Founding Figure Filter Founding Figure topics

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table started by darin for the Religion Commons
This type is used for individuals who were involved in the formulation of particular religions.
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x Guru Amar Das GuruAmarDas Sikhism
Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ) (5 May 1479 - 1 September 1574) was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552. Das was the eldest son of Sri Tej Bhan Bhalla Ji a farmer and trader and Mata...
x Guru Gobind Singh Sobha Singh (painter)'s impression of Guru Gobind Singh Sikhism
Guru Gobind Singh (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਿੰਘ, IPA: [ɡʊɾu ɡobɪn̪d̪ sɪ́ŋɡ]) (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth Guru of Sikhism. He was born in Patna, Bihar in India and became a Guru on 11 November 1675, at the age of nine years,...
x Jesus Christ Christus Ravenna Mosaic Christianity
Jesus Christ is God. He is infinite. Jesus Christ was and still is the Messiah the Jews were waiting for. Jesus Christ founded Roman Catholicism and no other religion. The religion of the Catholic Church is the only true religion because it is...
x Gautama Buddha StandingBuddha Buddhism
Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha ...
Buddhist philosophy
Soto Zen
x Guru Ram Das Guru ramdas Sikhism
Guru Ram Das (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ) (Born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan on 9 October 1534 – 1 September 1581, Amritsar, Punjab, India) as the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism, and he became Guru on 30 August 1574 following in the footsteps of his...
x Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger Calvinism
Heinrich Bullinger (July 18, 1504 - September 17, 1575) was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church and pastor at Grossmünster. A much less controversial figure than John Calvin or Martin Luther, his...
x John Calvin John Calvin Calvinism
John Calvin (Middle French: Jean Cauvin; 10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called...
Protestantism
x Guru Arjan Dev Dictation of the Guru Granth Saheb Sikhism
Guru Arjan Dev Ji or Guru Arjun Dev Ji (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜੁਨ ਦੇਵ) (born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) was the fifth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became a Guru on 1 September 1581 following in...
x Pietro Martire Vermigli Pietro Martire Vermigli, by Hans Asper, 1560 Calvinism
Pietro Martire Vermigli, sometimes simply Peter Martyr (September 8, 1499 – November 12, 1562), was an Italian theologian of the Reformation period. He was born at Florence, the son of Stefano di Antonio Vermigli and Maria Fumantina, a moderately...
x Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai ji. Painting by Amolak Singh. Sikhism
Guru Har Rai (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ) (26 February 1630 - 6 October 1661) was the seventh of the Eleven Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 8 March 1644 following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Guru Har Gobind, who was the sixth guru. Before he...
x Martin Luther Martin Luther Protestantism
Martin Luther (10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) initiated the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his The Ninety-Five Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that...
x Guru Teg Bahadur GuruTeghBahadurS1 Sikhism
Guru Tegh Bahadur (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਗ਼ ਬਹਾਦੁਰ, Hindi: गुरू तेग़ बहादुर) (1 April 1621 – 11 November 1675) became the 9th Guru of Sikhism on 20 March 1665, following in the footsteps of his grand-nephew, Guru Har Krishan. Guru Tegh Bahadur was...
x Guru Har Gobind Portrait of Guru Har Gobind Sikhism
Guru Har Gobind (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਾਹਿਬ) also Sacha Badshah (ਸੱਚਾ ਪਾਦਸ਼ਾਹ True King) (19 June 1595–2 March 1644) was the sixth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Guru on 25 May 1606 following in the footsteps of his father Guru Arjan Dev...
x Guru Har Krishan Guru harkrishan Sikhism
Guru Har Krishan (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਨ) (7 July 1656 – 30 March 1664) was the eighth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism. He became Guru on 7 October 1661, succeeding his father, Guru Har Rai. Before Guru Har Krishan died, he nominated his granduncle,...
x John Knox John Knox Protestantism
John Knox (c. 1510 – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination. He was educated at the University of St Andrews and worked as a notary-priest....
x Guru Nanak Dev Map of Guru Nanak's journeys with Sri Lanka (island south of India) coloured yellow Sikhism
Guru Nanak Dev Ji (Punjabi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਵ, Hindi: गुरु नानक देव, Urdu: گرونانک Guru Nānak) (15 April 1469 -22 September 1539) is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak's divinity and religious...
x Huldrych Zwingli Ulrich-Zwingli-1 Calvinism
Huldrych (or Ulrich) Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system, he attended the University of...
Protestantism
x Abraham An angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham and Isaac, Rembrandt, 1634 Judaism
Abraham (Hebrew: אַבְרָהָם, Modern Avraham Tiberian ʾAḇrāhām, Arabic: إبراهيم‎, Ibrāhīm, ʾAbrəham) is the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Midianites and Edomite peoples, as described in the book of Genesis. He is widely regarded...
Abrahamic religion
x Guru Angad Dev Guru Angad Dev Sikhism
Guru Angad Dev (31 March 1504 - 28 March 1552) was the second of the ten Sikh Gurus. He was born in the village of Sarae Naga in Muktsar district in Punjab, on March 31, 1504 and given the name Lehna shortly after his birth as was the custom of his...
x Martin Bucer Martin Bucer Calvinism
Martin Bucer (or Butzer) (11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Although originally a member of the Dominican Order, after meeting...
x Thomas Cranmer Thomas-Cranmer-ez Protestantism
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which...
x Bodhidharma Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887 Zen
Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from southern India who lived during the early 5th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen (Chinese: Chán) to China. Very little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant,...
Soto Zen
x Saint Peter Petersinai Christianity
Simon Peter Greek: Πέτρος, Pétros “Rock”, Kephas in Hellenized Aramaic) (c.1–AD 64) was a leader of the early Christian Church, who features prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. Peter was the son of John, and was...
Roman Catholicism
x Muhammad Muhammad2.jpg Islam
Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh (Arabic: محمّد; Transliteration: Muḥammad; pronounced [mʊħɑmmæd]  ( listen); also spelled Mohammed or Muhammed) (ca. 570 Mecca[مَكَةَ ]/[ مَكَهْ ] – June 8, 632 Medina), is the founder of the religion of Islam [ إِسْلامْ ] and...
Sunni Islam
x Confucius Engraving of Confucius. The Chinese characters read "Portrait of the First Teacher, Confucius, Giving a Lecture" Confucianism
Confucius (Chinese: 孔子; pinyin: Kǒng zǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-tzu, or Chinese: 孔夫子; pinyin: Kǒng Fūzǐ; Wade-Giles: K'ung-fu-tzu), lit. "Master Kong," (traditionally September 28, 551 B.C.E. – 479 B.C.E.) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher,...
x Paul of Tarsus StPaul ElGreco Christianity
Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, (Ancient Greek: Σαούλ (Saul), Σαῦλος (Saulos), and Παῦλος (Paulos); Latin: Paulus or Paullus; Hebrew: שאול התרסי‎ Šaʾul HaTarsi (Saul of Tarsus) (c.5 BC - c.67 AD), was a...
Roman Catholicism
x Joseph Smith, Jr. Joseph Smith, Jr. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The life of Joseph Smith, Jr. from 1827 to 1830 includes some of his life's most significant events, and some of the most important history of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Restorationist religious movement he initiated during this period. This...
Mormonism
x Oliver Cowdery Photograph of Oliver Cowdery found in the Library of Congress, taken in the 1840s The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Oliver Hervy Pliny Cowdery (3 October 1806 – 3 March 1850) was the primary participant with Joseph Smith, Jr. in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement from 1829 through 1836. He was one of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon's...
x Sarah Engraving of Sarah by Hans Collaert from c. 1581. Judaism
Sarah or Sara (Hebrew: שָׂרָה, Modern Sara Tiberian Śārāh; pronounced /ˈsɛərə/; Latin: Sara; Arabic: سارة) was the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai. According to Genesis 17:15 she changed...
x Zalman Schachter-Shalomi Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a leader of the Jewish Renewal movement, in 2005. Jewish Renewal
Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi and commonly called "Reb Zalman" (pr: rǎb) (born 28 August 1924 in Zhovkva, Poland [now Ukraine]) is considered one of the major founders of the Jewish Renewal movement. Born in Poland in 1924 and raised in Vienna,...
x Shlomo Carlebach A cover of a Carlebach record Jewish Renewal
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (שלמה קרליבך) (known as Reb Shlomo to his followers) (January 14, 1925, Berlin—October 20, 1994, Canada) was a Jewish religious teacher, composer, and singer who was known as "The Singing Rabbi" during his lifetime. Although...
x Abraham Joshua Heschel heschel.jpg Jewish Renewal
Abraham Joshua Heschel (January 11, 1907 – December 23, 1972) was a Warsaw-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century. Abraham Joshua Heschel was descended from preeminent European...
x Zoroaster Zarathustra portrayed in a popular 18th century Indian Parsi Zoroastrian depiction. Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster (Latinized from Greek variants) or Zarathushtra (from Avestan Zaraθuštra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian: زرتشت), was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. The hymns attributed to him, the Gathas, are at the liturgical...
x Bobby Henderson   Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster  
x Henry VIII of England Henry-VIII-kingofengland 1491-1547 Church of England
Henry VIII (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was also Lord of Ireland (later King of Ireland) and claimant to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the House of Tudor,...
x Brigham Young B Young  
Brigham Young (June 1, 1801 – August 29, 1877) was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until...
x George Fox George Fox Religious Society of Friends
George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter and a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a weaver from rural England, Fox was apprenticed to a cobbler. Living in a time...
x Margaret Fell SwarthmoreHall-1 Religious Society of Friends
Margaret Fell or Margaret Fox (1614 - 23 April 1702) a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, known popularly as the "mother of Quakerism", is considered one of the Valiant Sixty early Quaker preachers and missionaries. Born Margaret Askew in...
x Robert Barclay L'Apologie de Barclay (1797) Religious Society of Friends
Robert Barclay (December 23, 1648 – October 3, 1690), one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was also governor of the East Jersey colony in North America through most of the...
x Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley Thelema
Aleister Crowley, born Edward Alexander Crowley was a British occultist, writer and mystic. He is perhaps best known today for his occult writings, especially The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of Thelema. Crowley was also an influential...
x Simon Magus The death of Simon Magus Gnosticism
Simon Magus (Greek Σίμων ὁ μάγος), also known as Simon the Sorcerer and Simon of Gitta, was a Samaritan proto-Gnostic and traditional founder of the Simonians in the first century A.D. He appears in Acts 8:9-24 and prominently in several apocryphal...
x Basilides   Gnosticism
Basilides (early 2nd century) was an early Christian religious teacher in Alexandria, Egypt. He is believed to have written over two dozen books of commentary on the Christian Gospel (now all lost), making him one of the earliest Gospel commentators...
x Valentinus   Gnosticism
Valentinus (also spelled Valentius) (c.100 - c.160) was the best known and for a time most successful early Christian gnostic theologian. He founded his school in Rome. According to Tertullian, Valentinus was a candidate for bishop but started his...
x Laozi Lao Tzu - Project Gutenberg eText 15250 Taoism
Laozi (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade-Giles: Laosi; also Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tzu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Lao Zi, Laocius, and other variations) was a philosopher of ancient China and is a central figure in Taoism (also spelled "Daoism"). Laozi...
x Zhuangzi Zhuangzi Taoism
Zhuangzi (simplified Chinese: 庄子; traditional Chinese: 莊子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ; Wade-Giles: Chuang Tzŭ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools...
x L. Ron Hubbard /wikipedia/images/en_id/1276335 Scientology
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American science fiction author who developed a self-help system called Dianetics, which was first published in 1950. Over the next three decades, Hubbard developed his self-help...
x Nagarjuna A statue depicting Nagarjuna at the Samye Ling Monastery, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Madhyamaka
Acharya Nāgārjuna (Telugu: నాగార్జున, Tibetan: klu sgrub) (c. 150 - 250 CE) was an Indian philosopher and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. His writings are the basis for the formation of the Madhyamaka school, which was...
x Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man Abu Hanifa Mosque in Adhamiya, Baghdad Hanafi
Nuʿmān ibn Thābit ibn Zuṭā ibn Marzubān (Arabic: نعمان بن ثابت بن زوطا بن مرزبان‎), known as Abū Ḥanīfah, (Arabic: أبو حنيفة‎) (699 — 765 CE / 80 — 148 AH) was the founder of the Sunni Hanafi school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Abu Hanifa was...
x Malaclypse the Younger   Discordianism
Malaclypse the Younger (short Mal-2) was a pen name used by Gregory Hill in writing the Principia Discordia. He was also adapted as a character in The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Hill was a comrade of Kerry Wendell Thornley (aka Lord Omar Khayyam...
x Kerry Thornley Kerry Thornley Discordianism
Kerry Wendell Thornley (April 17, 1938 - November 28, 1998) is perhaps best-known as the co-founder (along with childhood friend Greg Hill) of Discordianism, in which context he is usually known as Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst or simply Lord Omar. He and...
x Gregory Hill   Discordianism
Greg Hill (21 May 1941 ¬タモ 20 July 2000), also known as Gregory Hill, Malaclypse the Younger, Mal-2, wrote the Principia Discordia with Kerry Thornley (also known as Omar Ravenhurst). According to a Usenet post, he died of cancer on July 20 2000...
x Daisaku Ikeda   Soka Gakkai International
Daisaku Ikeda 池田大作 いけだ だいさく (Ikeda Daisaku, January 2, 1928-) is president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a Buddhist association which claims 12 million members in 192 countries and territories, and founder of several educational, cultural and...
x Xuanzang A portrait of Xuanzang Dharma character school
Xuanzang (Chinese: 玄奘; pinyin: Xuán Zàng; Wade-Giles: Hsüan-tsang, pronounced Shwan-dzang) [602/603? - 664 CE] was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator that brought up the interaction between China and India in the early...
x Yunmen Wenyan The Zen Master Ummon  
Yúnmén Wényǎn (862 or 864-949 CE), (雲門文偃; Japanese: Ummon Bun'en; he is also variously known in English as "Unmon", "Ummon Daishi", "Ummon Zenji"), was a major Chinese Zen master in Tang-era China. He founded one of the five major schools of Chan ...
x Kukai Painting of Kūkai Shingon Buddhism
Kūkai (空海), also known posthumously as Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師), 774–835, was a Japanese monk, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. Shingon followers usually refer to him by the honorific titles of...
x Anton LaVey Lavey1.jpg Satanism
Anton Szandor LaVey, (April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997) born Howard Stanton Levey, was the American founder and High Priest of the Church of Satan as well as a writer, occultist, and musician. He was the author of The Satanic Bible and the founder...
LaVeyan Satanism
x G. I. Gurdjieff Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff The Fourth Way
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Armenian: Գեորգի Գյուրջիև, Greek: Γιώργος Γκουρτζίεφ, Russian: Георгий Иванович Гурджиев) (or Gurdjiev); January 13, 1866? – October 29, 1949), was a Greek-Armenian mystic and spiritual teacher. He called his discipline ...
x Wulf Zendik   Zendik farm
Wulf Zendik (born Lawrence E. Wulfing, in El Paso, Texas, October 7, 1920 – June 12, 1999) was an American novelist, philosopher, musician and commune founder. He founded Zendik Farm, near Hemmitt, California, in 1969 with his partner, Arol Zendik....
x Charles Wesley Jwesleysitting United Methodist Church
Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was a leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley (the Younger), and...
x John Wesley Jwesleysitting United Methodist Church
John Wesley (pronounced /ˈwɛslɪ/) (28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 – 2 March 1791) was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, with founding the Methodist movement which began when...
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