First images of fertile and pregant Goddesses appear in the Paleolithic Era, pictorials of mythologies and their creation stories. Nature worship also evidenced through elemental and animalistic deification.

Hinduism

Hinduism begins with the Aryan invasion of India, mingling the Vedic faith with native practices. The Veda is the holy text with combines myth with ritual and epic stories of the gods.

Judaism

Judaism finds a strong basis with Abraham as a patriarch, employing the Torah as the foundational scriptures. Special sanctity is given to Hebrew writings , with the oral tradition of imparting the faith continuing in the form on canters at Jewish temples today.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism takes shape in Persia through the efforts of a great theological mind, Zoroaster. This tradition is preserved in sacred texts known as Avesta. Central to Zoroastrianism is a belief in God and the seven manifested divine attributes: devotion, good mind, order, dominion, immortality, wholeness, and the Holy Spirit

Confucianism

Confucius (K'ung Fu-Tzu) was born in Northern China. While often depicted as a statesman, hewas also a teacher who combined Chinese classical writings with his own ideology compiled in the Lun Yu. The foundational ideology of Confucianism is that of spirituality in the form of love towards your fellow man, righteousness, and respect.

Jainism

Jainism began in northern India through the efforts of Mahavira, who taught ascentic penance as a means of achieving spiritual freedom. It is confined mostly to India and resembles Hinduism in many respects. Jainism denies the existence of a supreme being, and teaches that each living being consists of a sentient soul (jiva) which must strive for release from the cycle of reincarnation (samsara)

Buddhism

Gautama Siddhartha, the Budda, begins to share his vision of enlightenment through meditation somewhere near Benares, India. The Triptaka is the collection of his teachings, many smaller sections called Sutras. These wwritings include the Eightfold way which in the rule of practical buddhism: right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right concentration, and right ecstasy.

Taoism

The Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao Tzu (a philosopher who lived around 300-250 BC) becomes more readily available extending the influence of Taoism (the Way or Path). The central desire of the Taoist is to live in a natural and spontaneous (tzu-jan) state free from human contrivance. True understanding of the Tao is believed to come only with intuition

Catholicism

In Rome, Catholicism has its beginnings.

Shinto

In Japan, the yet unnamed native religious tradition is called Shinto (the way of the Gods) to distinguish it from Buddhism (the way of Buddha) Shinto tradition emerged out of ancient religious practices based on a reverence for natural forces, which are seen as the manifestation of the gods (kami). The emperor of Japan is considered to be the direct descendant of the Shinto Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami

Islam

Islam is founded by Mohammed the prophet in Medina on the Arabian peninsula. The sacred teachings are collectively known as the Koran, expounding the five duties of the faith as prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage, and profession.

Sikhism

Sikhism is founded by Nanak, a guru from Northern India. Nanak may have intended to reform Hinduism, but instead began an eclectic, monotheistic religious tradition which combines elements of Muslim and Hindu ideology, and rejects idol worship and the caste system.

Lutheran

Martin Luther completes his separation from the German Catholic church.

Anglican

The Protestant church finds its roots with the efforts of reformers John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli.

Episcopal church, now called the Anglican Church, was started in England by Henery VIII when he separated from the Church of Rome.

Mormonism

Joseph Smith receives the tables which become the sacred writings for the Mormon Church in New York State

Methodist & Pentecostal

Evangelic fever strikes the Methodist church under the leadership of C.F Parham giving rise to the Pentecostal Church.

Please Note:
This time-line is in no way an exhaustive list of world religions... there are many other tradtions, cults, and off-shoots of established religions. This time-line merely serves to give you a spectrum look at mankinds religious journey.