To Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freemasonry | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1717 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 266. | "Freemasonry. The common designation of secret fraternal orders and related groups descended from medieval guilds of stonemasons. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries these guilds were joined by persons who were not 'operating' masons... The movement was stimulated by the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717. " |
| Freemasonry | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1735 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 8). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1037. | "One of the most surprising features of Speculative Freemasonry's early history is the Craft's vigorous and speedy expansion in Europe. An English Lodge was founded in Paris in 1732 and three years later Freemasonry had reached Portugal, Holland and Sweden. The first German Lodge was established at Hamburg in 1737. During the next decade the Craft took root in many other European centres... " |
| Hasidic Jews | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1800 | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 9). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1219. | "Spreading from the ghettos of Poland to Rumania, Hungary, the Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe, Hasidism produced a rich vein of legend and folklore. " |
| Hasidic Jews | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1994 | Kephart, William M. & William W. Zellner. Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Life-Styles (5th Ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press (1994), pg. 167. | "Hitler's final solution, ridding the world of 'undesirables' such as Jews and Gypsies, decimated the Hasidic population in Europe. After World War II, the countries of Western Europe, beset by the ravages of war, were unable to accommodate large numbers of refugees. The few small Hasidic enclaves that remain in Europe are in Belgium and England. " |
| Hasidic Jews | Europe | 30,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 776. | "In Europe, London and Manchester together have a Traditional-Orthodox community of about 15,000, and Antwerp is home to an equal number. " |
| Hasidic Jews - Eastern European | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1735 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 295-296. | "HASIDISM, CHASIDISM. Two socio-religious movement in medieval and modern Jewish history, with mystical ideology. 1. German Hasidism... 2. Eastern European Hasidism. In the eighteenth century a second pietistic popular movement arose in Eastern Europe, where conditions were ripe for a new style of Jewish existence. In 1648 a Ukranian uprising against Poland brought with it widespread massacre of the Jewish population. Eighteen years later came first the elationa and then the sudden, bitter disappoinment caused by the messianic career and apostasy of Sabbatai Zvi... The movement was born in the 1730s when the Baal Shem Tov attraced to himself a select circle of preachers, scholars, mystics, and Jewish functionaries, who spread his ideals of spiritual renewal. In Slavic Europe, the domain to which its growth was largely restricted, it attracted many followers... " |
| Hasidic Jews - Eastern European | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1850 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 296. | "...Eastern European Hasidism... It was a vigorous, powerful, and highly original movement, but by the middle of the nineteenth century it began to stagnate for internal reasons--i.e., institutionalization of charisma--and for external reasons--i.e., persistent rabbinic opposition and the growing forces of Jewish secularism. " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 350,000 | - | - | - | 1977 | Edmonds, I.G. Hinduism; New York: Franklin Watts (1979), pg. 51. | "The 1977 estimate... South America has 533,000 [Hindus]; Europe 350,000; Africa 490,500; and Oceania (islands of the Pacific) 640,000. " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 400,000 | - | - | - | 1981 | Popenoe, David. Sociology (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1983), pg. 433. [Orig. source: 1981 Britannica Book of the Year.] | Table: Membership in the Major Religions of the World " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 425,000 | 0.06% | - | - | 1982 | Robertson, Ian. Sociology (2nd ed.); New York, NY: Worth Publishers (1981) [2nd edition is updated since 1977 1st edition], pg. 405. [Orig. source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1982] | Table: "Estimated membership of the principal religions of the world " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 1,522,000 | 0.21% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Hindus. 70% Vaishnavites, 25% Shaivites, 2% new-Hindus and reform Hindus. " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 1,650,000 | 0.23% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Hindus. 70% Vaishnavites, 25% Shaivites, 2% new-Hindus and reform Hindus. " |
| Hinduism | Europe | 704,000 | 0.10% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Hinduism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; [Geographical regions in this table: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Northern America, Oceania, and Eurasia] |
| Hinduism | Europe | 1,382,000 | 0.19% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Hutterian Brethren | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1529 C.E. | Cavendish, Richard (ed.). Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (vol. 10). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1970), pg. 1376. | "Recruited from the Anabaptists, an amorphous and widespread body of dissenters in early 16th century Europe, the Hutterian Brethren, or Hutterites, came into being as a distinct religious group in the late 1520s. " |
| Islam | Europe | 5,000,000 | - | - | - | 1945 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 502. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | "Mohammedans number about 160,000,000 in Asia, 44,000,000,000 in Africa, 5,000,000 in Europe and 20,000 in North America, a total of approximately 209,020,000. " |
| Islam | Europe | 14,945,000 | - | - | - | 1981 | Popenoe, David. Sociology (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1983), pg. 433. [Orig. source: 1981 Britannica Book of the Year.] | Table: Membership in the Major Religions of the World " |
| Islam | Europe | 15,945,000 | 2.11% | - | - | 1982 | Robertson, Ian. Sociology (2nd ed.); New York, NY: Worth Publishers (1981) [2nd edition is updated since 1977 1st edition], pg. 405. [Orig. source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1982] | Table: "Estimated membership of the principal religions of the world " |
| Islam | Europe | 12,500,000 | - | - | - | 1994 | Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Muslims in America (Third Edition, with a new "Postscript "; 1st printing 1961). Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (1994), pg. 224. | "Apart from the followers of [Nation of Islam leader Elijah] Muhammad, there are scarcely 33,000 Moslems in the whole of North America--compared with 345,000 in South America, 12.5 million in Europe, and more than 400 million in Africa and Asia. " |
| Islam | Europe | 31,975,000 | 4.40% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Muslims. 83% Sunni Muslims, 16% Shia Muslims (Shiites), 1% other schools. " |
| Islam | Europe | 32,032,000 | 4.40% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Muslims. 83% Sunni Muslims, 16% Shia Muslims (Shiites), 1% other schools. " |
| Islam | Europe | 12,574,000 | 2.50% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Islam " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; [Geographical regions in this table: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Northern America, Oceania, and Eurasia] |
| Islam | Europe | 31,401,000 | 4.31% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Jainism | Europe | 25,000 | - | - | - | 1987 | Bishop, Peter & Michael Darton (editors). The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World's Living Faiths. New York: Facts on File Publications (1987), pg. 214. | "More recently, a European Jain Samaj has been formed, a focal point for some 25,000 Jainas now living in Europe; its headquarters are in Leicester (UK), where a centre for all Jaina sects is being set up... " |
| Jainism | Europe | 15,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Jainism | Europe | 16,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Jainism | Europe | 15,000 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Jainism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; [Geographical regions in this table: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Northern America, Oceania, and Eurasia] |
| Jainism | Europe | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Jansenism | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1700 | Crim, Keith (ed.). The Perennial Dictionary of World Religions. San Francisco: Harper Collins (1989). Reprint; originally pub. as Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, 1981; pg. 372. | "Jansenism (Christian). Theological system associated with Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638). It was prominent in France, the Netherlands, and Tuscany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries but condemned repeatedly by the Papacy. It stressed that in the absence of divine grace no person can perform a meritorious action, but that once grace is given, it cannot be resisted. " |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,986,000 | - | - | - | 1830 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 10,000,000 | - | - | - | 1920 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 9,200,000 | - | - | - | 1937 | Gilbert, Martin (ed.) The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilization: 4,000 Years of Jewish History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1990), pg. 183. | "All that can be determined with any degree of accuracy is that, prior to World War II, Europe contained 9.2 million Jews, but by 1945, only 3.1 million were left. " |
| Judaism | Europe | 9,300,000 | - | - | - | 1939 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 3,100,000 | - | - | - | 1945 | Gilbert, Martin (ed.) The Illustrated Atlas of Jewish Civilization: 4,000 Years of Jewish History. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co. (1990), pg. 183. | "All that can be determined with any degree of accuracy is that, prior to World War II, Europe contained 9.2 million Jews, but by 1945, only 3.1 million were left. " |
| Judaism | Europe | 3,780,000 | - | - | - | 1948 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 4,000,000 | - | - | - | 1970 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 4,090,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 4,045,120 | - | - | - | 1981 | Popenoe, David. Sociology (5th Ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1983), pg. 433. [Orig. source: 1981 Britannica Book of the Year.] | Table: Membership in the Major Religions of the World " |
| Judaism | Europe | 4,142,000 | - | - | - | 1981 | Unterman, Alan. "Judaism " in Hinnells, John R. (ed). A Handbook of Living Religions, Penguin Books: New York (1991) [reprint; 1st published in 1984], pg. 25. | Map: "Figure 1.4: Main centres of Jewish population, 1981 " [Europe: including U.S.S.R. and Turkey] |
| Judaism | Europe | 1,450,000 | - | - | - | 1982 | Charing, Douglas. The Jewish World. London, UK: Silver Burdett Co. (1983), pg. 14. | Graphic "World population of jews: "...1982. There are about 14.5 million Jews in the world now, which represents less than 1/2% of the world's population. " Pie chart: Israel 23%; North America: 41%; USSR: 14%; Europe: 10%; South America: 3.4%; Rest of world: 8.6% " |
| Judaism | Europe | 4,057,120 | 0.54% | - | - | 1982 | Robertson, Ian. Sociology (2nd ed.); New York, NY: Worth Publishers (1981) [2nd edition is updated since 1977 1st edition], pg. 405. [Orig. source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year, 1982] | Table: "Estimated membership of the principal religions of the world " |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,760,000 | - | - | - | 1984 | Palmer, Spencer J. & Roger R. Keller. Religions of the World: A Latter-day Saint View, Brigham Young University: Provo, Utah (1990), pg. 148. [Orig. source: "American Jewish Yearbook " (Jewish Publication Society of America, 1987). | Table: "World Jewish Population " |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,547,200 | - | - | - | 1993 | O'Brien, J. & M. Palmer. The State of Religion Atlas. Simon & Schuster: New York (1993). Pg 28-29. | Europe and Russia. 19.9 of 12.8 million total world Jews. |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,529,000 | 0.35% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,432,000 | 0.33% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Judaism | Europe | 1,469,000 | 0.30% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* web site: "The Geography of Religion Website " (assembled by the students of Morehead State University, under Prof. Timothy C. Pitts); web page: "The Geography of Judaism " (viewed 2 March 1999); [Orig. source: Markham, Ian S., (Editor), A World Religions Reader. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers (1996), pp. 356-357.] | table with 3 columns: "Area "; "Adherents "; "Population Percentage "; [Geographical regions in this table: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Northern America, Oceania, and Eurasia] |
| Judaism | Europe | 1,792,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | Breuilly, Elizabeth, et al. Religions of the World: The Illustrated Guide to Origins, Beliefs, Traditions & Festivals. Facts on File Inc.: New York, NY (1997). Pg. 10-11. | "There are 12.8 million Jews living worldwide. Almost 47% live in North America, 34% in Israel, and 14% in Europe and Russia. " |
| Judaism | Europe | 2,530,000 | 0.35% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Jews: Adherents of Judaism " |
| Karaites | Europe | 11,468 | - | - | - | 1939 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 120-121. | "At the start of the war {WWII] only 18 Karaites lived in Germany, 250 in France, 1,200 in Poland (including Lithuania), and nine to ten thousand in the Soviet Union (two-thirds of them in Crimea). These Karaites practiced a truncated form of Judaism, accepting the [Jewish] Bible... but rejecting the Talmud and other rabbinical writings. They spoke a Tatar dialect... But not all the world's Karaites lived in Europe, spoke Tatar... " |
| Karaites | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1982 | Ross, Dan. Acts of Faith: A Journey to the Fringes of Jewish Identity. New York: St. Martin's Press (1982), pg. 121. | "Thousands of Karaites ar also left in Eastern Europe, nearly all of them in the Soviet Union. Most of those in pre-war Poland had lived in parts of Lithuania and Galicia which were annexed by Russia after the war. Their religion has virtually disappeared. Most are no more than 'passport Karaites'--that is, Karaites by official classification only. " |
| Khazars | Europe | - | - | - | - | 950 C.E. | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "KHAZARS: a Crimean tribe of TURKISH or FINNISH origin which converted to JUDAISM around the tenth century. " |
| Lodge of Ur | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* web site: "Lodge of Ur "; web page: "The Lodge of Ur " (viewed 2 April 1999). | "The Lodge of UR is a body of initiates in the Ancient Tradition of European Magic and Sorcery. We hold our rights to a knowledge rooted in the Ancestral soul of the Romans. We claim to be the last heirs of an EXISTING and UNBROKEN chain of magicians and sorcerers which has been present in Italy at least since the meeting between the Roman Legions and the invading tribes of the Kelts... The Lodge of UR is currenty active in Italy and several European countries. With the last developments of communication, comparison and parallels arose with other traditions... " |
| Lollards | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1300 C.E. | *LINK* Hexham, Irving. Concise Dictionary of Religion. Carol Stream, USA: InterVarsity Press (1994). (v. online 6 Oct. 1999) | "LOLLARDS: the followers of John WYCLIFFE who were forerunners of the REFORMATION in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 60,400,000 | - | - | - | 1987 | Bishop, Peter & Michael Darton (editors). The Encyclopedia of World Faiths: An Illustrated Survey of the World's Living Faiths. New York: Facts on File Publications (1987), pg. 114. | "[Lutheran] present-day distribution by continents is: 60,400,000 in Europe; 8,900,000 in North America; 2,300,000 in Asia; 1,900,000 in South America; 1,900,000 in Africa; and 500,000 in Australasia. " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 37,300,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America web site; web page: "January 25, 1996 News Releases " (viewed 9 July 1999). Story: "More than 60 Million Lutherans Worldwide " [96-01-003-FI] | "The largest concentration of Lutheranism and the LWF is in Europe, with over 37.3 million members. " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 37,342,200 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America web site; web page: "January 25, 1996 News Releases " (viewed 9 July 1999). Story: "More than 60 Million Lutherans Worldwide " [96-01-003-FI] | Table: "Lutheran World Federation 1995 Membership Figures Summary " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 37,400,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | "Lutherans by the numbers " in Christian Century (March 4, 1998), pg. 228. | "Meanwhile, the European churches continued to report declining numbers: there were 37.2 million European Lutherans in 1997, compared to 37.4 million in 1996. " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 37,200,000 | - | - | - | 1997 | "Lutherans by the numbers " in Christian Century (March 4, 1998), pg. 228. | "Meanwhile, the European churches continued to report declining numbers: there were 37.2 million European Lutherans in 1997, compared to 37.4 million in 1996. " |
| Lutheran | Europe | 31,550,000 | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* AP. "Religion Briefs: Number of Lutherans rises to 63.1 million worldwide " in Deseret News (online, 29 Jan. 2000) | "The number of Lutherans worldwide increased last year from 61.5 million to 63.1 million, the Lutheran World Federation reports... Half the world's Lutherans live in Europe... " |
| Lutheran - non-LWF | Europe | 0 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America web site; web page: "January 25, 1996 News Releases " (viewed 9 July 1999). Story: "More than 60 Million Lutherans Worldwide " [96-01-003-FI] | Table: "Lutheran World Federation 1995 Membership Figures Summary " |
| Lutheran World Federation | Europe | 37,300,000 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America web site; web page: "January 25, 1996 News Releases " (viewed 9 July 1999). Story: "More than 60 Million Lutherans Worldwide " [96-01-003-FI] | "The largest concentration of Lutheranism and the LWF is in Europe, with over 37.3 million members. North America has 8.6 million Lutherans, of whom 5.4 million belong to the LWF. Almost all of Africa's 7.9 million Lutherans are members of the federation. Asia has just under 4.9 million Lutherans, of whom over 4.7 million belong to the LWF. Of the nearly 1.4 million Lutherans in Latin America, over 1.1 million are members of the LWF. " |
| Lutheran World Federation | Europe | 37,342,200 | - | - | - | 1995 | *LINK* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America web site; web page: "January 25, 1996 News Releases " (viewed 9 July 1999). Story: "More than 60 Million Lutherans Worldwide " [96-01-003-FI] | Table: "Lutheran World Federation 1995 Membership Figures Summary " |
| Mandean | Europe | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 " |
| Mandean | Europe | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 " |
| Mandean | Europe | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 " |
| Mariavite Old Catholic Church, Province of North America | Europe | 29,350 | - | 2 units |
- | 1984 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 78-79. | "Mariavite Old Catholic Church, Province of North America... By 1984, the church claimed 358,503 members, 48 clergy, and 157 parishes in the United States as well as an additional 29,350 members in two congregations in Paris, France and West Germany. " |
| Marranos | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1475 C.E. | Jacobs, Louis. Oxford Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1999), pg. 146. | "Marranos: The Jews of Spain and Portugal from the fifteenth century who submitted to baptism under threat of death or persecution, and many of whom kept Jewish observances in the secrecy of their homes. The Hebrew for Jews forced to convert to another religion is anusim ('those who were forced'). Marranos means 'swine' in Spanish and is a term of opprobrium obviously resented by Jews even though this name is used in the history books. " |
| Mennonite World Conference | Europe | 61,886 | - | - | 13 countries |
1997 | *LINK* Mennonite World Conference web site; page: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals " (viewed 8 Aug. 1999). | Table: "Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership Totals "; "based on the most recent data available... from 1996 or 1997... statistics indicate baptized members "; Dif. religious bodies: 22. |
| Mithraism | Europe | - | - | - | - | 50 C.E. | Dhilawala, Sakina. Armenia (series: Cultures of the World). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp. (1997), pg. 79. | "Zoroastrianism thrived under various Persian dynasties and at one point, the Persian empire spanned the entire 'civilized' world--eastern Greece to northern India. Remnants of the religion were left in Europe, including the cult of Mithraism, derived from Zoroastrianism. It even became the unofficial religion of the Romans. " |
| Moravian Church | Europe | 18,828 | - | 77 units |
- | 1942 | Ferm, Vergilius (ed.). An Encyclopedia of Religion; Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1976), pg. 507. [1st pub. in 1945 by Philosophical Library. 1976 reprint is unrevised.] | Table: "General Statistics " [of the Moravian Church]; British Province: 3,166 communicants, Total membership: 3,524; Czechoslovakia Prov.: 1,232 comm., Total membership: 5,395; Continental Prov. (Europe): 8,022 comm., 9,909 total. |
| New Kadampa Tradition | Europe | - | - | 252 units |
- | 1999 | *LINK* official organization web site; web page: "Directory of European NKT Centres " (viewed 23 Jan. 1999). | counted listings on directory. Total for Europe includes about 320 in United Kingdom. |
| New Religionists | Europe | 808,000 | 0.11% | - | - | 1995 | The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 646. [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by 6 Continental Areas,1995 "; "New-Religionists. followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800. " |
| New Religionists | Europe | 803,000 | 0.11% | - | - | 1996 | The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ) pg. 654. [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by 6 Continental Areas,1996 "; "New-Religionists. followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800. " |
| New Religionists | Europe | 155,000 | 0.02% | - | - | 1998 | World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999), pg. 695. [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year] | Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "New-Religionists. Followers of Asian 20th-cent. New Religions, New Religious movements, radical new crisis religions, and non-Christian syncretistic mass religions, all founded since 1800, most since 1945. " |
| New Religionists | Europe | - | - | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Rifkin, Ira. "Agency May Be Formed to Track Activities of 'Dangerous Sects' in Europe " in Salt Lake Tribune, Saturday, June 26, 1999 (viewed online 26 June 1999). | "A report submitted with the recommendation said the proposal grew out of the rise across Europe in recent years of 'sects and new religions.' In addition, the report noted the need to head off further 'serious disturbances of law and order' and 'carnage' associated in recent years with groups such as Japan's Aum Shinri Kyo cult and the Order of the Solar Temple in France and Switzerland. The report also said a number of groups successfully have established themselves in Russia and other formerly communist nations since the fall of the Soviet Union, prompting government backlashes. Great Britain's David Atkinson -- mentioning Baptist, Pentecostal and evangelical Protestant groups -- said 'these so-called evangelistic missions usually originate abroad, notably in the United States.' " |
