The following list of religious leaders is taken directly from Living Biographies of Religious Leaders by Henry Thomas and Dana Lee Thomas, Garden City, New York: Garden City Books (1959), one volume in the Thomas's classic Living Biographies series.
Adherents.com has no position about whether or not these are really history's greatest or most influential religious leaders. Clearly this list represents the perspective of Henry and Dana Lee Thomas, who are historians and biogaphers.
Other Living Biographies Books by Henry and Dana Lee Thomas are about: Great Philosophers; Great Scientists; Great Composers; Great Poets; Great Painters; Famous Novelists; Famous Women.
If you have an alternative list of religious leaders which you would like included here, please write us at webmaster@adherents.com.
| Jesus | Christianity |
| Moses | Jewish prophet |
| Isaiah | Jewish prophet |
| Zoroaster | founder of Zoroastrianism |
| Buddha | founder of Buddhism |
| Confucius | founder of Confucianism |
| John the Baptist | prophet and contemporary of Jesus Christ |
| St. Paul | Christianity |
| Mohammed | Prophet of Islam |
| St. Francis of Assisi | early Christian theologian |
| John Huss | Bohemian Christian reformer; founder of Czech Hussites |
| Martin Luther | primary founder of Protestantism |
| Loyola | theologian and founder of Jesuits |
| Calvin | founder of Calvinist branch of Protestantism |
| George Fox | founder of Quakers |
| John Wesley | founder of Methodist movement |
| Swedenborg | founder of Swedenborgianism |
| Brigham Young | 2nd prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Mary Baker Eddy | founder of Christian Science |
| Gandhi | Hindu reformer and Indian political leader; mother was a Jain |
Other categories in the DeVore/Linford Series are: Explorers, Scientists, Inventors, Writers, Painters, Composers, and Leaders.
I had dipped into records of past prophets during my Earth research. Zarathustra. Jesus. Mohammed. Shabbetai Tzevi, the seventeenth-century Turkish Jew who had claimed to be Messiah, and who in the end had apostatized and become a Moslem Al Mahdi, who had defeated the British at Khartoum. Joseph Smith, who had read the Word of God from golden tablets with special glasses, and Brigham Young...Although Bear's fiction often incorporates theological and sociolgical themes, Bear himself does not claim to be a theologian or historian by training. This list of major prophets is Bear's attempt to describe the perspective of somebody living about 100 years in the future. Naturally, the list also reflects Bear's own perspective--that of a popular writer, futurist, and commentator on society who lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States. (Bear himself has stated he does not believe in any contemporary religion, but is fascinated by the subject.)
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Abraham
Adalbert Adalhard Agatha Agnes Agnes of Assisi Agnes of Montepulciano Agnes of Poitiers Agricola Aidan of Lindisfarne Akiba Ben Joseph Alban Allen, Richard Anselm of Canterbury Aquinas, Thomas Arminius, Jacobus Arrupe, Pedro Augustine of Canterbury Augustine of Hippo Ba'al Shem Tov Baeck, Leo Barbara Barth, Karl Bartholomew I Becket, Thomas Bede the Venerable Beecher Family Bellarmine, Saint Robert Benedict Biscop Benedict of Aniane Benedict of Nursia Benedict the Black Benen Benjamin, Saint |
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bibiana Boesak, Allan Boniface Boniface VIII Brennan, Francis Joseph, Cardinal Brewster, William Buber, Martin Buddha Cabrini, Mother Cajetan of Thiene Calvin, John Carroll, John (1735-1815) Christina the Astonishing Clements, George Confucius Cranmer, Thomas Dalai Lama David Dominic Dympna Eddy, Mary Baker Edwards, Jonathan England, John Farrakhan, Louis Finkelstein, Louis Fox, George Francis of Assisi Ghazali, Al- Graham, Billy Gregory, Popes Harris, Barbara Clementine Hus, Jan Hutchinson, Anne |
Innocent III, Pope
Jeremiah Jesus Christ Joan Joan of Arc John Paul, Popes John XXIII Judson, Adoniram Julius II Kimball, Spencer Knox, John Kobo Daishi, or Kukai Lao-Tzu Latimer, Hugh Lefebvre, Marcel Leo, Popes Loyola, Ignatius of Luther, Martin Mahavira Maimonides Mary Mather Family Meyendorff, John Moody, Dwight L. Moses Mott, John R. Muhammad Muhlenberg Family Newman, John Henry Nichiren Nirmala, Sister Ockham, William of Pascal, Blaise Patrick |
Paul (Ad 10?-67?)
Paul VI Pedersen, Christiern Peter Philo Pius, Popes Ramanuja Rashi Ricci, Matteo Russell, Charles Taze Sa`adia Ben Joseph Savonarola, Girolamo Schweitzer, Albert Seton, Mother Smith, Joseph (1805-44) Ssderblom, Nathan Solomon Swedenborg, Emanuel Tanenbaum, Marc Teresa, Mother Tillich, Paul Tomasek, Frantisek Ulfilas Urban, Popes Weber, Max (1864-1920) Wesley, John Whitefield, George Wovoka Wycliffe, John Xavier, Francis Ximenes, or Jim*nez, De Cisneros, Francisco Young, Brigham Zwingli, Huldrych |
Other people voted for an ideological leader important to them (Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi or Ronald Reagan). Jews and Israelis voted for Yitzhak Rabin. People who value pop culture put Elvis Presley at the top. Adolf Hitler's third place ranking is probably a result of people trying to make an accurate historical assessment of who had the most impact. They certainly don't endorse his actions, but recognize his importance.
| Elvis Presley | 624,574 | |||
| Yitzhak Rabin | 599,557 | |||
| Adolf Hitler | 516,408 | |||
| Billy Graham | 470,477 | |||
| Albert Einstein | 443,630 | |||
| Martin Luther King Jr. | 381,462 | |||
| Pope John Paul II | 372,015 | |||
| Gordon B. Hinckley* | 255,026 | |||
| Mohandas Gandhi | 163,940 | |||
| Ronald Reagan | 81,262 | |||
| *Hinckley is president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. | ||||
| Source: Time Web site www.pathfinder.com/time/ | ||||
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