What About Other Religions? Tony Williams One of the challenges skeptics like to level at Christianity is the argument that there are hundreds and hundreds of religions in existence. How could you possibly know which one is the right one? Who are Christians to think that they have the right one? No one could possibly sift through all the possibilities. Perhaps it would be helpful to clarify what a religion is, how many religions there are, and how we can know we have the right one. Religion, Defined In order to have a meaningful conversation about any topic, we must make sure to clarify our terms. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (1), the definition of “religion” would include the following: an organized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices the religious beliefs, observances, and social practices found within a given cultural context commitment or devotion to a god or gods, a system of beliefs, or religious observance: the service and worship of a god, of multiple gods, or of the supernatural an interest, cause, belief, or activity that is intensely or passionately held to the state of being a member of a religious order For our discussion, we can boil these definitions into the idea that “religion” is a system of shared beliefs, practices, and devotion centered on the meaning of life, often expressed through worship, community, and cultural traditions. This will be helpful as we try to simplify things. How Many Religions Are There? According to sources like WorldMetrics and ZipDo, there are between 4,000 and 4,200 distinct “religions”. This number does seem to indicate that there is a lot out there we don’t know. What if one of those religions we don’t know about is the “right one”? Numbers like these can be intimidating when thrown at a Christian or someone considering it. However, it is helpful to understand that these counts often break up very similar sects into distinct “religions”. According to the U.S. Census from 2020, there were 354 Christian denominations in the U.S. With certain exceptions, the vast majority of them hold to the same basic worldview of who the Creator is, why we are here, and how we should conduct ourselves in this life. This knocks the high figure of 4,000-4,200 down significantly, just by combining the various Christian denominations who have the same fundamental worldview. We know that the rest of the world is also full of denominations and sects that share similar worldviews. Islam is no different, with sectarian variations within Islam. You have likely heard of Sunni and Shia Muslims, but there are other sects within Islam and further breakdowns within each sect. The same is true of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, and Baha’i “religions”. These splits are also counted as individual “religions” by groups that profess thousands of religions when, in fact, they are all just subdivisions within a larger faith group. Statistical Breakdown The Pew Research Center helpfully simplifies the number of religions based on similar worldviews and traditions. (2) They break religions into seven distinct groups: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Other Religions (Baha’i, Daoism, Shintoism, Wicca, etc.), and Religiously Unaffiliated. According to Pew’s estimates published in 2023: Christians make up 31% of the world’s population (2.4 billion people). Islam represents 25% of the population (1.9 billion people). Religiously unaffiliated people represent about 16% of the world (1.2 billion people) Hindus are 15% (1.2 billion people), Buddhists make up 6% of the population (506 million people), Other Religions represent 1% of the world (68 million people). Jews are 0.2% of the population (14.7 million people) As you can see, using the more reasonably and broadly defined religious groups makes the conversation with yourself or others easier to have. However, we can also help ourselves and our neighbors understand this concept in even simpler and perhaps more helpful terms that won’t get as easily “lost in the weeds” as we have these conversations. Four Options Cutting through what can be a murky conversation on “religions” can be done by taking an even higher perspective on the differences people have when it comes to worldview. Noted Christian scholar and scientific philosopher Dr. Stephen C. Meyer presented a simpler way to understand religious worldviews in one of his appearances in the series “TrueU: Does God Exist? (3) He outlined the four basic worldviews held by people. The four worldviews are as follows: No God: Also known as naturalism or atheism. This category includes humanists, atheists, and scientific materialists. The worldview says there is no creator, only the material world, which came about on its own for no reason and no purpose. This category contains at least 16% of the world’s population, based on the numbers from Pew. All is God: Also known as Pantheism or Monism. This category includes Hinduism, some Buddhism, and New Age spirituality. The worldview holds that all things in the universe are tied together and intertwined into a system where divinity is in everything and everyone. God started it and left: This category includes Deism. This was a popular Enlightenment philosophy that acknowledged a creator of all things, but denied ongoing involvement by that creator. God started it and is still here: Also known as Theism. Examples are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This worldview holds that there is a divine designer who still interacts with creation. This category contains at least 56% of the world’s population, based on the numbers from Pew. When we start with these four worldview options, it makes it much simpler to have a conversation about what someone else believes as conversations on faith begin. If someone challenges your faith with the idea of thousands of kinds of religion, you can help the person see that it is not necessary to wade through every option on the menu. If you or those with whom you interact have been intimidated by the idea of “thousands of religions” as presented by skeptics, I hope that you see that there are better ways to approach the question of other religions. Religions, however you define them, seek to explain where we came from, who we are, and our purpose in this life. By starting with the basic four worldviews, we can avoid some of the weight and the emotional connotations that come with some of the religious designations. If you are someone who is seeking the truth and has not come to a decision on a worldview, I encourage you to seek out the worldview that most resembles reality. I would also encourage you to seek out the worldview that has the most evidence to support it. Summary For me, there is no longer any contest. Christianity is the only worldview that explains where we came from, who we are, and why we are here in a way that makes sense with reality, especially the reality that mankind has fallen, and the world is broken as a result. It is something that we all intrinsically know, and it is provable with every edition of the nightly news. On top of that evidence, there is a seemingly neverending stream of evidence from history, archeology, biology, genetics, math, astronomy, and other fields that make an undeniable cumulative case for the existence of God. Specifically, the God of the Old and New Testaments Who allowed Himself to become a man and suffer with us and for us. None of the other options come close to the story of the Bible and the part we are meant to play. Christianity is the only worldview where, rather than man working and dying for God, God became man and worked to save anyone who would trust in his words and repent. Then he died in our place, even though we would be in full rebellion when He did so. So, next time you find yourself pondering reality, or are considering it with someone else, consider allowing the starting point be with the few options that are truly available for us rather than the 4,000+ options claimed by some. Either there is no God, God is everything, God wound it up and left, or God began it, is redeeming it, and those who choose to be reconciled will be with Him for eternity. I pray we see one another there. References https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion, as it appeared on August 11th, 2026 Pew Research Center (2023) Dataset of Global Religious Composition Estimates for 2010 and 2020 Compositionhttps://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/dataset-of-global-religious-composition-estimates-for-2010-and-2020/?utm_source=copilot.com TrueU: Does God Exist? Vimeo page hosted by Focus on the Family Canada. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Brian Chilton Date: Fri, Jul 31, 2026 at 11:32 PM Subject: August 2026 Schedule To: Sloan, Daniel Robert (School of Divinity Instruction) , Deanna Huff , Anthony Williams , Steven Johnson , Tim Woods , Justin Angelos , Bogacz, Jerry Team, Attached is the schedule for our August contributors. Thank you for all you do! Contributor | Due | Publisher | Date of Publication Daniel Sloan 8/2 Huff 8/16 Tony Williams 8/9 Johnson 8/23 Tim Woods 8/16 Williams 8/30 Justin Angelos 8/23 Chilton 9/6 Jerry Bogacz 8/30 Huff 9/13 Blessings, Brian G. Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D. Founder of Bellator Christi (https://bellatorchristi.com) Adjunct Professor of Apologetics Author of Layman’s Manual on Christian Apologetics, Conversations about Heaven, and Editor of Why Creationism Still Matters, and Stewarding AI "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39). Get Outlook for iOS -- Anthony Williams tonywilliams2431@gmail.com "En Suivant La Verite" One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
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