How to Use

9 Data Layers (filter chips in top bar)

• Religion / Conflict / Economic / Milestone — historical events on timeline & map
• Active Conflicts 2025 — heat circles coloured by casualty intensity (ACLED/UCDP data)
• Holy Sites — 33 major pilgrimage sites across 5 faiths
• Population Today — bubbles sized by current adherent count per country (Pew Research)
• Colonial Empires — coloured trade/conquest routes of major European empires 1492–1960
• Persecution / Diaspora — major expulsion and displacement events for religious minorities
• Climate Crises — droughts and famines that coincided with religious upheaval
• GDP per Capita — dashed circles sized & coloured by IMF 2024 GDP/capita. Green=high income, amber=upper-mid, orange=lower-mid, red=low income. Click for GDP, religiosity score, and conflict intensity. The inverse correlation between GDP and religiosity (r=−0.71) is immediately visible.
• Trade Routes — Silk Road and Indian Ocean routes that spread religions

Map layers (top-left)

• Light — CARTO light open-source basemap
• ESRI World — ESRI free world street map

Navigation

• Click any marker, bubble, or route on the map or timeline to open its detail card
• Scroll the timeline left/right through 6,000 years
• Zoom & pan the map freely · Esc closes panels

Data sources

• Conflicts: ACLED · UCDP Uppsala
• Population: Pew Research Center
• Trade routes: Wikipedia Silk Road
• Holy sites: Patheos Sacred Spaces · Wikipedia List of Religious Sites