Events 1453-1601 | World Religions in 1453 | Major Christian Centres beyond Europe in 1453 | Key Events in World Christianity 1453-1601

World Religions in 1453

This map illustrates the approximate extent of the world’s major religious traditions in 1453. In this view, what was later known as the “New World” is shaded differently to emphasise the fact that it was not charted by Asian or European navigators in this period. The map plots the relationship between Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism/Taoism/Confucianism, Shinto and Indigenous religions in the midfifteenth century.

NB The sequence proceeds from West to East, that is, from Christendom outwards. The ordering is not an indication of the antiquity or the numerical strength of the various faiths. Clearly in many cases people of different faiths lived alongside each other. It has not been possible to map this in detail here, with the exception of the borders between Hinduism and Buddhism and also the white shading which indicates Jewish heartlands.