for Jewish people as outlined in the Tanakh and the Talmud.
• In 1,500 BC., Hinduism was born with no official founder. Hinduism emphasizes daily morality strictly defined by karma, dharma, and societal laws. It is based on a wide spectrum of traditional laws and prescriptions.
• In 560 BC., the Buddha founded Buddhism, an indigenous religion and philosophy partial to the Indian subcontinent. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, customs, beliefs, practices, and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, or “the awakened one.” Buddha taught about ending worldly ignorance, cravings, and suffering in order to attain the highest plateau of enlightenment, a phase known as Nirvana.
• In 550 BC, Lao Tzu founded Taoism, a religious, philosophical, and customary traditional that emphasizes harmony with the Tao, otherwise known as the “path” or “way,” which denotes an unidentified powerful force. The Tao is the source of everything that ever was, is, and will be.

• In 30 AD, Jesus Christ founded Christianity, the second major monotheistic and Abrahamic religion. Christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ as referenced in the canonical gospels and other New Testament writings. Christians believe that Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh who died to save all of humanity from their sins.
• Between 50-100 AD, Gnosticism exponentially grew as the teachings of Jesus Christ began to spread throughout the regional Middle East. Gnosticism expounded on the principles of gnosis, or the realization of esoteric knowledge hidden within the scriptures leads to enlightenment and ultimately salvation of the soul.
• In 590 AD, Roman Catholicism emerged to become of the largest Christian sects in the world. Although the Apostle Peter is cited to be the “rock” of the early Catholic Church, modern scholars suggest that Pope Gregory developed the Church after Constantine. The Catholic Church asserts that it is the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ, its bishops are the successors of the Apostles, and the Pope is the successor of the Apostle Peter.
• In 610 AD, Mohammed founded Islam, the third monotheistic and Abrahamic religion. Muslims are followers of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam and spoken word of Allah. Muslims believe that Mohammed was the last prophet of God. They believe that God is one and incomparable to the rest of creation. Muslims primarily believe that our point of existence is to serve and love God.
• In 1400 AD, Christian Rosenkreuz founded the Rosicrucianism, a philosophical secret society built on esoteric principles of the ancient past. Rosicrucianism provides insight into the natural, physical, and spiritual universe. The Rosicrucian Order is symbolized by the Rosy Cross.
• In 1515 AD, Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther, and John Calvin contributed to the movement known as Protestantism, a reformation of Roman Catholic doctrine. Protestantism challenges the acknowledgment of the Pope by asserting the Reformation principles that one can be saved by faith alone.
• In 1650 AD, the Dalai Lama established a religious doctrine known as Tibetan Buddhism. It is a religion characterized by an end goal of achieving enlightenment through the Buddhahood. Tibetan Buddhism is practiced in the Himalayas, including Tibet, Nepal, India, and Bhutan.
• In 1700 AD, Albert Pike and Mackey have been credited in establishing Freemasonry, a fraternal organization and secret society that emerged from unconfirmed origins during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries. Freemasonry now exists with over six million members worldwide, with over one hundred fifty thousand members that belong to the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge. Freemasons are represented by the square and compass, or the two tools of morality that tests the brother’s actions with his virtue.
• In 1830 AD, Joseph Smith founded Mormonism, a religious movement based on Christian primitivism. Mormonism does not fall within the confines of modern Protestantism. Modern Mormons follow the teachings of Brigham Young and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormonism has received strict criticism for its fundamentalists sects that practice polygamy.
• In 1840-45 AD, William Miller founded the Millerites, a sect who followed Miller’s professed belief in the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
• In 1844 AD, Baha’u’llah, also known as Abul Baha, founded Bahai, a monotheistic faith emphasizing the spiritual unity of all mankind. There are an estimate 5 to 6 million practicing Bahais in more than two hundred countries around the world.
• In 1845-1870 AD, E.G. White established the 7th Day Adventists, a Protestant Christian denomination that believes in observing Saturday as the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week. In addition, 7th Day Adventists believe in the imminent second coming of the Jesus Christ. This movement was influenced and grew out of the Millerite movement in the United States during the 19th century.
• In 1848 AD, Kate and Margaret Fox founded Spiritualism, a belief system that postulates the belief in spirits of the dead who have an inclination in communicating with the living through a divination system known as mediumship.
• In 1870 AD, Charles Taze Russel founded the Jehovah Witnesses, a Christian denomination distinct from mainstream Christianity. The Jehovah’s Witnesses base their beliefs on their own biblical interpretations and even transcribed their own version of the Holy Bible. They believe that Armageddon and the establishment of New Jerusalem is imminent.
• In 1875 AD, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Henry Olcott founded the Theosophical Society, a research and publishing institute dedicated to sharing esoteric doctrine of many spiritual traditions around the world. H.P. Blavatsky’s extensive research led to the publishing of the “magnum opus, The Secret Doctrine,” a comprehensive synthesis of ancient knowledge. The Theosophical Society aimed to form a brotherhood that did not discriminate against race, creed, sex, caste, or color.
• In 1879 AD, Mary Baker Eddy formed a cult sect known as Christian Science (PDF), a religious practice derived from revelations given to Mary Baker Eddy and from the Bible itself. Its core texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, also known as the “Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures.” Christian Science asserts that humanity and the universe coincide together as a whole in their truest essence, whereas evil and fallacies are illusory aspects of the material plane.
• Between 1889 to 1924 AD, Myrtle Fillmore founded the Unity School of Christianity, a religious group that believes that all people are created with sacred worth. The Unity School of Christianity shares a universal love for all people, regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity, creed, gender, political ideology, or disability.
• In 1902 AD, Rudolf Steiner founded the Anthroposophical Society, a religious organization that postulates that an individual can comprehend an objective spiritual world through direct experience and inner development.
• In 1906 AD, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World is one of the longest, and oldest Oneness Pentecostal organizations in operation today. It currently has a membership of one and a half million members in the United States alone. Pentecostal doctrine believes in the trinity; however, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God. In addition, Pentecostal attendees manifest the gifts of the spirit, especially the laying of hands and speaking in tongues.
• In 1914 AD, Felix Manalo founded the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), one of the largest indigenous Christian organizations that formed in the Philippines. A modest percent of Protestant writers describe the INC’s teachings as restorationist; however, INC does not conform to these standards.
• In 1914 AD, Frank Ewart, G.T. Haywood, and Glenn Cook formed the doctrine known as Oneness Pentecostalism, a theological doctrine that rejects the Trinity. Oneness believers postulate that people are saved by grace alone. In addition, they believe in Jesus-name baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues as a manifestation of this spiritual renewal.
• In 1917 AD, Paul Wei, Lingsheng Chang, and Barnabas Chang founded the True Jesus Church, a nondenominational Christian church with origins in Beijin, China. The True Jesus Church has approximately two and half million members in 53 countries across 6 continents. It was established during the Pentecostal movement of the early Twentieth Century. The True Jesus Church believes in the “One True God” theology, a school of thought that encourages the unification of churches as the body of Christ, and to preach the gospel to all nations until the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• In 1930 AD, Wallace D. Fard established the Nation of Islam, a religious movement with the goal of improving the spiritual, social, mental, and economic interests of African Americans within the United States and all across the world. Critics of the organization have argued that the Nation of Islam promotes black supremacy, antisemitic, and anti-white propaganda.
• In 1927 AD, Ernest Holmes established Science of Mind, a philosophy that integrates metaphysical and philosophical truths based on the perception of Holmes.
• In 1931 AD, Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles founded Heaven’s Gates, a UFO religion that led to the mass suicide of 39 members in an attempt to hop aboard an alien space craft believed to follow behind the Comet Hale-Bopp.
• In 1934 AD, Herbert W. Armstrong founded the World Wide Church of God, also known as Grace Communion International (GCI), an evangelical Christian denomination that had drawn criticism from radio pundits who disagreed with Armstrong’s interpretations of biblical end-time prophesies.
• In 1935 AD, Paramahansa Yoganada founded the Self Realization Fellowship, an international organization that promotes the teachings set forth by Yogananda, including Kriya Yoga. The found publishes home correspondences, writings, lectures, and recordings. In addition, the religious group has erected temples, retreats, meditation centers, and monastic societies bearing the name of the organization itself. The organization has vowed to pray for those in need of physical, spiritual, and mental aid. It also seeks for world peace and harmony.
• In 1954 AD, Sun Myung Moon established the Unification Church, a modern religious movement that emphasizes biblical beliefs as outlined in the “Divine Principle,” the church’s textbook.
• In 1945 AD, Victor P. Wierwille founded The Way International, a nondenominational, nontrinitarian Christian ministry focused on home fellowships.
• In 1948 AD, Franklin Hall and George Warnock founded the Latter Rain Revival Movement (PDF), a late Nineteenth Century fundamentalist Holiness and Revivalist organization that began in North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. It was the precursor the modern Pentecostalism.
• In 1964 AD, Paul Twitchell founded Eckankar, or “The Ancient Science of Soul Travel.”
• In 1968 AD, Swami Prabhupada founded Hare Krishna within the United States. The Hare Krishna (PDF) movement emphasizes the attainment of the merge between one’s consciousness and God’s pure love.
• In 1968 AD, David Berg founded Family International, formerly known as the Children of God, a religious cult that drew in members of the hippie movement.
• In 1945 AD, Howard Goss and W.T. Witherspoon founded the United Pentecostal International, an organization promoting the Oneness Pentecostal ideology. It emphasizes holiness in all aspects of an individual’s life.
• In 1944 AD, Jose Silva discovered a self help program that claims to increase an individual’s IQ and personal well-being through a series of relaxation techniques and brain changing exercises. Proponents of the Silva Method believe that people can change their self image, think clearly, and overcoming addictions using the self help program.
• In 1950 AD, Dr. Bill Sadler founded the Urantia Book, a spiritual and philosophical book that reveals universal mysteries pertaining to Jesus, God, science, history, cosmology, religion, and art.
• In 1954 AD, Dr. George King founded the Aetherius Society, a non-profit organization that taught the ancient spiritual teachings of yoga through the channeling of advanced extraterrestrial beings.
• In 1955 AD, Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple, a religious organization popularized by an organized mass suicide in Guyana, or more commonly known as “Jonestown.”
• In 1955 AD, L. Ron Hubbard established the religion known as Scientology, a spiritual organization that teaches its members that humans are immortal beings who have forgotten their true nature.
• In 1958 AD, Henry Kinley discovered the Institute of Divine Metaphysical Research, a nonprofit, nondenominational religious and scientific research organization with a keen interest in the metaphysical sciences.
• Between 1958 and 1970 AD, Mark and E.C. Prophet discovered the Church Universal and Triumphant, an international New Age religious organization and advocacy group that merges Theosophy and New Thought.
• In 1959 AD, the Unitarian Universalism emerges to the forefront of society. This religious denomination supports free and responsible search for spiritual truth and meaning of life. It does not share a specific creed. Instead, the organization encourages the unification of all religions to attain spiritual growth.
• In 1960 AD, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi founded the transcendental meditation movement, a specific meditation technique that stresses the use of mantras to attain spiritual growth and enlightenment.
• In 1965 AD, Jacob Meyer founded the Assembly of Yahweh, a religious group that emphasizes the biblical Sabbath day, scriptural feasts days, biblical names, and biblical laws.
• In 1966 AD, Anton LaVey founded the Church of Satan, a humanist organization that encouraged the acceptance of the carnal self. Followers of the Church of Satan follow the Satanic Bible written by LaVey.
• In 1980 AD, Jacob Hawkins founded the House of Yahweh, a religious cult that professes its the one truth faith as instituted by Yahweh.