Mormons make up 55% of the population of Utah. This is the most out of any state in the United States. The other religions, while found in minorities in Utah, are not the majority.

Although all of these religions are predominantly Christian, most of them are either majority Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, or else have do not have a uniform distribution of any of these denominations of Christianity. South America, on the other hand, was settled by the Catholic empires of Spain and Portugal, and Catholicism continues to be adhered to by the vast majority of the population to this day.

In the sixth century B.C.E., Buddhism emerged in the part of the world that comprises modern-day Northern India. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama. He was born in modern-day Nepal; however, he lived much of his life in Northern India.

Animism is the belief that nonhuman elements of the world have a spiritual essence, sometimes even that they have a soul - this can be anything from animals, plants, rocks, rivers, clouds, and so on. As a religious belief it has ancient origins throughout much of the world. But, it is only practiced in any real significant numbers in modern times in indigenous communities in North America, South America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also practiced by some Pacific Island peoples.

“Brahman” is the name given to the highest state of existence, the ultimate reality of the universe, in Hinduism. As a concept it can be quite hard to grasp, particularly for those unfamiliar with the Hindu faith and culture in general, but it is enough to understand that it is related to the Hindu concept of eternal salvation that can be attained through several lifetimes of good karma and virtuous living.

All of these branches of Protestantism exist in the United States in significant numbers. Many of them are practiced more frequently in certain areas of America than they are in other areas, but for the most part almost all large communities in America will have churches that belong to one of these denominations (another major branch is Baptist, which exists largely in the South). Most of these religions, with the exception of Lutheranism, which traces its roots to Germany, come from the British Isles and were brought over to America in various waves of religious settlement and colonialism.

The idea that human suffering emerges from our attachment to life, to life’s pleasures and pains, and that all suffering can eventually be overcome through a series of steps is central to the Buddhist faith. Translation and oversimplification have led to the common misunderstanding that Buddhism teaches that life itself consists only of suffering, but in reality the teachings are far more complex and nuanced. It is far from true that Buddhism holds that all of life is suffering, rather the fundamental aspects of desire, imperfection, and ephemerality lead to "suffering" or spiritual angst. the teachings of Buddhism focus in large part on transcending this suffering through an acceptance of their necessity in any long and fundamentally enriching spiritual journey.

All of these religions are monotheistic except Hinduism, which is polytheistic. A polytheistic religion is characterized by belief in multiple gods, usually that are responsible for different areas of the universe and of human experience. According to common understanding (although this is probably more of a common misunderstanding) there are over three-hundred million deities in the Hindu faith.

These are all large cities in the Middle East that have close ties to Islam, and, in the case of Jerusalem and Cairo, to other religions as well. Mecca, however, is considered the birthplace of the Islamic faith. It is found in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is where the Prophet Muhammad was born. As part of the five pillars of Islam all Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at one point in their lifetime (assuming they are physically and financially able to do so).

Hinduism is the dominant religion of India. Hinduism is not a global religion, its observers outside of the Indian subcontinent are almost exclusively of Indian ethnicity, yet because of the sheer size of India’s population Hinduism is the third most widely followed religion after Christianity and Islam.