Throughout history, people have held myriad religious beliefs. Since the beginning of time, tribes, cities, and civilizations have united beneath these belief systems to answer the big questions of the universe: examining everything from natural phenomena - like why the sun rises and sets - to more philosophical questions - like what happens after death.

Some cultures believed in a singular God; Some believed in hundreds. Some believed God(s) walked among us, intervening in our daily lives. Some believed in quieter God(s), who kept their hands clean of mortal follies and foibles.

And as people migrated throughout the world, they invariably carted their customs and beliefs to their new homes along with their belongings. Over time, foreign beliefs mixed with domestic, creating new beliefs. Like living organisms, religious groups grew, split, died, and were born as this intermingling continued, forming the intricate pattern you see below.

This handy chart, created by researchers in cooperation with the Universal Life Church, tracks the development and evolution of these religious systems across time and space. While many of the belief systems you see here are still being practiced today; many more have since passed into myth. Eventually, we believe, all will become one under the guiding beliefs of the Universal Life Church.

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