Distribution of predominant religions in the Differently universe
| Roman Catholicism Eastern Christianity (Eastern and Oriental Orthodox) Protestantism Persian religions (Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism) Native traditions | Sunni Islam Alawite Islam Salehiyya Islam Hinduism Buddhism |
Note: This article is written as a comparison between OTL and the Differently TL.
Between Differently and our timeline, there are major and minor differences in the religions and their distribution throughout the world.
OTL Religions[]
Unlike in OTL, the State of Israel does not exist, thus, there are no majority Jewish nation in ATL. Instead, they exist as minorities, with the largest groups being in the United States, Syria Palaestina, and Russia.
Christianity is slightly bigger due to its greater presence in northern Africa, Syria and western Anatolia. It is less prevalent in Guyana and Suriname, which are dominated by Hinduism. The distribution of denominations is pretty much the same, except for Alaska, which in Differently is mostly Eastern Orthodox instead of Protestant due to its Russian colonization, and Australia, which in Differently was colonized by several different European powers and consequently inherited different forms of Christianity.
In OTL, Islam became prominent in Southeast Asia, North Africa, Western Asia, and Central Asia, but in ATL, the fall of the Rashidun Caliphate prevents it from expanding past certain parts of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The main division of Sunni and Shia never happens; instead, Islam's main divisions are Sunni Islam, which is practiced in the Arabian Peninsula, Salehiyya Islam, practiced in Africa, and Alawite Islam, which is practiced in the Horn of Africa (Somalia and Djibouti).
Samaritanism maintains a similar minority status to OTL. The Rastafari movement is a bit smaller due to Jamaica's former policy of state atheism.
Taoism and Confucianism remain as big in China as in OTL, if not slightly bigger due to the lack of state atheism to persecute them. Chinese Folk religion remains just as large as in OTL, though it has been eroded a bit by Christianity, especially in Taiwan.
Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism are much larger than in our timeline, due to Islam never reaching Persian regions and the Persian empire never falling. It is mainly divided into Persian and Turkic traditions.
The Indian Religions are a bit larger, due to Islam never reaching Hindu and Buddhist regions. Hinduism is also the predominant religion in Guyana and Suriname, where it has its own local variation.
New Religions in ATL[]
Adolf Hitler created his own religion in Differently: a Neo-Asatru movement called Vanatru. This religion gathered many followers, though it remains a minority in the Christian dominated Germanic League.
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